Helen returned a few minutes later with their glasses refilled. “I think Anthea and her dad are having a good chat too.” Jack smiled wondering what exactly they were talking about. “So you met Ben at a party,” Helen started. “You were all watching porn movies and he needed a bed for the night and came back to your place to stay.” Jack nodded. “So what happened?” Jack shrugged. “Nothing happened that night,” he told her. “...

Jack was already home following his visit to his parents when Anthea got in. He was holding a half-empty glass of Merlot in his hand. “That bad was it?” she asked. He nodded. They hugged and kissed. “I’m so sorry,” she commiserated. “I should have come with you or even gone on my own to tell them.” He shook his head. “No, she would only have upset you and we couldn’t have that in your condition,” he responded. “Dave and H...

They saw Ben again on the following Friday. The project that he was working on in Manchester had overrun by three days and so Anthea was very excited to see him. Jack watched them warmly kissing and embracing after the door had closed behind him. He also saw Ben give her bump a long and gentle rub as he enquired about his daughter. Anthea looked at Jack as she explained that she had a forthcoming scan next week. They went...

“What’s wrong? What’s wrong?” Anthea looked up at her mum as she sat down at the dining table. “Nothing is wrong,” Anthea responded watching as her mum hurriedly dried her hands with a tea towel. “Is the baby okay? Are you okay? Is Jack okay?” she asked as her husband came into the room and pulled up a seat at the table. “We’re all fine Mum,” she responded exasperated with her mum’s anxiety. “I have something to tell you....

They drove home a short while later. Anthea listened in silence to Jack’s account of his conversation with her mum as she drove. She was quite shocked as well as stunned by the way things were unravelling in her parents' lives. “Maybe we should never have told them about Ben and the baby,” she mused at the end. Jack shrugged his shoulders. “It’s a bit late for that now, isn’t it?” he responded. “Anyway, from what your mum...

Anthea had arrived at her parents’ home that lunchtime with trepidation and she left a couple of hours later still filled with trepidation. But everything had changed. The issues surrounding her pregnancy were settled now. They had accepted it and they were supportive; she knew that they would be there for them all. Her problem now though was how to deal with their situation. Ten months ago she would have been totally per...