Free A Distant Dream by Pamela Evans Page B

complained.
    George heaved a sigh. The tension in this house had been terrible since Betty had moved in, and he was still trying to get to grips with his new circumstances. He knew that, as his wife, Betty should be his first consideration, but it didn’t come naturally; he had to constantly remind himself.
    ‘Sheila, will you stop picking on Betty,’ he said with a sigh. ‘She is my wife, remember.’
    ‘Oh, I’ve had enough of this,’ declared Sheila. ‘You do what you like, Betty, but don’t expect us to like you, you lazy cow.’ She turned to her mother. ‘Come on, Mum, let’s get these dishes done pronto and leave her to rot.’
    She proceeded to clear the table, the loud clatter of the crockery and cutlery indicative of the heat of her temper.
    Later that night, George decided to have a quiet word with Betty in the privacy of their bedroom.
    ‘It might not be a bad idea for you to give a bit of a hand around the house,’ he suggested warily. ‘At least it would keep everybody happy.’
    ‘Oh, so you
are
taking their side over me,’ she scowled.
    ‘I’m just trying to keep the peace,’ he sighed.
    ‘I’m pregnant.’
    ‘Yes, I know you are, but I don’t think it means that you can’t do anything at all, does it? I don’t know much about it, but I think most women carry on as normal, at the beginning anyway.’
    ‘How would you like it if you felt sick all the time?’ she asked.
    ‘I would hate it,’ he admitted frankly. ‘But I thought it was just in the mornings. They do call it morning sickness.’
    ‘It’s worse in the mornings but I feel queasy all day,’ she informed him, her voice rising. ‘I don’t know if that is the normal thing but that’s how it is for me.’
    ‘I can see how miserable that must be for you.’ He really was at a loss to know the right thing to do. ‘Perhaps it will ease off later in the pregnancy and when you’re feeling better you can muck in with the others.’
    Her face fell and he noticed suddenly how young and insecure she looked. She was very pale and her mid-brown hair was straight, lank and falling greasily around her face, making her look rather plain. The radiant glow of pregnancy he’d heard about was nowhere to be seen on Betty. For all her bolshie talk she was probably feeing just as trapped as he was.
    ‘Look, Bet,’ he began in a warmer tone, ‘we are a couple of kids in an unexpected situation that we aren’t ready for. Neither of us knows how best to cope with it. But we have a nipper on the way, so somehow we have to make it work. And seeing as we live here, it would make life easier for us both if you could get along with my family, because they are your family too now.’
    ‘Your sister is so bossy.’
    ‘She is a bit, but it’s just her way,’ he said. ‘She speaks her mind but at least she does it to your face. I can promise you she won’t go behind your back.’
    ‘The truth is, I don’t really like living here,’ she said forlornly. ‘I miss my own people.’
    Reminded of her youth and immaturity he said, ‘That’s only natural, I suppose, you being a girl. But we can’t live with your folks because they’ve turned their backs on you, so we’ll have to stay here, for the time being anyway.’
    ‘I know,’ she said, starting to weep.
    ‘Don’t cry,’ he said awkwardly, handing her his handkerchief.
    ‘I don’t really like being pregnant either,’ she confessed.
    ‘It doesn’t sound like much fun, I must admit,’ he said sympathetically, ‘but at least it doesn’t last for ever.’
    ‘S’pose not,’ she said thickly.
    ‘Look, Bet, let’s give this marriage thing our best shot, for the sake of our child when it comes,’ he suggested. ‘There will have to be give and take on both sides, and I’ll try to be more supportive of you, but you’ll have to do your part too.’
    ‘By helping in the house you mean, I suppose,’ she said grumpily.
    ‘By entering into the family spirit generally and