Free Faded Glory by David Essex Page B

got to Wendy’s, her mother and father had gone to bed. He could see Wendy through the net curtains, sitting up waiting for him. He tapped three times on the stained-glass window in the front door, an attractive piece of glass with the figure of a sail boat etched in it.
    “I won Wend,” Danny said, grinning, as his girlfriend opened the door. “Although it was given as a draw. What a night. Wait till you hear about it.”
    “Oh my God Danny, look at your face!” Wendy’s eyes were wide as she took in Danny’s bruises. She grabbed his hand. “Come in. We need to talk.”
    For women, “talking” meant emotion and feelings. Words that spelled terror to most men, Danny among them. His gut lurched as Wendy ushered him into the living room and closed the door.
    “Sit down, Danny,” she said.
    Danny sat nervously on the sofa. “What’s the matter, what is it?” he asked, feeling like he’d been summoned by the headmistress.
    That’s when the bombshell landed.
    “I’m pregnant,” Wendy said.
    “What?” said Danny.
    “I am pregnant,” Wendy repeated with a touch more volume. “Having a baby. With child .”
    “Oh, pregnant,” said Danny, stunned. “Right.”
    A strange mixture of emotions flooded through him. Shock, pride and fear, all at the very same time.
    “Right,” he repeated.
    “I’ve not told Mum and Dad yet,” said Wendy anxiously.
    “Right,” Danny repeated.
    He was beginning to sound like a broken record stuck in a groove. His head was bursting with thoughts. Searching, thinking of options, thinking of consequences.
    “What shall we do?” Wendy said, her voice small and scared.
    Suddenly for Danny, everything was clear. This baby was a confirmation of their love for each other from way back when they were just children, when Danny had defended Wendy from the ginger jibes. The beautiful crowning glory for two childhood sweethearts who had turned into adults and were still deeply in love. Soulmates, as Wendy often said.
    Danny put his arms around Wendy and held her close. He felt her relax against him. They were having a child of their own. That very special bond of parenthood was going to be theirs now. It was time to jump into the unknown.
    “It’s going to be fine,” he said. “I love you, Wend.”
    *
    They talked well into the night about all the changes they would need to make. They discussed a few names for the baby, both girls’ and boys’. They talked about money, and how they would cope.
    “I met these two fellas tonight,” Danny said as Wendy rested her head on his shoulder. “They reckon I could turn professional with their help, maybe make some money. I’ll meet them, talk to them.”
    They were both aware that the most immediate hurdle was to tell Wendy’s parents. Danny was no coward, but the thought of confronting Wendy’s strait-laced folks with the news of a baby conceived out of wedlock was nerve-racking. But he realised that if they were going to have this baby, goodwill from Wendy’s folks was an important factor.
    “So you’ll come over tomorrow?” said Wendy as Danny kissed her good night. “We can tell Mum and Dad together.”
    He was twenty-three, but Danny had always felt like a boy. For the first time tonight, he truly felt like a man, facing all the responsibility that a baby would bring. He felt ready for it, ready to take it on, whatever the outcome, whatever Wendy’s parents thought.
    “Of course I will,” he said, holding Wendy tightly. “I’ll be here at six.”
    *
    Danny spent most of the next day thinking about how Wendy’s folks might react. He practised little speeches, tried to imagine the questions they would be asked and what answers he would give. He guessed Wendy was doing more or less the same on her shift at the sugar factory. It seemed a longer day than usual, as Danny longed to get everything over with and out in the open.
    On the dot of six, Danny arrived at the Bristows’ looking as smart and responsible as he could.