Still Waiting

Jenny and I had been seeing each other for over three years when finally, she agreed to let me meet her family. But if I’d known how the day was going to turn out then I might have left them all as anonymous beings in the background.

We were invited to Sunday lunch and arrived mid-morning. I parked the car in the sweeping driveway of the large, Tudor style country residence. It’s got to be at least six bedrooms, I thought as I gazed up at the impressive, vine covered walls. The garden was immaculate. I thought of the humble terraced house of my parents I’d moved out of three years earlier.

Coughing nervously, I followed Jenny to the front door which was opened by her father. He shook my hand and pointed me toward the kitchen where I greeted Jenny’s mother with another warm handshake and a small kiss on the cheek.

“Would you like a cup of tea? Ben, isn’t it? You can call me Sylvia.”

“Yes, thanks, Sylvia.” I smiled and wondered what to do next or where to go.

“Come into the living room Ben and chat with Dad.” Jenny called from the hallway. I smiled at Mr Johnson as I entered and wondered which of the three sofas to sit on.

“Everyone around here calls me Fred. Short for Frederick.”

I smiled again and sat down when Fred pointed to the largest sofa by the window. Sylvia entered with a tray of tea and biscuits.

“Milk and sugar Ben?”

“Yes, both thanks.”

I had just finished drinking my tea and eating a couple of biscuits when I saw a shiny black car shoot up the long drive and park outside the giant bay window. I thought the girl sitting in the passenger seat looked familiar. Then to my horror I saw that it was Rosemary from the office. Rosemary who I’d dated a few times over the past year. I nearly dropped my cup and saucer as I fumbled to put them back on the tray.

“Would you like another Ben?” Sylvia asked

“Um, no thanks. I’m fine.” I hoped my unease would not show. Could Rosemary be discreet and not tell anyone of our recent encounters, I wondered as I turned around to face the door.

“Ah here comes Rosemary and Shaun. They make such a lovely couple.” Said Sylvia.

Meanwhile Jenny and her father had gone to the front door to let Rosemary and Shaun in.

I stood up and let my right-hand play with the car keys in my pocket as I admired the black saloon parked in the middle of the gravel drive. My left hand grasped the phone in my other pocket as I recalled the tantalising texts Rosemary and I had shared over the past year.

Footsteps on the wooden floor caused me to turn and see Rosemary enter, followed by Shaun, Jenny and her father.

Jenny came straight over to me. “Ben I’d like you to meet my darling sister Rosemary and her beau, Shaun.” I was sure there was a hint of sarcasm in Jenny’s voice. Rosemary kept a straight face as she shook my hand.

“Pleased to meet you Ben, at last. Jenny has spoken of you often. This is my boyfriend Shaun. We’ve only known each other for a couple of months but we get on very well, don’t we?” Rosemary turned to Shaun as he nodded while reaching to shake my hand.

“Yes, I love Rosemary’s sense of humour.” Shaun said.

I do too, I thought, and her looks. Jenny was a little plainer than the shapely Rosemary and rather immature at times, but the relationship suited me. We’d had a fling at University and then it just seemed to continue from that. Jenny moved in with me. We went on holiday together. We went to the cinema together. We enjoyed each other’s company. Rosemary was so different. She was fun loving, vivacious, curvy and I was captivated by her the first day she came to work at the newspaper offices as chief journalist.

She knew I had a long-term partner. I had explained that we were more like friends than lovers. Rosemary had never mentioned a boyfriend to me.

“Well now you’ve all met each other I’m going to get the lunch organised. Who’s going to come into the kitchen and help?” Asked Sylvia. Jenny, her father and Shaun followed immediately. I stayed behind with Rosemary.

“You didn’t tell me you had a sister.” I whispered

“You never asked.” Said Rosemary as she glanced toward the kitchen to see if anyone was looking.

“Anyway, you haven’t got the same surname, so how was I to know you were Jenny’s sister?”

“I’m a journalist, remember? I’m also an author and I like to go by my pseudonym. Besides you’d always been honest about your long-term girlfriend. There’s little I can do to grab your attention and get you to leave her. Jenny has always come out trumps no matter what she does. I’ve always had to struggle for whatever I wanted.”

“You don’t have to struggle with me Rosemary. I’d willingly leave Jenny if you ever gave a hint that you wanted a full-on relationship.”

“Come on everyone, into the dining room. Dinner is being served.” Sylvia called from the kitchen.

Rosemary and I left the conversation there, tried to look nonchalant and went in to eat lunch. The meal looked and smelled delicious, but I had lost my appetite.

“So, when are you two love birds going to tie the knot?” Sylvia looked straight at me as she asked a question I was not expecting. I began to snicker as I almost choked on a roast potato.

“Oh, we’re young yet.” Sylvia. “Plenty of time.” Jenny kicked my shin under the table.

“Shaun and I are getting married, Mum and Dad.” Rosemary blurted out to everyone’s surprise. “That’s one reason why we came over today. To let you know. We’re going to have a baby. Or rather I'm going to have a baby and Shaun knows he’s not the father as he’s been found to be infertile. He’s agreed to bring the child up as his own.”

Sylvia, Fred, Jenny and I stopped with our knives and forks in mid-air as we listened to this news.

“But wouldn’t you want to marry the father?” I found myself asking Rosemary.

Rosemary’s eyes became large as she fixed a stare in my direction. “You always said you didn’t want children Ben. From the day we first met when I came into your office you told me you didn’t want any children.”

I could not believe what Rosemary had just come out with. How could she burst out with this in front of Jenny and her parents and even Shaun?

“You know each other?” Jenny asked as she pushed her chair back and stood up. “You already know my sister? You’ve been seeing her behind my back? You bastard. And now she is going to have your bastard child.”

“Look Jenny,” I said. “It’s not like that.”

“What is it like then Ben?” Asked Sylvia as she leaned over the table toward me.

“Rosemary and I had a fling once, that’s all. I’ve been faithful to Jenny all the time.”

“Faithful! Faithful! Is getting my sister pregnant being faithful?” Jenny screamed in my face.

“Rosemary, I’ll marry you. Get rid of Shaun. I want to marry you. I love you. I want to be with you and our child.” I shouted.

“I can’t believe what I’m hearing here Ben Michaels. You always told me we were too young to get married and you didn’t want any children. You hypocrite.” Jenny said as she poured her red wine over my head and stormed out of the room. I heard her crying as she stomped up the stairs.

“What is this all about Ben and Rosemary? Is this true? Are you expecting Ben’s child?”

“Yes Mum. I thought it was a fling. I knew he was living with Jenny all these years and I didn’t want to break up their relationship.”

“Well you seem to have done a really good job of that without even trying. How could you get yourself pregnant in this day and age? Why could you not have been careful?”

“It’s all my fault Sylvia. We went away for the weekend and Rosemary said she had forgotten to bring her pills with her.”

“I think you’d better leave Ben and never come back. We don’t want the likes of you around here.”

“Now, now Sylvia don’t be too harsh on the lad. These things happen and we can sort it out somehow.” Fred said.

“No, we can’t I want him out of the house NOW and I never want to see his face here again. He’s not only ruined Jenny’s life but he’s also ruined Rosemary’s life.”

Sylvia grabbed me by the elbow and pulled me along to the front door. She then opened the door, shoved me through it and slammed it behind me. I was at a loss. What could I do?

I stood by my car and as I opened the door, I could see Jenny’s tearstained face at her bedroom window and Rosemary’s red-eyed face staring at me through the ground floor bay window. What a mess, I thought.

I drove down the long, tree-lined drive wishing I’d never persuaded Jenny to let me meet her parents.

At the end of the drive I stopped the car, got out my phone and sent a text to Rosemary. “Wil you marry me?” I asked. I’m still waiting for the reply.