Jan And Nick...Flat One
If ever there was a thoroughly modern couple, it was the Parkers.
They had been married for six years...but there, convention stopped. Jan Barker refused to do anything that might be seen as conforming, she was thirty years of age and was in total control of her destiny.
The Parkers had moved into Rowland's Park as soon as they had returned from their honeymoon in The Maldives.
The two weeks before they were due to return to their respective jobs were spent redecorating the flat.
It was a two bed roomed unit and was quite a good size with a large window looking out onto the leafy road.
Nick Parker had been with the same group of solicitors since leaving Reading university with his masters degree, a likeable man he had many friends but did not suffer fools often. He had known as soon as he set eyes on Jan that they were destined to be together, with her elfin haircut and her cat like green eyes, she had almost
hypnotized him and luckily, she had felt the earth move when she saw him.
The Barkers enjoyed their lives; they both worked hard and made good money. Jan was a buyer for an exclusive ladies fashion store and this fed her love of good clothes. As well as working hard, they played hard too...good restaurants, clubs, shows, holidays and an array of good friends.
When they had first decided that they would marry Jan had made it perfectly clear that children were not on the agenda. She had spent a happy childhood and had a good relationship with her parents, but that maternal spark had just never been there. As various friends had began to have their children, Jan and Nick had been asked several times to be god parents and they did a great job but Jan didn't go gooey when she held a baby, she really didn't want to hold one in the first place.
Nick had agreed that children were not in their plans, with his career taking off he had really not ever thought about having a baby. Lately though, he had found himself looking at friends' children and wondering!
This particular morning Nick had left for work earlier than usual due to an appointment a fair distance away.
Jan showered and wandered into the kitchen to grab her muesli and crème fraiche. She took her first spoonful and...ran, straight for the bathroom, reaching the basin just in time. She was so violently sick that she phoned the shop to say that she would be in later, maybe in the afternoon.
Jan managed to keep down a cold glass of filtered water and sat down in the armchair. Wow, she was never ill, only around her period...period, damn, it was almost a week late. Jan did some calculations in her head, yep, she was definitely a week or more overdue...no she couldn't be, and her contraception was so reliable.
Within the hour, Jan was driving home from the nearby pharmacy with one of those things that she had sworn she would never have the need for...a pregnancy test.
...Jan Parker who was never to hear the patter of tiny feet, stared down at the white stick with a big blue line on
it. "My God how the hell has this happened," she thought to herself, by now feeling utterly wretched,
"This is not part of my master plan!"
The rest of the day passed in a blur. Jan phoned the shop and told them she had a bug and wouldn't be in to work that day. She poured herself a glass of Chianti, even though it was only relatively early in the day and the sun was not yet over the yardarm!
Before Jan knew it, she had been sitting in the same position for nearly two hours, the empty wine glass lying askew on the Berber carpet.
What would she tell Nick?
They had made a pact not to ever entertain having children, how would it affect their marriage, their careers, their social life. Feeling utterly desolate, Jan curled up on the sofa in a
fetal position and sobbed.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, damn...who was that...only the shop knew she was at home, not even Nick realized that she hadn't gone into work today.
Rubbing her reddening and swollen eyes, Jan walked to the door and opened it slowly, there stood Doris Penney.
She obviously noticed the younger woman's tearstained eyes but didn't remark on them.
"Hello dear," Doris began. She had always liked this young couple that always found time to stop and speak to her.
"I noticed that your car was still in the car park, please don't think I have been spying, only I have just been to the library to meet my friend Henry and on seeing your car, wondered if you were ok"
Jan sniffed and looked up into the kindly brown eyes. This lady was such a sweet soul and Jan knew that she was only here out of concern...she was touched by the gesture.
"Oh Mrs Penney," she said, starting to cry again and within seconds Jan was pouring out her heart to the elderly lady.
She explained that children were not to be part of their lives...they were lovely to look at...other people's were sweet, but Nick and Jan Parker were a couple and a couple they wanted to stay!
Doris listened intently as she settled on the edge of the expensive sofa. As she glanced around the home she couldn't fail to notice that it was definitely not a family home...but it could be.
Jan would make a lovely mother, she had so much to give to a child...and Nick was a clever and successful man but kind and gentle too, she had noticed him walking back from the newsagents on a couple of Sundays. He had stopped to kick a football around with a few of the local children...Doris wasn't at all convinced that he had no desire for a child.
"I was going to be married...years ago to a charming young man," Doris said smiling at Jan, who looked quite shocked
Doris laughed, she was sure that everyone thought she had always been single...had never ever had a man in her life.
She explained to Jan all about how the one love of her life had left her for another woman. Jan felt a simmer of guilt when Doris said that she would have loved to have children, but after Henry, it just wasn't to be.
"You've met a new friend now, haven't you?" Jan asked.
"Yes I have dear, although I think the question of children is long
gone," Doris chuckled, blushing a little at her own joke.
Doris asked Jan what exactly she thought having a little baby would do to her life with Nick. Jan thought for a moment and said that she was frightened of getting fat, drab and losing her career...and maybe Nick.
Doris sighed and put a soft reassuring hand on the younger woman's arm.
"You won't get fat because you are too strong willed to do that...even if you did, well, you could lose the weight, as for becoming drab...oh my dear, have you looked at yourself, even in a sack cloth and ashes, you would still possess that joie de vivre...that sparkle in those beautiful eyes. As for losing your career, nowadays many women employ nannies and they find the situation works wonderfully for them...finally, Nick adores you and would love anything that makes you happy...just talk to
him."
Jan smiled for the first time that day. She flung her arms around the gentle soul next to her. Her mind was beginning to clear like a fog disappearing on a summer's day. She would cook a meal for her husband tonight, sickness prevailing...they would talk about the future together...maybe it could work well.
Looking gratefully at Doris, Jan also thought that maybe, just maybe, she was looking at somebody who could do a few hours a day baby-minding so that she could go back to work part-time.
After all, she mused...she wouldn't want to be away from her baby for too long!
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