YesBut who are they? - Part 1

For YesBut's Image on 28th June 2007, Chewy posted the caption

“We're not the first in line to buy concert tickets, but we're sure to get great seats.”

The photo and caption suggested the following story to me:-

It was1966 the time of love and revolution the world belonged to the young. Yet strangely she was disappointed with life at the university. She expected stimulating conversation, meeting interesting new friends to stimulate her intellect. Instead she encountered dreary lectures, the grind of producing essays and people who were only interested in getting drunk in the Student Union bar. If you were lucky to be in the right place at the right time you might get an invitation to a party on Saturday night. But even these were mainly populated by drunken students. If it was the time of free love none was coming Pat’s way.

It was therefore a surprise when one evening sitting at the Student Union coffee bar she was joined at her table by a young man. She didn’t take much notice of him; she was deep in thought deciding whether to go home to her parents for the weekend. Even when he asked for the sugar bowl she handed it to him without looking.

“Deep in thought”.
“Sorry”.
“You looked deep in thought”.
“Yes”.

It was only then that she looked at him. Reasonably attractive, not the usual unwashed scruffy hair. They had the usual meaningless small talk. She was surprised when he said he was reading engineering; she had the inpression all engineering students were Neanderthals who dragged their knuckles on the ground when they walked. They went together into the refractory for their evening meal, afterwards they talked about everything but nothing.

It was six weeks before they slept together, they were both virgins embarrassed and clumsy. They were also stupid, not taking any precautions. Perhaps out of naivety she wasn’t particularly worried when she didn’t have her monthly period. It was only when she started to have morning sickness that her roommate who was more worldly, started to get suspicious. When the nurse in the medical centre told her she was pregnant, she was reassured that an abortion would be arranged quietly and neither the university authorities nor her parents need ever know. When she told her boyfriend he assumed she would have an abortion, and reassured her that he would be there for her. But for her the choice wasn’t that simple. She had been brought up a Christian and believed in the sanctity of life. She told him she was going to have the baby and give it up for adoption. He said he wasn’t prepared to sacrifice his education and career for some kid who was going to be given away. That was the last conversation they had.

She went home and told her parents of her decision. They were both shocked and disappointed that she had been so stupid to jeopardize her future. She tried to explain that nothing had changed; after the baby was adopted she would get her degree. The thought that she would give away their grandchild was even more shocking than getting pregnant in the first place. From that day their relationship was never the same; no more would she be their little girl. Her parents blamed themselves, questioning each other “where did we go wrong?” For the next seven months she led a lonely life, only her room-mate gave any support. She felt as if everyone was looking at her and talking about her.

She gave birth during the long summer vacation. She went unaccompanied to the hospital. She had previously signed all the documentation for the baby to be adopted and she had agreed with the Midwife that she would neither be shown nor hold the baby. She did however catch a glimpse of the baby as it was taken away, it was a girl.

During the remaining period at university she dedicated herself to her studies. Her roommate who was a year ahead had graduated and she was left alone. She saw the baby’s father but they never spoke. On the infrequent visits home her parents remained remote. But her loneliness didn’t account for the feeling of total emptiness. The midwife had taken something more than a child from her - the exchange of love between the mother and child, had been taken from her leaving a void. After graduating, not knowing or even caring what job she wanted to do, she deferred the decision by returning to do a teacher training certificate. So by default she drifted into teaching.

She was surprised how much she enjoyed teaching and working with children. And her pupils really liked her. She remained unmarried, her only friends were fellow spinster school teachers. Her past did come to visit her on occasions when she found herself looking at little girls. As the years went by she would think, my daughter has started nursery school, then primary school. Christmas time she found particularly difficult and would wander around shops imagining what presents she would have bought. However she was careful never to give her lost child a name.

When she was 55, she was given the opportunity to retire. She would miss the children, but she felt it was time to find new challenges. Perhaps she might even sell her house and buy a flat in another town.

(To be continued tomorrow- Bookmark the page).