Chapter 24

Rory

I spoke to my mum about what was to happen after she and Phil got married. She accepted that moving away for me under the present circumstances was not practical. She consulted with Phil over the telephone and he said that with the money he got for his place in Stirling they would not need any additional capital to purchase a house wherever they decided to set up their new home. Since they could afford it, he also felt it was a good idea to keep the house in Marchester. He also said that if I were to continue living there it would be good for the security of the place.

In the light of this it was decided to hold a family conference to thrash out the details of what would be the best arrangements for me if I was to stay behind when mum married and moved away. David was very supportive of the idea that I should do a work placement if I achieved the A Levels I expected. This he said would create a firm foundation for my future career within the firm.

After much discussion a compromised decision was reached. To all intents and purposes I would be staying at David and Ruth's place and would certainly be there at the weekends if we were not at my mum's. But if for a good bit of the time, Rebecca and I spent time at our house then hopefully this would not arouse too much comment.

Ruth wanted us to look a bit further ahead. She suggested that this would be a good test of our relationship and if we were still of the same mind next year when Rebecca entered the final year at high school and sat her A levels, then despite our youth, we should be allowed to become engaged. None of the others raised any objection to this and then David took it one step further. He declared that if we went to University as an engaged couple he would purchase a flat wherever the University was situated. Since we would then be well away from the prying eyes of our local community we could live together with impunity'

These decisions went much further than Rebecca and I had hoped for and we were over the moon about the support we had received from our parents. We realised that they were treating us like responsible adults and we were both determined that we would not do anything that would betray their trust. When the conference was drawing to an end I stood up and thanked everyone for their support and trust. I told them that Rebecca and I would behave in a way that showed we appreciated all that they were doing for us and that we would do our very best not to let them down in any way.

When it was over, we all sat down to dinner and everyone was in high spirits. It seemed they were glad that we had taken the initiative which led to this discussion. They were also in high spirits because they had been able to play a part in mapping out our future and it seemed to be progressing smoothly and to everyone's satisfaction. The dinner proved to be a happy occasion for us and for both our families.

Mary

It wasn't exactly a shock to me when Rory approached me to discuss his future in the light of my marriage to Phil. At the back of my mind I knew something like this was going to happen. Phil came home for the family meeting and was at the discussion about our future plans for Rory and Rebecca. Afterwards I was able to talk to him about the way things had gone. He knew I would be feeling some degree of pain at being separated from my son and wanted to know if I was really ok about it.

"It has come as a bit of a shock" I told him. "I knew something like this was bound to happen but I had not let myself think about it."

"We are all being forced to think about it now," He said with a smile. "In the main it was up to you, David and Ruth to decide how we were going to proceed. It only affected me because it affected you, though I would have enjoyed having Rory with us as my step son. But I think the decisions we have made for them have been good ones; so how do you feel it?"

"Shell shocked," I told him, "Because in the last few months my life has been turned upside down. First there were Rory and Rebecca, then my job with Ruth, then your proposal and our forthcoming marriage. Now my son is preparing to leave home two years before I really expected it. Then there is the fact that we are going to be moving to a new place and my life is going to change again."

"It is going to be a big change for both of us," Phil declared. "But our new home will not be too far from here and we can come back for weekends and Rory and Rebecca have promised to come to us as often as they can"

"I know," I said, "And I am really happy that Rory's future looks good. I am also delighted that he has Rebecca and that I have you. I am not regretting anything Phil. I am pleased with the way my life is going and looking forward to the life we will have together."

"I am pleased to hear it," he replied with a grin.

He pulled me to my feet, put his arms around me and gave me a long and passionate kiss.

"Now as Rebecca and Rory are staying at David's tonight, and if all that food and wine has not made you too drowsy, I would like to show you how much I love you, and how pleased I am to have you as my fiancé and future wife" he told me.

I broke from his arms, took his hand and led him to the stairs to our bedroom.

"If anything my love, the wine at least has readied me for what you propose, so take me to bed, and make love to me."

"I am not one of those quibbling academics," he said with a joyful laugh, "But right now it seems to me that it is you who is currently taking me."

"That is a trivial point," I replied with a giggle, "but if you want to be precise and literally accurate. Then come with me and I will take you to bed and make love to you"

"That," He said, "Is the best idea of the night."

Rebecca

Rory and I were very pleased with the result of the discussion on our future. When we got to our room that night I tackled him and pushed him onto the bed and kissed him passionately. When we broke the kiss he looked at me and grinned,

"I take it you are pleased with the way the discussion went today?" He queried.

"Of course I am pleased. It looks if we are going to be able to live together on our own for a good part of the time," I told him. "Add to that the fact that our parents are paving the way for us to make this a permanent arrangement in the not too distant future makes things even better as far as I am concerned."

"You are right, we are very lucky. Not too many parents would be as accepting of what we are doing and encourage us to stay together the way ours are doing. Just think," He went on with a grin, "When I come home from the factory tired and weary after a hard day's work, I will have a beautiful, sexy young woman just waiting to soothe my fevered brow and relax my work worn body with her tender care."

I laughed at the picture he was painting and then decided to give him my own version of what could happen. I fixed him with what he called my evil stare,

"Dream on Buster," I said with a giggle, "You might come home to a girl who has been in school all day having a hard time listening to teachers droning on about things. So when you start complaining about being tired and weary she may decide that enough is enough and order you to drop your pants and gives you a good spanking so that you really have something, to complain about."

"I will bear that warning in mind my lady" "he said with a giggle, "And I will remember to do my duty and find out what kind of day you have had before I seek the solace of your tender care after my labours. In that way I may deflect your wrath and avoid the threatened pain."

"A wise decision!" I said.

At that we both fell into a fit of giggles, which I think was an expression of the euphoria we felt over the result of the discussions that had taken place.

Rory

Things seemed to be moving along swiftly as we studied harder for the forthcoming exams. At the same time plans for the wedding were moving rapidly ahead and my mother was getting more and more caught up in its arrangements ably assisted by Ruth. A date in September was finally fixed. The church was booked and David was to fulfil the role of best man while the role of Matron of honour fell to Ruth and Rebecca was asked to be a bridesmaid.

I had not thought about someone having to give my mum away as the church service required, so it was a great surprise when she asked me to perform this role which would usually have been done by the father of the bride. I readily agreed to this.

June was a busy time for me as I had so many exams to sit doing both Standard Grades and A Levels, but eventually they were over and Rebecca and I breathed a sigh of relief. Unlike in an American school; here had no high school graduation ceremony; we merely had to wait for the date when our results would be sent to us through the post. The A Levels would arrive sometime around the middle of August and the Standard Grades later on in September. Thinking about this it suddenly dawned on me that should I get the results I expected in my A Levels, then my school days were over.

In the midst of all this turmoil, I had celebrated my sixteenth Birthday on the sixth of June. Like Rebecca's it was a low key affair as we were in the midst of the exams. Rebecca bought me a new road bike. It was an extremely expensive light weight racing model. She told me this would be my transport to and from work and would help me to keep fit. Ruth and David gave me an all singing and dancing mobile phone which did everything including internet access and an electronic diary. It was ideal for a busy young man gaining work experience they told me. Mum and Phil gave me a handsome sum of money in the shape of gift vouchers so that if I found that I needed any tools or any other kind of thing for my new working life then I would have the means to purchase them.

Everyone promised both Rebecca and I that we would have a family celebration once the exams were over in recognition that we had passed yet another milestone in our young lives. We both looked forward to this. When the exams ended it was no surprise to find that a table had been booked at Luccini's restaurant to host the occasion.

As well as our immediate family, the members of our committee for the disbursement of funds and quite a number of friends from Rebecca's side of the family had been invited. Marjorie and Kenny along with Jessie and her boyfriend Bill were also on the guest list. Her family had to hire another waitress for the evening as a result.

Rebecca and I had both requested that John, her dad's chauffeur and his wife should be added to the list. We felt he had played a big part in our lives since we met. His lively wit, his refusal to be obsequious or overawed by the fact that he worked for very wealthy and influential people, plus his unfailing patience as he was called out to deliver and then fetch us from various places in his evening hours meant that we looked on him as a friend rather than an employee."