Chapter 7

They married the following May in the Wesleyan Chapel that Gwen’s family attended, and they took over the one hotel in the area for the weekend. Tom, David’s brother, was Best Man and Siân, Gwen’s sister, the only Bridesmaid.

Among the guests was Celia of course. Gwen had invited her after they had agreed it was only right since she was Gwen’s best friend, and David’s ex-partner. Gwen thoughtfully paired her off with Alex in the invitation. As usual, Celia made a big impression on the males in Gwen’s family; she was still a devastating beauty.

There was a party in the hotel that evening, and it was then that Celia approached David. It was the first time he had seen her since that evening when he told her to leave, even though he had known she had often been at the house with Gwen.

“I wanted to wish you and Gwen every happiness,” she said, after kissing him on the cheek, “and to say that you and Gwen were right; Gary was not worth what I lost. I’ve grown up a lot since then, I think. It’s a consolation that Gwen got you; everyone can see you two are perfect together.”

David thanked her and the two of them talked of her life since they parted. David knew most of it, but thought Celia needed to say it to him. She had never settled since she and Gary split, but she was now much more choosy and was not dating at all. She seemed more balanced, quieter, subdued, as though a certain spark had been extinguished in her spirit.

Gwen and David settled down to ordinary married life. This was not difficult since they knew each other so well and had been living together for months before the wedding. They established those little routines which cement a loving relationship. They always awoke with a kiss and a ‘Good morning my love.’ Sometimes if there was time, they made love.

If either of them left the house, even for a short shopping trip, and certainly every morning when they left each other for their respective jobs, they kissed and told each other of their love. Every evening they kissed hello and every night they kissed good night. Their love was certainly something that never went without saying!

A year later, after an idyllic time together as a couple, Gwen gave birth to their son, Evan David, after Gwen’s father. She wanted a Welsh name for him but insisted that David’s name would come second. She promised that if they had another son he would have David’s father’s name, James.

It was a difficult birth after a trouble free pregnancy, which made it all the more shocking. Once Evan had made his appearance and had been cleaned up, he was put into David’s arms while the doctor and midwife worked on Gwen. She needed a lot of stitching.

David gazed into his little red wrinkled face and felt overcome, near tears. This was their son, fruit of their love, a new person.

Gwen took some time to recover from the birth, and it fell to David to take care of Evan. Under supervision from Gwen, who seemed to know instinctively how to do everything, he changed, bathed, cuddled and put the young lad down to sleep. Gwen fed him herself and that was another heart warming thing for David to watch, the love of a mother for her son as he fed from her own milk.

Evan was Christened in the chapel in Wales where they married. Glynn and Siân were Godparents. Glynn was newly married himself and Beth was the the early stages of her first pregnancy.

Evan was an easy child, placid and always smiling. The couple enjoyed all the moments of his growing up, his first step, first words, Christmas. Parents know how fulfilling these moments are, how happy and what good memories they provide.

Gwen had given up work to be a full time mother, and David received an unexpected promotion. Michael Simpson suffered a mild stroke and resigned to enjoy retirement. He recommended David to the Board, who appointed him to Michael’s position. David was now Chief Executive Officer in charge of the North West offices and factory, and only in his mid-thirties. So the family were now very comfortably off, even on one salary.

Two and a half years after Evan’s birth, they were looking forward to their second. Gwen was so happy, and again she did not suffer any of the usual morning sickness or discomforts of pregnancy. She would say she was born to be pregnant, and they would laugh about it and wonder how many more children there would be. She said she wanted six; David said he would be content with four. It was a happy time.

Christmas 2007 came with all the joys of having a small child to celebrate with. They visited both sets of parents, and Evan had the time of his life.

Gwen had a scan and the usual tests and so they knew they were going to have a girl. Gwen wanted to call her Bethan Cecilia.

It was their first major disagreement. David could not stand the thought of his daughter having the name of the woman who had effectively rejected him in favour of a richer, more glamorous life with a spoiled footballer.

Gwen reproached him, asking why he couldn’t let go of his resentment at Celia’s behaviour.

“I thought you’d made peace with her at our wedding,” she said, “It demeans me that I’m not able to heal these antagonistic feelings you have for Celia. Isn’t my love enough? She can’t hurt you – hasn’t hurt you since she left.”