Chapter 43

Those of you who don't remember England in the first three-quarters of the Twentieth Century won't have any idea just how quiet it could be early on a Sunday morning. Only in certain God-fearing areas of North Wales and the Western Isles of Scotland will you experience anything similar today.

Some corner shops would open for a few hours to sell milk, bread, sweets and newspapers, but anything else was almost impossible to find - even petrol stations were closed unless they were on a main road. The motorway network we now take for granted was under construction, and most people lived and worked locally. There was very little traffic on a Sunday morning, and most of it was going to or returning from church, and then later going to join relatives for Sunday Lunch.

Pubs tended not to do food in those days anyway, a lot of hotel dining rooms were only open to residents, and the normal butcher, baker and greengrocer type of shops were never open on a Sunday or Bank Holiday. There were no huge Superstores or out of town shopping centres, and the Do-it-yourself industry had yet to be born.

(Now, of course, with the almost complete relaxation of the Sunday trading laws, Sunday is just like any other day; in fact the shops seem even busier than the other days of the week as people go out in family groups. Even the Welsh pubs are now open on a Sunday, though not the Hebridean ones.)

Knowing that the Clifton shops would all be shut, we had therefore asked the twins to lay in some presents for their parents; a bottle of sherry for Mr Carter and some flowers and chocolates for his wife.

Yes, we knew that on Sundays you could quite often get cut flowers from a van sitting on the side of the road near a town's cemetery, but there was no guarantee of availability or of freshness, and we simply didn't want to take the chance.

(Someone had once told me a story of a chap forgetting to buy flowers for his mother-in-law when going for Sunday lunch, pinching a fresh bunch off a grave on the way, but not noticing until far too late the little label that said 'Grandad - greatly missed by all your grieving family'. Naturally, it was one of those 'my brother had a mate whose cousin... ' stories, but I could imagine it happening.)

There was no taxi at the new Parkway rank, and we had to walk what seemed like half-way to Filton before we saw one cruising back towards the station, and we hailed it. It got us to Clifton in good time, and we sat on a bench overlooking the Gorge until just before midday, nervously chatting and holding hands.

The sun was shining, and there were a number of people out for a walk along the Gorge and the Downs, with assorted dogs, children and bicycles. It was a scene of Bank Holiday weekend domestic tranquility, and I hoped that we weren't about to spoil the general peacefulness by upsetting the twins' parents.

Julie nudged me.

"It's twelve o'clock!"

We got up from the bench, and Julie checked yet again that my tie was still done up properly. I patted down the suit to check that the pocket flaps were in the correct place, and looked at her for approval.

I resisted the temptation to hold her hand - after all, here in Bristol she was Adrian's girlfriend. We started walking down Caledonia Place.

"Oh well, 'Once More Unto The Breach, Dear Friends!', I think."

"Oooh, you are showing off today! Quoting Shakespeare!"

"Yup, King Henry - 'Cry God For Harry'!"

"Which one?"

"Errrrr. Not the Eighth, he had all those wives. Not the Seventh - so the Sixth?"

"Nice try darling, but completely wrong. Henry the Fifth, Act Three."

"I was only one out!"

"A miss is as good as a mile?"

I laughed, acknowledging defeat.

We were now at the street door, and Julie pressed the bell.

We heard the sound of shoes on the stone staircase, and Adrian opened the door to us.

"Great to see you! Thanks for coming over! Did you bring those for Mum? She'll love them!"

His voice was saying one thing, his hand was pointing us to the covered space under the stairs where they kept their bikes. I tiptoed over and picked up the presents for his parents, and quietly rejoined them as they ascended the stairs.

The twins' parents were waiting by the fireplace in the living room; Sheila came forward from the kitchen alcove to join us, and we were introduced. Mr and Mrs Carter seemed several years older than my parents, which would make them a similar age to Julie's. They were very neatly dressed, and I was very glad that I had taken the trouble to wear a suit, even if it was only borrowed from Malcolm.

I took care to stand up tall with my shoulders back, give them both a firm hand-shake, and look them straight in the eyes; Dad had taught us how to make the best first impression we could.

"Delighted to meet you at last, Mrs Carter!"

"And you too, Jonathan. And thank you for the flowers and chocolates! Sheila and Adrian have told us a lot about both of you, and how kind you were to them when they visited Sian in Cardiff last summer."

I tried not to let any shock show in my face. I was desperately hoping that she had no idea JUST how kind we had been to them.

The twins had visited us with the main intention of losing their virginities before they went to University, and apart from encouraging them to share each others first time, all Julie, Vee, Sian and I had really done for them was to thoroughly test everyones sexual stamina once the twins had. I had been surprised that any of us managed to walk to the railway station to see them off on the Tuesday after four passion-filled days and nights.

Luckily, she took my silence as modesty.

"Yes, we thought it was wonderful of you to take the trouble to show them around Cardiff and the University; Sheila was raving about the art collection at the Museum when she got home. I do believe that visiting you all gave them the confidence to come to Bristol, because they realised that they could survive away from home."

"Err, it was a real pleasure to show them around, no trouble at all! We discovered that they were great fun, so we kept in touch."

"Mum, don't embarrass poor Jon!"

"And you, Juliet, it was so kind of you to help them decorate the flat during your holidays! Sheila told us how useful it was having an extra pair of hands, and being able to discuss the decoration with someone else."

"Oh no, I really enjoyed it too, Mrs Carter! It was most satisfying clearing out the old mess and making the flat such a bright and cheery place. Sheila and I became good friends chatting at night, and Adrian was very nice about us keeping him awake!"

(Thank the Lord that my Julie was so quick witted! If she was referring to the week when she and the twins were having threesomes in between painting and wallpapering, they most certainly had been keeping Adrian awake - until he could perform no more!)

Julie and I exchanged a quick glance and the meaning was clear - the twins had clearly missed out certain facts when reporting to their parents, so we would have to be on our toes if we weren't to drop them in it. In more modern parlance, they had clearly been economical with the truth, and they hadn't mentioned that Jen and I had been present at that time.

"And then they were kind enough to invite us both over for that Medical School Dinner, and we all realised that we got on very well and enjoyed seeing each other."

Phew! That was the story that we had previously agreed put forward. I just hoped that it stuck. It was a much better starting place than our illicit meetings of the summer holidays.

"Oh yes, I nearly forgot - Sian sends her love, and hopes that she'll see you before too long."

Sheila interrupted us from the kitchen corner.

"I'm just putting the peas on - so please move to the table."

Julie and I quickly excused ourselves to wash our hands after the journey; she went first while I complimented Mr Carter on having found his children such a great flat.

"Clifton's a very pleasant part of town, really coming back into fashion by the look of it. I told my father that you had bought a place because the twins would be here for five years, and he reckoned that it was a smart move. He's still muttering about how much Reading charges for my sister to live in Hall!"

Julie emerged, and with a word of explanation, I went and washed my face and hands. I noticed with amusement that the extra-large bath sheets were missing, and only ordinary sized towels were hung on the rail. Sheila and I had very much enjoyed being able to dry both bodies on one towel at the same time, even if we had got a little distracted...

I got back to the living room to find that the twins had given their parents the end chairs, and were sitting next to us. Sheila gave my thigh a quick squeeze under the table as she sat down next to me, which encouraged me no end.

Sheila had prepared a boiled chicken with white sauce, onions, boiled new potatoes and peas. It was easy to serve, Adrian brought the plates to the table, and we were soon all tucking in.

"Thanks, Sheila, this is a real treat!"

"A pleasure! Glad you could come over and meet Mum and Dad!"

We all raised our glass of wine to our hostess and cook. She glowed with pleasure.

Mrs Carter started talking to us again.

"So, Juliet, what book are you reading at the moment?"

Julie giggled.

"You have to remember that I'm reading English, so the fact that I'm juggling 'Sir Gawaine and the Green Knight' and 'Grapes of Wrath' shouldn't count against me. The last book I read just for pleasure was a Thomas Hardy, 'Far From the Madding Crowd' which was written exactly a hundred years ago."

"Oh yes, I know it well. Gabriel Oak and Bathsheba Everdene?"

"Exactly! Hardy really wrote well describing the Wessex of the day and the social attitudes; I've read most of his books."

"Did you see the film?"

"I haven't - that was about four or five years ago, wasn't it?"

"Yes, I think so, maybe a little bit longer. It was a good film, and pretty faithful to the book. You should go and see it if you ever get the chance."

Sheila collected the empty plates; I tried to help but was told to stay seated by Adrian.

"And how about you, Jonathan, what's on your bedside table at the moment?"

I probably blushed.

"Nothing quite as serious. I'm currently reading a paper on 'Chirality as a tool to test the purity of hydrocarbon distillates' which is for an assignment I've got, but as lighter reading I've got an Alistair McLean novel going; I find that if my head is still spinning around polarised light filters I don't get off to sleep very quickly!"

That didn't get the same enthusiastic reception from Sheila's mother, but it gave her father the chance to ask another question.

"The twins say that you are hoping to work for ICI when you graduate, Jonathan?"

"That's right; they are one of the major employers of chemistry graduates, and if I manage to get a good degree they may well help me study for a doctorate doing some research for them. Several of this year's graduates have been offered jobs with them, and our professor speaks very highly of their commitment to research and development."

"And is career progression good with them?"

"Funnily enough, Prof was complaining that they take some of his best chemists and turn them into managers; I think he takes it as a back-handed compliment on the quality of the course at Cardiff. There's certainly the opportunity to move into the commercial side rather than just do research, and I'd like to do that if I get a chance."

"Do they pay well?"

"It's not a bad salary to start with, not enough to get married on, but once you're established, it's pretty fair."

Mrs Carter coughed, the type of meaningful cough that meant she wanted her husband to do something.

"Jonathan, I hope that your intentions towards our daughter are strictly honourable?"

I nearly laughed out loud; although Sian had told me that her uncle was capable of uttering such strange old-fashioned epithets, I hadn't thought that he would actually do it!

By dint of pinching my thigh with my fingers, I managed to keep the smile off my face and out of my voice. But I didn't dare look at any of the others in case they set me off laughing!

"I'm not quite sure exactly what you mean by that, sir, but I certainly would never hurt Sheila; she's a lovely girl and I hope that we'll always be friends. But we both realise that we are still very young; I'm going to have been working for two years before she qualifies, and we may drift apart as we grow up. I might have to work abroad, and I wouldn't expect Sheila to wait for me and put her own career on hold. We would be very silly to tie ourselves up with an engagement or getting married before Sheila finishes here in Bristol, and I think that we shall just have to see how our relationship goes."

There was silence for a moment while he digested that statement. It clearly wasn't the answer he had anticipated.

But he had the decency to actually think about what I had said, and smiled at me as he responded.

"You know, Jonathan, that wasn't a bad answer! You've clearly been thinking hard about the future, and I'm impressed. Most people your age don't seem to have a thought beyond the next Friday night!"

"My parents talked to us about the long term when we decided that we wanted to take the chance to go to university; they never had that opportunity just after the War, and as part of that discussion, they also pointed out people we knew who had got married early, and were thus unable to do something different with their lives."

"That was one of our worst fears when we first heard that Sheila had a boyfriend. Pamela and I both worked for a while before we met, and I was twenty-eight when we got married. It would be a waste of an expensive education if Sheila gets married before she completes her course, and we're delighted that neither of you want to rush into anything."