Fifteen Going on Grown Up

by Stephanie M. Turner

  “So that’s all of it”

  Wes said turning his palms face up and sighing.

  “Wow mate, that’s one heck of a big thing to keep to yourself.”

  Gregg announced.

  “Yeah, sounds like this bird was a real bitch.”

  Rhys told him. Hally looked at Corrinne and Clia and together they smiled. She sensed they understood as she did, that it was very important to Wes that his friends didn’t rebuke or chastise him for keeping it from them or offer any opinion about him being a father. Hally believed she was as relieved by this as Wes obviously was, from the smiles and looks he and the other two boys were giving each other. She thought this could very well bring them all closer together.

  Gregg was about to unwrap the DVD when Corrinne put out a hand to stop him. He looked at her a question in his eyes and she giggled. Taking the disc from him she laid it to one side but started pulling the snacks from the bag.

  “Hally wants us to talk about her birthday.”

  She said pulling a bag of tortilla chips open.

  “So we’re not going to watch the film then?”

  Gregg asked whipping the packet from her. She giggled again and pulled them back out of his hand.

  “Maybe, but Hally’s birthday is more important.”

  The others laughed at this little interchange between them. Hally and Clia knowing full well that Corrinne would win the packet of tortillas from Gregg. They were right and once Corrinne had complete control of the packet she then passed it around to all of them leaving Gregg until last. He took a handful with a loud ‘Humph’ and they all laughed again.

  “So what’s happening on your birthday then?”

  Wes asked, so Hally explained her idea.

  They all agreed that Hally’s idea of a barbeque was a very good one. Hally extended invitations to include Gregg and Rhys’ families too which were met with enthusiasm. Gregg had two brothers one thirteen years old and one ten. Rhys had twin younger sisters a year younger than Nathan so with Ellie there would be a few children to run around the garden and play with. Wes had no doubts that his parents would willingly take part in Hally’s birthday celebrations.

  “They really want to talk to you themselves about Ellie.”

  He told her as they were all putting together plans and ideas for the barbeque. Hally’s nerves jolted but she had expected this.

  “You’ll be with me though won’t you?”

  She asked and he told her he would be right by her side. This comforted her and she leaned into him lovingly.

  “So DVD right?”

  Gregg said rubbing his hands together. They all laughed and agreed it was time to settle down to the movie.

  Late Sunday morning Hally sat in the kitchen with her family, including Granddad. Dad had gone round and picked him up early so they could all have breakfast together. Nathan didn’t have a football match on so it looked like being a normal Sunday. The main difference being that Granddad had to be told about Wes and Ellie. Gratefully mum did the telling relieving Hally of this difficult task. Now they sat at the table, tea and biscuits in front of them. Nathan was happily playing in the garden making his toys act out some daring feats in his sand box.

  “Well I’m not as shocked as you thought I would be.”

  Granddad stated after mum finished telling him. Hally, mum and dad looked at him in surprise.

  “What do you mean dad?”

  Mum asked. Granddad gave her his lovely gentle smile.

  “Your mum had some inkling that the boy had some secret. Don’t ask me how she knew; maybe her illness gave her some sort of sixth sense, all I know is she said to me a few times. ‘Will watch out for our Hally when I’m gone. Wes is a lovely lad but he’s keeping something from her.’ Well I didn’t want to say anything, you know in case she was wrong.”

  He gave a little shrug and looked at each member of his family.

  “She said something like that to me too.”

  Hally said barely above a whisper and very close to tears. Mum covered her hand and squeezed it gently.

  “It’s ok baby, really. You couldn’t possibly know before Wes told you.”

  Hally looked down at the biscuit she was holding.

  “I know, but I should have taken notice of her and asked him sooner. I mean there were things I was determined to ask him about, like his exams but I kept putting it off.”

  Mum gave her hand a little shake.

  “Hally don’t put so much onto yourself. It was Wes’ responsibility, and just because mum had a feeling about something doesn’t mean you let her down by not acting on it.”

  Hally still felt wretched, and then Granddad spoke out.

  “My angel, if you are going to beat yourself up about this then give me a couple of punches too because I didn’t do anything about it either. I just let it go, partly because I didn’t want to interfere with you and your boyfriend, and partly because I just didn’t know how to go about it. I suppose I should have talked to your parents, but you were happy, I didn’t want to do anything to disrupt that.”

  Hally stood up and moved to her Granddad’s side. She put her arms around him and hugged him tightly. In her heart of hearts she knew she was being too hard on herself, but more than anything she didn’t want Granddad to feel he had let her down, he was the most caring loving person in the world.

  “Ok Granddad, let’s have a punch up together.”

  He laughed as they play threw punches at each other like two very untrained boxers.

  The front doorbell chimed making everyone jump a little. It was very rare that anyone used the front door as everyone they knew came round the back. Only the postman and strangers used the front. Mum got up and went to answer the door and seemed to be gone for quite a while. Just as dad was about to go and see where she had got to, she came back into the kitchen followed by Wes, his parents and Ellie. Hally looked at him in surprise.

  “Mum and dad thought it would be rude to come round the back.”

  He stated simply and quietly. Dad stood up offering his hand to Wes’ parents and introductions were made. Immediately Ellie became the centre of everyone’s attention and Wes hoisted her up into his arms as she began an indecipherable gabble only he and his parents seemed to understand.

  “Ok, it’s in the bag.”

  He told her giving her a peck as Kate passed a beaker filled with juice which the toddler quickly slurped on.

  “How is she?”

  Mum asked concernedly. Before Wes could reply Kate interjected.

  “She’s alright. Her temperature has gone right back to normal considering how high it was Friday. The doctor’s say it was some sort of nasty virus that travelled through her quickly. We thought it would be ok to bring her out today because we’re not going anywhere else.”

  Mum smiled nodding, as a mother herself she fully understood.

  “So, would you like some tea?”

  Dad asked as the lull in conversation created a tension that was almost visible. Wes’ parents smiled, relief spreading across their faces.

  “Hally, why don’t you take everyone through to the lounge and your dad and I will get some drinks and make sure Nathan’s alright.”

  Hally led the way and offered seats to Michael and Kate. She switched the television off which had been playing to itself, Nathan having left it on when he decided the garden was a better place to be. Wes lowered Ellie to the floor and Kate pulled several toys from the bag she had been carrying. The toddler seemed content to plonk down, grabbing toys and discarding her beaker. Wes stayed close to Ellie. Hally felt very uncomfortable, even though Granddad was with her she desperately wished her mum and dad would hurry up. As if her thoughts had summoned them they both came in dad carrying a tray. Nathan was with them, but didn’t look too pleased about it. However, he behaved well and sat on the floor near Ellie and began showing her his action toys.

  “We wanted to come round and apologise to Hally.”

  Kate said as mum passed ar
ound tea cups. Hally looked up in surprise but didn’t speak and Kate went on.

  “You see, at first we thought it was best she didn’t know about Ellie, well she’s young and we didn’t know if it would…last…between her and Wes.”

  She took a sip of tea obviously embarrassed by her own words.

  “Then when they had been together for some time we were worried that if she knew she would break up with him.”

  Her face flushed a deeper red. Hally felt indignant that they had placed little trust in her but remained silent with no outward signs of her feelings.

  “Then when Wes wanted us to meet Hally we wanted him to explain, but he lost his nerve and though we were not happy about it we thought we should leave him to decide when. Then it just seemed to go on and on. We had a few arguments about it (Hally glanced at Wes and he looked down) we knew Hally had a right to know. But he still kept putting it off and then when Ellie became ill, well it all had to come out then.”

  She stopped and finished drinking her tea. Wes looked so miserable, Hally couldn’t bear to see him so down, wouldn’t let him feel so bad about not telling her sooner. She sat down next to him and put her arm through his.

  “Thanks Kate, but it’s alright. Wes knows he should have told me sooner but he was scared how I would take it. (Wes looked at her gratefully and lovingly) But now it’s out in the open and we have really talked about all of it, I don’t blame him. It was really hard for him, not something you can just throw into a conversation whilst watching television.”

  Mum and dad looked at her with soft smiles and granddad silently mouthed ‘Well done’ with a smile that told her he was very proud of her. Wes took her hand and leaned towards her and kissed her cheek. His parents both relaxed, visibly dropping tense shoulders. Michael then spoke.

  “Hally you are a very lovely young woman. I say that because you show a maturity most girls your age haven’t got a clue about. We are truly sorry for the hurt and upset this has caused you and your family and hope we can all be good friends.”

  Dad who was still standing replied.

  “Well you’re right about Hally and I think I speak for her and the rest of our family when I say we would be glad to be friends.”

  Everyone smiled with obvious relief. Then mum said.

  “Actually, we are planning Hally’s birthday. She wants a barbeque and would like you to come, so?”

  Kate looked at her husband and they both nodded and she replied.

  “Thank you we’ll look forward to that.”

  More tea was made and a fresh plate of biscuits brought through. Nathan had given up showing Ellie his toys as she had taken little interest in them, finding handing out and taking back her own toys to everyone much more fun. So he settled himself down and carried on playing by himself. Wes had whispered thanks to Hally as their parents and Granddad chatted about various things. She smiled at him feeling as though she were the elder of them. Then they chatted together quietly about nothing in particular. Mum invited Wes and his parents to Sunday dinner and when they agreed she asked Hally to help her in the kitchen. Hally immediately knew this was a ploy to get her on her own as she knew her mother was very adept at putting together a meal for unexpected guests by herself.

  “What?”

  She asked when she was in the kitchen. Mum grinned at her.

  “Don’t worry. I just wanted to tell you how proud I am of you. You not only handled that very well, you gave Wes support when he badly needed it and well, his mum was kind of passing the buck a bit too much onto him and you put a stop to that. Poor Wes, he looked terrible until you stepped in.”

  Hally hugged her mum.

  “So what do you want me to do?”

  She asked.

  “Nothing, just stay a bit so it won’t look obvious, but honestly baby, I have everything covered.”

  Hally giggled but insisted on peeling carrots, so they stood side by side preparing vegetables.

  Hally thought school might be awkward after the weekend until she realised that no one knew what had happened. She met up with Corrinne and Clia as usual and as they walked the route Hally told them all about the visit from Wes’ parents. With a smile she told them that Sunday dinner had gone very well with Wes commenting to Hally with a wink that she had done a good job helping her mum. He had known without being told that mum had just wanted to talk to her daughter and did not need her help at all. The girls were amused especially when she told them that Wes’ dad had assumed she had made the Yorkshire puddings after misunderstanding something Granddad said, and kept complimenting her.

  After registration and tutor group, Hally, Corrinne and Clia made their way to their lesson which was science. The teacher had a pile of papers on his desk and after the students settled down explained they were going to look at some sample exam papers in preparation for their upcoming GCSEs. Hally found the lesson useful but unnerving. It suddenly dawned on her that her exams were now very close, really only a few weeks away; and although they had begun revision after Christmas, then they had seemed a long way off, now they seemed extremely close.

  During break with Corrinne and Clia, Hally discussed her fears with her friends. It was some comfort to her to find they were as nervous as she was. So when break finished and she and Clia headed for their Maths lesson and Corrinne to hers she was already feeling more relaxed. From then on the pattern was set and all the teachers had a similar plan, to give the students as much practice as possible.

  As the weeks slipped by through April revision became almost the only thing on Hally’s mind. Wes too was studying hard for his final A levels and sometimes they spent evenings studying together. Most of this time was spent in silence as each was studying something different from the other and could therefore be of no help. Whereas revising with Corrinne and Clia was entirely different and reminded Hally of the previous year when they had revised for their mocks. This year was of course far more serious, but it was still very helpful to discuss questions with her two friends.

  Nights not studying, when she could spend time with Wes, Corrinne, Clia, Rhys and Gregg were few, but when they did get together they relaxed and enjoyed each other’s company. Hally’s parents had insisted that she take some time off as they believed too much time with her nose in a book would lead to overload and exhaustion. So she took their advice and treasured those times with her boyfriend and friends. She had a brief lull in her studies over the Easter break when mum and dad organised some fun time as a family and when she actually managed to spend some more time with Wes. However, all too soon the holiday was over and it was back to school and a timetable full of exam preparation.

  Hally awoke one Saturday morning suddenly realising that her birthday was exactly one week away. She went downstairs and met mum coming out of the utility room. Mum made tea and put the mug down in front of her daughter.

  “You must have been worn out. It’s quite late for you.”

  She said. Hally looked at the clock and saw it was ten thirty, she never slept this late even at the weekends. She liked to get up and have a full day believing she was missing out on part of her life. Her dad had laughed many times and told her that in a year or two she would probably change and would stay in bed until late in the afternoon like most teenagers. Hally had huffed this off exclaiming she would never be like that. But at that moment she wondered if her dad was indeed right. Then she shook off the feeling telling herself that she was just tired from all the school work. She stood up to go back upstairs to get ready and mum said.

  “Your dad and I are going to the supermarket in a while. I’m going to get some of the frozen stuff for next weekend. Is there anything special you want? I mean we are getting all the fresh meat next Saturday from the butcher it’s just frozen today.”

  Hally thought for a moment then grinned.

  “Raspberry pavlova, chocolate gateaux and chocolate fudge cake.”

  She said. Mum laughed.

  “Already on the list.”

  Hal
ly giggled as she turned towards the door.

  “You know me far too well mummy.”

  The week flew by and before Hally knew it her birthday had arrived. She woke very early and climbing out of bed she slipped on her dressing gown and slippers and quietly moved over to the window. She pulled the cord lifting the blinds and beautiful bright early May sunshine flooded her room. She thought she heard a sound behind her and glanced over her shoulder. Of course she was alone, but as the sun bounced off the picture of the baby and the angels she felt sure she had seen an angel lean over the baby and kiss her. Hally wasn’t afraid, part of her believed it was a trick of the light; but another part of her believed her Gran had been there with her in that brief moment and it gave her a warm loving secure feeling.

  Looking down into the garden Hally watched birds hop about the lawn pecking at things she couldn’t see. There was a pair of tiny Bluetits hanging upside down on a feeder and the bird table was busy with sparrows and starlings fighting for food. She smiled to herself finding the action in the garden very entertaining. Then something must have disturbed them because all of the birds suddenly took flight and leaning forward slightly so she could see more, Hally saw her dad removing the cover from the barbeque, a bucket of water by his side. He was getting set up for her birthday celebration.

  Showered and dressed, Hally made her way downstairs and found her mum in the kitchen. She glanced at the clock and saw it was too early for her brother to be up and thought her mum was trying to get some things prepared before he arose from bed. Hally said good morning and switched the kettle on to make tea. The back door was open and mild spring air came into the kitchen. Hally could hear dad whistling, smiling because there was no real tune and thought he was just competing with the birds.

  “What are you smiling at?”

  Mum asked.

  “Dad, I think he’s trying to out whistle the birds.”