Authors: Pamela Fudge
‘Come
here,’
he
said,
pulling
me
close.
‘We’re
doing
everything
we
can,
sweetheart
–
in
and
out
of
the
bedroom.
Tell
you
what,
I
can
always
go
back
to
the
doctor
and
discuss
just
how
much
of
an
effect
my
low
sperm
count
actually
has
on
our
chances
of
conceiving.’
‘No,’
I
said,
knowing
it
was
the
last
thing
either
of
us
wanted
–
each
for
our
own
reasons.
Then
realising
how
sharply
the
word
had
come
out,
I
said
in
a
softer
tone,
‘No,
love,
we’ll
only
be
given
a
lot
of
the
same
advice
as
we’ve
already
obtained
from
the
Internet.
I’m
just
being
silly.
Lots
of
couples
take
a
while
to
conceive.’
‘Right,’
Jon
agreed,
looking
reassured
I
thought.
He
obviously
still
had
an
aversion
to
having
his
fertility
called
into
question
by
the
medical
fraternity,
just
as
he
had
when
we
were
trying
for
a
child
the
first
time
around.
The
difference
this
time
was
that
then
he
had
taken
the
slur
on
his
masculinity
very
personally
and
refused
to
discuss
it
even
with
me,
at
least
this
time
he
was
willing
to
work
with
me
on
improving
our
chances
of
a
pregnancy
and
I
loved
him
for
that.
‘Tell
you
what,’
I
suggested,
trying
to
lighten
a
mood
of
my
own
making,
‘let’s
do
some
fun
family
things
together
while
we’re
working
on
getting
a
baby.
It
won’t
be
long
now
before
Will’s
back
at
school
and
then
it
will
be
homework
and
early
nights
all
the
way,
best
make
the
most
of
it
while
he
can
have
a
late
night
now
and
again
without
doing
any
harm.’
‘We
did
promise
him
we’d
take
him
to
a
show,’
Jon
remembered.
‘Instead
of
driving
up,
though,
let’s
go
up
on
the
train
–
he’ll
absolutely
love
that
–
we
can
do
a
matinee
and
come
back
the
same
day.’
‘Oh,
but
Tina...,’
I
began.
‘...won’t
want
us
pitching
up
at
short
notice
–
even
though
she’ll
pretend
that
it’s
fine,’
he
said
with
thoughtful
truth.
‘We
can’t
keep
treating
their
house
like
a
hotel.
I
might
give
Calum
a
ring
though,
because
he
has
great
connections
when
it
comes
to
getting
tickets
at
short
notice.’
Of
course,
it
had
to
be
The Lion King
.
Jon
and
I
had
no
doubt
about
that
and
neither
had
Calum
when
they
discussed
him
booking
the
tickets
for
us
through
his
contacts.
It
was
William’s
favourite
of
all
the
Disney
films
and
we
had
all
watched
it
countless
times
on
DVD
–
to
the
point
where
Will
could
practically
quote
the
dialogue
word
for
word.
‘We’d
come
with
you,’
Calum
said,
and
Jon
said
he
did
actually
sound
regretful,
‘but
I’ll
be
in
America
with
Leanne
on
a
book
tour,
and
Tina
has
a
celebrity
event
to
cater
for.
If
all
goes
as
planned
it
will
do
her
company
no
harm
at
all,
so
she’s
throwing
herself
into
the
whole
thing
with
even
more
than
her
usual
enthusiasm.
When
it’s
all
over
and
I’m
home,
we’d
love
to
take
up
your
offer
of
a
few
days
near
the
sea,
though.
That
will
be
just
what
we
need,
so
thank
you
both
for
the
offer.’
‘Absolutely
perfect,’
I
said
happily
when
Jon
repeated
this
word
for
word
back
to
me.
‘I
know
you
miss
having
Tina
close
by
and
on
tap,’
Jon
teased.
‘I’m
just
surprised
you
haven’t
tried
to
persuade
me
to
buy
the
house
next
door
to
them
in
London.’
I
screwed
my
nose
up
and
shook
my
head.
‘No,
I
wouldn’t
want
to
live
in
London
–
not
even
to
see
more
of
Tina.
She’d
be
too
busy
for
that
kind
of
close
friendship
now
anyway,
with
her
business
taking
off
the
way
it
has.
I
do
miss
her,
though.
Oh,
I
know
I
have
friends,
but
I
don’t
share
the
same
closeness
with
them
that
Tina
and
I
had.’
‘Well,
that’s
understandable.
You
went
through
a
tough
time
together.
There
you
were,
having
to
deal
with
me
behaving
like
a
chauvinistic
pig
after
we
were
told
that
I
had
a
low
sperm
count
and
I
absolutely
refused
to
accept
it
–
even
going
so
far
as
to
try
and
put
the
blame
on
you.
It’s
a
wonder
you
didn’t
leave
me
and,
looking
back,
I
wouldn’t
have
blamed
you
one
little
bit.
At
the
same
time
Tina
was
facing
that
huge
media
furore
when
it
came
out
that
she
had
a
teenage
daughter
by
Calum
-
just
as
he’d
become
engaged
to
a
well-known
celebrity.’