Tim Walker’s Novel 4

In a tongue in cheek side story, the news presenter was warning viewers to be aware that the technology they’ve relied on for years may self destruct, come the turn of the millennium; this was followed by some pompous chortling, before the lead anchor took over to recapitulate the top news story.

“Following an ongoing, deeply unsettling, trend, North Korea has announced it is further increasing its armament, claiming the threat of attack from communist foes, China, is an ever-present reality.

“This has been Michael Robertson with Three News, wishing you all the best for a happy, safe and prosperous new millennium, goodnight.”

 

Dave and Beth were a typical Kiwi couple; young, full of life and in love. Both gainfully employed with the same company, theirs was a love story of fairy tales, rendering the nine year age difference between them quite irrelevant. Beth had been an employee with NZ Airlines for some years before Dave had come along, but the first time their eyes had met, they’d both known they were destined to be together. As a commercial pilot Dave worked some unusual hours which might have threatened to strain their love, although as an airhostess for the same company, he and Beth frequently shared a work space anyway. Marriage was an avenue that Beth was keen to take and while Dave was certainly on board with the commitment juggernaut, his time constraints were simply too demanding. They had even talked about children, another avenue that Beth desperately wanted to traverse, but with both sides of the partnership so engrossed in their work, Beth having been an employee with NZ Airlines now for a shade over ten years, having been made aware of the lengths to which new parents are expected to go for their children, the sacrifices they would be expected to make, they were mutually concerned that they would perhaps lack the necessary level of devotion and dedication to a newborn infant.

They settled upon a compromise. They would ultimately let fate decide. They would continue to try for a baby. If Beth fell pregnant she grudgingly agreed to resign from her vocation and become a stay-at-home mum, allowing Dave to become the sole provider. Until then they would go about their working lives as usual, content with the knowledge that the future was in the hands of destiny. Admittedly the plan didn’t actually change anything, but just the knowledge that a plan was in action was enough to put Beth’s mind at ease.

Two years passed. While their relationship was still strong and both sides of the aforementioned union were still very happy in their work, Beth was beginning to worry again. She was now 33 years’ old and although it really made no difference that Dave was 42, her biological clock was at risk of losing its ability to hold time. Beth voiced these fears to her life partner who could understand her plight; although the notion of having kids wasn’t salient on Dave’s to-do list, should the opportunity present itself, nor was he totally against the idea – the following evening he arranged an appointment with a specialist to have a fertility test.

Beth was very pleased with herself: she had shown the courage to stand up and make her needs known; she was just fortunate she had such a great man to support her. She thought back to her first year with NZ Airlines and how her innate diffidence almost caused her to walk out the door – of the airport not the plane – on her very first day. It was only that nice man, who had actually seemed really nasty to start with, who had helped her through it. He had shown her that she didn’t always need to be apologising for her actions and that her needs were just as important as anyone else’s. She thought then of the child he had with him; how he hadn’t really seemed like much of a father at all and now that she thought of it, why was that baby Asian when he was so clearly not? That’s right, his wife had been Asian. Beth thought about how much she would like a cute little Asian baby just like the one on the plane all those years ago. She wondered how that kid’s life had turned out; what he might be doing now – how old would he be by now? Of course, if that was twelve years ago, he’d be twelve and a bit. What was his name? She tried to recall. No, memory recall had never been Beth’s strong suit.

She scanned the results with horror. It couldn’t be. How could it be? He was a fit, healthy man. Maybe a little overweight, sure, but what 42-year-old man wasn’t?

“I’m sorry, baby girl, I know how much you had your heart set on kids.”

Beth had broken down and was sobbing too much to speak.

“Look, Beth, honey, I’ll understand if you want to move on – find someone else.”

Her expression suddenly became hysterical: “What?! Why would I move on? Do you want to move on? Have I done something to annoy you? Why would you say -”

“Hey, hey, Bethany, Bethany, calm down. Of course I don’t want to leave you, you’re my sweet little baby girl, but I know how badly you want children, and according to this,” Dave angrily snatched back the letter, “I can’t have children, so if you want to find a man who can, baby girl, I will understand.”

Beth was trembling. Her face was flushed. Her typically smooth hair was dishevelled, thrust forward over her eyes. She was trying to speak but words evaded her. Dave pulled her face into his chest while she wept.

After a long while she gazed up at him, her face red and puffy, her make up a mess; the whites of her usually clear eyes streaked with thick traces of red. “No,” was all she said.

 

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