A Lesser Evil - Lesley Pearse [16]
It was intolerable at home now. There was no let-up in her mother’s digs about Dan and her comments that Fifi was making the biggest mistake of her life. Mostly she managed to ignore her, but every now and then Fifi would retaliate, and it turned into a full-scale row. Each time it happened she was shocked by her mother’s venom; anyone overhearing her would assume that Dan was a serial criminal, or had done something unspeakable to Clara. The only way to avoid these scenes was to stay out as much as possible.
All through this summer she had lived for the time spent with Dan, yet happy as they were together, the strain of knowing she’d have to go back home at night often spoiled the good times. Fifi had used all her ingenuity to find things to do together at the weekends that didn’t cost much – picnics, long walks, a day trip to Weston-super-Mare or Bath. But when the weather was bad they were still stuck with pubs or the cinema.
Now it was raining again, here they were in a sopping-wet wood, and once more she was hiding what was really going on to spare Dan’s feelings. She had cut herself off from her friends and her family because she loved him. But she didn’t think she could live this way much longer.
‘Give me a kiss then, I’ll cheer you up,’ he said, tilting her face up to his.
As always when Dan kissed her, Fifi was immediately aroused, and as his hands slid up beneath her blouse, groping for her bra fastening, she found herself arching against him, wanting the thrill of his touch. But she also knew what came with it; they became more and more excited, and when she was forced to back away, they were both left with a feeling of let-down.
‘Don’t, Dan,’ she murmured, pushing his hands away from her breasts, but remaining glued to him.
‘I’m only human, Fifi,’ he said with a sigh. ‘I can’t think about anything else but touching you.’
Fifi wriggled away from him and got up from the ground, shaking off the damp leaves stuck to her skirt.
‘What are we going to do?’ she asked angrily. ‘We spend all our time wandering around with nowhere to go. It’s going to get even worse when winter comes. Couldn’t we just get married and be done with it all?’
Dan got up and came up behind her, putting his arms around her waist and kissing the back of her neck. ‘We could, but what about your parents?’
‘I really don’t care what they think any more,’ Fifi sighed. The truth was that she felt she hated her mother now, but she couldn’t bring herself to admit it openly. ‘It’s my life; I should be able to marry anyone I want. If they can’t be happy with that, then there’s something wrong with them.’
‘We could go to the registry office and book a date,’ Dan said. ‘Maybe if you just told them when it was, they’d come round?’
Fifi shook her head. ‘I could imagine my mum locking me in the bedroom on the day. If we were to do it, it would have to be in secret and we’d tell them afterwards.’
Even in her most desperate moments, this option had never presented itself, but the moment she’d said the words, she suddenly realized it was the answer to everything. She turned in Dan’s arms, took his face between her two hands and smiled. ‘Let’s do it! What’s to stop us? As soon as we’ve booked it – I think you have to give three weeks’ notice – we could find a flat for us ready to move in afterwards.’ All at once she was so excited that ideas came spilling out. ‘Wouldn’t it be lovely to have a home of our own? Me cooking for you, you doing the place up. We wouldn’t waste so much money on going out for meals and drinks, we’d be snug as bugs all through the winter!’
Her excitement was infectious and Dan caught it. ‘I can’t think of anything better than waking up with you in the morning and coming home again