Blame Abba Chapter 4

I didn't hear anything but I could imagine the looks of concern on Mum and Dad's faces. Jacqui's tone suggested nothing was wrong really but she had something important to say, and really needed to say it to Mum first. I did hear Dad go out again.

"Mum, you remember when I told you about me and Mary. How you said you were happy to accept it if I was happy. How you said you wanted us to be happy, Don and I, how you could accept any changes like that?"

"Is anything really wrong, Jacqui?" I heard Mum say. "Where's Don?"

"Mum, I want you to meet someone."

Jacqui came through into the dining room. I was nervous. Very nervous. Hell, of course I was very nervous.

But I was also ready. Very ready. I had dressed down a little. I still wanted to look good but obviously not to shock my parents. Not to shock them?! This was going to be a big enough surprise anyway. When I had last seen them at the airport I had been wearing a shirt and tie and my suede jacket. I had been on my way to a date in Brum with a girl called Gemma, a rather nice brunette who had turned up to watch her brother play football and who I had got on very well with in the pub afterwards.

And now? In truth I probably looked more like Gemma than like Don. My white sweater was quite tight, showing my figure, not showing it off but definitely showing it. My skirt was short-ish above the knee and my legs were visible in black tights and 3" court shoes with an ankle strap. The makeup was very carefully done. Jacqui had insisted on doing that for me, to emphasise my femininity without looking TOO outrageous.

My nails were a decent length by then after letting them grow for several weeks, and a deep pink colour, obviously to match my lipstick. I stood up to greet Jacqui and subconsciously 'tossed' my hair back, swinging my earrings and bouncing the shoulder-length reddish hair. I grabbed my handbag, smiled rather weakly to my sister, and went into the sitting room.