There's No Accounting For Love

PROLOGUE - PART ONE

She turned the pages of her book and found the page she often studied. "Look, that's a baby in a mummy's tummy." she said, eyes aglow with wonderment. "It grows in there until it's big enough to be born and then it comes out, all pink and chubby."

"How did it get in there?" asked Alan.

"I'm not sure, but my mum said it takes a mummy and a daddy to make a baby.  She said I'd understand when I was older."

"I don't want to be older." said Alan with a sneer, "I never want to grow up!"

Clare frowned.  "No, nor me, but I think we have to, we can't help it. Last year we were six, but now we're seven."

Alan shrugged nonchalantly.

"Come on, let's go and play in the tent."

Books were of little interest to Alan, he was more a boy of action; charging around all over the place suited him better.  So up they jumped and rushed out towards the garden, passing through the kitchen where Alan's mother was washing up at the sink.  She caught his arm gently as he passed.

"Now Alan, please be careful not to hurt Clare today.  The way you tug and pull her about, I expect she's covered in bruises."  

Alan turned his innocent eyes upwards to meet his mother's.

"I don't do it on purpose, mum." he said, raising his eyebrows.  Then turning to Clare he said "Do I Clare?"  Clare, who was always just replied,

"No... no, Alan wouldn't hurt me on purpose Auntie Pam.  Alan always takes care of me."

Clare's large, brown puppy eyes were full of concern.  Pam glanced at her, then back at Alan and sighed deeply.  "Well, go on then," she said "but please be careful Alan."  Alan, feeling justified, ran out of the kitchen door and down the garden path with Clare running faithfully at his heels.

The garden was the width of the house and the garage on the side and was in two parts.  The top part, nearest the house, was dug into a vegetable garden with a concrete path running down the middle.  A red washing line, which today was full of clean, crisp laundry also ran the length of the path.   An item or two belonging to Clare was often to be found on the line, kindly washed by Auntie Pam and hung with coloured pegs to dry.  

On the right hand side, where the vegetable garden ended, was a battered shed with a crooked door and behind it, a beech hedge and then the part of the garden where the children played, which was given over to lawn.  Various flowering shrubs, large and small, flanked the sides of the lawn, adding colour and texture.

In the very centre of the beech hedge, separating the vegetable garden from the lawn was a large, ornate archway.  Pale pink roses with yellow stamens were entwined over it and their sweet smell wafted around Clare and Alan as they passed beneath.  Clare pulled a rose to her nostrils and sniffed the heady perfume, while Alan rushed towards the tent.

It was a warm, beautifully sunny day, the sky was blue with little cloud and the air was still.  Birds twittered in the ornamental cherry trees which stood at the end of the long garden and bees buzzed in the purple blue flowers of the Russian Sage.  Alan dived into the green tent.  Clare followed, sitting down close to him and she continued their previous conversation.  

"Mummy said we have to grow up and leave our childhood behind."

Alan, blue eyes deep in thought, was quiet for a moment or two.

"Well, I'm not leaving mine behind." he said "I'm taking it with me.  I get into trouble if I leave things behind."   Unaware of the humour of the remark, he briefly touched Clare's nose with his nose and promptly crossed his eyes.  He grinned, his cheeky grin, showing two deep dimples each side of his mouth and the children laughed together.  

Unable to sit still for longer than a minute, Alan sprang out of the tent, stretched out his arms and started to spin round and round, faster and faster.  Clare joined in and they spun round and round until they were dizzy and fell softly onto the grass, laughing again.  They lay on the grass with heads touching, their dark hair blended together, the exact same colour.  With arms and legs outstretched, they gazed up at the blue, blue sky high above them and stared silently at the few clouds overhead.  

As they lay staring quietly at the sky, feelings of dizziness subsiding, an aeroplane made it's way across the expanse of blue.  Alan said "I bet it's going to Spain!  I want to go to Spain.  If I go, will you come with me?"

"Ooh! I'd love to go.  Mandy went to Spain.  She went swimming in the pool every day and it was hot!  I'm going to ask my mum.  Let's go and ask your mum right now."

They climbed to their feet and ran back through the archway and down the path to the kitchen, where Pam was now peeling potatoes at the sink.  They held a long conversation about Spain, whether they could afford to go and what Clare's parents would think about it and Pam promised to mention it to Clare's mother when she returned from the dentist.  IF, Alan pointed out, she was not in too much pain and IF the dentist had not pulled out all of her teeth!