Picknic panic

POLLYANNA

1997

Polly rolled over for the umpteenth time,

unable to catch a break on the sleeping front, she decides to take one more test,

because in her child like mind she knew she could not be pregnant, it was definitely not in her life plans,

anyway I am only 16 so how could this even happen to a girl like me, was her thoughts,

but she knew in her heart of hearts how her life may well have changed forever simply by acting the way she has been for the last two years,

Polly again sat on the toilet waiting and waiting for the stream of urine to cover her third and final little pregnancy test, but as yet there was nothing, not a drop,

so there was no choice but to wait, because she had to know now, and while she sat there waiting her mind drifted to the story that her mother related to her about how she and her father met,

it was June 1981 and her father William woods was taking his last holiday with his family as he thought at 17 he was far to old to be holidaying with his parent’s,

in fact as the story goes it was at 16 when he had left school and embarked upon an apprenticeship that he’d decided that 1980 would be the year for his last holiday and would also be the last time he ever stepped foot into a caravan, he’d had his fill of caravan sites around wales and had seen one to many castles and stately homes for his liking,

but when his father came home from work with the surprise news that a work colleague has offered him the use of his deluxe caravan in port grimaud st tropez, Willie had a change of heart and thought it would be good for family morale if he joined them just one more time.

Polly was livid that she could not squeeze out even the tiniest drop of urine so there was nothing for it but to sneak off back to bed before any one else in the household needed the toilet and discovered her secret

and it was there laying in bed where she drifted in and out of conciseness recalling the love story of her parents, apparently on the very first day of the family’s arrival to the continental camp site her dad literally fell over Emilie her mother, when he went exploring the local area which including the beach

willie always insists when the story was told and family functions that he accidentally flicked some sand which flew from his flip flop on to Emilie’s tanned and well oiled torso thus ruining the beach day she had arranged with the midday sun, and the story always finishes with how they immediately fell in love, Willie claims it was love at first sight for both of them, but in reality Emilie divulged to polly after a few drinks one evening when they were alone that in reality it was somewhat different to the fairytale they talk about, and in fact they had had quick and unprotected sex once behind the campsite bar which he frequented and she was working, resulting in an unwanted pregnancy, and it was her mother who quite easily tracked Willie down to Manchester as he had given her his address before the reality of a baby

and so sixteen years later polly wakes in a sweat once again thinking how she was not and never was wanted in this world, and wishing her mother had kept this little secret to herself instead of putting it on the shoulders of a fourteen year old, who’s life choices went downhill from that day forth, and has now put her in the same situation as mum at around the same age,

polly starts to cry as the final test forces her to admit to herself that she has ruined the life she thought she deserved, she hated he mother for being so truthful she hated her father for being such a liar, she hated her little bother and sister as they were planned and plainly loved so much more than she could ever be,

but most of all she hated the boy who got her pregnant, but how could she, as she had no idea who it may be,

then she realises that in fact she actually hates herself and has done since the age of fourteen,

BELISE

1997

Belise just stands there in front of the large mahogany desk, her big brown eyes staring at the grossly overweight middle age man slowly turning in his swivel chair his arms hanging limp over the arm rests his legs stretched out before him and his head tilted to the left,

there is a large Havana cigar still burning slowly between the big fat fingers of his right hand,

if she did not know better she would have assumed he had nodded off, but in reality she knew he was dead,

her mind was now racing,

did she cause this, could she do anything for this man she hated so much, she decides not, she knows it is he who forced himself onto her,

it was him who laughed when She pushed him back into his chair, and it was him who was going to put her onto the streets before he grabbed at his chest,

before he struggled to draw breath, and before he died in that chair,

‘Think think’ Belise whispers to herself, she surveys the room, she notices the safe wide open, it’s full of cash and documents as she’d seen many times before but not taking much notice to what was inside,

she sees last nights takings on the table where Gerald had been counting it before he had decided to divert his attention to her,

and she hears nothing,

nothing but silence,

and that was the moment her life changed, a calmness came over her and she became an adult in that moment,

a last look around the office for no particular reason except for maybe a fear of the unexpected,

and then she methodically starts to work her way around the room, removing anything that would suggest she was ever there that evening,

she checks the safe and removes the passport in her name, not the name her mother gave her but the name Gerald wanted for her when purchasing it at great cost,

she had no idea why he would do this, and now she could not care less, but how grateful she now was that she had it, as it was going to be the passport to the rest of her life,

She removes the cash from the mahogany desk, a sum of around twenty thousand francs, but left everything else as it was including the thousands of notes in the safe, she wasn’t stupid, she new there could be some sort of investigation, and she did not want any one to get suspicious or point the finger, so she took only what nobody would miss and left that office that building that city and that life behind, and she was determined to reinvent herself, and the best place to start was Paris.

MILLICENT

1997

“I am never ever going to step foot into that rich self righteous snobbery ass of a college” Millie was so determined not to be associated with any of those rich arse holes that even smelt of Harvard,

Millicent stormed off from the patio of the family’s recently purchased home, a home that has stretched the family’s finances to the limit, but Millie’s mother and father were determined to fit in with the area and all the trapping’s that it brought, even if it did mean financing themselves to the hilt, but Milli was not fooled by her parents misguided snobbery.

Milli’s parents were hard working folk, but never quite got the big breaks they felt they deserved, it was at university of California that Joshua met Jenifer, he was in his second year studying politics and thought himself a smart out going good looking guy, who with the right woman by his side could make a very comfortable life in the world of politics,

Jenifer on the other hand was a freshman studying Archaeology, she was very bright and beautiful but shy and very much the book worm,

but the chemistry between the two from the very first meeting of these two very different teenagers took there lives on a road that they had not planned for themselves.

Their problems started right from the off, an unwanted pregnancy within 12 weeks of their first meeting was the bombshell that splintered there lives and took them on a journey that they did not want to go on,

Jennifer refused the termination that Joshua had insisted on,

his defence was that he was only two years into his political degree and there would be a better life for the next child once their careers had taken off,

Jennifer’s faith had held out to the pressures of Joshua and his parents,

and it was only when Joshua had admitted to himself that he may have to support a child he did not want, just because of the pressures his girlfriend of only a few weeks has put upon him, that he felt cornered and trapped,

so he did what any other twenty year old undergraduate would do,

he went out and got steaming drunk and put his car into a tree, which In turn put him into a coma for several weeks, and it was then that his parents relented and wanted to welcome the arrival of a new child into the world, especially as it was looking unlikely that their precious son may not make it. but of course he did make it,

It took months but Joshua slowly recovered and Jenifer had a little girl called Millicent.

SAANVI

1997

It wasn’t so much as an arranged marriage as more of a bride auction,

Saanvi stood opposite her intended husband who to her looked more like a grandad than a prospective life partner, but the fact was at thirty four Mahir was more than twenty years older than herself who at thirteen hadn’t yet become a woman,

but this is what her parents wanted for her, and this is what their faith has always had in place for her, regardless that she herself has no interest in her Hindu roots, and for one so young she craves for her independence,

and she always knew that one day she had to experience the western lifestyle,

and what Saanvi just cannot understand was why her parents felt at thirteen she was far too young to understand what she really wants from her life,

but on the other hand at thirteen she is old enough to marry and be expected to fulfil all that was expected of married life especially with someone so much older,

well she has decided that she’ll fulfill her Hindu family’s ideals as a thirteen year old and she will be dam sure when the time is right she will fulfil her own dreams.

Polly’s army

February

2002

Just days after Polly had turned twenty years of age she took her first step to a career in the British forces,

it was after an alcohol fuelled threesome with two older men she met that very evening in a hotel bar, where they were staying, while attending a convention on medical supplies

NEW MILLENNIUM

NEW BEGINNINGS

New Year’s Eve 2001

Belise had shared many intense and loving moments with her closest friend ever, a friend that almost single handed saved her life, so why did she shun polly after they had shared the most sensual and passionate kiss after the countdown to the new millennium, maybe she tried to tell herself it was just embarrassment,

but deep down she new that although they had almost been intimate on several drunken occasions and although polly was such a wonderful and beautiful young woman, her own feelings were never going to be for another woman,

god she tried to love polly in the way she suspected polly loved her, but she could not, the love she felt for this strong woman had only ever been as a friend,

she had always had a dream of the perfect man three children a picket fenced house, close friends, and a career in the hospitality industry, but now a part of her dream died along side her friendship with polly,

POLLYANNA

1997

Life always seems better in the morning after a good nights sleep, unfortunately polly has had no sleep, and has not slept properly for some days now, but a moment of clarity seemed to put everything into perspective for herself, while sat in her bedroom listening to an argument between her parents over her, and as they put it the devastating news of her impending pregnancy, she realised that she did not need anyone in her life, she wasn't sure who the unborn child's father was, she hated her parents for lying to her all her life, but who now deemed it right to take control of her life and her unborn child's,

their solution to the situation was a termination, simple as that, as both her parents put it,

they have made their minds up for her, and the argument of the moment was not about the pregnancy, but who's fault it was to let their daughter end up like this,

Pollyanna has had her bag packed for awhile, she has her passport and has a small amount of money to make a break for a new life for herself and the baby, and the day had arrived, she could not take anymore of this hell, she would improvise her escape, she had imagined she would walk out of the front door early morning while everyone was asleep, but with the argument escalating to the bottom of the stairway she has decided to leave now via the bedroom window, she assessed there was little risk as it leads onto a flat roof of the single story extension, then a drop on to the bin and away,

BELISE

1997

A month had past since Belise had escaped her captor,