Not Stupid Read Free Page A

use the excuse of running an errand for my mother as an excuse to get away.
    It was absolutely pelting down with rain as I made my way to Debenham’s. I was convinced Sean wouldn’t be there, but there he was, wearing a smart suit and holding an umbrella. I was nervous. Although I’d already secretly seen a few boys in the short term, my first date with Sean was in the wake of a bad experience with one boy that had really scared me, mainly because I had been so naïve at the time. Sean, on the other hand, was quite forward and not shy at all. After chatting, we were surprised to find out that we had attended the same school in Middlesbrough and at the same time, although, to the best of our knowledge, we had never met.
    Within three weeks Sean had asked me to marry him. At the time, we were in the house he shared with his mother, Coral, and his Aunt Pam. Sean had even cooked the meal for the occasion. A week later he took me into the town because he wanted to buy me a ring. It was now time to break the news to my family, but, when we got home, we discovered that Maria Luisa had been rushed to hospital with appendicitis, so it was obviously not the most appropriate of times to share our news. Instead I went straight to the hospital to see her.
    However, the time eventually came when Sean was to be introduced to Dad. It was a complete nightmare. Everyone was nervous and Mum was baking for England. I’d already primed Sean to say all the things I thought Dad would want to hear, but it very soon became obvious that Sean was his own man. No one was going to tell him what he could or couldn’t say!
    I was cringing as Dad became angrier and angrier. There were long silences, interrupted only by Mum frequently asking if anyone wanted more strawberry cakes. The meeting was a disaster. Dad was completely unimpressed, declaring, ‘He’s not going out with my daughter!’ Consequently, further meetings between Sean and me had to be clandestine.
    I was heartbroken when Sean left Middlesbrough to attend Brunel University in Uxbridge, northwest London – and so was he. On arrival in London he rang me to say he’d get the first bus home to be with me again, but I persuaded him to stay. After four or five days, however, I was missing him so much. My Aunt Anita could see how low I was and said I should just pack up some things and go to him, that at my age I shouldn’t still be under Dad’s wing. Although I only had around £ 20 on me,I took the train to King’s Cross, where Sean was waiting for me on the platform. It was so good to see him again.
    Sean had been sharing in a boys’ bedsit, so he had to smuggle me in to his room, where we shared a single bed. Considering Sean weighed 18 stone, it was cramped but fun, and I had to hide my clothes so the cleaners wouldn’t find them.
    Moving in with Sean was a scary experience for me, bearing in mind my complete inexperience with boys, but things went quite well and, after a time, I found work, first in a Woolworth’s store, which I hated, then at Sanderson’s, a textiles manufacturer, as a supervisor in the orders office, where my language skills came in handy. I even managed to get my dance classes up and running again. Meanwhile, Sean, who was studying biochemistry during the day, found night work in a nearby Tesco supermarket to help make ends meet.
    My move south to London angered Dad so much that he wouldn’t speak to me for six months and even my sister wasn’t best pleased with me for leaving her behind. Mum, apparently, had cried when she found out I had gone. Because I hadn’t the heart to tell her I’d moved in with Sean, I told her I was sharing a bedsit with four other girls. The trouble with lying is that you need to remember what you tell someone, and this cover story meant I had to make up and remember the names I’d made up for my imaginary friends whenever I spoke to Mum.
    It wasn’t the best way to start a relationship, but Sean and I were happy together