‘I do understand,’ he interrupted. He sat down beside her and took her hand in his. ‘You think I don’t, but I do – now. I admit I didn’t before, but I’ve had a lot of time to think these past few weeks – and a few choice words from Maggie.’ Sylvia’s eyebrows shot up at this. When had Maggie met with Jim? She hadn’t said anything. ‘So I’ve sat in that damn armchair and thought about what it must have been like for you, to find out you were carrying a baby you didn’t want.’ He faltered on the last word, as though he could hardly bring himself to say it. ‘And I can appreciate, now, how awful that must have been for you, even if I can’t fathom what you… contemplated.’ She opened her mouth to say, I’m sorry, I should have told you beforehand, but he held up his hand in a gentle gesture that seemed to say, just let me say this, let me get this out. ‘And I can see how horrible it must feel to have to give up the job you love – even for a short while. I know you love it, Syl, because I love mine too. But we’re in this together, aren’t we? I see that now, I really do. So while I can’t turn the clock back and stop it happening, and I can’t exactly give birth to the baby for you, I want you to know that I’m completely in this with you. I’ll do everything else I can to make the raising of this child as equal a task as possible. So I’ve been thinking, if you want me to, after the baby is born I’ll give up work and stay home and look after him – or her – so you can go back to work as quickly as you want.’

She couldn’t help the surprise shooting into her eyebrows. ‘You would do that?’

‘Yes. I mean, I could maybe try and go freelance, do a bit of work at the same time.’

‘I don’t think it would be so easy to—’

‘Okay, then I won’t freelance.’ A brief flash of annoyance shadowed his face. ‘I’ll just look after our child. Someone has to, and I’m saying it can be me.’

‘Your mother probably wouldn’t agree.’ Oh how she’d love to see Pamela’s face if Jim became a stay-at-home father!

‘Well, sod my mother. And I’ll get some jip from the boys, but I don’t care. It’s 1976. We can do whatever we want. And I want you. So this is what I’ll do.’

She shifted on the grass, unpeeling her skirt from the back of her legs.