A Page from My Life

After I stitched the cardigan together I held it up, “Would you look at the size of that? It’s tiny.” John put his hands over his eyes and said, “Don’t be showing me that.” I laughed and waved it at him; another one of his superstitions. He was full of them.

We had an early start the following morning, it would be my last trip in the Scania for a while. It was very bumpy and John didn’t think it was good for me to be bouncing around in my condition. It was almost Christmas and we were expecting our first baby the following April and planning to marry soon after that, so it was an exciting time for us.

I always looked forward to our trips down the country. We would stop off for breakfast and have lunch on the way home. John had been a truck driver for years, so he knew all the good spots. I loved being high up on the road; we’d listen to our music and sing along. We stopped just outside Waterford at a small little house that served food; the smell of bacon and cabbage greeted us as we walked in the door and the place was full of other truck drivers tucking into their dinner.

On the way home, John was very quiet. I put it down to him being tired, but it wasn’t like him at all. I was going to my Mam’s, so he dropped me at the top of the road and said he would give me a call in the morning. He kissed me on the cheek and I hopped out. I stood and waved as he drove away. The following day, I didn’t hear from him but it wasn’t that unusual as we didn’t have mobile phones. I had a hospital appointment so the day went quickly enough and I had an early night. I knew I would hear from John tomorrow. I woke to hear my sister Una’s voice downstairs. She worked nearby and often called over on her break for a chat. I threw on my dressing gown. Una was sitting at the table chatting to Mam. She worked with John’s sister, who she said wasn’t in work. She was a great one for taking unofficial days off and always came up with great excuses I laughed and said, “What excuse has she used this time?” Una smiled, “Ah, you are going to love this one; she said her brother is getting married.”

We all broke our hearts laughing, I said, “She really is scraping the barrel now!”

Later that evening, the phone rang. Mam said, “That’s probably John.” I answered, thinking it was him, but instead I heard my friend’s voice. We chatted for a few minutes. “Are you okay?” she asked and I said “I’m fine.” She said, “You haven’t heard the news then?” “What news?” I asked. She paused. “John got married today”.