The following week Constance spent every evening looking out for Albie, but it was eight days before he turned up to see his gran again. She waited until he’d been downstairs for some time before going outside to sit on the steps again, thankful for once that her mother was drunk and had passed out on the sofa.
‘Hello, Constance,’ Albie said, grinning when he at last left the basement and saw her sitting there. ‘We meet again.’
‘Hello, Albie,’ she returned, thrilled when he came to sit beside her. She turned to look at him, once again struck by his looks. She couldn’t believe that someone so handsome was showing an interest in her. Constance wasn’t blind, she knew from her mirror that she was nothing to look at, so it was silly to think that Albie was interested in her. Yet here he was, looking happy to see her, so dare she hope?
‘My gran’s legs look in a state again, and I keep nagging her to retire.’
‘Oh, Albie, I’d miss her so much if she left.’
‘Yeah, well, I’m just thinking about me gran.’
‘Yes, of course you are, and that’s commendable.’
‘I love your use of words. Commendable, what does it mean?’
‘I suppose “worthy of admiration or praise” would be the best way to describe it.’
‘So you admire me?’ Albie said teasingly as he raised his eyebrows. ‘I like that, and I admire you too.’
Constance felt the blush flooding her face and lowered her head, but then swiftly lifted it again at Albie’s next words.
‘I must go. I’ve arranged to meet someone. Bye for now, Constance.’
‘Bye,’ she said softly, wondering if it was a girl he was meeting and feeling a pang of jealousy.
Albie bent forward to kiss her cheek again and this time he also gave her a swift hug, leaving her reeling as he drove off. For a few minutes she just stood on the step, replaying the hug, before she ran happily indoors.
It was now close to the end of August, and though nearly nine-thirty in the evening, it was still warm. The drawing room felt stifling, the book she was reading failed to hold her interest again, and impulsively Constance decided to go for a short walk. If her mother was awake she probably wouldn’t allow it, but sick of the constraints put on her, Constance rebelled for once, deciding she’d enjoy the freedom of other girls her age.
The sun had set, but street-lamps offered ample light as Constance strolled along. She wished she could go dancing, to the cinema, or roller skating in the park – all activities she was usually denied. Instead she was over-protected and kept almost a prisoner in her own home, her only freedom when she was in college.
Constance continued to walk but after half an hour, worried that her mother might wake to find her gone, she turned back. It was then that her heart skipped a beat. Albie Jones was walking towards her and as he drew close, he smiled widely.
‘Well, well, fancy bumping into you. Are you on your way home?’
‘Yes, I am,’ she said shyly, desperately trying to think of something else to say. ‘Have … have you been to see your gran? I didn’t see your scooter.’
‘My Vespa is in for a minor repair so I came by bus. If you’re not in any hurry, we could go for a walk.’
Constance threw caution to the wind and surprised herself when she answered, ‘I’d like that.’
‘Come on then,’ Albie said, taking her hand and leading her across the road onto the common.
As they strolled along a narrow path, Constance looked up at the sky, and though there were a few clouds she could still pick out some stars. ‘Look,’ she said, ‘I think I can see Orion’s Belt.’
‘I’m not interested in astrology. I think it’s a load of tosh,’ Albie said.
‘Yes, I think so too, but studying stars is called astronomy.’
‘Blimey, yeah, of course it is. I must sound like an idiot.’
‘No, you don’t. We all get our words mixed up at times,’ she said, then she pointed at the moon. ‘NASA’s space exploration programme fascinates me, and I really think that one day in the not too distant future men will walk on the moon.’
‘Yeah, and pigs might fly,’ Albie quipped.
‘But I really think they will,’ Constance insisted.
‘Yeah, well, I’m not as clever as you so you could be right. I left school at fifteen without any qualifications, whereas my gran tells me you’re at college and may go on to university.’
‘Further education doesn’t make me your intellectual superior.’
‘See, that’s what I mean. As I told you before, I love your use of words and how you say them, posh-sounding. It really does turn me on.’
Albie was still holding her hand and squeezed it as he spoke. Constance was thrilled. When they came to a copse of trees he urged her to sit on the grass. She did so readily, and when his arm slipped around her she shivered with a strange excitement. His close proximity was intoxicating. She slowly turned to look at him and almost gasped as he leaned forward to kiss her. Constance had never been kissed on the lips before and found herself responding, loving the feel of his lips on hers. He continued to kiss her, and then began to fondle her, his hand slipping inside her blouse to cup her breast. She knew she should stop him, but felt unable to resist the feelings that ripped through her body. Before she knew it, Constance found herself lying on her back with Albie on top of her, and what happened soon after made her yelp with pain.
‘It’s all right,’ Albie soothed as he continued to penetrate her.
Constance knew she should have stopped him – thrown him off – but after the initial pain she found herself responding to his movements until, with a sudden groan and a gasp, Albie collapsed on top of her. She was left strangely wanting something that seemed just out of reach, but felt a surge of shame too. She wasn’t stupid. Her parents were over-protective, but she’d heard enough talk at school and college to know that she’d just lost her virginity. ‘Oh, God,’ she wailed. ‘What have we done?’
‘Bloody hell, I’m sorry, love,’ Albie responded as he rolled off her, adjusting his trousers, ‘but if you didn’t want it to happen you should have stopped me.’
Constance pushed her panties back into place, feeling sticky, uncomfortable and overwhelmed with shame. She rose to her feet, and began to hurriedly walk back along the narrow path.
‘Constance, wait,’ Albie called, and he came up alongside her. ‘You ain’t going to tell anyone about what happened, are you?’
‘What! No, of course not. I dread to think what my parents would do if they found out.’
‘Yeah, my gran would do her nut too. She’d blame me, of course, say I took advantage of you, but I didn’t. You was willing. You didn’t say no or do anything to stop me.’
‘I know that, but all I want now is to go home,’ Constance said huskily, close to tears. She knew she’d allowed it to happen, and was still swamped with guilt as they emerged onto the road from the common.
‘I’d walk you to your door, but I don’t think we should risk being seen together,’ Albie said. ‘Are you all right with that?’
‘Yes,’ Constance croaked.
‘Right then, I’ll go,’ Albie said and swiftly walked off in the opposite direction.
Tears fell readily then. Albie didn’t want to be seen with her and she couldn’t blame him. What sort of girl was she? A bad girl, a tart, for allowing him to make love to her so easily. With her head low Constance hurried home, relieved to find her mother still asleep on the sofa. She went up to her room, flung herself across the bed and sobbed until sleep overwhelmed her.