Elva was in her first year at university. She was expecting a baby. She told her two friends, Christina and Margaret.
“But don’t tell anyone,” said Elva. “I haven’t told my parents yet, and I don’t want anyone else to know for a while.”
Christina and Margaret promised. Christina told Shirley and Helena. Margaret told Martha and Josie.
Shirley told Clare and Francine. Helena told Suzanne and Agatha. Martha told Jane and Mary-Lee. Josie told Camilla and Ann.
Clare told Myrtle and Ivy. Francine told David and Paula. Suzanne told Michelle and Lance. Agatha told Madison and Quentin. Jane told Rachel and Charlie. Mary-Lee told Angela and Elizabeth. Myrtle told Naomi and Jennifer. Ivy told Jill and Diana. David told Keith and William. Paula told Harold and Norman. Michelle told Cynthia and Lisa. Lance told Yvonne and Fay. Madison told Trinity and Gwen. Quentin told Bonnie and Giles. Rachel told Ricky and Tony. Charlie told Mervyn and Sheila. Angela told Philippa and Minnie. Elizabeth told Agatha (“I already know,” said Agatha) and Davinia.
Naomi told Leo and Freddy. Jennifer told Barry and Florence. Jill told Mary and Stacey. Diana told Graeme and Peter. Keith told Roy and Eva. William told Esme and Max. Harold told Zane and Clement. Norman told John and Andrew. Cynthia didn’t tell a soul. Lisa told Brittany and Claude and Victoria and Dwight. Yvonne told Wayne and Lawrence. Fay told Beryl and Karen. Trinity told Marlene and George. Gwen told Justine and Miriam. Bonnie told Eadlin and Lilian. Giles told Pierre and Christian. Ricky told Bernard and Benjamin. Tony told Hinerangi and Bart. Mervyn told Beatrice and Robert. Sheila told James and Bert. Philippa told Catherine and Janice. Minnie told Josephine and Grant. Agatha told Pablo and Oscar. Davinia told Serena and Zachary.
Elva told her parents.
“Thank goodness you’ve told them,” said Christina and Margaret. “We didn’t know how much longer we could keep it a secret.”