A Forced Choice
“Katie, maybe it’s time we stop lying to each other?” Steven stepped so close to the woman that she could feel his breath.
“Steve, you know he’s my husband!” Catherine cried out nervously, having already repeated those words several times that evening.
“So what if he’s your husband? We have a right to be happy! Tell me the truth—Lenny is my son, isn’t he?” With those words, Steven gripped her shoulders.
Catherine bowed her head and wept, no longer ashamed of her tears…
…Katie and Oliver had lived in the same house and known each other since birth. Their parents’ flats were on the same landing. The families weren’t particularly close, but they maintained warm, neighbourly relations.
A tight friendship between the neighbours was unlikely. Katie’s parents worked at the symphony hall—a cultured family, living happily and often entertaining guests. Katie had already started at music school and planned to follow in her parents’ footsteps, dedicating her life to music.
Oliver’s family was the opposite. His mother worked as a shop assistant at the local supermarket, his father as a mechanic at the factory. Despite their different upbringings, Oliver and Katie were friends. They played together in nursery, then sat side by side in primary school.
Katie’s parents didn’t discourage her friendship with the boy next door, but they never saw him as a future son-in-law. Oliver’s parents, however, were pleased their son was close to such a promising girl and often teasingly called them “the little couple.”
…One September, in Year 8, everything changed for Katie. During the first assembly of the term, their form teacher walked in with a handsome new boy.
“Class, this is Steven—your new classmate.”
Steven immediately caught every girl’s attention—sharp suit, tousled hair, a radiant smile, and striking blue eyes. Katie noticed him too but didn’t dare approach him.
Later, at music school, just as Katie reached for the door, it swung open—revealing Steven.
“Oh, hello!” she stammered, blushing.
“Hey,” he replied with that same dazzling smile.
“Are you here for lessons too?”
“Just finished. You?”
“Sight-singing,” she sighed.
Before he could say more, her friend Lucy barged in, shoving her shoulder.
“Katie, move it! We’ve got three minutes before Mrs. Whitaker skins us alive!”
Katie glanced back at Steven, but Lucy dragged her inside.
During the lesson, Katie couldn’t focus—her mind was on Steven.
“Miss Saunders, I’d appreciate it if you paid attention,” the teacher scolded.
“Sorry,” she mumbled.
After class, Steven waited for her.
“You didn’t go home?”
“No, I wanted to walk with you.”
They talked about music, their dreams, their lives. Steven planned, like Katie, to dedicate himself to music…
…Over the weekend, Katie could think of nothing but him. Soon, she realised—this was her first taste of love. Now, instead of just her and Oliver walking home, it was the three of them. Oliver disliked the refined, charming Steven but never dared send him away…
…Two years passed. By Year 11, Katie and Steven knew they loved each other. But Oliver stood between them.
“Katie, come to the disco tonight?” Oliver asked.
“Not tonight. Steven and I have tickets to the symphony.”
“Why him? Why not me?”
“You’d hate it. Next weekend, we’ll all go to the disco.”
Oliver scowled but agreed…
After GCSEs, Oliver left for trade school. Katie and Steven stayed for sixth form—blissful days, sitting together, walking home hand in hand.
One night, after the symphony, they kissed for the first time. They vowed to marry after graduation, study together, and never part…
But reality struck.
“Marry Steven? Have you lost your mind?” her mother shrieked.
“You need to focus on your career, not marriage!” her father insisted.
Steven’s parents were just as firm.
“Friendship is one thing, but marriage at eighteen? Madness! You’ll study where I did—end of discussion.”
Forced apart, they tried writing, but distance wore them down. When Steven’s parents moved, contact ended…
Years later, at a music competition, they met again—older, wiser, their love rekindled in a single night.
“Once I graduate, I’ll come to you,” Katie whispered.
Steven hesitated. “I can’t. I’m engaged. Her name’s Toni… she’s pregnant.”
Devastated, Katie returned home.
Oliver, ever persistent, dragged her out.
“Come to the club. Cheer up.”
A month later, Katie discovered she was pregnant—with Steven’s child. Abortion was unthinkable, but reaching him was impossible.
Then Oliver proposed.
“Marry me?”
She said yes.
Lenny was born.
…Fifteen years passed. Katie never stopped loving Steven. Then, out of nowhere, he returned—unhappy in his marriage, ready to leave everything for her.
Their affair began anew, secret and desperate.
“Run away with me,” Steven begged. “Take our son.”
“I don’t know…”
“I’ll be back in three days.”
But fate intervened. Steven never returned—killed in a car crash.
Oliver noticed her distance.
“Something’s wrong. What is it?”
“Remember how you wanted a daughter? Maybe now’s the time.”
Stunned, he agreed.
Alanna arrived three years later.
Katie keeps Steven’s memory alive, waiting for the day she’ll tell her daughter about her first love. For now, she finds peace in her family.
Or perhaps she’s simply made her choice.
A forced choice.
