“Mum, if you don’t accept my choice, I’ll leave. For good…”
Daniel stepped into the commuter train carriage and glanced around. Plenty of free seats—take any. He sat by the window. Every now and then, the doors slid open with a hiss, letting in new passengers.
Opposite him, an older couple settled in. The woman rustled a paper bag, pulled out two buttery scones, and they began eating. The rich scent of fresh baking filled the air. Daniel politely turned toward the window.
“Young man, have one,” the woman offered, holding out a scone to him.
“No, thank you,” Daniel smiled.
“Go on, take it. It’s nearly two hours to the end of the line.”
Daniel accepted the scone and took a hearty bite. It tasted incredible. Over the speakers, a muffled male voice crackled through the static: “Departure in… minutes… This train will call at… with all scheduled stops except… Repeat…”
“Love, what did he say? Which stations are being skipped?” the woman fretted.
Daniel shrugged. He was going all the way—he hadn’t been listening.
“I told you we should’ve taken the slow train, the one with all the stops. You never listen,” she scolded her husband. “What do we do now? We’ll have to get off early and wait for the next one!”
She only calmed down when a nearby passenger confirmed their stop was included. The bickering fizzled out. Daniel finished his scone and gazed out at the blur of trees, the sunlight breaking through the young leaves, the stations flashing by. The carriage grew stuffy; sweat trickled down his back under his thick army uniform.
He imagined arriving home, his mum’s joy, standing under a hot shower… Just get home already, peel off this uniform, pull on jeans, a T-shirt, trainers—no more early roll calls. He’d sleep a full day on the sofa, and in the morning, he’d find a stack of golden pancakes under a tea towel on the kitchen table, left by his mum.
*Wonder how Emily’s doing. Only a year’s passed—she’s probably the same.* The image of a slight girl with chestnut hair and green eyes flickered in his mind. A year younger, she lived a few streets over and had just finished her A-levels this year. He’d never paid her much attention—just another girl, nothing special.
The night before he left, they’d all been hanging out at the playground near their estate. Liam had torn into him for throwing away uni and enlisting. Ryan backed Daniel, saying if it weren’t for his mum, he might’ve signed up too. The girls pretended to mourn the end of their little group but mostly giggled over their phones.
Then Emily—the one they all treated like a kid—suddenly said she’d wait for him. Everyone fell silent. Flushed, she bolted before they could tease her.
“Looks like you’ve got a fiancée now, mate,” Ryan had laughed.
“Piss off,” she’d snapped, running off.
“Let her wait. I’ll come back and marry her,” Daniel had joked, shoving Ryan so hard he nearly fell off the bench.
He hadn’t told anyone the real reason he’d enlisted—not even Ryan or Liam. He’d started uni like his dad wanted. Then, halfway through the year, his dad walked out. Turned out he’d been seeing someone else—someone expecting his child. Overnight, respect for his father crumbled. So Daniel dropped out, marched into the recruitment office. A protest. A middle finger.
His mum had cried, of course. He promised he’d return in a year, figure things out—maybe study part-time later.
That year was done now. Home at last. The anger at his dad had faded. He missed his mum. His house. His mates. He’d made the right call. Life stretched ahead.
At the next stop, the older couple disembarked. Their seats were taken by a young pair holding hands in silence. Daniel’s thoughts drifted back to Emily. That night, her words, his response—he realised now it hadn’t really been a joke.
The train hissed to a halt. Daniel stepped onto the platform, his stride springy as he headed for the underpass. As a kid, he’d loved listening to the echoes of his footsteps—like there were a hundred people walking with him. He’d even glance back, checking. His dad laughed, telling him it was just the acoustics.
Emerging onto the station square, he walked the rest of the way. Needed the fresh air, needed to stretch his legs. A neighbour spotted him outside his block.
“Daniel’s back! Your mum’ll be chuffed.”
He didn’t bother with the lift, taking the stairs three at a time. Pressed the buzzer. Only then did it occur to him—she might be out. He hadn’t said exactly when he’d arrive.
But the lock clicked. The door swung open. His mum gasped, throwing her arms around him—hugging, pulling back to look at him, hugging again. Scolded him for not calling. Flapped about the kitchen. While she cooked, he showered. She’d left fresh clothes folded on the washing machine.
His old jeans and T-shirt were tight, too short.
“You’ve grown!” she exclaimed when he walked in. “Don’t worry, I’ll pop to the shops, get you new bits.”
“They’re fine,” he said, sitting down.
“Fine? No girl will look twice at you like that.”
Over dinner, she caught him up.
“Ryan crashed his dad’s car. Drunk. Spent months in hospital. He’s in a wheelchair now—doctors say he’ll never walk. Lucky to be alive. At least no one else was hurt. Should’ve enlisted with you.” She sighed. “Haven’t seen Liam in ages. Gemma’s married…”
Daniel itched to ask about Emily, but his mum skipped right over her.
She left for the shops. Daniel wandered the flat, reacquainting himself with everything.
She returned an hour later. He pulled on the new clothes—fresh shirt, jeans, his old trainers—and went to see Ryan. His mum answered the door. Ryan sat in his chair, barely reacting. The conversation stalled. Daniel asked about Liam, grasping for words.
“Doesn’t come round. Visited me in hospital once or twice, that’s it.” Ryan eyed him warily, like he was braced for something.
Daniel left with a vague promise to return.
Liam, though, hugged him tight. Daniel asked straight out—what happened between him and Ryan? The crash?
“The crash? That’s not it. Not my place to say. You’ll find out.”
“Find out what? What happened while I was gone?”
“Just wait.” Liam changed the subject. “What’s your plan? Job? Uni?”
“Dunno yet. Maybe both.”
Too late to see Emily now—though he ached to. Too many revelations for one day. He thought sleep would come easily, but it didn’t.
In the morning, he heard his mum leave for work. He pretended to sleep through her peeking in. The front door clicked shut. He got up, stretched, walked to the kitchen. The kettle was still warm. Under the tea towel, golden pancakes—just like he’d imagined.
After breakfast, he headed straight to Emily’s. Wanted to catch her alone.
Heart hammering, he rang the bell. Silence. He tried again. Just as he turned to leave, the lock clicked.
There she stood—exactly as he remembered.
“You said you’d wait. I’m back,” he said, smiling.
For a second, joy lit her eyes—then faded. She took a step back. Daniel’s gaze dropped to the swell under her floral dressing gown.
“Come in,” she said quietly, moving aside.
“You got married?” he asked, toeing off his trainers.
“No.”
“No?”
“I didn’t marry anyone.”
“Then who—?”
“Ryan.”
It took a moment to register.
“But he’s—”
“The crash was after. Two days later.” She turned to the kettle. “Tea?”
He followed her to the kitchen.
“Your exams?”
She shook her head. “Dropped out. Can’t study with a baby.”
“Does Ryan know?”
“Yes. I told him in hospital.”
“Did he force you?” Daniel asked bluntly.
“No. I don’t know. We ran into each other outside. He and Liam were already drunk. Ryan invited me to his birthday. Said others were coming. No one did. I had one glass of champagne—then everything went fuzzy. Maybe he spiked it. Bragged about buying something at a club.”
Her hands trembled as she poured tea. “My parents wanted to make him marry me. Then the crash happened. And I didn’t even like him. I tried to… but the doctor said it was risky. Might not have kids after.” She wouldn’t look at him. “I didn’t wait. Sorry.”
Daniel couldn’t stay.He took a deep breath, reached for her hand, and said quietly, “None of that matters now—let’s raise this little one together.”
