R.N.F. Skinner

Ruth Whitehead, now 25, returning to the States after a trip to Italy, stops off for a few nights in England to visit her English cousin, the artist Greg Adams. She has not seen him since his stay in Massachusetts thirteen years previously. Memories of the crush she had then developed on him now amuse her, but when back in his company she finds that her adolescent feelings are not entirely extinguished. His friendliness and obvious pleasure in seeing her again not only contrast with the palpable hostility of his disabled wife, but also shed an uncomfortable light on the state of her relationship with boyfriend Darren, awaiting her back in Boston.The continuing effect on her later life of Ruth’s youthful crush is sensitively, and at times humorously, explored, and will be resumed in a third novella, These Years: 1991.

When Greg, a professional artist, visits American relatives, he triggers a crush in 12-year-old Ruth. An aspiring artist herself, she dreams he will be so impressed by her talent that he will fall in love with her, but happiness at being in his company is clouded by knowing he is about to return to England. She may never see him again. School friends both tease and encourage Ruth, but her family, except for a sympathetic aunt, are oblivious to the joy and anguish of young love. These few momentous days in Ruth's life rush to a denouement in the last hours of Greg's visit. A touching account of one girl starting her journey into adolescence. The consequences on her later life of her crush will be recounted in two further novellas, 'These Years: 1986' and 'These Years: 1991'.

When Phil, an undergraduate at Cambridge University, performs in cabaret at a party, he meets and falls in love with Melanie. As she in turn appears to have fallen in love with him, he cannot understand why she then plays hard-to-get, even after he learns of the traumatic events that shaped her teenage years. But the influence of former boyfriend Simon is still strong, and she and Phil part. Twenty-five years later, both now married, they meet again by chance and resume their relationship. Soon each faces a tough choice: will Melanie decide on love or on loyalty? Will Phil commit to his estranged wife or to his first love?