copyright@GerryRose

John’s daughter-in-law Suzette had been less than impressed when he turned up on her door step at 1.15am on Christmas Morning. At least he was bearing gifts for her, his son and his grandchildren. He had been somewhat curtly informed that they were planning to leave by 9am to spend Christmas with her parents in Kent. Luckily for him Suzette was always well organised and showed him to the spare room and suggested that he had a chat with his son Tom over breakfast which would be at 7am.
He tried to get to sleep but his encounter with Marie was difficult to process. Why had he been so stupid? He should have realised that a woman like Marie needed to be appreciated. Ignoring her for at least a month whilst he sorted out his new life in Yorkshire was never going to have the best impact on their ‘relationship’.
He gave up trying to sleep and took a shower as quietly as he could in the ensuite of the spare room at 5am. He was sitting at the kitchen counter when his son Tom came down at 6am. He was already dressed and ready for the day in smart black cords and a Christmas jumper. He had a look of his mother but was a good deal more worldly and sophisticated.
‘So are you going to tell me what this is all about Dad?’
‘It’s all a bit embarrassing’
‘The tables have turned, I remember when I used to try and sneak into the family home very late on Christmas Eve. Now my father is knocking on my door bold as brass at 1.15 on Christmas morning!’
‘Nothing to be proud of and please make sure Suzette knows that I am sorry.’
‘She described you as looking distinctly sheepish and guilty! We all thought you were celebrating a good ole Yorkshire Christmas. So what brings you to Hove?’
‘A woman.’
‘A woman who clearly threw you out in the early hours of the morning.’
‘Yes no fool like an old fool.’
‘So what’s next?’
‘I will say happy Christmas to the boys and then head back to Yorkshire.’
‘No Suzette has arranged a bed for you at her aunt Susan’s in Kent. She guessed that something had gone romantically wrong for you. You will be coming to Suzette’s parents for lunch and then Susan will drive you back to hers. The boys will love having you around. We all feel a bit guilty and feel that perhaps we didn’t include you enough in our lives down here. As you know I travel quite a bit for work.’
John felt almost joyful to think that he was going to be part of a family Christmas. Perhaps he had been too hasty about moving back to Yorkshire. His son lead a busy life and he had expected too much from him. When he was married and after Tom was born he hadn’t given much thought to his parents and he just expected them to get on with their lives. He had been happy to be alone with June once Tom had left home but once she died, he felt he lacked all purpose in life. He missed being loved and the centre of someone’s world. He had sought purpose by moving nearer to his son but had expected far too much and had put Tom and his family under too much pressure. He truly felt like an old fool but was looking forward to the day.
The twin boys Alex and Sam aged 14 tumbled out of bed about 10 minutes to 9. They greeted their grandfather as enthusiastically as any 14 year old boys would and grabbed some toast and juice.
They all left at 9am sharp and Tom had insisted on driving with his Dad but first John wanted to find a shop first which was open so he could buy Champagne for Suzette’s parents and Aunt Susan. Tom suggested that they might find a corner shop was open but warned his father that he would be paying through the nose and that the Champagne would probably not be the best quality and had probably been sitting on the shelf for some time. John agreed and wondered when his son had become so pragmatic he had always been a bit of an air head as a child. John knew Tom was right but it was the thought that counted and had been brought up never to arrive empty handed at anyone’s house.
John wondered how Marie would be spending her day. She had probably arranged to go to a restaurant with friends. John knew that Marie did not need him. It was just a shame that he had discovered far too late that he needed Marie. He had blown it and he knew it. He felt a deep sense of regret about being so impatient about moving back to Yorkshire. He could have had a perfectly happy life in Hove.
He bought the bottles they needed and they drove to Suzette’s parents’ house. They lived in a rather wonderful house in Hildenborough near Sevenoaks which had several acres of land. John had only visited it once but had been very impressed by its beauty and the walled garden which housed some very fragrant roses. Suzette’s parents Henry and Lucy were very welcoming and Aunt Susan turned out to be a rather lovely 60 something widow with a glint in her eye. John felt that things had turned out better than could have been expected after all. Susan asked John if he would like to take his case to her house and unpack. John got the impression that Suzette wanted some time with her parents and he agreed to go with Susan. It turned out she only lived 5 minutes away. He handed out the champagne and followed Susan to her car. They made small talk and when they got to Susan’s cottage John was shown to a rather lovely guest room. He was always impressed by people who made an effort to make a guest room as lovely as the rest of the house. Susan left him to unpack and showed him the bathroom and gave him some lovely fluffy towels. John marvelled at how women are so good at creating a cosy home and John didn’t know many men who were able to do the same without a woman’s influence. He knew that his flat in Hove and his new apartment in the retirement complex lacked a woman’s touch. He must have looked tired because Susan insisted on making him a coffee. She had one of those beans to cup machines and the coffee tasted rather wonderful. There was something rather comfortable, calm and familiar about Susan. Something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. He admired photographs of her and her husband and learned that unfortunately they had never been blessed with any children.
Once John had freshened up and finished his coffee they drove the short distance back to Henry and Lucy’s house. The grandchildren were watching TV in the snug. He put his head around the door to say hello and they looked content. John was offered a Bucks fizz and a mince pie and the conversation was all about what Henry and Lucy had been up to in the run up to Christmas. They both sung in the church choir and had been very busy with rehearsals and performances. John watched them and envied them. He missed being part of a couple. His thoughts wandered and he imagined what Marie would be doing. She would be dressed up for Christmas. She would shine and sparkle in a very subtle sexy and elegant way. He caught Susan watching him and he noticed that she had changed into a top which showed a little more cleavage than the one she had been wearing earlier. He wondered if that was for his benefit. She was drinking orange juice because she needed to drive later and John felt somewhat ungallant for not offering to do the driving.
Every family has a different version of how Christmas is celebrated. Lucy and Henry seemed to model their Christmas day on how the Royal family celebrate it. John was surprised when they announced that they would be attending the 11 o’clock carol service in the village church. Followed by a short walk around the village. Lunch seemed to be planned like a military operation. Lucy announced that present opening would commence at noon. Canapes would be served at 1.30pm, lunch would be at 2pm sharp and they would watch the Queen’s speech at 3pm. Charades would commence at 4pm. Everyone was free to do what they wanted to do from 5 onwards. A cold buffet would be available from 8pm if anyone felt at all peckish.
John thought about his simple Christmases with June and Tom. June’s parents used to come and stay and like June they were teetotal. June used to encourage John to have a beer or a glass of wine but it never seemed quite right. It struck John that he was a somewhat passive person. He was a follower rather than a leader. He had been assertive at work but at home June had been in charge. He watched Tom fuss around Suzette and her parents and he realised he was the same. Tom had not been very assertive about making sure that his father had felt welcome in Hove. John realised that he could have been more proactive too. He waited to be invited when he should have invited them over to his for Sunday lunch. He hadn’t thought about this. He could have made his feelings for Marie known a lot sooner. John wondered if you could teach an old dog new tricks. That Christmas morning he felt it was time to be proactive. He rang Marie. It went to voice mail.
‘Marie it’s John. Happy Christmas. I realise what a fool I have been. I am moving back to Hove. I will understand if you don’t want anything to do with me. I am going to give Hove another go.’
He knew he had wasted a lot of money but what was the point in having money if you couldn’t do what you wanted to do with it. Even at his age this old dog was going to learn some new tricks.