‘I’m ringing to say that Rita and I have decided to take a little break.’
‘Oh yes? Thought you’d just come back from holiday.
Off to foreign parts again, are you?’
‘Not exactly. We’re coming down to see you and the family. I intend booking a room in the Swan Hotel in Leighton Buzzard. We stayed there once before, if you recall?’
There was a pause, then Don replied, surprised, ‘You mean to say you two are coming here, to see us?’
‘Well, that’s the general idea. I’ve had a pig of a week and I’ve been a bit short-tempered
with Rita, so I thought I’d take her away for a treat. Coming to see you will cheer her up no end. That’s all right with you, isn’t it?’
‘Of course. Goes without saying we’ll all be happy to see you both.’
They concluded the conversation, and while Mac was delighted to relay the gist of it to Rita, Don remained curious as to the reason for this sudden visit.
When he saw David and his girlfriend
Patsy coming up the path, he anticipated his grandson’s reaction. Sorry, lad; but I’ve a feeling you won’t much like what I have to tell you, he thought. He was well aware of David’s feelings towards Mac. For some reason, no matter how much Don sang his younger brother’s praises, David had never taken to him. He had told Don once that his great-uncle gave him the creeps – then apologised for
saying something so unpleasant about his grandad’s brother.
Waiting for the two of them to get inside the door, Don greeted David with the news. ‘Your Uncle Mac and Auntie Rita are coming to see us this weekend.’
David’s face fell. ‘Oh no!’ The last person he wanted to see was his Uncle Mac. ‘It wasn’t all that long since we were at his house. What’s he coming here for?’
Don made a face. ‘Don’t
ask me. Maybe they just want to remind themselves of how the other half live.’
David was horrified. ‘They’re not
staying
with us, are they? They can’t! There’s not enough room.’
‘No, they’re not staying with us – though if they were, I would hope you could show just a little enthusiasm.’ Don was none too pleased at David’s remarks, especially in front of this young girl who had only recently
been introduced to the family.
‘I’m sorry, Grandad,’ David said. ‘I know Uncle Mac is your brother and all. It’s just that, well, he makes me feel …’ finishing the sentence with a lame shrug of one shoulder.
‘Putting aside the fact that Uncle Mac has never been anything but considerate towards you and this family,’ Don said sternly, ‘your Aunt Rita will be delighted to see you … you being her
favourite and all.’
‘I know.’ David was suitably remorseful – though deep down he remained wary of his Uncle Mac, especially after that curious incident outside Sammie’s bedroom. He had managed to convince himself that what he had witnessed had not been suspicious. It was not intentional. ‘So if they’re not staying here, where are they staying?’
‘They’ve booked a room at the Swan Hotel.’
David
felt the need to inform his girlfriend, ‘Aunt Rita is a really sweet person. She never sees any wrong in anybody,’ he grinned, ‘especially me. Uncle Mac’s all right too – a real high-flyer, he’s wealthy and everything, and it’s not that I don’t like him.’ He wasn’t sure how to put his feelings into words. ‘It’s just, he makes me feel insignificant, if you know what I mean.’
Maybe it was petty
jealousy. Maybe Mac was too much of an icon to live up to. Maybe he resented him being able to make piles of money while his own dad, Brian, found it hard to make ends meet.
Whatever the reason, try as he might, he could not warm to the man, not in any way, shape or form.
‘I have an aunt like that.’ Patsy was a sweet little thing with long blonde hair and baby-blue eyes. ‘Auntie Barbara is tall
and slim, and always looks amazing whatever she wears. I’ll never look like that … ever. I’m too short and a bit plump.’ She made a face. ‘It’s not her fault, but honestly, I can’t stand the sight of her.’
David grinned, while Don laughed aloud. ‘Out of the mouths of babes!’ he said, with a knowing grin. In a minute, he decided, he would amble off into the front room, where he would settle himself
down with the local paper.
‘Well now, Mac and Rita coming to see us, eh? That’s put the cat among the pigeons,’ he chuckled. ‘David wasn’t at all happy about that. Nancy will be dead chuffed though. She’ll be covered
in smiles the whole time they’re here. Brian will be pleased an’ all. Like always, he’ll be tapping Mac’s brain, desperate to find the secret of how to make a million.’
Don had
a sneaking suspicion that Brian was just the teeniest bit envious of Mac’s success.
Ah, but then it’s only natural for one man to be envious of another, he thought. He wouldn’t be human otherwise, would he?
Just as Don had predicted, Nancy was thrilled to bits. ‘Oh, that’s wonderful!’ Dropping her shopping bags on the kitchen table, she could hardly contain her delight. ‘Funny thing, that,’
she remarked thoughtfully. ‘I was only thinking of them as I came up the drive.’
‘Really?’ Don teased her. ‘Was that because you were missing the luxury of their grand house, and being spoiled by having a cleaner come in to clear up after you? Or maybe you got too used to being a lady of leisure, is that it?’
Nancy bristled. ‘Don’t be ridiculous. I’ll have you know, it’s none of those reasons.
If anything, it’s coming back here to you and your sorry sense of humour, that’s what it is!’
Stung by her sharp tongue, Don backed off. ‘Only joking, love,’ he said hastily. ‘Anyway, I’ll be in the front room if you want me.’
While he hurriedly buried his head in the newspaper, Nancy muttered as she threw the groceries into the cupboard. ‘Huh! Only joking, indeed! The very idea! Does he really
think I need a big house and servants to keep me happy?’ Secretly though, she couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to have anything she wanted; to click her fingers and be waited on, or to go on holiday anywhere in the world whenever the fancy took her. Oh, and to dine out if she didn’t feel like slaving over making a meal. How great would that be?
‘Hello, daydreamer.’ Covered in brambles
and leaves, with his heavy boots clattering on the tiled floor, Brian stumbled into the kitchen. ‘Miles away, you were, and by the way you were stuffing that cabbage into the cupboard, I wasn’t sure whether to come in or not.’
Nancy forced a smile. ‘I didn’t see you in the garden.’
He grinned amiably. ‘You didn’t see me, because I was grappling with a creeping clematis that had its tentacles
round my neck. I could have been strangled and lying there for weeks before anyone found me!’
Nancy smiled. ‘Don’t be daft. Anyway, what do you want?’
‘Oh, charming, I must say.’ Brian thought he would never get used to her unpredictable moods. ‘I saw you come up the road and I tell you what, you really timed it right, because I’m gasping for a cuppa.’
Fed up and tired, Nancy rounded on him.
‘Before you come in here you’d best get outside and brush all that rubbish off. Oh, and get them filthy boots out of my kitchen. I’m not in the mood to be scrubbing the floor after you.’
The sight of an irritated Nancy advancing on him from across the kitchen sent Brian into a quick retreat. Racing out the door, he moved to a safe place where he brushed himself clean and stripped off his boots,
which he placed very neatly side by side on the WELCOME doormat, before coming into the kitchen. ‘Presentable now, am I?’ he asked curtly. ‘Does this suit the lady of the house?’
Still smarting from Don’s teasing, she ranted at him, ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ Hands on hips and fire in her eyes, she looked a formidable sight. ‘Are you insinuating I have ideas above my station, is that it?
Because if it is, you can make your own tea, and cook your own meals. How would you like that, eh?’
Brian was shocked. ‘Hey! Whatever’s got into you? It was simply a cheeky remark to make you laugh, that’s all.’ Placing his two hands on her shoulders, he gently pushed her down into a chair. ‘Look, you sit there and I’ll make the tea. All right?’
Feeling unusually vulnerable, Nancy nodded. ‘Yes,
please, and I’m sorry to have yelled at you like that. It’s just something Dad said, about me wanting to be a lady of leisure.’
Brian smiled at that. ‘Oh, I see, and along comes thoughtless Brian playing silly beggars. I don’t imagine for one minute that your dad meant to upset you. You know what he’s like. He teases, that’s all.’
‘I know. It’s just, it’s been a bad morning. I should never have
gone into Leighton Buzzard. The shops were busy and the queues were never-ending. There was no crusty bread left in the baker’s and all the pork and apple sausages were sold by the time I’d got round to the butcher’s. My feet ache, my head’s throbbing, and I feel really fed up.’ She gave a long, noisy sigh. ‘The thing is, when I got in the door I was ready for a good row and Dad kind of got in
the way.’
‘So, you don’t really want to be a lady of leisure then?’ Brian asked, the tiniest smile playing round his mouth. ‘Don got it all wrong, did he – as usual?’
‘’Course I would like to be a lady of leisure.’ Nancy playfully prodded him in the chest. ‘What woman wouldn’t like to live in a big house, or have servants, and be able to shop without counting the pennies?’
It was only when Brian
lapsed into silence and drew away, that she realised how cruel her remark was. ‘Oh, what a thoughtless cow I am!’ Throwing her arms round her husband’s neck, she pulled him to her. ‘There are more important things in life than having money in the bank and being pampered.’
‘Such as?’ Brian felt mortally wounded.
‘Well, there’s the love of a good man like yourself, and the fun of building a life
together. Then there’s the children. I don’t dare imagine what life would be like without the children, and you.’
Particularly the children, she thought proudly. Even though she said so herself, she had made an excellent job of raising them.
Their son David was intelligent and ambitious; a successful man in the making, much like his Uncle Mac. As for their daughter Sammie, well, she was Nancy’s
absolute pride and joy. Sammie was always straightforward and compassionate, and would fight to the death for what was right.
Nancy admired those qualities in her, though she would never admit it, not even if she had to walk over hot coals. She herself had never laid claim to having as warm a heart. Brian was more like Sammie … being able to forgive unconditionally. But sadly, Nancy was not made
in the same mould. It was something she deeply regretted.
‘You’re right, Nance. We do have two wonderful kids.’ Brian’s familiar voice found its way into her thoughts. ‘And yes, having a happy family life is worth more than gold.’
‘That’s it. We don’t really need all the things that Rita and Mac have,’ Nancy agreed, ‘because we have something that they were never blessed with – children. Also,
I’ve got you, Brian. A man who keeps us all safe and will always look after us; a man who loves me without condition, even though sometimes I don’t deserve it.’
She paused, remembering the hard times and the worries that they had come through together. ‘I know I don’t often say it, but I do love you, Brian.’
When he now glanced up to look into her face, she planted a fleeting kiss on his forehead.
‘You’re a good man, Brian Wells.’
He held her for a moment. ‘You’d best go and apologise to your dad,’ he suggested.
‘Dad can wait,’ she answered. ‘He’s got his head in the racing
paper, busy picking out his winners for this afternoon. No. The two of us are going to sit down together with a cup of tea and a slice of that Madeira cake I got from the baker’s.’ She gestured to the table. ‘So go
on then. Sit yourself down, before I change my mind. Your order is on its way, sir.’ She gave a mock curtsy. ‘But don’t expect anything too fancy, not in this café!’
As always, Brian meekly did as he was told, encouraged by her words of appreciation for the energy and devotion he put into keeping this family fed, clothed and housed.
Without gratitude there would be no sense of accomplishment,
and of late, he had been increasingly comparing his own achievements to those of Nancy’s Uncle Mac. Not a very reassuring pastime, and one he would try his hardest to abandon.
The trouble was, Nancy’s sour remarks about big houses, servants and being able to go anywhere she wanted in the world, had cut him deep. And though he knew in his heart it had not been meant in the way it was taken, the
comments did hurt his sense of pride.
On hearing the news that Mac and Rita were coming to stay locally for a short break, Brian was less than thrilled.
‘It’ll do Uncle Mac a power of good to come down here,’ Nancy said as she poured his tea. ‘I’m not sure it’s a healthy way to live, all that work and worry – not for Mac anyway. Rita simply enjoys the ride, reaping the rewards of Mac’s hard
work. It doesn’t seem to worry her that she hardly ever sees him.’
Brian had thought of all that, and something else too. There was this one particular question that often popped into his head, as it did now. ‘Do you think Mac ever has a little fling when he’s away?’ he asked.
Nancy was not unduly surprised at his question, because at times the same thought had crossed her mind too. ‘I don’t
really know,’ she answered, ‘but I suppose it’s likely. I mean, he’s a red-blooded man, and he has got that kind of way with him that could have women fawning at his feet.’
Brian gave a wry little grin. ‘Might I ask if that includes you?’
‘Maybe the teeniest bit,’ Nancy confessed. ‘But it’s not a physical attraction or anything like that. It’s more a niece’s admiration of her rich uncle’s achievements.
The thing is, I’ve grown up with Dad always singing his praises and it’s kind of rubbed off, if you know what I mean.’
She laughed at the sorry look on her husband’s face. ‘Anyway, you’ve no need to worry, because firstly he’s my uncle, and secondly even if he wasn’t, he could never be my kind of man.’
‘Oh, and why’s that?’
‘Because
you’re
my kind of man. The first minute I saw you, I wanted
you straight off. Nothing’s changed on that score.’