Across the Pond
Chapter 3

Copyright© 2014 by The Heartbreak Kid

I picked up the phone on Sunday morning:

"—Hi, Mum! Yes, they are here and settling in. They're upstairs in the bathroom at the moment.

"—I don't know, I'll ask her and get back to you.

"—Is everything okay your end? Good! Talk to you later."

I walked up the stairs and went into the bathroom, where Kari and Sammie were in the bath covered in bubbles. Ellie looked up at me, enquiringly.

"That was my mum on the phone: she wanted to know if we wanted to go there for lunch later. It's not far, and there will only be my parents, my sister, and her daughter: they're all looking forward to meeting you."

"Sure, Jim, it sounds great! Will you drive us there?"

"Yeah; which means I need to go out now and get a couple of car seats for the kids."

"Okay, Honey; you do that while I finish up here."

My car had been garaged for six weeks but it started without any drama. I drove a few miles to a branch of a national supplier of automotive parts and accessories, where I knew they stocked child car seats and offered a free fitting service. My car, a Mazda 6, was only a few years old and the new seat and booster cushion took the experienced store staff less than thirty minutes to fit.

I had of course told my parents all about Ellie and the children while still in America. I couldn't send them photos from the café in Indian Trail, but they have the Internet at their home so I gave them as much information in an email as I could. As I am their eldest child, my parents are still only in their late forties, but they became grandparents when my sister had Sarah. We often joked about them being too young to be Nan and Granddad Maclean, but they were comfortable with their situation. I don't think that they expected me to settle down for a few more years at least, but the prospect of acquiring two more ready-made grandchildren didn't seem to faze them. Ellie, I was told, was free to call them either Mum and Dad, or Frank and Julie.

By the time I got back the others were suitably scrubbed and dressed and ready to roll. Ellie put Sammie into his seat while I fastened Kari into hers. For a moment Ellie forgot where she was and walked to the driver's door, before exclaiming 'Oops!' then chuckling to herself and walking around to the other side and getting in.

"That's something else we need to get sorted: I'll get you added to my motor insurance cover. As far as I know, you can drive on your US licence for something like up to a year; after that you'll have to take the tests for a UK one. If we can get Kari into one of the local schools, you won't need a car to get there. I've seen you drive, and I don't think you'll have any trouble adapting; it's mainly about confidence."

It was only about four-and-a-half miles by a fairly direct route to my parent's house, so the journey only took about twenty minutes. They must have been looking out of the window, because almost as soon as I pulled up onto the drive and stopped, the front door was open and my mother was waiting. As Ellie emerged from the car she was hugged and kissed on the cheek by my smiling parent. My dad was a little more reticent but he also welcomed my bride. As expected, the two kids were as wary of these new people as they had originally been of me.

Once indoors it was my sister's turn to greet Ellie. Maureen is about three years longer than her, but I sensed an immediate affinity between them. "Hi! I'm your Aunty Maureen," she announced to Kari and Sammie. The same affinity was there.

"Are you my Daddy's sister?" Kari asked, in her cute little American accent.

"I am, and you and your brother are adorable! Shall we go and meet your cousin, Sarah—she's not quite as big as you two yet."

Kari looked up at me and smiled, then took Maureen's hand and toddled off. Sammie still clung to his mother's neck. I'd never really felt that close to my sister up until then, but I admired the way that she had raised her own daughter without a partner. It was a now familiar story: she and her boyfriend, Sarah's father, were engaged, but he was in the armed forces and was killed in one of those faraway countries that most people had never heard of. My mother took my wife's arm and led her into the kitchen, while my dad ushered me into the sitting room.

"She seems very nice, Son; I think you've done well there!"

"I agree, Dad—I'm very happy!"

I'm guessing that Kari and Sammie had never been around other children much because they both seemed fascinated by my niece, who was by that time walking but a lot less developed than her new, older, male cousin. Of the three of them, the two youngest were not really at the sharing stage, and Kari was probably more interested in adults, so she sat and talked to my sister.

In the admittedly short time that I'd known her, Ellie had never mentioned having friends in Stallings: she got pregnant soon after they got there and then she had several years of staying home to raise her children. I also got the impression that John Devereaux had friends and workmates, but that they were never really a significant part of Ellie's life. Maybe it would have been different if Kari had started school before I knew them, but we'll never know now.

As implied, the new additions to the Maclean family fitted right in as if they'd always been there. My dad and Maureen worked during the day and Mum looked after Sarah. Mum didn't drive and we only had the one car at that time, but at least she was only a phone call away if Ellie needed to ask her about anything.

When we got home we put the kids straight to bed: I had to get up early to return to work the next day, so Ellie and I followed not long after. Ellie had been tasked with trying to contact the local schools, to enquire about getting Kari in. I didn't really know any of them well, so I left it up to my wife to make the decision about choice.

After being away for six weeks, getting back into the routine of work was quite strange. Ellie insisted on getting up at the same time as me, as she had always done with her first husband, even though I usually had a quick shower and then tea and cereal for breakfast before leaving. Since the day I'd arrived in Stallings we'd rarely been apart, and it felt strange to leave them all day, but work was sure to occupy my mind once I got there.

 
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