Chapter 10

We returned to the house and I replenished our drinks and turned the oven on. We sat at the kitchen table while we waited for the oven to heat up.

"Now then, Princess. We need to do a bit of organising. First of all, Mary said she would like you to be with me when I meet her next Saturday. If you would like to, I'll come up to London on Friday evening and then we can drive down to Heathrow together and then we'll all come back down here. What do you think?"

"Oh God! You two are going to make me start crying again. I'd love to do that."

"OK! Good! Next question! Are you going to stay tonight? I don't know what time you have to be in for work tomorrow but the train takes an hour and forty minutes to Waterloo. You may want to go home first so it looks like being an early start either way. Don't worry about me. I don't have to leave till nine."

"I know what I'd like to do and that's to ring in sick tomorrow but too many people do that on a Monday and I've always thought that they were behaving selfishly. So I'm afraid I must go tonight. I need to get to work by half past eight and I do need to go home first which would mean leaving here at about six which is much too early for both of us."

"Alright! I must say my preference would be yours but you're right in what you say. So I'll put you on a train when we've eaten. Finally, it's going to be twenty minutes before the pizzas are ready. Would you like to phone your mother?"

"Could I really?"

"Of course! Just take the phone through to the sitting room while I muddle about in here."

"Thank you so much. I promise not to talk for too long." Giving me a gentle kiss on the cheek she picked up the phone and went through.

I got the pizzas out and unwrapped them and placed them on the grill pan. The oven as usual was not ready. I binned the wrappings. The oven still wasn't ready. How not ready? Two degrees. Stuff it! I put the pizzas in but that still left fifteen to twenty minutes and I didn't want to intrude on Morag. Ah, E-mails! So upstairs I went to my computer and fired it up. Sunday evening slowness but then I was there. Four spam and a not very funny "funny" from a friend. Ho Hum! Back downstairs. Still ten minutes. Come on," I thought to myself. "She hasn't spoken to her mother properly for Heaven knows how long. Stop being impatient." So I dug an opera CD out and started to play it quietly. That calmed me down and I waited patiently until the pizzas were ready. Morag wasn't but I went through and signalled to her. She nodded and waved in acknowledgement. I went back and dished up the pizzas and put them back in the warm oven, which I had had the forethought to turn on. I hadn't been married for twenty-five years for nothing.

Five minutes later Morag came in.

"Thank you, darling. I'm sorry I went on so long but it was just great to be able to talk to Mum without the feeling of hearing the pennies clicking away. I hope I haven't ruined the pizzas."

"No, my sweet! I think they'll be alright."

I dished them up and they were fine.

"Have you got a happy mum?"

"Oh yes, my darling! She's thrilled that you and Mary have taken me under your wing and are going to see me into Bristol. She was getting a bit worried about it and was wondering whether she ought to come down from Scotland and help me."

"Good! And how did she react to your having a man your father's age as a lover?"

Her eyes widened in astonishment. "You don't think I told her that?"

"I thought you told her everything."

She turned on the piercing eyes for a moment before grinning.

"Well, nearly everything and anyway I've told her enough for her system for the present."

There was a pause for some concentrated eating.

"James?"

"Yes, my princess?"

"Could we... um... make love before I have to go?"

"Of course but don't expect too much of me. I'm not a twenty year-old anymore and you've taken more out of me than I would have dreamed possible."

"Oh you poor old thing! I'm here to rejuvenate you."

"Hmm!"

"Mary said we were to use your bed tonight. I'd hate to let her down. I told her I thought it was trespassing and she said if I felt like that what had I been doing already. You two have all the answers."