Chapter 6: The Last Waltz

Then came the day Hilary called me at work and told me that Vivian had tried to kill herself. Well, she'd emptied the medicine cabinet of just about every pill in there; not that I think there was enough of anything to be fatal. But in combination, who knows?

Anyway Vivian's stomach had been pumped — an experience she later informed me, that she'd prefer not to be repeated — before I arrived at the hospital.

"I'm sorry Jim, it was a really stupid and thoughtless thing to do. Haven't I caused you and the children enough problems already?"

"The children don't know, Vivian, they've had their education buggered up enough as it is. Hilary and I figured we wouldn't tell anyone. The story is, that you took a nasty tumble."

"Thanks I never realised that I could be so thoughtless, I had a revelation during the night and it shook me to the bone."

"Up to date are we?" I asked after giving her a friendly cuddle.

"Not quite, but I was lying in bed during the night and suddenly remembered being in bed with him!"

"I see!"

"I must have been mad."

"No comment!"

"No honestly Jim, as a lover he totally stinks. What the hell I thought I was playing at I don't know. Maybe I'll remember how I ended up in bed with him one day, but it's not an experience I'd like to repeat."

"Pleased to hear it, but you did several repeat performances by all accounts."

I'd have preferred to have relived some of them on those videos and DVD's."

"Oh shit, you found them. God I'd forgotten all about them."

"I'm disappointed, I thought we did well together. A damned sight better than Stacie's husband could do anyway! They were in the back of the wardrobe; I suppose it was lucky that the children never came across them. Anyway I like to watch them sometimes, in the evenings when I'm alone."

"Oh Christ Hilary hasn't..."

"Don't be daft, Jim, they are our memories; private and personal to you and me. I just wish there was some way ... But I know that's never going to happen, is it?"

I chose not to go down the road Vivian was hinting at, so I replied. "You've got most of your past back now, Viv, I think you ought to stop thinking about the past; think about getting out with Hilary a bit more and finding your future."

"I will try, Jim, but I must thank you for being so patient with me."

"I'll always be here if you need me Vivian, but we are divorced and there's no going back."

"Well, I'd say that you'd better look to your future as well then, Jim."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I've told you before that I think that Liz is waiting for you to ask her to marry you."

"Both Liz and her sister Anna are dedicated businesswomen Vivian; I doubt either of them will ever get married."

"I wouldn't be so sure, identical twins they might be, but I can see them falling out over you. And what about your Danish friend, you don't seem to have seen much of her lately?"

Who the hell had told Vivian about Semine, I had no idea. I'd thought I'd kept her out of the equation where Vivian was concerned. I had to assume that Katie or Jamie must have mentioned her to Vivian.

"There was a time when Semine and I could have got together, but I don't think that will happen now. She's met up with a local guy over there and I do believe they are getting pretty serious, or so her daughter told me when she was over a few weeks ago."

"You never told me, about her."

"I couldn't see much point Vivian."

"Yeah, I understand your life is your own now."

For some weeks after that Vivian apologised for the pill episode almost every time we saw her; the we, being Liz and I. It was shortly after the same incident that Vivian returned to work part time at the same insurance office where she'd been working before her disastrous holiday.

She seemed to take my advice to look to her future to heart, because she and Hilary started going out together fairly often. Although because the insurance office wasn't very far from my office she did join Liz and I for lunch every so often and, from what I heard, Liz when I was out of the country.

I suppose a year must have almost passed before Katie dropped the first hint that there was a new man in her mother's life. Jamie had finished his education and had moved back home with Vivian and Hilary; but I never saw very much of the lad because he and Frankie were ... Well I suppose they were doing what most engaged couples do. Anyway it wasn't going to be very long before Frances conned the biggest wedding in Christendom out of her still warring — or trying to out do each other - parents.

Anyway Katie had come home for the weekend and on the Saturday morning she had turned up at my place with a questionable looking young man; I believe she'd dragged him along for my inspection. Well what could I say; what father ever finds that his daughter's suitors measure up to the mark? But he seemed a personable enough young man, so I didn't come on all that strong.

But it was while we were eating lunch that Katie mentioned Grif. When I asked who Grif was, poor Katie took on the expression of a rabbit caught in a car's headlights.

After a short period of um's and ah's from Katie that left me smiling, she blurted out that Grif was a friend of her mother's who she'd met for the first time the night before. Actually I believe Katie's trip home had more to do with Grif being presented for Katie's approval than it had the young man who was accompanying Kate, being presented for mine.

"He's very nice, dad, if a little on the shy side. He's quite funny really although I don't think intentionally, never been married and gets all tied up in knots when he tries to say things to women."

"Sounds like a bit of a geek to me." I commented.

"Yeah I supposed you could call him a geek. But he's crazy about mum and that's what's important. Grif's not the sort of bloke to mess her around."

"Glad to hear it; where did she meet him, do you know?"

"At some work do, I think. Birthday party or something, everyone was dancing, mother took pity on him and dragged him out on the floor. I told you he's very shy, I doubt he'd have had the nerve to ask Mum to dance. Apparently they went out on a date with Hilary and his friend a few days later and he's been sending her flowers and things ever since."

"Hilary and his friend, have a real hot romance going and I think that could be helping them along a little. You know what mum's like, she's a little reticent to get involved too much."

"What do you mean, she isn't as keen on this Grif bloke as he is on her?"

"Well not exactly, mum still worries about what you'll think. She likes Grif a hell of a lot, you can tell that when she talks about him. But you're still not hooked up with anyone are you dad?"

"God she's not waiting for me to get hitched before she gets involved with anyone else, is she?

"I don't think she's doing it intentionally dad. But you know mum, she was hoping that one day you two might ... So really, it's any excuse she can come up with not to get involved with anyone else. I think she's worried about what you're going so say."

"Oh shit, what are we going to do about that?"

Katie grinned back at me. "Well, we're all going out for a meal this evening at the Checkers with Jamie and Frankie. Wouldn't it be a coincidence if you turned up there, maybe with Liz and joined us? If mother saw that you didn't get all out of shape over her being with Grif, then ... Well who knows?"

"Or it could scare the pants off of the poor guy; he might run a mile!" I replied.

"No, you'll be your most charming self; magnanimous in the extreme."

I will?

"Yeah, if you like him. But remember dad, he's mother's boyfriend, not yours. It's mum he's supposed to make happy!"

"On my best behaviour Katie, I promise."

Katie called Jamie the moment we were out of the restaurant and cleared things with him. I had a little chat with him and gathered that he also approved of Grif. Apparently he could talk "networks and servers" and I think that puts just about anyone on Jamie's good guy list. But hearing that Grif passed muster with Frankie meant a lot more to me. Frankie was never going to be anyone's fool

I knew the people at the Checkers, so it wasn't too much of a hassle for me to change the party's reservation. I'd told Jamie I'd slip him my credit card and he should insist on taking care of the bill with it, but without letting on to anyone who's credit card he was using."

Liz and I were waiting for Jamie and Frankie when they arrived from their flat and I slipped him one of my charge cards. Then Liz and I stayed out of sight until Katie, the gooey eyed young man I'd met earlier, Vivian, Grif, Hilary and her heartthrob turned up. Then Liz and I, as subtly as we could, appeared.

I got the impression that Hilary had been tipped off that we'd be there. Vivian got a little flustered for a few minutes; but maybe because the children acted as if our presence was the most natural thing in the world, she seemed to settle quite quickly. I was aware of Grif giving me sideways glances for most of the evening.

Jamie and Frankie rose to the occasion very cleverly though. We hadn't been seated for more than a few seconds when they announced that their wedding date had finally been set for the following December. A rather clever move because it gave the excuse regarding Liz's and my presence; and it took the wind out of the "which parent do they tell first" argument.

I tried to play the whole evening as coolly as I could, but I did find myself appraising Grif's worth as a husband for Vivian, whether I wanted to or not. Liz had to kick me in the leg a couple of times when I asked what she considered to be too probing questions.

Look, a lot of guys have been there, when some young suitor turns up to court their daughter. Well, can I help it if I had the same fatherly instincts about the guy who was — or at least trying to — court my ex-wife?

On the whole, I think the evening went off quite well. Jamie paying the bill - although both Grif and Hilary's guy wanted to argue the toss — didn't make it look like I was lording it over everyone. Whether they ever worked out that it was my card Jamie was using, I don't know.

As Liz had predicted she would, Vivian turned up to join us for lunch on the following Monday. I know what she wanted to ask, but she didn't. Liz and I acted, as it was no concern of ours — as it wasn't - that she'd found herself a boyfriend.

In the end, I think Vivian chickened out, because Liz and I - when we mentioned him - said that he seemed like a very nice guy. I can't quite recall exactly how Liz managed to bring the subject around to Grif without making it seem too obvious.

My spare time over the next few months — when I was in the UK — seemed to be taken up with plans for Jamie and Frankie's wedding. Considering that I really had nothing to do with the actual planning - that was all down to Vivian and Frankie's warring parents, Vivian I think had been playing piggy in the middle for most of it — I was surprised at how much time I spent on it ... But I had to be kept up to date — by Frankie and Vivian — so that I could step in as the big gun when Vivian couldn't get them to come to an amicable conclusion on some innocuous detail.

Eventually - with Frankie and Vivian standing behind me - I was forced to turn up at one of the planning get togethers and announce that Frankie had had enough. If the two warring parties couldn't bury the hatchet, then Vivian would organise a wedding that I would finance completely without them; what's more they wouldn't be invited. From then on Vivian was able to control things quite successfully, so that Frankie and Jamie got the wedding that they wanted.

But along the way I picked up from Jamie, Frankie and Katie, that Vivian and Grif were going strong. I figured that it wouldn't be too long before they announced their own up-coming wedding. I think I assumed that they were waiting for the marriage in the offing to be out of the way before they told everyone; because they didn't want to steal the children's limelight.

September that year saw another company soirée down to the Palace Hotel in Torquay. It was much the same kind of junket as we'd had two years previous. The difference this time being that I - and just about everyone else - was aware that Anna was going to be there from the beginning. For appearances sake, Anna officially shared Lizzie's room again, but she spent most nights with me in mine.

For the kick, most of the time the two girls dressed identically; except for the evenings when one of them would wear something to differentiate between the two of them and we ran the "guess which is Liz" sweepstake. By the end of the week the girls had accumulated almost a thousand pounds for charity.

I diplomatically threw my money in the pot every day, but I never won because I always bet on Anna. Apparently the girls still hadn't worked out that Liz had that habit of calling me boss when we were alone - usually when we were dancing - so I always knew which was which before the evening was out. Well, that's what I thought anyway!

In the privacy of my room, Anna and I did talk a lot about Liz and my feelings towards her. You can't work together as closely as Liz and I did, without an emotional relationship of some kind developing. But Liz had always been adamant — as was Anna — that she wanted to "make it" — as both girls so succinctly put it — in her chosen profession, before she settled on a life partner and got married.

"Raising children and doing a high-powered job at the same time, can't work. Something has to give and it's inevitably home life and the children." Appeared to be both girls oft repeated maxims.

I was to learn later that their mother had been a businesswoman who took over the reins of their father's company when he died at an early age. They had first hand knowledge of the repercussions that had caused in their own family and upbringing; Liz and Anna had no intentions of neglecting their own children, as they believed they had been. I'll add that neither of them blamed their mother, they knew she had done what had to be done at the time.

Where was I? Oh yeah Anna and I in my room. Yeah well, we won't go there, suffice to say Anna tried to kill me most nights. Still it was fun; I was lucky to have a friend with benefits such as Anna. I was really sorry to see her board that plane to fly back to Canada.

"Ask her nicely, and I'm sure Liz will keep you warm at night!" Anna had whispered in my ear as I kissed her good-bye at Heathrow.

"You've got to be joking Anna. Liz is far too important to me to risk doing anything like that with."

"Silly boy!" She replied, then she turned away and walked through the departure gate.

After that seminar I spent some time in Sweden, flying backwards and forwards several times during the month. I managed to nip over to Denmark to see Semine and her son Jahn a couple of times. But by that time Semine was hooked up with a really nice local guy. I did wonder if he realised just how close friends Semine and I had been at one time; but if he did he showed no sign of the knowledge. He didn't even blink an eyelid when Semine enthusiastically kissed me at the ferry terminal. I tended to use the ferry when I could because I always enjoy a boat trip.

We'd arranged for Semine's daughter Edla — Ed or Eddie to most people when she was in the UK - to do a one-year internship at my company, lodging with Vivian whilst she was in the country. Oh yeah, Vivian had always known all about Semine, she'd met her and both of her children as well.

Of course I'd been making a point; it seemed the most sensible thing to do at the time. Maybe a little hard on Vivian, but it had helped to drive home the point.

Katie was home most weekends and she and Eddie went out together a lot; the girls always had seemed to get on well with each other. But, although she had never actually said anything, her body language - when he was around — had told me that Katie would have preferred it if Edla's brother Jahn had been doing the internship. It was pretty obvious that Jahn had the hot's for Katie as well, what with all the excuses he found to visit his sister. Semine told me that they'd never been that close when they were younger.

Eddie — who was of course assigned to our department, seemed to be both fascinated and perplexed by Liz. As I've said before there always has this air of chaos around Liz, she still liked to play the dizzy blond all the time. But at the same time she'd amply demonstrated to everyone that she was not the fool she acted and she had her finger very firmly on everything that happened in the department. I think Eddie couldn't get her head around Liz at all, but she'd try to spend every spare minute she could in her company.

I'm not sure what happened when I was away, but every lunchtime - when I was at the office - Eddie joined Liz for lunch. At first I'd put this down to Liz keeping a friendly eye on Eddie. But, you could say that Vivian was doing the same because she and Grif took to meeting us in the café we used for lunch as well. From what Eddie and Katie told me, it was unusual to find Vivian without Grif being around somewhere by then.

It was Eddie who told me that something needed doing about Vivian and Grif; well I think that's what she was surreptitiously trying to tell me. Why else would Eddie tell me that Grif was carrying an engagement ring around in his pocket all the time, and that she'd overheard Grif asking Vivian, but she'd never given him a straight answer.

"I think that if Katie's mother doesn't make up her mind, Grif might give up eventually." Eddie informed Liz and I over coffee one afternoon.

"Well?" Liz eventually asked, after looking at me for a few seconds.

"What the hell can I do about it?" I replied.

"Jim if she's prevaricating, then you know why she is more than anyone else; or at least you should do!"

"Bleeding hell Liz, what more can I do?"

"I don't know; you're the one with all the ideas around here. But I think you'd better come up with something pretty sharp-ish." Liz insisted.

"The wedding's in a couple of weeks, we'll see what happens after that. It could be Vivian is too wrapped up in that that to think about anything else at the moment." I suggested, hopefully.

Neither Liz nor Eddie looked convinced, but they let the subject drop after that.

Jamie and Frankie's wedding day dawned sunny, but cold. It was the extravagant affair that I'd predicted; what with Frankie's warring parents trying to out do each other.

It was who was whose escort that I found interesting. Jahn and Eddie had been invited because they had got to know Jamie and Frankie well over the years. Jahn arrived with a guy in tow who spent nearly the whole time drooling over Eddie. I learnt later that he had been Eddie's boyfriend of sorts for donkey's years; I'd seen the bugger with Jahn on my visits to Denmark, but I'd never spotted that he'd been sweet on Eddie. Although Eddie was no relation to me, I think I looked at the guy with a father's quizzical eye.

Anyway Jahn was never more than a few feet from Katie all the time he was in the country, except at night; he and Eddie's guy were camping out at my place. But anyway I realised I had been correct in spotting that little romance before it had even got off the ground. By the way, Jahn and Katie are married now but only after a lot of discussion on where they were going to live. I suppose that Brugge is about as half way between, as you can get.