Chapter 17

The week at Bill's place passed quite quickly. Shirley decided that she wanted to go riding and I decided I would go with her. In the end the girls talked Ginny into going along. They had her practice the day before and she got the rudiments. The next day we all set of about mid morning and the girls had a great time showing us the extent of their ranch. It was much bigger than I had imagined. It turned out that Shirley seemed to be a natural, but she told me that riding a horse was a bit like riding a bicycle. Once you had mastered the technique it soon came back to you. I found this was true for me also.

I wasn't as experienced as Shirley but I had done enough to get into the swing of things and the western saddle made it more comfortable. Even Ginny enjoyed it most of the time, though we all paid for it with stiff muscles at the end of the ride. As we walked the horses back to the stables to groom them I felt I was walking kind of bow legged and I kidded the girls by saying I felt like Clint Eastwood. They were coming out of their shell however and told me I was not as good looking as Clint. So I pulled a face at them and stuck out my tongue and they went into a fit of giggles.

On the Thursday, so that they could attend the ceremony the following evening, Eleanor arrived with her Husband Frank and her three Children, Two boys and a girl. The oldest boy Billy looked to be about twelve and the younger one, Francis was about eight. So I put the girls age at about ten. It was obvious that with her red hair and facial features she was going to resemble both her mother and Ginny. Once the introductions had been made and Eleanor's children had been made aware of their new cousin it was obvious they were delighted to see her and curious about how it had taken so long to find out about her.

Ginny was good with them and she told them that some time before they left she would sit down and explain to them why they had not known anything about her. She said she was looking forward to getting to know everybody and that she hoped they would grow to like her and she thought she was going to like having them as cousins. Billy I guessed was just starting to experience the pangs of puberty and he could not take his eyes off Ginny.

When she said she hoped they would like her, he had blurted out that he thought she was beautiful and he was sure he would like her. Then realising what he had said he blushed right up to the tips of his ears and everybody laughed.

But Ginny rose to the occasion, and she took his hand before saying,

"Why thank you Billy, that is a wonderful compliment to receive from my newly discovered cousin."

Then she drew him to her and gave him a hug and a kiss which made him blush even more deeply, but he looked pleased with his reward all the same. I am sure he was going to do everything he could to please this latest addition to his extended family.

Once the children got over the novelty of meeting us they soon wandered off with Eloise and Hannah to find other pursuits. The colonel had prepared an afternoon snack for us when the children having had their drinks and cookies wandered off. It was now the turn of Eleanor and Frank to ask Ginny and Shirley how and why they had decided to renew their acquaintance with this side of the family. Explanations were given about recognising the Colonel on television and how this had prompted Ginny to reveal her identity to her father.

When they asked Shirley how she had felt about that she had admitted she had been a bit apprehensive but realised her daughter had the right to know and meet her father her sisters and her cousins. Bill had revealed to his sister what their mother had done and Eleanor had said she was surprised that Shirley had been so accepting of the situation. She had told her that if she had been in Shirley's shoes she did not think she would have been as forgiving as she seemed to be.

Shirley had told that if it had happened even a year ago she probably would not have been as forgiving either, but as she had discovered the truth about the situation she had come to see that Bill had been a victim of his mother's plotting as much as she had, though obviously he had not had to go through the painful experiences she had undergone,

Eleanor had responded by telling her that she was so glad that she had been so forgiving over what her family had done. She went on to say that she and her family would do all they could to make sure that they integrated into the new extended relationships as smoothly as possible. She had been away at University for most of the time of Shirley's relationship with her brother and although they came into contact she had not really got to know her that well. I am going to make up for that now she had said and she hoped they would become good friends and keep in touch. Shirley was obviously moved by this and told her she would welcome that.

Over dinner that evening the two groups shared some of the experiences of the missing years and tried to fill in the gaps. Bill had heard a good bit of Shirley's tale but it was now Eleanor and Frank's turn to be shocked by what had happened to her and her daughter even though Shirley did not go into too much detail because the children were present. Billy proved to be a very sharp boy and after listening for a bit he had said,

"Things must have been very hard for you, Aunty Shirley. I think you have been very brave."

I could see that Shirley eyes glistened with tears when he called her Aunty Shirley, probably because it was so near to what she would have been if things had happened differently. I think she would have tried to explain she was not really his aunty but Eleanor anticipated that and shook her head before saying,

"What amazes me, Ginny is that you look so much like I did at your age, so I have to agree with Billy when he said you are beautiful. But look at me and be warned my girl. It is very easy to put on the pounds and oh so hard to get them off again."

Ginny smiled at her and said,

"I don't think you are fat Aunt Eleanor, just nicely rounded."

Frank laughed at that and said,

"Well fielded Ginny and I agree with you. She scrubs up nicely still and tomorrow night she will turn heads when we walk into that hall."

There was more laughter at that, before Eleanor turned to Ginny and said,

"Less of the Aunt Eleanor from you my girl, I don't want to have to admit I have a sixteen going on seventeen year old niece. You can call me Eleanor."

Ginny smiled impishly and then replied "I will try and remember that aunty."

And that caused another burst of laughter.

Ginny then spoke again to Billy and said to him,

"You don't know how much your very nice compliment meant to me today Billy. What your mum or your cousins don't know was that just over a year ago I was very unhappy and very overweight. You probably would not have thought I was beautiful then. But I met Gibby and he became my boyfriend and made me work out and eat more sensibly and I lost a lot of weight in a relatively short time. So when you said what you did today it helped to make all that effort worthwhile."

Hearing that I had been responsible for Ginny's weight loss Eleanor looked over at me and then said,

"You and I are going to have words before we leave this weekend young man. I will want you to impart the secrets of your regime for Ginny. It's a pity you are not staying around here or I might have hired you as my personal trainer"

I laughed and said, "I don't really need the money Eleanor, but with such beautiful material to work with, I would have done it for nothing anyway."

That caused another outbreak of mirth. Then Frank said,

"No wonder this smooth talking Romeo has won the hand of our niece Eleanor."

Ginny responded, "You don't know the half of it, Frank; he has charmed both me and my mum into doing things we did not think was possible."

There was a happy atmosphere about this whole evening and I could see that Ginny was beginning to see what having an extended family was beginning to mean for her. That night as we lay in bed reading Ginny turned to me and said,

"You know Gibby, tonight I am so happy I could cry. My Father's visit to us, and now our visit to him and meeting all these different relatives has been so wonderful. Their acceptance of us has made me realise how much I have missed and how wonderful it is to have an extended family. I know my mum will probably never forgive her parents, but it reminds me that I probably have another set of relations out there that I might never know."

"We can't know that sweetheart," I told her and taking her in my arms I said. "Life can take strange turns sometimes. Let us be patient for a bit and see what happens. Once it gets around that Shirley and her daughter are back in this area, maybe some of them will contact you. But you are right it must be wonderful to discover that you have a wider family when you have been on your own so long. My parents were the only children of parents who were themselves only children. This means I would need to go a long way back to find relatives and they would not be all that close."

"Oh Gibby, I am sorry," Ginny said, "I keep forgetting it is such a short time since you have lost your parents and that you have no close relatives either."

I kissed her and said, "So much has happened in the past eighteen months that I sometimes forget myself. But I had a very happy childhood and a wonderful mum and dad, and in a way their love and the freedom they gave me coupled with the responsibility they demanded, actually prepared me to cope with this situation. Now I am just happy for you."

I thought about this for a moment and then went on. "Don't forget that we are man and wife in all but the wedding ceremony and so your relations are also my relations and just like you I am going to enjoy getting to know them and having them play a part in our lives and the lives of our children."

"Mm" Ginny said, "Talking about children perhaps we should keep in practice for that occasion."

I was not one to disappoint my lady and we made gentle love before we put the lights out and went to sleep

The next day was a hive of activity. Shirley and Ginny had to go into town to collect the dresses they had ordered for wearing at the evening ceremony for the colonel. As one or two adjustments had to be made to them they had to be collected later. This was followed by a visit to the hairdressers and the beauty parlour. Both my ladies were obviously determined to put on a show. As far as I was concerned, just looking at them was a real show stopper. But then you could say that I am just a wee bit biased.

For me it was just an occasion where a suit with collar and tie was adequate for the event and I had brought a suit with me so I did not need to do any real shopping. I had wanted to share a table with Frank and Eleanor, but Bill had insisted I should be at the top table to support Shirley and Ginny when he made his announcement. This meant that when we arrived we were ushered into a smaller hall where the dignitaries were being received and offered refreshments. Both Ginny and I settled for soft drinks and Shirley followed suit. I think she wanted to keep her wits about her for the events that lay ahead.

Eventually we were all seated at our respective tables and the chairman for the evening stood and addressed the meeting. He told the assembled company that they were here because it had been decided to offer Colonel William Lambert the keys to the city. He then called on the Mayor to give the reasons for this award.

The mayor went on to outline the many things that the Lambert family had done for the town over the years. He then drew specifically on the things that the colonel had done for the town. But Further to this Colonel Lambert had not only served his town but he had served his country to with distinction and bravery. He had risen through the ranks quickly and had been one of the youngest to reach the rank of Colonel in the history of the Marines. He listed the awards Bill had received, two purple hearts for wounds received in Iraq and Afghanistan; the silver star for sustained bravery in the face of enemy fire and was currently recommended for the Distinguished Service Medal, for bravery in Afghanistan where he lost his lower leg, but he told the audience that this had yet to be confirmed.

He had concluded that this modest man was a hero who had brought honour to his town and given much in the service of his country. It was a privilege and joy for him personally to bestow this honour upon him because he had been a lifelong friend. The award then took place