Chapter 13: Meet the Family

When I arrived home Thursday evening after my lunch with Michael, Michelle was anxious to hear how it went.

"I think you've been deceiving me, love," I began. "Your brother is nothing like you described him. We had a delightful lunch and got along very well. He congratulated me on our engagement and assured me he would be at the wedding with his wife and your son. On top of that, he will call your mother and insist she attend as well. So ... now what do you have to say?" I said with a questioning look.

Michelle was dumbstruck by my synopsis. She looked at me as if she didn't believe what I was telling her.

"Are you serious? Michael was nice ... and polite ... and friendly?"

"Absolutely! You obviously don't know your brother as well as you think you do. Maybe you should give him a call before he calls you. I suggested you and your family didn't communicate very frequently and he agreed."

"Where is he staying?"

"At the Hyatt. Call him," I suggested a little more firmly.

She did. Dinner was late that evening. They were on the phone for over an hour. When she finally hung up, she came over to me, her eyes red and tear tracks on her cheeks. She plopped herself in my lap and planted a most loving kiss on me.

"You are amazing," she whispered when the lip-lock finished. "Michael barely tolerated David. But you ... he thinks you're just the right guy for me. Good thing we agree, huh?"

"I never had a moment's doubt," I lied.

Friday came and went and we might have had the weekend to ourselves but at the last minute I decided to see if I could contact Michelle's mother. A pre-emptive strike as it were. Bad idea.

"What do you want, Mr. McLeod? Are you looking for my approval of this ridiculous marriage? Well ... that's not going to happen. You two barely know each other and I doubt you are the kind of person that is capable of giving my daughter the lifestyle she is accustomed to. My son seems to think you are a good choice but I can hardly see why. You don't come from a prominent family and you aren't from this part of the country. As far as I'm concerned, she's about to make another predictable mistake."

"Well, I'm sorry you feel that way about me, Mrs. Catchpole. Just the same, I hope for Michelle's sake that you will attend the wedding. I know she and Michael and Martin would want you there."

"I very much doubt I will attend. I'm very annoyed with my daughter. She has never even presented you to me for my approval."

"That's probably my fault, Mrs. Catchpole. I should have insisted that I meet you before ... and I didn't."

"It was my daughter's responsibility, not yours," she snapped. "There are social rules about these sorts of things and Michelle has yet to learn to respect them."

I could hear the "Oxbridge" accent clearly as her forcefulness increased. She was back living in the "old country" and playing by a set of norms that didn't exist here in Canada.

"Well ... I'll leave it to your best judgement about attending. I hope for Michelle's sake that you choose to come. Thank you for listening to me," I finished. The next sound was the click of her hanging up the telephone.

I walked back to the living room and flopped in the chair I had become accustomed to as "mine."

There was a slight smile on Michelle's face as she saw my frown and wrinkled brow.

"You can't win them all, Dex."

"No ... I guess not. I had hoped that Michael would have convinced her but it doesn't sound like it. You don't seem too broken-hearted about it."

"I'm not. She can be a real ... witch ... when she wants to be. You must meet my father. You'll understand quickly enough why they couldn't co-exist. In fact, if you'd like to, why don't we drive down to Amherstburg this weekend. I'm sure they'll put us up in Dad's home on Lake Erie."

"Okay, I'd like that. But don't you think we should call first to let him know we're coming?"

"Yes ... I'll look after that. You will love him, I know it. I should have done this sooner."

Her phone call was brief and she returned to the living room with a big smile.

"He's delighted we're coming and can't wait to meet you. We can have a nice afternoon and Sunday morning with them."

"Great," I smiled.

"It's about a three-and-a-half-hour drive, so we'll need to get an early start," she warned.

"It looks like we'll have nice weather, so we can enjoy ourselves. I haven't been out of the city since I arrived months ago. I'm looking forward to the drive."

"Good. I know you'll like Dad. He's such a down-to-earth kind of guy."

With some guidance from Michelle, we arrived at her father's home just before noon. We hadn't been in any rush and the weekend traffic was light on the 401. The house was more of a cottage that had been updated and expanded, but it was right on the beach and had an unrestricted view to the south.

As we pulled into the narrow crushed rock driveway, the front door opened and two people appeared. The man, I assumed William, was lean and angular looking, with a full head of grey hair and wearing a t-shirt and jeans. The woman was somewhat younger I thought, and definitely more rounded. Both of them wore big smiles as we climbed out of the car.

"Hello!" William called as he approached. "How are you Michelle?" He was wearing a mile-wide smile as he wrapped his arms around his daughter.

"You must be Dex," he said, releasing Michelle and extending his hand, still showing his big smile.

"I am. Nice to meet you, sir."

"Oh, please, it's Billy to my friends and several of my enemies," he laughed.

He turned toward the woman and took her hand.

"This is Carolyn, the love of my life. Carolyn, this is Dexter McLeod, Michelle's fiancé."

"Lovely to meet you, Dexter. I'm so happy Michelle has found someone. Congratulations," she beamed, hugging me in place of a handshake.

"Thank you ... and it's Dex to my friends."

As the introductions were going on, I saw Michelle standing to one side and grinning at the effusive greeting from her father and his friend. I had the feeling it was going to be quite a pleasant stay in their home.

We followed them inside and Billy immediately produced a beer, handing it to me in the bottle. Carolyn passed Michelle a glass of white wine and we all toasted each other. It was completely casual and natural that I immediately felt at home with them. There wasn't a hint of pretension or cautiousness by either of them.

"We're having a few friends over for a barbeque this evening so Carolyn made a lunch. We'll probably be eating a little later so don't hesitate to dig in," Billy said.

"You couldn't resist, could you Dad? Any reason for a celebration will do, eh?" Michelle laughed.

"You know me well, girl. I may be old but not so old that I don't enjoy a good time with good people."

"You aren't old, Dad," Michelle chided. "Why you're not even seventy yet. You're in good health and good spirits, so don't give me that 'old' stuff. Am I right, Carolyn?"

"You know it, kid. He's got lots of life in him yet ... trust me," she giggled.

I was watching the happy byplay of the three and got the distinct impression that there was a lot of love going on between them. Carolyn and Michelle acted a lot like co-conspirators, trading secrets between each other. Billy looked genuinely happy and satisfied with his life. What more would any man want?

Carolyn brought out a tray of sandwiches and a bowl of potato chips, while Billy returned with a bottle of white wine for the ladies and two more beers for us. We sat on the front porch overlooking the lake for a while until it got too hot and we moved to the back deck where the barbeque would be held. Even though it was September, the weather was surprisingly warm.

The guests began arriving just after four in the afternoon and by the time the first three groups had been introduced, I knew I had no hope of remembering all the names. By five-thirty there must have been over twenty people on the deck, all of them familiar with each other. The ages ranged from early forties to late seventies I guessed, but everyone seemed to enjoy each other's company. I had a number of conversations about a wide range of topics from living on the west coast to my time in the Caribbean.

There was no common thread among the guests save the fact that they were all neighbours and/or friends of Billy and Carolyn. Their backgrounds were just as diverse: a lawyer, two auto plant workers, a newspaperman, a women's wear shop owner, more than a couple of retired people and so on. An eclectic group that all seemed to be happy in each other's company. Billy and Carolyn were well endowed with friends.

"I don't think I've enjoyed anything quite as much as this since our picnic at Zarek's farm," I told Michelle.

"Dad is that kind of person, Dex. He attracts friends like some people collect stamps. Can you imagine how confined he must have felt married to my mother? This has all happened since they divorced. He's happier here than I can ever remember him at home."

"I like Carolyn a lot, too," I said. "She's seems exactly right for him."

"Yes. I feel the same way. She's ten years younger, but I think she keeps Dad young. Anyway, she's happy, he's happy, so I'm happy."

"Will they ever marry?"

"No ... not according to them. They don't think it's necessary. It's just a legal complication and not at all important to either of them."

"What's the legal complication?"

"Carolyn's husband took off on her twenty years ago. At the time, she couldn't afford a divorce so she was just abandoned. As far as they know her husband is still alive. Arnold, I think she said his name was. Anyway, there hasn't been any need to spend the money on a lawyer and there's no sign he's coming back so they just live together as if they were married. According to their lawyer friend over there," she said, pointing at one of the guests, "she can bide her time without any negative consequences."

"I suppose we could do the same thing," I said, looking slyly at Michelle as I offered the opinion.

She looked back at me with a serious expression. "I suppose we could. Is that what you want?"

I pulled her to me and kissed her fully in front of everyone who might have been watching.

"What do you think?"

She smiled and I could feel her relax again. We remained with our arms around each other.

Every one of the guests had brought something to the event and there was more food than could possibly have been eaten. I favoured the hickory smoked baby back ribs, coleslaw and sour cream potato salad for my meal. I also tried one of the venison sausages that a guest had provided. They were outstanding and it was a shame they weren't available commercially. He had made them himself after a successful hunt somewhere up north.

The party broke up as guests began wandering off shortly after ten and the last leaving before midnight. It had been a wonderful afternoon and evening and I had met a number of very interesting people.