4 July Fireworks – Part 5

As the United States of America celebrates two and a half centuries since its founding, one family grapples with its own issues…

My daddy ambled over to us and lifted his hat to scratch his still blond thatch.
“I left Felicity and Seven having a talk about his parents. There’s a bit of mending needed there. He feels like he let her down, and she feels like she shouldn’t loathe his parents for being holier than thou hypocrites.”
“That’s precisely what they are,” Felix said with an edge of bitterness I’d never heard in his voice.
Daddy looked him in the face. “My Pa used to go out on a Saturday night and come home drunk. Nine times out of ten he was a happy silly drunk who used to sing and go to bed with his boots on. The tenth time he was mean drunk, and we never knew what he might do. When me and your Uncle Elias was sixteen and fourteen, he took his belt to Ma. We took it off him and beat him down. He never touched Ma like that again, but he never forgave us and neither did Ma.”
I put my arms around him and held on tight.
“You did right. Even if you never got anything for it but blame.”
Felix put a hand on Pa’s shoulder.
“My daddy says that no good deed ever goes unpunished.”
Pa smiled. “He’s right, lad. And it was a long time ago.”
My mom had appeared while we were talking and she pulled Daddy into a fierce embrace.
He smiled stronger and kissed her with unashamed love.
“So long as I have you, darlin’.”
“You do. And we never made our parents’ mistakes with our kids.”
“You absolutely didn’t,” I said. “You never even commented when your only daughter decided she wanted to be a tattoo artist.”
Mom laughed. “It’s legal, morally defendable, and pays well. And, anyway, there was never any point in arguing with you.”
Felix laughed. “That’s because she only argues when she knows she’s right.”
My husband knows me entirely too well, and I was consider whether to kiss him or stomp him when Pa lifted a hand.
“Dirt bike incoming.”
Sure enough the rough note of a revving bike engine was being borne towards us on the hot southern wind.
Mom tapped my arm.
“Can you and Felix stop the assembled company from interfering?”
“We can.”
“Good. Me and your daddy and Felicity and Seven need to speak with the doctor, but we don’t need an audience.”
“Particularly not one composed mainly of hounds baying for the good doctor’s blood,” Felix said quietly.
I just gave Mom the thumbs up.
“You go round the front and we’ll keep the assembled eejits out here.”
The moms and dads slipped into the house and shut the door behind them. Felix grinned at me.
“Why do I feel about seven years old right now?”
“It’s a parents thing. I suspect our little shits will feel much the same at some point in time.”
As if the heard themselves being mentioned,Luke and Mark arrived, sticky and smiling, and as always my heart warmed to see how happy and free they were.
Luke swarmed up Felix’s leg while Mark fixed me with serious look.
“Where Grammy and Grandpaw?”
I bent down to his level.
“They’re busy doing parent stuff.”
He frowned. “Is it spankings?”
“Since when has parent stuff included spankings?”
“Great Grandma said your parenting is def-ish-ent and me and Luke would be better for spankings.”
“Then you ain’t gonna be better,” I said firmly. “Because spanking isn’t the sort of parent stuff me and your daddy are about to embrace.”
His smile lit his face from ear to ear.
“And we can carry on dancing?”
Felix laughed. “Course you can, and maybe one day you’ll be able to teach me not to have two left feet.”
Luke had scrambled onto his daddy’s shoulder and he addressed us from his exalted perch.
“I told you Mom and Daddy, wouldn’t listen to them ole fossils.”
Felix and I managed not to laugh. Just.
As we were rearranging our faces Ophelia appeared. She looked suddenly smaller and also angry.
“I’m sorry the twins heard that. The grandparents turned up at Lucinda’s birthday party last weekend. Unannounced and not invited.” She looked close to tears and I put my arm around her shoulders.
“I don’t see it’s any of your fault. I’m sure you didn’t invite them, or their fascinating opinions.”
She managed a twisted smile. “We didn’t but they gave us the benefit anyway. If it’s any consolation, the bloody old fossils were criticising everyone’s parenting rather than yours particularly . Though that doesn’t excuse us not realising Mark and Luke heard and remembered.”
“I wouldn’t take that on your shoulders. These two have phenomenal hearing and recall. When it suits them.”
Luke climbed down from his lofty perch and hugged Ophelia’s leg.
“Never mind tante Ophie. We don’t care bout them old sourpusses. Even if they did say Momma’s got a pink neck.”
“Red,” Mark corrected him. “They said Momma’s got a red neck and naughty blood.”
Felix went very still.
“Did they indeed?” His voice was low and dangerous.
The twins looked up at me and spoke as one child.
“Oh. Oh. Sounds like somebody’s in trouble.”
Felix bent down so his face was level with them.
“Somebody is, but it’s not you, little men.”

More of this tale by Jane Jago tomorrow…