Page 49 of A Part of Me and You
‘How’s Mum and Dad?’ I ask Helen, knowing that there isn’t an awful lot she is going to tell me, not in front of Rosie anyhow.
‘Mum’s still battling with her migraines and Dad is still insisting he’s taking her to a specialist and Mum is still digging her heels in and saying no.’
‘So, the usual?’ I say and Helen nods in agreement. ‘Any other news from home? How are the boys? And Brian?’
Helen thinks for a moment.
‘Great. No news here,’ she says. ‘The boys are off school and I’m off school too and I must admit that life here is just ticking along. No horse-riding on the beach or eating crab claws in the sunshine or walking golden retrievers or visiting fancy pants houses for us. I wish we’d booked a foreign holiday now, but we didn’t, so we’re just ticking along. Nothing exciting I’m afraid. Or should I say, glad? Maybe it’s a good thing. No drama.’
I know exactly what she means – but as lovely as it is to be just ticking along, I want to give my sister a shake up to do something just a little bit more exciting for a change. I want her to go up in a hot air balloon, I want her to book a holiday last minute, just do something instead of letting one day drift into another. She is young, she is brimming with energy and health and warmth and love and it’s such a pity for her to just be ticking along.
‘Why don’t you surprise your husband with a night out on the tiles this weekend?’ I suggest to her and she bursts into laughter.
‘Surprise him? Me and Brian? We are way past the stage of surprises, Juliette. I think he would die of shock and imagine the horror if I arranged something for the weekend that didn’t involve watching football on a big screen or playing darts down the pub.’
‘Surprise him, I dare you!’ I tell her. ‘Get dressed up, book a table somewhere nice, arrange a babysitter and let your hair down, just the two of you. Then book a flippin’ holiday and go enjoy it. There’s no point in just ticking along, Helen. Get busy living or get busy dying, that’s my motto for as long as I can stick to it.’
I feel Rosie shift in her seat. Maybe I shouldn’t have said that – the ‘dying’ bit.
‘Mum’s right,’ says Rosie, much to my relief. ‘There’s a lot more to life than just ticking along. I know you mean there’s no big news or no drama and that’s fantastic, of course it is, but you should be enjoying yourself a lot more than you do. You should travel more. I can’t wait to travel the world.’
Helen smiles at us and lets out a sigh.
‘I have three very lively boys to keep me busy,’ Helen reminds us. ‘But yes, I get what you mean. I should be stepping out of my comfort zone a little bit more, just like you did today, Juliette and I should be tasting things like crab claws just like you did yesterday, Rosie. I’ll get my thinking cap on and do something nice this weekend.’
‘It doesn’t have to break the bank,’ I say to her, knowing that with a mortgage and a family and a million other things on her mind when it comes to finances, it’s not as simple for Helen to get up and go as we are insinuating.
‘There is a movie I’d love to see on the big screen,’ says Helen. ‘Brian would probably rather pull his own teeth out than watch it but we could maybe go for a drink after I suppose, that might convince him to forego the darts league.’
‘That’s the spirit,’ I tell her. ‘And make sure to hold hands and snuggle up in the back row. Put on something nice, you know, underneath too.’
‘Mum! Too much info!’ says Rosie and I shrug.
‘Nothing wrong with a bit of romance,’ I reply.
‘You know what ladies, I am just going tomakehim go,’ says Helen. ‘I’m actually looking forward to it now that you’ve said it. It’s been a while since we went out together, just the two of us. Sunday lunch at the local with the boys has been my social life for too long and with sport of some sort on in the background it doesn’t leave much room for romance. I’m going to make my husband take me on a date.’
‘That’s more like it!’ I tell my sister. ‘Now, on that note, we are going to leave you to your planning and go to bed as we’ve another big day lined up for tomorrow, haven’t we Rosie?’
‘Have we?’ asks Rosie. ‘That’s news to me.’
I smile smugly and shrug my shoulders.
‘You’ll just have to wait until then to find out what exactly I’m talking about, but it’s going to be another good one, just you wait and see.’
‘You can’t leave me hanging like that,’ says Helen. ‘Tell me what you’re up to so I can sit here pulling my hair out as the boys wreck the house tomorrow and be green with envy.’
‘I’ll text you,’ I tell my sister. ‘Now, babysitter, Brian, movies, booze and dancing. Get it sorted!’
‘I love you both, you know that,’ says Helen, just as we are about to sign off. I can see her lip wobble. Mine starts to tremble too.
‘Right back at you, Aunty Helen,’ says Rosie, but I can’t speak. I just wave at her into the camera and hug Rosie a little tighter than I should.
‘It’s the cliffs tomorrow, isn’t it, Mum?’ says Rosie. ‘You finally got someone to take us out on a boat, just like you’ve been wanting?’
I inhale her hair and close my eyes. I am so tired but I don’t want her to see it.
‘Let’s get you to bed, missy,’ I say to her and her arm goes around my waist and we sit there for what feels like forever. How am I ever going to leave her on her own? She gives me a squeeze as if she is reading my mind and despite my fears, I know that she is a strong, feisty lady like her mother and part of me knows that she will one day be okay.
