Page 37 of Letting Go of Yesterday
‘No let me, please, by way of an apology.’
‘Okay, thank you.’ He smiled and she wished she could kiss him, but she settled for touching his arm again instead.
Rowan took the boys’ requests for food and Nathan told her that anything would do for him. It summed up how easy going he was; a welcome change of pace from life with someone like James. She’d spotted Bex and her family watching the band performing; both sets of her parents were around somewhere too and she wanted to spend time with all of them, as well as Nathan and Leo, before she got consumed by work in the week ahead. Bella and Tiffany had come over to join her in the queue, ready for second helpings, having already worked their way through the hotdogs Tiffany’s parents had bought them. Catching up with friends and family would have given her the perfect excuse to stay out of her father-in-law’s way too. Unfortunately, Michael seemed to have a sixth sense, not to mention other ideas, and he appeared at her elbow, with James in tow, as she was queuing up at the food truck.
‘I take it you’ve decided to indulge in some junk food after all?’ She raised her eyebrows as she looked at Michael, deliberately using his own words against him.
‘When in Rome I suppose.’ He pulled a face.
‘Hi Rowan, any chance you could grab a photo of me and Aidan with the baby.’ The man tapped her on the shoulder as he spoke, and when she turned around she realised it was Jase, the headteacher of another primary school in a neighbouring village. They’d met at a training day run by the local authority and had hit it off straight away. Jase was with his husband, who was carrying their baby daughter in a papoose strapped to his chest.
‘It’s great to see you and of course I will.’ She took the mobile phone from his outstretched hand.
‘Thanks so much. It’s Ellis’s first bonfire night party and me and Aidan are the sort of parents who like to document every little moment, even her first bit of hotdog bun.’
‘I’m all for capturing as many memories as you can.’ Rowan smiled, but she could almost feel Michael vibrating with righteous indignation behind her. Jase and his beautiful little family looked perfect to her, but she knew they represented everything her father-in-law hated. She couldn’t bear the idea of him saying anything to spoil Jase and Aidan’s memories of their first bonfire night party with their daughter, so she needed to take the photograph as soon as she could. Snapping away as they gave Ellis a little bit of the hotdog bun to try, she held her breath, silently praying that Michael’s agitated muttering wouldn’t turn into something more. Handing the phone back to Jase, she waited as he looked at the photographs.
‘Are they okay?’
‘They’re brilliant, thanks so much, Rowan. I owe you a coffee at the next training session.’ He smiled at her warmly, but she shook her head and leant forward to give him a hug.
‘Just save me a seat next to you, so I’ve got someone fun to chat to.’
‘I will, every time! Have a great evening.’
‘You too.’
They’d barely turned to walk away before Michael gave an exaggerated tut. When she didn’t respond, he did it again and accompanied it with a huge sigh. She still didn’t respond, but it was clear he wasn’t going to let the moment pass without comment.
‘Do you know those people?’ It sounded more like an accusation than a question and she was relieved they’d reached the front of the queue, so that she had a moment to think about her response. Her almost overwhelming urge was to tell him that he could take his opinions and leave, but in a far less polite way.
Ignoring him until she’d given the server her order, and then moved to the end of the serving hatch to wait, Rowan took a deep breath and turned back towards Michael.
‘So are you going to answer me or not?’
She looked at James, who’d gone back to saying nothing at all, just as he had when his father had been belligerent and rude at lunchtime. If he was going to leave her to it, she’d just have to deal with his father in her own way. ‘Yes, I know, Jase, and I met his husband and their baby when they picked him up from a training session we were both attending. Aidan’s a nurse at St Piran’s and they’re both lovely.’
‘There’s nothing lovely about two men bringing up a child. If they choose to live a life of sin that’s up to them, but to bring a baby into it is disgusting.’
Rowan had been about to tell Michael that the only disgusting thing was his attitude, but Tiffany was too quick for her. ‘Aidan looked after me when I broke my arm last year and he was so nice, and I bet he’s really brilliant at looking after babies too.’
‘You don’t even know him, Grandpa, and you shouldn’t say mean things about people, just because you don’t agree with them. The vicar who comes to our school told us that in assembly.’ Bella chimed in to back up her friend, folding her arms in front of her chest in an act of undisguised defiance. Rowan had never been more proud of her daughter.
‘You’ve got no idea what you’re talking about, but at least you’ve got an excuse. You’re silly little girls who don’t know any better.’ Michael turned towards his son. ‘If your wife isn’t going to instil decent morals into your children, you need to double down on making sure that you do. Otherwise who knows what kind of life they’ll end up living.’
‘I…’ James was still just standing there, allowing his father to speak to the children as though they were nothing, and Rowan wanted to shake him and tell him that he needed to stand up to Michael once and for all. Except she was acutely aware of Bella and Tiffany standing right behind her, and she didn’t want to upset them more than they already were. She needed to say something, to let the girls know they’d done absolutely nothing wrong. As for what Michael had said about her parenting, she couldn’t give in to the rage that was bubbling away just below the surface, otherwise she might have started screaming in his face. There was no way everything could just be left unsaid, though, and James clearly wasn’t going to step up and be the father his children needed. Gritting her teeth she turned towards Michael, trying to work out what to say that would leave him in no doubt that he’d crossed a line she wouldn’t tolerate but which wouldn’t cause the girls any more distress. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, the server called out their order.
‘Number eighty-five is ready.’ As she collected the order, Rowan allowed herself to take a long steadying breath, before handing the girls what they’d asked for. Her priority was making sure they were okay after what had just happened; her vitriol for her father-in-law could wait.
‘I’m really proud of you both for what you said about Aidan and Jase.’ Her words were met with a loud snort of derision from Michael, which she chose to ignore, focusing on the girls instead. ‘But Dad and I need to talk to Grandpa about something. Why don’t you go over to where Bex and her boys are standing, with Tiffany’s mum and dad, and I’ll come and find you in a little while.’ She looked at Bella, who for once didn’t debate the decision, seeming to understand. Rowan still had the food she’d ordered for Nathan and the boys, but she wanted to take it to them herself, once she’d finally had the chance to confront Michael about his attitude and give James one last chance to step up.
‘Okay, see you in a bit.’ Bella planted an unexpected but very welcome kiss on Rowan’s cheek and headed off in the direction of her friend’s parents.
Moving away from the food stand, she looked at James again. ‘Are you going to say something to your father?’
‘Of course he isn’t because he agrees with me. He knows as well as I do that the Bible says?—’
‘I don’t agree with you.’ James cut his father off, but he kept his eyes firmly fixed on the ground.
