May 2016
OLLY
It’s Jamie’s communion in three days’ time. Mae is fussing over his hair, wondering does it need another trim? Evie is teasing him about his shoes, which are too shiny and new and not in the least bit cool. He takes the comments from two of the women in his life in his stride. There’s little in life that worries him. And that’s as it should be.
Back in 1981, when I was his age, my biggest worry was whether Liverpool was going to win the league for the thirteenth time. Hours were spent with Pops discussing the worth of Ian Rush, whether he would be worthy of his transfer fee.
I’ve watched Jamie’s face change in the last few months. The baby roundness is gone and I can see glimpses of the young man he’s going to become. And sometimes he looks at me and I can see Pops. I never used to think he looked like him, but he does. And that makes me happy.
‘What time is your flight on Monday again?’ Mae shouts over the whistle of the kettle she’s boiling.
‘Early. I’ll be gone by four a.m.,’ I reply. I’m itching to get back to Ripples. We’ve finally succeeded in getting a new government grant. I’ve not told them yet. I want to see Andy’s face in person when I break the news. We can make a real impact and build housing for many more families.
‘And you’ll tell them about the books I’ve gotten?’ Mae says, placing a cup of coffee in front of me.
‘Yes. I promise I will. Gloria will be thrilled to hear about the new donation of books. That library of yours will need its own building yet by the time you’re done!’ I say and pull her into my lap for a quick squeeze.
‘I want a school house and a library. You know that,’ she replies, not missing a beat. But then leans down and kisses me.
‘We’ll do it,’ I promise and know that between us we can do anything we put our minds to. And living proof of that just ambles into the room.
‘Mama, may I juice please?’
MAE
‘Oh my goodness, that was just beautiful manners, Magda!’ I say to the little girl tugging my arm. ‘Did you hear that, Dada?’
‘I sure did. That’s my clever girl.’
She beams in response to the praise and holds her arms up to me saying, ‘Carry.’
She’s small for her age, only weighing three stone, but we’ll build her up in time. I feel her bones sticking into my ribcage as she squeezes me tight.
‘Snuggles,’ she sighs and I stroke her hair gently.
‘Yes. Snuggles. Mama Mae loves them.’ I look over her head and nod once, as Olly looks at me. I know what he’s thinking. That’s the third time in a row she’s looked for snuggles herself. We’re making real progress here.
We thought we’d never swing it. Endless paperwork to become foster parents and we’ve got mountains more to plough through so that we can achieve our ultimate goal of adopting her. I thought we’d never be allowed to bring her home, but she’s here now and settled into her life as a Guinness.
Finally, she seems to believe us, to trust us that she’s here to stay as part of our family.
EVIE
‘So we are really going to do this?’ Ann says.
‘Yep. It’s all in place. On June first we start the convoy from here. We’ve got nearly four hundred motor homes lined up.’
‘Four hundred and one, because Sophie and Melissa hired a motor home for the day too!’ Luke says, grinning.
‘That’s fantastic.’
‘And I’ve contacted all the local papers and also the radio stations. They’ve all promised to come along,’ Luke adds.
‘Most importantly, the Guinness Book of Records official confirmed he’d be here too!’ I say. It’s been a lot of work, but I don’t care. I’m elated to pull it off. We’ve got local sponsors from a number of big businesses. As it stands, we’ve cleared nearly three thousand euros, after any costs are paid.
‘Luke, time for you to say goodnight. It’s getting late. Olly said he’ll run you home, it’s no night to be cycling,’ Mam pops her head into the family room.
‘Okay, Mrs G. That would be great.’
‘I can’t be doing looking at you two getting all smoochy smoochy together. I’m off to torment Jamie,’ Ann declares, winking at me as she goes out. She’s staying for a sleepover tonight. We’re planning on watching the Hunger Games trilogy back to back.
‘You did it,’ Luke says to me. ‘I knew you would.’
‘We did it, Luke. You, me and Ann. We did it together.’
‘And even though my sisters have a caravan for the convoy, I still want to ride in Nomad with you.’
‘I was hoping you’d say that. You have to be up there at the front with me and Ann.’
‘Luke. Are you right, come on!’ Dad shouts in.
‘I better go before your old fella loses it. I’ll call you later, okay?’ He leans in and kisses me and I wrap my arms up around his neck, leaning in close.
I walk with him to the front door and even though Dad is watching, I don’t stop holding his hand. I love him. We’ve not said that to each other, but we will one day soon. Because I know he feels the same way too.
Mam said yesterday that she worries that we are both too young to be so serious about each other. But she’s wrong and I told her so.
Love knows no age. Love just is.
I wish Pops were here to see the record-breaking attempt with me. But I feel his presence all the time. Little things that happen, that we all call Wi-Fi now, that make us remember his words, his letters, his love.
OLLY
I pretend to scowl at Evie and Luke as they kiss goodbye. It’s in my job description to be the over-protective dad. But in truth, I don’t mind in the least. I like the kid. Luke is a good guy and has proved himself over and over this past year or so. Not least of which in his enthusiasm to help Evie and Ann organise the record-breaking attempt.
I’m so proud of Evie. It’s been a work in progress, teaching her to be confident, to walk with her head held high. We had to be careful not to make her too reliant on us. In the end she went back to her own school and looked Martina and Deirdre in the eye, telling them that she forgave them. And I think that killed them both more than anything else. They wanted a row, they wanted the drama, but they didn’t get it. Evie just got on with her life and eliminated the toxic parts of it.
That’s what we’ve all done, really. There’s days when Mae and I barely see each other because of work. But every night, no matter what has gone on that day, we go to bed together. When I’m in Romania, we Skype every day and I can honestly say that I never leave anything unsaid.
I don’t think even my wise Pops could have predicted how life-changing his surprise adventure would be for us all. Our lives are unrecognisable, yet exactly as they were and how they should be now. None of us want to take this for granted. We don’t want to forget. So between us all, we came up with our Guinness Family House Rules, which we’ve had printed, framed and hung in our hallway. These rules are mostly based on the wisdom Pops imparted to us. But we came up with a few of our own lessons too.
The Guinness Family found their way back home.