Daisy pirouetted around the hall. It was Saturday and she was going to dancing. A new venture in her young life and one which she had grasped with a powerful enthusiasm. ‘See what I can do, gran’ma. Look. Look.’ She spun round, her golden hair in a tight bun high on her head so that she looked like a spinning top, Effie said. Cathy was bustling around gathering up shoes and jackets. ‘I don’t need a jacket, Mum. It’s hot.’ and she ducked to avoid the proffered garment. Cathy shrugged and shoved the offending item in her large flowery bag. ‘Now come on, Daisy. You can’t go out in those ballet shoes. You put them on when we get there, you know very well.’ Daisy reluctantly took them off complaining to no one in particular. She was keen to get going and for once did not argue.
Effie was taking the younger Rosie to the park while Mum accompanied Daisy, and Jim had promised to come and pick Rosie up from the park later. The May sun was out and the lilac was flowering in the garden, beautiful blousy purple blooms exuding a heavenly scent. Effie breathed it in as she ushered the excited Rosie along the path. It was good to be outside and she was looking forward to having some time on her own with Rosie. She had decided to give dating a break this weekend and had arranged instead an outing with her old friend Agnes, a single lady like herself. The idea of spending an evening with someone she knew well and did not have to fuss about was an entirely pleasurable thought.
But first there was Rosie and the park which the child loved. She raced ahead on her scooter which she had insisted on bringing despite Cathy’s discouragement. Sensitive to the implied criticism that she, grandma, wouldn’t cope with a scooter, Effie made conscious efforts to encourage the child to use it though as Rosie flew off into the distance she momentarily regretted her decision: the perils of pride.
When pushed, however, Effie could set up a fair old pace and she was soon catching up with her young granddaughter who was happy and laughing. ‘I beat you! I beat you,’ she trilled. ‘Oh no you didn’t. We’re not there yet’ said Effie as she shot past Rosie aiming for the playground at the far side of the park. Rosie grabbed her scooter handles and right leg flying raced the machine after her grandmother, half laughing and half crying. ‘Wait for me - wait for me!’ Effie gradually slackened her pace, grateful to let Rosie win. ‘Wow, you’re a star, you’re a shooting star, poppet. I think you deserve an ice cream.’ ‘Ooh yes!’
Rosie couldn’t believe her good luck to be allowed an ice cream before anything else. ‘Mummy always says I’ve got to do something before I get sweety things.’ ‘Well,’ said Effie conspiratorially ‘you’re out with me today and we do things grandma’s way, so you can certainly have an ice cream right now if you want.’ Rosie jumped excitedly and sped off towards the cafe. She chose a triple-decker cone with boules of chocolate chip, green pistachio and red berry symphony: Effie chose a double-decker - a concession to her waistline - of pecan nut crunch and mango madness. The two of them sat on a bench, silently licking. ‘It’s ‘licious’ pronounced Rosie as she grasped the heavy cone in her small hand, her little pink tongue busy. ‘Now no need to eat it all if it’s too much.’ Effie was beginning to wonder if she had been a bit foolish to give the child carte blanche. But Rosie showed no sign of giving up, licking round the colourful dome of the ice cream with care and skilfully catching the drips as they melted and slid down.
Ten minutes later she was down to the last piece of cone, now not so crunchy, but she was clearly not going to leave a single bit and gobbled up the last soggy morsel with a sigh of satisfaction. The older woman and the little girl sat there for a few minutes not speaking but utterly content. Effie closed her eyes briefly and absorbed the heat of the sun on her face, the lingering sweet flavours in her mouth and best of all, the warm wonderful sense of being close to her granddaughter. Give me this kind of love any day, she thought. So much simpler than sex.
Her reverie did not last long. Rosie had recovered from the mountain of ice cream and was now on something of a sugar high, tugging at Effie’s sleeve to get her to go on to the playground which was brimming with happily screaming children. They started at the swings, moved to the big slide and a variety of climbing frames. Rosie was fearless, refusing to be put off by her small size. Effie helped her where she could, giving her a hoist here and a push there. She was amazed at the child’s agility and lack of fear. So unlike me at that age she thought. There was a large sandpit at one end of the play space and abandoning the climbing apparatus Rosie soon settled down in the sand where she was quickly chatting to another little girl and finding tools, a spare spade and a bucket. They busied themselves digging and patting what shortly Rosie informed Effie was a sand house. ‘You can come in when we’re finished,’
‘OK darling. I’ll sit here and watch.’ She seated herself on a bench at the edge of the sandpit with the other lazily watching guardians.
The afternoon moved on and the sun was going down so that shadows lengthened in the sand as Effie watched, closing her eyes occasionally, but careful not to drift off. It was peaceful, despite the noise of the children. She noticed Rosie looking up every now and again in her direction. Just checking I’m here, she thought and pondered a while on her younger grandchild. A feisty little girl who was jostling for position with a dominating older sister. Not as self-confident as Daisy nor as vain, though coming a close second. She couldn’t really blame them. The shops were stuffed full of fashion items for children and she knew she herself could succumb to purchasing items which were unnecessarily adult and too sexy. But the children always leapt on such purchases with enthusiasm. Strange really because Cathy had never bothered about that sort of thing. Even as a teenager she had steadfastly taken a defiant stance against the prevailing fashion. And now, venturing into the world of dating had forced Effie to take her own appearance more seriously. With Susie’s expert advice and blunt criticism she had added a few items to her wardrobe, was wearing skirts one size smaller and spending longer on her makeup than she ever remembered from her adolescence. She was all too aware that the three dates so far had all looked her over quite carefully, and she dreaded looking silly. Mutton dressed as lamb came to mind.
Her rumination was interrupted by a tap on the shoulder and a cheerful ‘Hi Effie’. It was Jim. He looked relaxed in casual clothes. He had already picked up a touch of tan on his face and gave her a smile revealing strong white teeth. He stood for a moment looking for his daughter. ‘So how’s things? She looks as though she’s enjoying herself. Who’s the friend?’
‘Oh I think it’s Charlotte, her new friend. They’ve been busy together for an hour. It’s been lovely.’
‘Let’s see what they’ve made’ said Jim as he moved across. Effie followed. The girls had constructed a dug out of a house with four ‘rooms’ with sand beds and sand chairs. They had a kitchen with a bucket for a sink and leaves and twigs were arranged on the sand table. A deeper hole led off one of the rooms which Rosie claimed was ‘the loo’. There were lumps of wet sand and bits of bark in the loo. ‘We don’t know how to flush it away’ explained Rosie’s friend and they giggled together. ‘And that’s where the daddy sleeps when they have a row’. Rosie pointed to a small dug-out area.
‘Oh, do they row?’ queried Effie, but at that moment a young woman appeared who turned out to be Charlotte’s mother. Neither child wanted to go and some ten minutes passed in negotiating an extraction. The friend cried and wheedled and so did Rosie till finally, Jim’s patience wearing thin, he promised her a quick visit to the adventure playground. ‘For big kids like me’ pronounced Rosie. ‘Yeh, well, if you go there you’ve got to behave like a big kid and not cry like a baby,’ said Jim, taking Rosie firmly by the hand.
‘Well, I think that’s my cue to get going, Jim. I’ll just walk over with you and then make tracks.’ Rosie, happy again in her minor victory, was chatting away to her father as she scooted along. Effie listened, impressed by the speed with which the child’s mood could change from apparent catastrophe to a kind of happy insouciance. Oh to be a child and recover so fast.
Jim stopped at the entrance to the adventure playground. They made their farewells, he gave her a friendly peck on the cheek and Effie headed off for home feeling good about her afternoon. So good to have Rosie on her own for once. She put her hand up to the cheek where Jim had deposited the kiss and strolled along the path admiring the flower beds, the profusion of colours, fresh smells. She bent down occasionally to inspect a bloom and smell it. The sun was still warm on her back and she felt life really wasn’t too bad. She carried these pleasing feelings with her as she exited the park and made her way to the bus stop to wait for her bus home. A young girl was already in the shelter and gave her a smile. Nothing like a fine day to make people friendly she thought. She noticed the girl’s earrings, pretty gold rings with a purple stone, probably amethysts, a stone she liked. The sun, now low in the sky, caught the gold and glistened brightly. Effie’s mobile rang. She tutted as she pulled it out of her bag to answer, the peaceful spell broken. It was Jim and there was panic in his voice. ‘Rosie’s fallen off – cut her head – can you come, please.’