Familiar Journey

Family likeness?

Familiar Journey

"Why can't I bring Evan?"

"Julie, I've told you a dozen times, he's just not suitable. Daddy and I don't like you seeing him." Sarah pursed her lips as she negotiated the turn into the retirement home. "Now," she said as she switched off the engine. "Don't let Granny hear any of this I don't want her worrying."

"But..."

"Shush! here's Matron and look, Granny's all ready to go."

Julie dutifully shushed and assisted in the necessary fuss of installing her Grandmother in the back seat and folding her wheelchair into the boot.

"Let me sit beside you Granny," Julie slipped into the other back seat and strapped herself in.

Predictably, within three miles; after a few pleasantries and enquiries after health, observations on the weather and the usual exclamation over the view as they reached the Dale Head road, the old lady fell asleep as she had done on car journeys for at least the last forty years. Equally predictably, using a hoarse whisper in deference to her Grandmother's delicate snores, Julie resumed her protestations but soon lapsed into a sullen silence that continued for nearly a hundred miles until Sarah turned into a service station in search of tea and other comforts.

"That's better," said Granny as they resumed their journey. "It's always good to get a cup of tea that that Mrs Brownlow hasn't meddled with." She wriggled in her seat and looked out at the motorway traffic. "Everyone seems to be in a dreadful hurry these days, we had more time when I was a girl."

"But Granny, you always said how busy you were when you were a nurse."

Sarah smiled to herself as she changed lane. Julie was asking just the right questions to keep her Granny's mind off the journey, there was nearly an hour left to go. Maybe daughters did have their uses after all.

"I'm talking about before I became a nurse. When I was about your age we lived on the main road out of town but there was never this much traffic and it was a lot slower. there were still some horses then but not many..."

Sarah concentrated on the road ahead and lost track of the low conversation behind her. Half an hour later she left the motorway and had a little more attention to spare. The topic had changed somewhat.

"We've always been headstrong girls in our family, my father never liked your Grandfather, I think it might have been because of his motorbike. I remember he was furious when he found I'd been riding pillion when we went out at weekends."

"Didn't Grandad ride a motorbike in the war?"

"Oh yes. he was a dispatch rider, he used to say he'd have ridden more than twice round the world if he'd kept in a straight line."

"Were you very worried?"

"Oh yes. When the war started I was training and I married your Grandfather in a great secret hurry when he got his posting. He was gone nearly six years. I qualified as a nurse when the bombing started and we all worked very hard..."

The roadworks on the Inner Ring Road rendered the voices inaudible and then city traffic required Sarah's attention. She was faintly surprised to hear her mother still awake and talking as the car eased into the familiar suburb.

"...and of course he hated your father, him playing in a band and that dreadful old van he had but Sarah wouldn't listen and she was off with them as often as she could get away. Mind you, I didn't like him myself at first and nobody thought it would last, 'End in Tears.' they said, well I suppose it might yet but twenty five years is a pretty good start I suppose..."

Sarah smiled at the recollection. It had been a pretty good start. It had been a pretty good twenty five years all round. Dave had given up the van and the band as soon as she'd fallen pregnant and he'd slaved to build up the business. Yes it had turned out very well indeed just as she'd always known it would.

"...you know Julie, you're a lot like your mother was when she was young, and a lot like me too if I'm honest. I expect you'd be just as stubborn if ever you found the right young man."

"Oh Granny!"

"Don't you 'Oh Granny' me my girl. You're blushing!"

"Er,"

"What's he like, what's his name, and when do I get to meet him?"

Sarah groaned inwardly and parked badly.

Derek Moody 2001