“Tell me what it’s about?”
Rose was lost down a pathway to a mysterious forest of books, taking her grandmother with her.
I looked at Dad who’d gotten up to make another cup of tea. He smiled at me, putting the cup down and picking up a bottle of wine and holding it up and pointing to the fridge, basically asking if I wanted a wine or a beer.
“Beer, please.” It was rare I drank during the week, usually waiting until weekend for a few drinks with my brothers after rugby or cricket, and then wine with Sunday lunch. The big nights out had long since been left behind, which was probably better for my internal organs.
He took out two beers and opened them, bringing them over. “Fancy a game of pool?”
“Why not.” I hadn’t played for ages, although for a time we’d played a lot, a tournament between my brothers, Ava, Eli and Killian that lasted almost twelve months.
My parents had a pool table in the basement in the games room they’d put in there when Max was a teenager. It wasstaying put as the new owner had a son who was about fourteen, so we’d been told, and none of us had the room for it.
“How’s Georgia?” he asked, as we sorted out our cues.
I nodded. “Better than she was. I think she felt better once we’d told people.”
“Where is she tonight?”
“Her sister’s over, so they’re watching the kids while they eat take-out and drink wine. I said I’d bring Rose to see you and Luke’s staying with Payton. She’s taking him and Tomas to see some superheroes show tomorrow.” There wasn’t much of an age difference between them and they were in the same year group at school. They were close, more like brothers than cousins and I hoped that would carry on when they were older.
“Easy night for you then?” My dad bent down and broke, the balls scattering across the table, but none were potted.
He’d lined a red ball up nicely for me, which left me to put three away in a row.
“Does Rose’s biological father know what’s happening?” The question came out of the blue.
I froze for a second. “No. She didn’t want us to tell him – she doesn’t have anything to do with him and doesn’t want any contact. That’s her decision.”
He nodded, missing an easy pot after sinking a yellow. “You’re her dad anyway.”
“I am.”
He smiled at me. “I’m proud of how you stand up for her, Joseph. You and Georgia both.”
I laughed, surprised at the praise because my dad wasn’t free with his compliments. “It’s only what Marie did with the oldest four.”
He watched me miss an easy shot.
“Marie was a saint. It isn’t an easy thing to do, taking on someone else’s kid like they’re your own. I’ve noticed Max is calling her ‘mum’ more though.” He potted a yellow with ease.
“I’ve noticed that. He even yelled it before when he found those boxes from your wedding.” We’d cleared out what was in the loft today, the final bits left in there from years before.
Dad nodded, remembering what was in them. “That was your Aunt Bernie who insisted we box up the favours and some of the table decs. I don’t think we ever opened those boxes until now.”
“They were from your wedding in Oxford?”
“They were. Marie’s parents couldn’t get over for the wedding and what we had here was small and quick. They wanted a party for it, which your mum wasn’t keen on at first, but then once the house in Oxford was ready – we had it all modernised – we gave in because we thought it’d give the kids a new memory.”
We’d stopped playing now, drinking our beers slowly and leaning against the wall. I’d heard lots of stories from my siblings and parents, as well as from Aunt Bernie who had her own take on everything. My dad occasionally told us something we hadn’t heard before, but usually he liked to listen instead.
“How was it for you when Marie came here and made you be more hands on?” It felt like an impertinent question to ask. I’d seen my dad solely as a father figure rather than a person in his own right for most of my life, and it’d only been in the last year or so I’d started to develop a different relationship with him.
He laughed, which made me feel better. “A shock, but that wasn’t because of Marie. I knew the kids needed me around; I should’ve been around all the time and not left their mum on her own as much and I felt really guilty about it. When I was in New York for that mediation and the court case I didn’t actually want to be there. I could see Max was struggling and trying to be the man of the house when I wasn’t there, which I knew wasn’t fair.My dad wanted me to send all of them to boarding school, but I knew Rachael had never wanted that and I didn’t really want to either, so I knew there had to be a change. If I hadn’t had Marie with me, I think I’d have been overwhelmed. Instead, I kind of copied her. How did you learn to parent Rose?”
It was my turn to laugh. “I don’t know if I do parent Rose. I knew when I met her and Georgia that I loved them and I’d do anything to look after them, so I suppose I just did that. Is that the same as parenting?” Unlike my older brothers, I had no difficulty saying how I felt. A lot of that was because of Marie and how open she was with her feelings, so different to my older siblings and father.
“I think you do more than just look after her, for what it’s worth. I don’t think she’d have chosen to call you dad if it was just caretaking.” His smile was knowing. “I think it’s a lot more than that.”
