With the tree and the staircase, and the ladders and the brightly coloured sweatshirts, it’s almost like a scene fromElf, but I keep that thought to myself and carry on snapping.
After the selfie with everyone I’m about to hand the phone to Libby when she lets out a cry. ‘Mum, is thatyouup there! Come out from behind the man in greenTHIS MINUTE!’ She’s staring at Miranda as if she’s having to look twice. ‘What are you doing here, you said you were arriving next weekend?’
Miranda’s a lot less prominent than she was on the same step earlier, if you ask me. She’s still skulking slightly as she cobbles her reply together.
‘I’ll say hello properly once we finish here. We came early to give Ivy a hand, and it’s a damn good thing we did, we’ve barely stopped.’
Libby’s frown deepens. ‘We …?’
Miranda’s smile suggests she’s completely unbothered by Libby’s disapproval and the charm-free interrogation. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll introduce you in a bit, you might have seen him in the hot tub as you came through.’ She’s still going. ‘His Range Rover’s out the front, it’s the extra-shiny one with the cherished plate.’
Libby lets out a groan. ‘Youhaven’tgot engaged again?’
Miranda hesitates. ‘No … at least … notyet. At the moment Ambie’s just a special friend.’
‘Ambie?’ Libby whirls round and looks at me expectantly.
‘Short for Ambrose.’ I can’t help thinking about how much she’s paying me, which is why I’m filling her in. ‘He’s great company in the hot tub, drinks gin like a fish and, don’t be fooled like I was, he can hold his breath under water for bloody hours.’ I take in that Tansy is sending me a dead eye. ‘Excuse the swearing.’
Fliss is rolling her eyes at me. ‘A husband’s for life, not just for Christmas, Mum.’
Miranda’s shaking her head. ‘Look at you two and your long faces, stop worrying about things that might never happen.’
Fliss lets out a groan. ‘But they always do, that’s the problem.’
Miranda’s smile lights up again as she stares down at the surfies. ‘I’ve met so manynew friends here too.’ She wrinkles her nose at Keef. ‘It’s not every day a man makes you your dream four poster.’
It’s good to see Fliss finally smile. ‘Not even you can marry them all, Miranda.’
And this is why I love spending time with Fliss’s family. They’re enthralling because they live their lives without limits. They call their mum by her first name. You never know what’s going to happen from one moment to the next. I mean, I love my mum and dad, but they’re super-predictable and they’d hit the roof if I ever called them Pauline and Harry. For them, every year is the same – they spend a week in the same guesthouse in Scarborough in the summer, have a day out at Bridlington in the autumn, a trip to the panto, and that’s as much excitement as they can take in a year. Their menus repeat week after week, my dad fishes, my mum knits, and they watch TV. And that’s it. When they once swapped Thursday sausage and chips for an M&S ready meal, they talked about it for months afterwards. When I first met Fliss, her noisy, colourful family were a revelation. One weekend at Miranda’s and the limitations of my own life exploded. Before, nothing seemed possible, afterwards everything was there for the taking.
I know I’ll never be as brave and out there as they are, there will always be a part of where I came from that holds me back and tethers me to the mundane. But, hell, life is so much more interesting since I spent time with them. They gave me courage, made me see what I could do. It’s like they showed me what was possible, gave me permission to try new things, to explore and expand my world. And I’m so grateful for that. Without them I’d probably just have slipped back home after uni. At best I’d be a couple of streets away from my mum and dad. At worst I’d still be in my old room, having sausage and mash every Wednesday.
Even if I’ll never have a life as lively as theirs, when I’m in their slip stream they pull me to places I wouldn’t usually go. Like this castle.
Although right now my bigger picture has shrunk a bit. I over stretched, reached too far, and came crashing down. So for now my courage has diminished. Which is why it’s especially lovely to be back in their wake again. Even if this time it’s less as a participator, more as a spectator and helper.
Miranda’s laughing. ‘As Keef told me, we’re all diamonds, we just need to be free and let ourselves shine.’
Bill’s shaking his head. ‘Complimentary life coaching is included in your stay.’
Miranda’s eyes are flashing at him from up the ladder. ‘Don’t undermine your father, Bill. If you had an iota of commercial sense in you and even a tenth of your dad’s empathy, you’d offer mindfulness breaks in a heartbeat.’
Bill’s groaning too. ‘Along with naked beach getaways and the branded hats, then.’
Fliss isn’t letting this go. ‘Free– that meansdefinitely nottied down, Mum.’
Tiffany’s screwing up her face. ‘How many husbands has granny had now, then?’
‘Whycan’tgranny marry all of them … what’s a naked beach?’ That’s Tarkie.
Tansy’s musing. ‘When you and Dad split up, Mum, areyougoing to marry someone else?’
The way Libby’s closing her eyes for a second, she looks like she’s beaten. But then she bounces straight back again. ‘Guys, give me a break, this is supposed to be a holiday.’
Tansy’s sniffing. ‘How long before we go home?’
Despite feeling like I’m on repeat, I’m going to try one last time. ‘What about that tea?’
Libby’s whirling around to me again. ‘Ivy, I thought you’d never offer.’
As we make our way back to the kitchen Bill sidles up to me. ‘So that went well … wouldn’t you say …’
If Libby’s so bad it feels like I’m on Bill’s team, wearein trouble.
