THE STERN FATHERINLAW
Dad, would you mind if we crashed at your place for a few months? Harry asked tentatively.
I dont mind, his father replied curtly.
Harrys parents had split about a decade ago. His mother remarried two years later, while his dad, George Whitaker, stayed on his own. George was a tough charactersome might even call him unbearable. Women came and went in his life, never staying long, but he never abandoned his son. Besides paying child support, he bought everything Harry needed and took an active, if gruff, role in his upbringing. Strict, decidedly masculine, devoid of flowery affection, yet undeniably paternal.
Harry had been on his own early. After finishing his Alevels he went straight to work and moved out of his mothers house into a rented room at a university hall. A couple of years later he married Emily, a friend from school. They were saving for a deposit on a mortgage when the landlord of their flat announced hed put the place on the market, meaning theyd have to wait for the sale to finish. Harry decided to ask his father if they could stay for a bit, since George lived alone in a threebedroom flat. The fathers refusal puzzled Harry, and he was about to end the conversation when George added:
You can stay, just keep it quiet.
Thanks, Harry exhaled a sigh of relief.
He knew his dad was a man of few words, a lover of silence, and miserly with both speech and emotion. So the quiet rule didnt surprise him. Emily, now five months pregnant, welcomed the same conditionshe too craved calm. She didnt realise, however, that quiet in Georges mind meant only they should behave, while he would carry on his own business at home.
George rose at five a.m., thumping about in his slippers, and began his daily ritual: bathroom, kitchen, bathroom, kitchen, kitchen, bathrooman endless clatter of shuffling feet. In the early hush, the house rang with clack, clack, clack thump! Bloody hell! and the cycle repeated. The fact that other people were still asleep didnt bother him. He was at home. If anyone disliked it, they could leave; he never asked for company.
Beyond the morning racket, George kept a tight rein on his son and daughterinlaw. No TV after nine p.m.the noise grated on him; no fryinghe disliked the smells; conserve light and waterhe wasnt exactly rolling in cash.
This routine lasted a week until Emily was admitted to hospital. She was astonished two days later when a sternlooking George showed up with a bag of fruit.
The baby needs vitamins, he said, thrusting the bag toward her.
Thank you, Mr. Whitaker, Emily replied.
Right, he nodded. Ill be off. Listen to the doctor.
Will do, she smiled. Goodbye.
After Emily left the hospital, George still rose at five, but tried to make his clatter a tad softer, attempting a modicum of care. Hed call for breakfast in his gruff tone or silently snatch a rag to mop the floor himself, knowing Emily needed more rest.
They didnt buy their new flat until three months later. George insisted on a full refurbishment before they moved in. Emily gave birth while the renovation was in full swing, forcing her and the newborn, little Lucy, to return to Georges flat. Georges own mother and his wife visited a couple of times after the discharge, yet George always pretended to be indifferent to guests. He did, however, melt at the sight of his granddaughter; a faint smile would crack his stern façade. He was ready to shield her from any world he deemed threatening.
Each morning he fetched tiny Lucy, giving Emily a chance to catch up on sleep after sleepless nights. He even learned to change nappies. When the day came for them to move into their own flat, George, wiping a rare, tightlipped tear, said in his usual hardedged manner:
Youre still young, you cant manage a flat with a baby on your own. Stay here a while longer. Not foreveruntil Lucy gets married.
Harry and Emily exchanged incredulous looks. George, turning away, added:
Its just oldman sentimental nonsense. What are you waiting for? Bring Lucy in and start packing. Youll still have time to move, you daft peasants of the heavens.
Harry and Emily thought their fatherinlaw was just biding his time, waiting for them to move out, but fate had other plans. They could only stare in amazement at the changes in the oncestoic, reclusive dad. In the end they chose to stayafter all, its nice to have a grandfather around.
George, now cooing fondly over his granddaughter, felt a warm happiness blooming in his otherwise gruff life, grateful that the most beloved and precious little human had arrived.
