SCOTLAND ZEN and the art of SOCIAL WORK

Friday 6th June

  What a hectic two days. Ever since Tommy dropped his bombshell Mam and Kate and I have been like blue-arsed flies trying to get things ready for the twins. My kids are hysterical with impatience and didn’t want to go to school or playschool today in case they missed anything. I told them only last night that Aunty Kate and Uncle Phillip were going to have two babies and now its going to be a reality. The twins have been called David and Paul on their birth certificates, and Kate feels these names should be kept. It will be something that came with them from their Mother, maybe the only thing. Mam meets me at Kate’s house and with Kate and Phillip and Phillip’s Mum we all wait for the most momentous delivery. We have cleaned and polished the house completely as if the babies were going to judge their new parents as to their housekeeping. There are two cradles in the living room, (a crisis avoided), and two cots in the spare bedroom, imminently to be christened ‘the nursery.’ The family cradle shines beautifully, and the one that was started by Phillip and finished off by his Dad in a hurry, when the timing changed, is a sturdy pine rocker. Both are made up with tiny white sheets and blue blankets. Yesterday was a fury of shopping in Boots and Mothercare and even Mam was persuaded to get into the swing and bought two car seats. We thought she would pass out when she saw the prices but she held up well and put her frugality in a closed box for the day.

  Kate has re-lived Tommy’s visit to ask her to take the twins early, several times. Apparently he arrived unannounced at tea time and when he arrived at the door, naturally she thought the worst. Obviously the natural mother had changed her mind and wanted to devote her life to motherhood, or the grandparents had had a change of heart. The relief they felt was heaven sent when he explained the new situation. Kate was worried about him being back at work so soon but he said he was better occupied with something like this and would only dwell on the funeral if he was at home.

  He came straight to my house after, to recover from being hugged from both Kate and Phillip. I had already had a phone call from Kate telling me to clear the decks for tomorrow as she needed me with her all day for shopping and handholding. When he confirmed things were moving fast, I could hardly take it in. I decided this was the night that the bedtime story had be about two special babies who were going to be cousins to my kids. It was lovely to see Tommy, he still looked pale and vulnerable and I also worried that he should be dealing with work things so soon, but he said he wouldn’t have missed the look on Kate’s face for the moon and stars. He said that his job was very seldom about making people happy in fact most of his clients dreaded seeing him. He was also finding it difficult to be at home at the moment, far too lonely without his Mother pottering about downstairs, so of course I said he was welcome to stay for a while. He surveyed the children for their favourite ice-cream flavours, made a quick trip to the shops and came back with a bag of goodies including a bottle of wine.

  I waited till the kids were ready for bed and sedated with the sugary ice-cream to tell them the news,

  ‘Aunty Kate and Uncle Phillip have decided to have twins, two baby boys, isn’t that exciting?

  ‘That’s strange Mum, why don’t they have one of each?’ says John, trust him to question things.

  ‘Well, they want boys now but they might have girls another time,’ I replied

  ‘Are they in Kate’s tummy? Asked Theresa, this might get a wee bit complex now but I’m sure Kate will have a lovely prepared statement for my kids when the time comes.

  ‘No, they’re not in her tummy because they’re already born and Kate and Phillip are adopting them, do you know what that means?’ poor Rosie looks totally bewildered, she sighs and says,

  ‘Will they be good babies, will I get to hold them and help to give them a bottle?’

  ‘They will be great babies and of course you’ll get to hold them sweetie, they will love you so much, you will be the best cousin in the world.

  ‘When’s this happening then?’ asks John.

  ‘Friday,’ that stuns them, ‘they’re arriving Friday morning.’ They break out with shouts of joy and a flurry of questions. I have to take control and get them all off to bed. Tommy and the bottle of wine await.

  We settle comfy on the couch with the wine and the telly on and Tommy told me about reading his Mothers letter. After the initial heartbreak he felt a bit better and thinks now he understands her beliefs a bit more. He was also worried that I would think his behaviour was seriously weird, having sex in the midst of his grief. I reassured him he was not weird and said I had felt it was the most natural thing in the world. He held me close enough for me to feel his heartbeat, strong and steady, and said,

  ‘What would I ever do without you Mags? I feel I need you so much,’

  ‘Please don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re in a very lonely state at the moment, don’t say anything you might regret later,’

  ‘I know, I know, I won’t take it the wrong way, but you wait and see, my feelings won’t change.’

  We snogged on the couch for a bit and finished the bottle. I suggested he sleep on the couch as I didn’t trust him to drive home with half the wine in him and he very gratefully took of his shoes and made himself comfortable. I got a blanket and put it over him and kissed him goodnight, and he smiled at me and said he was quite capable of having silent sex if I fancied it on the couch, but after I hit him with a his shoe he laughed and said he would be gone before the kids got up in the morning.