September 2022
Molly and Nan
"Now then, young lady, you gonna tell me what the hell's been going on here?" Nan was sitting at the kitchen table, mug of tea in her hand with Millie clamped to her lower leg, singing to herself.
"She does that all the time, Nan, Charlie wears her like a boot" Molly laughed, incredibly happy to see her grandmother.
"I'm not talking about 'er and you know it" Nan stroked the top of Millie's head, so that the toddler looked up and beamed at her "God, Molls, she looks just like you did when you was 'er age"
"Not as much as Chloe does"
"Yeah well, this one has the look of you more than Chloe, Clo looks just like you but like a little angel, this one looks like she's gonna be a stroppy little mare, just like her mum"
"And like me Nan, and she already is, a stroppy little mare I mean"
"Bollocks, you just need to handle 'er right, that's all"
"Tell that to Charlie" Molly laughed, as his voice came into the kitchen before he appeared,
Molly and Nan and Charles
"Someone talking about me?" He raised his eyebrows at Molly as he moved to the table and kissed Nan on the cheek "Hello, Nan, it's good to see you"
"Hello Soldier" she smiled up at him in his fatigues with genuine affection "Still as ugly as ever I see" then she added "Mind you, if I was twenty years younger I'd give you a run for your money, Molls….."
"Thirty years, Nan" Molly laughed and looked across at the pair of them then spoke to Charles "Are you going to flirt with me Nan all afternoon or are you going to say hello to me?"
"Hello you" He moved to stand behind her, put his hands on her shoulders then kissed the top of her head "Have you had a good day? And where are the other two?"
"They're building something with Lego and me day was okay, better now that Nan's here of course, what about you?"
"Don't ask, I've forgotten what an okay day feels like" He had his 'whipped puppy dog' expression on his face, the one that Molly was totally immune to, then looked across and laughed as he asked "Should she be doing that?" Millie had let go of Nan's leg and had sat down to quietly empty the contents of Nan's bag, piece by piece, closely examining everything as she went "She looks like one of the drug squad doing a search, stop it Millie" He and Molly both collapsed with laughter as the baby completely ignored him and carried on with her task.
"I don't keep 'em in there" Nan shook her head and bent down to talk to Millie "Hey, Mills; let's see how quick you can put everything back, shall we? Shall I help or shall I count? I know, I'll count and if you get tired maybe Daddy'll help. Right, ready? You go first, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 , 6 , 7, come on Daddy, come and help, oh no, no need, Mills did it all on her own" She clapped and the baby clapped her pudgy little hands together, a big beam on her face.
"Okay, was that gin or one of the drugs she was looking for?" Charles was in awe of what he'd just seen.
Me or her?" Nan smiled at him then carried on "You know, I can understand Molls, she's always been a bit of a soft touch….." Charles looked at her incredulously as he interrupted "Really? Are you sure about that?" Nan ignored him "But you? Look at you, a bleeding great big soldier, supposed to be in charge, supposed to be able to save the rest of us if there's any bovver, and you can't get a two year old to do what you want, I dunno" Nan shook her head.
"I'll tell you what, Nan, if Molls ever leaves me, I'll take you up on your offer, I don't care if you're twenty years too old" Charles smiled at her.
"Thirty" Molly chipped in.
The children had been fed and put to bed and the adults had eaten an Indian takeaway. Charles had risked his personal safety by making a sarcastic comment about it making a nice change, then grinned and blew her a kiss when Molly agreed, saying that she was fed up of Chinese and then pointed out that he could have had fish fingers with the kids if he'd wanted, so to shut up and stop moaning. Without stopping to think what he was saying he had then, stupidly, said something about missing out on posh food at a dinner party and could have kicked himself when he saw the happy grin on Molly's face dissolve and disappear. He knew that Nan had seen it as well, as she asked, all fake innocence, why they hadn't gone.
"Well, cos you was gonna be here, Nan" Molly was being pretty economical with the truth.
"Yes and I told them that you were on parole from the secure unit at the care home and we couldn't leave you with the baby sitter, you couldn't be trusted" Charles hoped a joke would redeem him from his stupidity a minute ago.
"Cheeky bleeder" Nan laughed and watched the happy grin re-appear on Molly's face as she chipped in with "I'll be in a care home before you are Nan"
"What? With the life I've had? Tell you what we'll share a room" Nan raised her eyebrows at Charles who took the hint and said he would make the tea, leaving them alone together.
Molly and Nan
"Right, what's been occurring then? And before you gave me any old bollocks about it being nothing, it must be something when me favourite granddaughter calls me and wants me to come up and stay because she doesn't want to go to some poxy dinner party, I mean, I was coming up next week for the kids' birthdays anyway, so why couldn't you just say no if you didn't wanna go?"
"I'm sorry, Nan, it was just that this girl, the one with the party, is married to one of Charlie's Officers. He's okay but Charlie reckons she looks like a horse, and I heard her Nan, I heard her being really mean about me with some other girl, a while back now when I was pregnant with Millie. She called me his bit of rough and said that he was only with me for one thing, you know, Oh, and getting pregnant all the time and that he would get fed up after a bit"
"What? And you lamped her, right? Is that why you didn't wanna go to her party?"
"No I didn't hit her, I can't do that" Molly shook her head "I'm the Major's bleeding wife; I can't go round hitting people even if I wanted to. No, I never said nothing to her, well them, really"
"What did Charlie say about all this?"
"I never told him, I don't like feeling that I can't fight my own battles, that I need to run to him all the time"
"So you let her get away with it? You, with your medal and that? What happened to the Molls what used to tell me to watch me mouth cos she's a trained killer? Where'd she go? And you let some ugly, jealous, snotty little cow get in your 'ead? And before you say anything, she must be ugly if Charlie says she looks like an 'orse. I keep telling you, he's a good 'un, Molly, don't let her spoil things for you"
"But don't you see, Nan, I think she's right, I am a bit of rough, well compared to Charlie I am, and I'm just like mum, having too many kids. Well there would be too many if I kept on and Charlie and I are getting just like mum and dad and I don't want people to think that's all I'm good for"
"Listen to me young lady, that's just a load of old cobblers. I don't much hold with your dad, you know that, he isn't what I would have picked for your mum, you know that too, but she loves him, well most of the time, and they're still together aren't they? And if they've got too many kids, and I know I've said it sometimes, which of you lot should they get shot of first? Or even harder, which of yours goes first? Stop being so daft, Molls, one of the things that has made things 'ard for your mum is that she hasn't had enough money or enough space, and you ain't got none of that to worry about, have you? Look at this place, look at your bloke, look at what you've got" Nan looked around her "And what's he doing with that bleeding tea, growing it?"
She got up and marched into the kitchen where Charlie was hiding, leaving Molly to think about what she'd said and came back with two mugs of tea.
"So, what was you thinking of doing about all this then Molls?"
"Leave it, Nan" Molly was pretty sure that Nan wouldn't understand her decision to get back in the RAMC "Let's talk about something else"
"No, cos I think there's more, isn't there?
"I wanna get back in the army, Nan, as a medic, I was good at it and I wanna be good at something again, something that isn't being a wife or having babies, I just need to find a way of getting the kids looked after while I do all the re-training and that"
Nan just sat and looked at her, astonishment written all over her face.
"I never had you down as a selfish little moo, Molly. I can see you wanna do something for yourself, something you're good at, a bit like your mum and her teaching, but what about that bloke of yours? He don't deserve this and neither do your kids, they need their mum, especially little 'un, you gonna piss off and let someone else look after them? And stop looking at me like that, I can read you like a bleeding book, I ain't gonna do it for you. I'll do anything in an emergency, you know that, or if you and Charlie want to push off for a few days, but not so that you can piss off and play soldiers again while your family sits here missing you. There's lots of other things you can do and knowing you, you'll probably be bloody good at 'em, it doesn't have to be the bleeding army"
"Like what?"
"I dunno, why don't you talk to your old man, see if he can come up with some ideas, or have a look on that fancy computer of yours, see what's out there, but don't think that just pissing off and leaving your family behind is the answer, cos it's not, not for you or any of you"
Molly and Charles
"Let's ask Nan to stay forever, move in and live with us" Charles was laughing "All of them ate their tea without squabbling, teasing and pinching bits off each other's plates, getting down and complaining that it's not fair, and she's got Millie eating out of her hand. How does she do it?"
"Novelty value, it'll be back to normal by the middle of the week, you'll see, and do you really want them to have shoplifting lessons?"
"Oh yeah, I'd forgotten that, perhaps not. On that subject, could you maybe ask her to avoid the garrison shops, it might be a bit embarrassing." He laughed "Did you have a nice chat? When I was banished to the kitchen. Did you get anything sorted out?"
"Yeah, sorry, I know I've been a bloody nightmare and I will tell you all about it, just not now, I'd rather do something else right now, I'm sick of talking"
Then, a short while later
"Oi, I said no more babies and I meant it, well not for the moment anyway, so stop it"
Another short while later
"You heard me and if you want me to go and sleep with the kids you only have to say?"
Author's notes: I love Nan as a character; I think she is the relative that we'd all like. Thank you for your reviews, please keep them coming to keep me going, because this isn't finished yet.