Hi - so...This chapter...some funny (I hope) some a bit ..well not sad..more ......Poignant........ENJOY........

Disclaimer as norm….

GOLDEN

HEART

The next two days were a whirlwind of London sightseeing.

Houses of Parliament, (Professional Liars Consortium Cal called it)

London Dungeons (Emily was a little more fascinated than maybe she should have been in the old Medieval tortures section!)

'Buck House' and the changing of the Guard, (both Emily and Gill spending a full half hour trying to make one of the bear skinned hat guardsman move, or smile, or frown to no avail)

Tower of London (Yes Emily the crown Jewels are real! Yes they really did keep people as prisoners up in those towers before beheading them…No the ravens are not drugged so that they don't fly away!)

The London Eye, (no they cannot make it go round any faster Em, now enjoy the views please)

River Thames boat trips, (No the Loch Ness Monster does not live in the river Thames Em, He lives in Loch Ness – Which is in Scotland – that is..if he existed – which he doesn't!)

Cal refused to go to Madame Tussauds.

He never 'got' the waxwork thing.

Life like replicas of people – made of wax!!! You couldn't 'read' them so he didn't trust them!

While Emily and Gill spent nearly a whole day shopping (Harrods, Selfridges, Oxford Street….and yes – Carnaby street. Cal took Vincent and spent the day musing round Covent Garden with all the antiques stalls and the street Artists to keep him and his son happy.

xXx

"Do you know how much this is all gonna cost in excess luggage alone?"

They were all in the main bedroom, his girls were merrily pulling out and re admiring their purchases.

"But dad, all this stuff is sooo cool, and you just can't get this back home"

"Yes you can Em., ever heard of Ebay?"

"Cal – leave her alone, we are on holiday, and this is what women do on holiday – we shop"

"Yeah…women shop and men go bloody bankrupt. Plus the joys of carrying it all back through the airport, giving themselves a back problem for the next six months and being totally exhausted at the end of what was intended to be a relaxing, fun holiday"

"So, what are the plans for tomorrow dad?" Emily tried to steer her father away from the subject.

"Tomorrow….tomorrow we are gonna go see mum. Well my mum, your Gran"

Emily went and sat on the bed and curled up against him.

"Dad, we don't have to yer know- I mean ….I don't want you to get sad, so if it's gonna make you sad, I'll let you out of the promise, I understand"

Cal hugged and kissed his daughter, "Nah luv, I do want to go, and I want you to go. I've kinda got me head round it now so it's all good luv. Thank you though Em, for thinking of me like that, for making that offer"

Emily just smiled up at him, gave him another huge hug and several kisses then she jumped from the bed, gathered up her latest 'goodies' and started to pile them up in her room.

xXx

The cemetery was a smallish one and beautiful in its own way.

All the graves appeared to be well kept and cared for with fresh flowers everywhere.

Cal, holding Emily's hand made his way to his mother's grave. For a while, they just stood there in silence, hand in hand, heads down each taking in the plot and storing it in their own thoughts and memories.

Gill had held back a bit and was standing a small way back form the father and daughter watching the many emotions that filled their faces.

"Gill luv, cum over here, join us"

She moved slowly over and looked more closely at the grave.

True to their word, Ron and Shirley had certainly watched over Cal's mums resting place.

The flowers were fresh and numerous. There were little bushes planted here and there. The surrounding grass area was neat, clean and well lawned.

There was a brass plaque attached to the main headstone. It gave her name and the dates of her life, under that:

Louise

Much loved and missed mum and wife.

You will always be with us, in our hearts

and memories.

We hope you are now at peace.

"It is beautiful dad"

"Yes luv – it is. It really is"

Gill handed Vincent to Cal and gently pulled him away to a nearby bench where he gladly took a seat as the first single tear made its way down his cheek. She then made her way back to Emily.

"Is dad ok Gill?"

"Yes love, just needs a bit of time on his own at the moment. So, he said you had something you wanted to put here"

"We had these special classes at school, in the art course. We went to a jewellery making place and were allowed to bring bits of broken or old gold. They showed us how to melt it down and make it into something else. I made this"

She held out her hand and there was a single flat piece of gold in the shape of a heart. There was engraving on it that read:

Greatest Grandma

Love

Emily

"Oh Emily, that is amazing"

"I wanna bury it a little it – my I wanted dad to see it first….."

Gill took a quick look in his direction.

He seemed to be more in control now, pulling faces at Vincent and making him gurgle.

"Cal"

He looked up and she motioned him to join them.

As he approached Emily walked to join him and showed him her token, explaining he same as she did to Gill.

They both joined Gill as Emily said a few words and carefully buried the golden heart.

Picking up on a glance from his eyes Gill took Vincent from Cal and Emily by the hand.

"Come on Em. I think your dada needs a few minutes on his own now"

They started walking slowly back to the car.

Cal waited until he was sure he they were out of earshot before crouching down by the graveside.

"I just wanted to tell you…that I have forgiven you mum. I know you couldn't help yourself. Fing is …I have this new family now….a good one, so …I have to apply some of that to me as well, I need to start forgiving myself, and now…I think I can…..