Chapter Nineteen
S is for Serious
On the plane to Atlanta, Georgia with Leonard on Boxing Day, Stephanie reflected nervously that this upcoming first meeting with his mom, Eleanor, would likely have a big impact on the future of her relationship with him. She'd only met the family of two ex-boyfriends before. Her other romantic relationships had ended before they had got to that point. Leonard had never really talked much about his family before, but now Stephanie wanted to know as much as she could. She set down her tablet and turned to look at Leonard as he sat beside her.
"So what does your sister do?" she asked. He set down his book and turned his head to look at her.
"Donna is a network security analyst. In other words, she establishes and maintains the security of the computer networks of various businesses."
"That must be technically demanding work."
"It is. When I asked Donna what to download to secure my tablet and phone, she said that she doesn't trust Norton Anti-Virus software but she does recommend VPNs, firewalls, and changing your password as often as your dentist recommends you to replace your toothbrush."
"Well, some hackers don't care who they target. What about your brother in law Fred? What does he do?"
"Fred is a realtor."
"Do you mean an estate agent?"
"Yeah. It made sense to him, but when Fred explained his work, I was as lost as a horse that was galloping away from a fire." While Stephanie understood most of the slang and everyday conversation of Americans after watching so many of their TV shows and movies, sometimes she was still confused by Leonard's figures of speech. For instance, what did a frog's skin have to do with happiness when frogs didn't even have skin?
"They have three kids, don't they?" she continued after a moment's pause.
"Yes, Joshua, Henry, and Denise. They're all great kids, but Joshua can get pretty rambunctious if he gets overly excited."
"Why did they move to Liverpool?"
"The homes were cheaper and they were both able to find work more readily in Liverpool compared to Atlanta."
"But the same can't be said about the price of London real estate."
"Certainly not. I'd never have been able to afford an apartment of my own if I wasn't working at the hospital."
"Speaking of medicine, didn't you tell me once that your dad David was a doctor?"
"Yes he was. He died of prostate cancer three years ago. Near the end, I hired a nurse to look after him at home rather than in the hospital because I thought he would be more comfortable."
"I'm sorry to hear that. What about your extended family such as aunts, uncles, and cousins?" Stephanie quickly changed the subject as she could hear the grief in Leonard's voice when he spoke of his dad. 'Some pain never heals,' she thought.
"My dad preferred to celebrate Christmas just within the immediate family, and we haven't changed that tradition much even after he died. We only get together with the whole McCoy family at Easter. So how often do you see your family other than your aunt and uncle?" he said.
"Both my parents died in a traffic accident when I was twenty six," she told him. He placed a hand on her arm.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know that." She gently moved her arm away from him as she really didn't want to be comforted about an event which she considered to be ancient history.
"It's not something I care to dwell on, so I rarely mention it. My brother, Alex, is too busy with his own family and his work for us to talk often," she explained.
"What does his wife do?" Leonard changed the subject to her relief.
"Sandy is a personnel manager at Greggs. She is always complaining about the high turnover of their employees but that's common nowadays for most shops."
"Wasn't their recent vegan sausage roll very popular?"
"It was. I think it's a good thing there are more options available for vegans and vegetarians now."
"I agree. But while eating a vegetarian diet is better for your health and the environment, not everyone is going to stop eating beef."
"What about meat substitutes like Beyond Meat?"
"Those burgers are still not healthy because of the high amount of fat and sodium."
"So do you think there is no other solution for methane emissions other than killing all the cows?"
"If you're talking about emissions, what about the airlines? Should everyone start taking trains and buses from now on and not go on any more long flights?"
"That's not practical. You also have to think about all the people the airlines employ. For example, would your friend Jim be happy doing something other than being a pilot?"
"Not at all. I know his job is very important to him."
Stephanie recalled what she knew of Leonard's friend Jim. Shortly after Halloween, the three of them had met in a quieter pub and had a few drinks and snacks. She thought Jim was good looking, confident, and had a natural charm to him. She had done her best to be a gracious loser after he had soundly won both games of pool they had played. As the evening went on, she had sensed that he was used to charming most women easily but for Leonard's sake, he had kept his flirting to a minimum around her.
"While Jim does like the ladies, he's more than just a charming womanizer," Leonard stated.
"How so?"
"His dad, George, died in a plane crash when Jim was only a few months old, so he was brought up by his mom. She soon remarried a real jerk who treated Jim and his brother Sam horribly, thought I don't know all the details. That's why Jim was so determined to move out on his own and learn to control the exact thing that had killed his dad by excelling at flight school." That explained a great deal about Jim, she thought. Everyone had some aspect of their past they would rather forget, she thought.
"Is Jim a good pilot?"
"I've never flown on a plane he's piloted, but I imagine so. Speaking of meeting people, will I ever meet your aunt Rose and uncle Alan?"
"If you want to come to Leeds with me this summer, I'm sure they would welcome you. But I should warn you that Rose plays an excellent game of bridge and so she will likely beat you."
"I don't know how to play bridge, but thanks for the warning. I'd also like to meet your brother Alex and his family."
"Then come along to our Easter meal in Manchester. None of us go to church but we always get together for a big meal with chocolate eggs around noon."
"That sounds good. Have you ever thought about your family legacy in regards to your work?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Recently I ran into an old colleague of my dad. He's retired now but he still attends talks at the Royal Society, which is were I met him. I was reminded by him that my dad David became a doctor because his dad Thomas was also a doctor."
"My dad, John, joined the army because his dad, Peter, had also signed up. But I've never liked the military lifestyle. Neither did my brother or my mom," Stephanie reflected.
"What did she do?"
"My mom, Victoria, was a historian. When she wasn't taking care of Alex and I, she wrote books and articles. She specialized in the history of Reformation Europe."
"They say that those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it, but some of the politicians we elected clearly haven't learned that lesson."
"I know. At least after how badly Brexit was handled, every other European country will think twice about leaving the EU."
"Probably so. Changing things is always harder than leaving them as they are, and organizational change is no exception."
"So you don't like the new Queen's hospital funding committee?" she guessed. She'd read a news article about that in a local paper but Leonard had been usually tight-lipped about the subject. He sighed.
"I've never met them in person. But I don't like the fact that they are insisting that as many of the staff of the hospital who are available attend a yearly fund-raiser starting next year. Mingling with potential medical donors while I'm standing around drinking warm wine and eating indifferent appetizers is the last thing I want to do with my evening," he complained.
"Would it make any difference if I came with you?" she offered.
"Well, I wouldn't say no to that."
"As long as you don't expect me to be your mouthpiece."
"Of course not. Except on rare occasions, I usually have something to say. That it's not often what other people want to hear isn't really my fault."
"It is when you're so blunt that you hurt other people's feelings," she pointed out.
"I prefer to think of my manner as honest frankness. Besides, would you ever want me to lie to you?" he asked as he placed a hand on top of her own. She looked at him closely.
"Not about anything important," she admitted.
"I can answer the question of how your clothing makes you look. No matter what you wear, you're beautiful to me." She smiled at him.
"Thank you. You know what I think about your own appearance." She moved her hand to his knee and slowly moved it higher on his thigh. He stopped the movement of her hand with his own quickly.
"I'm flattered, but I'm not about to join the mile high club with you."
"Of course not. I've never been interested in voyeurism."
"Then I hope you'll understand why we can't be intimate while we're in Atlanta. I'm not comfortable with my mom or my daughter overhearing us in bed while we are a guest at her house," he declared.
"But-" she protested. He held up a hand.
"Once we get back to London, we can spend New Years Eve alone together."
"All right. I look forward to that," she conceded.
He let go of her hand and she returned her arm to the armrest. Before they could continue their conversation, the flight attendants with the trolly of snacks and drinks asked them if they wanted anything.
At the international arrivals gate of the Atlanta airport, a petite grey-haired woman with the same hazel eyes as her boyfriend waved in their direction. Leonard turned his head and smiled as she walked briskly towards them.
"Hello, Leonard. It's so good to see you again. Merry Christmas," she said.
"Merry Christmas, mom," he replied as they embraced tightly. A long moment later, the woman let go of Leonard and turned an assessing gaze on her.
"You must be Stephanie. I'm Eleanor McCoy."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. McCoy. Happy Christmas."
Stephanie held a hand out for Leonard's mother to shake. She was surprised when Mrs. McCoy gave her a hug instead. She patted the older woman on the back awkwardly and they soon let each other go. Some women are naturally more affectionate, so that hug wasn't necessarily a sign of her approval, Stephanie told herself. As they walked towards the car park, she realized that the opinion of Mrs. McCoy mattered to her more than making a good impression on the family of any of her exes ever had. That was because this relationship with Leonard felt much more serious compared to her previous boyfriends, she admitted to herself.
Stephanie wanted to think her and Leonard had a long future together, but the exact details of their relationship were still undecided because they'd never sat down and had a talk about what they meant to each other and what their future plans were. She'd never been detail-oriented about anything other than her work, and she suspected that Leonard might be reluctant to make a permanent commitment to a woman again after his divorce. So perhaps it was best to live for today and leave tomorrow to sort itself out, she thought. That's the story of my life, she ruefully thought. At a remark from her boyfriend in response to his mom's question, Stephanie turned her attention back to the conversation in the car as Eleanor drove through the streets of Atlanta.