'Warmer?'
'Considerably thanks,' came as the result of them abandoning the great outdoors in favour of a bubble filled bath indoors where they'd spent half an hour defrosting their frozen limbs, having failed to get the generator to charge up. Hot tubs weren't for them, fashionable or not.
One more day to go and then they'd be flying home and in all honesty they couldn't wait. Canada had been lovely but it didn't have 'the edges' as Thomas called them, which meant that it lacked the sea, well at least not in the portion where they were staying. A long and late into the night conversation in which Ruth had said that she was prepared to sell her house to accommodate a fast growing Thomas had inspired Harry to turn his negative thoughts into positives and to find a solution that would avoid her having to do that. Every house that had ever been built had been designed for whatever purpose, even crofter's cottages that like Ruths had stood where it was for hundreds of years. These days, surroundings were taken into consideration and this one and in particular the picture window where Harry was currently sitting whilst Ruth dealt with the conundrum of their packing had become his starting point. He'd started to imagine and to that end he'd been in touch with Malcolm who had sent him the downstairs footprint of Ruth's house which included the garden. Despite the history that went with it, Ruth loved her house, he knew that and as far as the view from the garden was concerned, it was second to none. Even without Alice as a permanent feature, time was going to go quickly and Thomas would soon start to need more space of his own. Michael and Rose had been kind in accommodating Thomas to play with his friends but they needed to start reciprocating and Rory and Maisie would have to come to them as would other friends that Thomas was bound to make as the years went by. Even if they managed to sell Ruth's house, the chances of them finding another that they would want to buy was rare and finding one on their side of the island, so close to school and the village almost impossible.
There was also the small or not so small matter of the wedding for them to organise. Ruth would have been quite happy to pop into church exchange their vows and then go out for lunch somewhere, but Harry had gone from being a box of chocolates for every occaision man into one of life's great romantics and their wedding was going to be memorable one way or another, he could promised her that.
Ruth was wise enough to realise that whatever Harry was up to, he would tell her when he was ready. She had her work to go back to and for three days a week she'd be occupied. She knew that Graham had given Harry a list of things that he wanted researching but there was only so much time that he'd be able to spend on that and Harry wasn't someone that was likely to suddenly start getting involved in village life. With long dark winter days he'd have to spend hours on his own, something that would drive him crazy, he needed something to do.
For the moment though she had a problem that she couldn't solve, the not inconsiderable growing fear of the flight back. It wasn't the fear of crashing that bothered her it was the claustrophobia that affected her breathing that until they'd flown over, she hadn't realised that she had. Twelve hours in a tin can it didn't get much worse than that and Ruth was panicking big time.
With words of one syllable still emanating from the bedroom, Harry dragged himself from the comfort of where he had been sitting and armed with a cup of tea walked into the bedroom. For a man who had spent half his working life in the military, packing a suitcase no matter how large the contents was bread and butter, but he knew full well that Ruth's attempt to pack two days ahead of when she needed to was an attempt to conquer her mountain of demons at the thought of the flight home. Hindsight was a wonderful thing and maybe they should have forgone the holiday and with Graham's decision thank the lord they wouldn't have to do it again. But for now he needed to think of something helpful to say that wouldn't tip Ruth over the edge. In the end she made it easy for him, by collapsing onto a heap of yet to be packed luggage and declaring herself to be useless. If anything was going to be left behind, then it was currently her she told him, when his first attempt to tell her what a great job she was doing fell on deaf ears. A flustered Ruth, hot and bothered with her hair awry was usually very appealing, but this Ruth who was clearly upset with still two days to go before the drive to the airport was hard to see, especially for him.
'Everyone's scared of something Ruth,' him included, had him making up a ridiculous nonsense that she could see right through although the truth wouldn't have been helpful in the circumstances. In reality nothing scared him other than having finally arrived at where he wanted to be in his life, namely head over heels with someone who loved him unreservedly, he was worried that some as yet unknown illness would befall him and they he wouldn't live long enough for them to grow old together. This was beginning to sound Freudian with the makings of a suicide pact mid-way across the Atlantic and had Ruth not looked so distraught he'd have told her in an attempt to cheer her up. Considering the supposed nine lives that everyone had which in his case he'd used up more times than he cared to remember, he should last forever so he bit his lip, told her to sit tight he'd be back in a moment. He needed to make a call. He rang Malcolm.
'Yes they were fine, they just needed to come home sooner than they'd planned, he'd explain in full tomorrow if Malcolm could arrange it and contact Michael re their arrival time at the airport.'
Reliable as ever, it was less than fifteen minutes before his phone rang and their packing became a priority. They were booked on a flight that evening. A quick text to Graham saying that their plans had changed and that they were going home today and Harry was heading back into the bedroom.
Ruth stirred and opened her eyes. She was in bed, her bed at home and Harry was smiling at her and moving a stray strand of hair that had wandered across her eyes. No she wasn't dreaming it was real, she could hear the TV in the background with one of the children's programmes that Thomas liked. Christ it was Thomas's birthday, she sat bolt upright and wished she hadn't as the room spun. Vague memories of Ottawa airport, the flight and then hearing Michael's voice telling her how much they'd missed them were all she had as Harry thrust a cup of tea in her hand and told her she needed to take on fluids. An explanation much later in the day had her remembering that they'd visited the pharmacy at the airport where she'd been given some sort of pill that was designed to help her relax. She'd taken it in a rush without reading the instructions which clearly said that it should be taken with food. As a result, she'd slept through virtually all the flight, but because she hadn't eaten anything it had put her right out of it. It was quite harmless and once she ate something she'd be fine Harry had been assured, although apparently he'd created quite a stink at Glasgow airport when they'd had to change planes and someone had suggested she was drunk and was a disgrace as a mother. No more long haul flights ever, even if Graham didn't move back or Callum dragged Catherine off to Siberia Harry promised.
'I'll fetch the birthday boy and make you breakfast,' was superseded by Ruth desperately needing to use the bathroom and then not wanting to go back to bed, as Harry poured her a second cup of tea and left her listening to cartoons and Thomas's account of the flight that she'd missed and what fun it had been.
What did he want to do on his birthday didn't amount to much and certainly nothing that presented them with a problem. Could Rory and Maisie come to play, yes of course they could, in fact not unsurprisingly Rose had made a cake which she was going to deliver later. Did he want to go out for the day and if so where, was predictably yes please he wanted to go to the beach and would Harry light a fire for him. It felt all very familiar and more than that normal which made Ruth immediately feel better, but Harry wanted more from the day and for Thomas, another idea that had been brewing since they'd arrived in Canada and Thomas's desire to see bears. For all the fact that his life was complete with a soon to be wife, another chance to be a father and a grandfather to boot, there was something or more precisely someone that Harry still missed. The tough guy of Section D still missed his small dog who had been his constant companion throughout the lonely evenings when life had been less kind, and he still secretly yearned to replace her. He knew that he needed to discuss it with Ruth and then see what was out there but walks as a family would be so much enhanced if they had a dog with them and it would give Thomas some responsibility if he had to look after it.
Harry ponderings were interrupted by the phone ringing and a concerned Rose asking how Ruth was. She was fine, they had so much to tell her but it had to wait until she got there, confirmed what Rose hoped was an announcement that she'd been sure was going to happen over Christmas. She'd meant what she'd said when she'd pleaded with Ruth to come back when they'd seen them off at the airport. Family was a huge pull and Harry had been so excited at the prospect of meeting his granddaughter and at the back of Rose's mind was the chance that they'd want to stay there. The village needed new blood to chivvy it up a bit and add Harry into the mix whatever might have been his background, had made such a difference. If he and Ruth were going to get married and enhance their chances of adopting Thomas then she couldn't have been any happier. Thomas was a lovely gentle child and the perfect balance for her sometimes wayward Rory and Harry had been the catalyst in providing the time that she and Michael couldn't with their busy lives. The fact that he loved Ruth and her him shone like a beacon and a wedding in the village, how exciting would that be.
Quite who had the broadest smile on his face Ruth didn't know when Harry had broached the subject of them buying a dog. Thomas had flung himself at Harry telling him that he loved him, despite Harry telling him that getting a dog wasn't a birthday present and it wasn't a toy and if they got one, then Thomas had to realise that it would belong to all of them, not just him.
'Every day no matter what the weather, a dog would have to be walked either before he went or when he came back from school and he had to be part of that, did he understand that?'
He did and all the other rules that Harry came up with which included no dogs in bedrooms. That will be interesting to watch thought Ruth who'd seen the pictures and knew how for years, Harry had cuddled and talked to Scarlet in various rooms in his house, as though she'd been human.
More to the point, why on earth hadn't Harry said something months ago about wanting another dog, even before they'd had Thomas had been her only question to which he didn't have an answer but she'd ask him later. He'd spent days on his own when he been recuperating and she'd been at work but if that's what he wanted and he clearly did then providing it was well behaved and not too large, then he should start looking and yes tomorrow which was the last day before school started again.
Rose wasn't going to be deterred or put off by the 'I don't know what you're talking about,' look on Ruth's face. The screams from the sitting room at the prospect of a day at the beach and a party, had seen her leaving Harry to it and dragging Ruth into the kitchen.
'He has, he's asked you I can tell,' had Ruth confessing but making her promise that they still hadn't told Thomas and Harry wanted to tell Michael so would she keep it to herself.
'It's the perfect tonic for the village, what date did they have in mind was Ruth pregnant?' were just two of the questions that Rose threw at her.
If she hadn't needed to tell an excited Rose to keep her voice down, she have been tempted to say she was, just to see her expression, but she told her the truth and that they'd illuminated that idea and that they were perfectly happy with Thomas. Anyway, Rose had to rush she'd be back with the cake later saw Ruth drawing breath and contemplating a day with three excited children as Rose rushed past Harry planting a kiss firmly on his cheek before telling her brood to behave themselves. Talk about welcome home Ruth thought, it had arrived with a bang and the day was only just beginning.
It wasn't really beach weather but it didn't matter, it was degrees warmer than it had been in Canada and Harry was back where he wanted to be on the beach. He collected his driftwood for the fire and Ruth was sitting on a rock beside him looking so relaxed and such a contrast to how she'd been the last few days. Unlike him she'd slept for the best part of twenty four hours but he didn't care, she was happy again and that was all that mattered. Thomas was racing along in front of them seven years old he'd told him from the moment that he'd opened his eyes, now chasing the football that Rose and Michael had given him as a birthday present and Rory had just kicked. Maisie thought football was silly, it was for boys and pretending to be grown up was helping Ruth with the picnic. Add a dog to the mix and there would have been nothing else that Harry could have possibly wanted and after tomorrow maybe even that was only a stone's throw away.
Harry looked up at the clear blue Scottish sky and breathed deeply. Maybe he'd been wrong and there was something out there far greater than mere mortals like him could comprehend and retribution was sometimes metered out in happiness. Today it certainly felt like it.