'Bye and thank you,' was the collective shout, as Brian disappeared in the direction of his plane, leaving Harry, Ruth and Malcolm to contemplate the rest of their week.
'Lunch first I think and then a visit to the DIY shop Malcolm,' from Harry, were just two of the things that were on their list as they drove away from the airport. It had been two weeks since Ruth had said yes and casting an eye in as many jewellery shop windows as possible so that she could choose a ring was at the top of Harry's agenda. Had Brian not been in the house then they'd have had an opportunity to discuss Thomas's latest revelation and Harry would have been able to tell Malcolm that he wanted him to be his best man, but they hadn't and Harry's frustration was building tenfold. For all his faults he was conventional and no matter how much Ruth protested that it didn't matter, to Harry it did. Getting engaged which they were, meant buying a ring and he was hell bent on doing it. Engineering a time when they could be on their own, especially when he wasn't known for his patience was another matter altogether and it certainly wasn't going to be today, as he bit his lip when they walked past the first of several jeweller's shop windows on their way to the restaurant.
Brian might have been a pain to have around whereas Malcolm had fitted in as they knew he would, the dream guest that they'd welcome any time. Now on a much warmer Saturday morning he was helping Harry load the car as Ruth busied herself with Thomas. Today was going to be different, in that in addition to Rory and Maisie there was the grateful Mary and of course Liam who added to the numbers that were meeting them at the beach.
Since the day that Malcolm had gone with Ruth to collect Thomas from school, Thomas had latched on to him and had badgered him to the point of surrender to tell him stories about the days when he had worked with Harry and Ruth. Aided by Ruth who had spent hours over the years in the same office with Malcolm, they invented stories that bordered on the truth and included a lot of tales about Malcolm's ability with gadgets. Now mention the word gadget to a seven year old and Malcolm realised to his cost that he was expected to deliver something hitherto not owned by any of Thomas's friends, the contents of which was contained in the box that he was currently loading into the car, hopefully with enough bits and bobs to keep a group of seven year olds amused for ages.
'My Uncle Malcolm's a genie,' Thomas announced to his friends, bumping into Harry's back because he wasn't concentrating as they made their way down the steps, 'he's going to build us a robot.'
Malcolm had never been anyone's uncle and he quite liked his new title, although in this particular context it was quite unnerving.
'He means genius?' Ruth heard Harry tell the man who had overnight become a children's entertainer and was going to give Harry the day off for a change, although building a fire was still obligatory because Liam hadn't seen it.
A picnic for four adults and four children was considerably larger than they generally had to put together, but the combined efforts of what amounted to three mothers had produced a feast.
Still feeling marginally in charge, Harry organised the battalion of tiny people, by finding Malcolm a flat area surrounded by boulders where he could begin his tutorial. Malcolm's beleaguered look as Harry wished him good luck and left him with four eager pairs of eyes, left Harry free for once to enjoy himself and take in the scene. Left to his own devises, he walked back to where he'd left Ruth and Mary, only to find himself alone with Whisky because they'd headed towards the water's edge where they were deep in conversation.
'Right my old sons,' he said to Whisky and a passing seagull, before he poured himself a mug of coffee and sat down to watch Ruth and enjoy the quiet.
At the water's edge Ruth was chattering about nothing in particular in an effort to start a conversation, when Mary interrupted her by announcing that she'd never been married to Liam's father. It had never been Ruth's idea of fun to indulge in small talk or gossip and apart from Rose who Ruth felt she could say anything to and vice versa, this woman who'd latched onto her meant nothing. But then this was Ruth and if there was a bird with a broken wing as Harry had once described Catherine, then it always seemed to gravitate towards her and she couldn't let it suffer.
'That's sad, are you still in contact?' she asked Mary, wishing she could be anywhere rather than here.
'We were in Glasgow and as soon as he knew I was pregnant he scarpered and we've never heard from him since,' and Ruth said she was sorry. Where the hell this was leading she had no idea and why Mary felt it necessary to be telling her for that matter was a mystery, until Mary followed on by saying that Liam had recently started asking questions about his father and that she didn't know how to deal with it.
Snap thought Ruth, neither had she when Thomas had asked her the same question, but she'd managed to find a way. She was just about to suggest to Mary that she ought to talk to Rose, when Mary asked her if they'd set a date for the wedding.
'Oh everybody knows,' she told her, 'the children are so excited, I think they're already planning something,' and Ruth was close to hyperventilating. It was going to be quiet and private, Harry had promised her that and now seemingly the whole village were going to turn up and spoil their day.
'How do you know?' Ruth asked her, with perhaps more force than she intended.
Mary completely undaunted and seemingly unaware of the panic in Ruth's voice, pointed to where the children were sitting.
'Rory told Liam that he'd heard your Harry talking to his father,' so Rose had kept her promise which Ruth had never doubted. Rory on the other hand amounted to a snitch, but then he was only seven. Bugger Ruth thought, wanting to put a lid on the already exploding can.
'Harry's going to ask Malcolm to be his best man and we're hoping that by July, Harry's son Graham and his wife and Harry's granddaughter Alice will be here as well,' Ruth heard herself telling Mary, 'but it's far from decided, so I'd rather you didn't discuss it with anyone else.'
In the distance a whistle from Harry to attract their attention prevented any further chat about weddings or missing fathers for which Ruth was grateful, but far from appeased. The fire was blazing and it was obviously time for lunch because the children were sitting in their usual places.
'Come on, I think we're needed,' Ruth told her unwanted companion, gathering up her shoes and towel before heading back up the beach and to what she hoped was some sort of sanity.
'How's it going Malcolm?' she asked him, passing him another sandwich and some crisps, batting away Rory's hand that was trying to intercept their passage. The fact that Ruth could envisage a sign on his forehead saying super grass wasn't endearing her to Rory at the moment but it had only been a child to child comment and before Thomas had come along he had always been her favourite. Did children even know what getting married meant, probably not she thought?
'The crisps are there if you want some sweetheart,' she told Rory, weakening as she always did.
Harry meanwhile was relaxing unaware that Ruth had news. He was indulging in his favourite pastime, watching Ruth when she didn't know that he was doing it. She was a born organiser but more than that she had a personality that drew people to her. Today was no different as he watched her busying herself with the children and chatting to Mary and Malcolm. As much as he enjoyed these mass gatherings he really wished that today it could have just been the three of them with Malcolm, but then again that was just him being selfish. Maybe later when Malcolm was demonstrating what he had constructed and if he could get Mary to go with him, he could orchestrate a moment to be alone with Ruth, because he felt an overwhelming need to hold her hand and to tell her that she was beautiful.
Ruth knew that Harry was looking at her, she didn't need to look up to know that. His eyes were burning into her as they so often did and she so wanted to look up. Would anyone else notice, well certainly not the children who were tucking into their yogurts, but maybe Malcolm or Mary she had no idea? But there was a temptation, a pull that she really couldn't resist and why should she, did it matter, no it didn't? It was only a look for goodness sake, not full blown sex. Her face was burning and it had nothing to do with the warmth from the fire, she wanted to call him a bastard and to stop but she couldn't. She gave in and looked up. The chatter in the background disappeared, their breathing increased and had they been on their own it would have been another first as the usually contained Ruth had a barely controlled desire to rush over and to hell with the consequences. Instead, she tried to convey in one single look, I wish we were on our own too, as Harry smiled his glorious molten smile, with eyes that said I love you.
'I could do with some support,' a sensitive to all things Ruth and Harry Malcolm called to Mary,' as lunch finished and he headed back towards his part finished creation with the children in his wake, 'I'm just about ready to see if this thing works.'
'A walk along the beach,' suggested Harry, cocking his head in the opposite direction to where Malcolm and Mary were heading.
Up until then their exploration of the beach had been pretty much confined to the area around the steps, but with the tide way out and not yet on the turn, there was no chance of them being cut off if they disappeared around the next headland.
'Come on Ruth,' was said with a real persistence in his voice, 'the kids are fine, they won't even miss us.'
She was about to tell him that they needed to stay with Thomas which was ridiculous, Harry was right he was fine. It was the first time in over a year that they'd walked anywhere on their own and despite Ruth's reticence at leaving Thomas, it was a case of where you go I follow as she took his hand.
'About the wedding …..,' and for one dreadful moment Harry thought that she was going to say that she'd changed her mind, 'it's seems that Rory overheard you telling Michael and now apparently the whole village knows.'
Christ thought Harry, that's blown it.
'Hence Thomas calling me Daddy do you think?' He suggested.
'I'm done with thinking,' Ruth told him, 'it never really gets you anywhere does it, other than to worry about things that might and invariably don't happen.'
'It saved us a tricky conversation as well didn't it,' and Ruth kissed him, standing on her tiptoes as she always had to until Harry bent down and joined in, his mind awash with thoughts of the wedding and wishing that he could predict the weather because he still wanted them to get married here. There had to be a compromise no matter what the weather.
'If,' he asked her, pulling apart as inspiration struck, 'we get married in church as I know you want to, what would you say to us coming here in the evening for the party? Can you just imagine this place late into the evening, us dancing, a fire and the kids running across the beach? It would be perfect Ruth, please say yes.'
Had it not been for Thomas's voice shouting Daddy, then Harry would in all probability have got far more than her answer of yes, before they turned back.
Passing them in the opposite direction, twelve legs, eight of which belonged to the excited children, the other four to their confused and barking canine companion were racing in pursuit of the Malcolm mobile that was making good progress across the sand. When they finally caught up with it, it miraculously turned and headed in the opposite direction and with it a groan that replaced their laughter. As Harry and Ruth watched on, Malcolm with a remote control in his hand was waiting until the children caught up, before pressing the button again and heading them back to base camp where he was standing.
'We've missed you Malcolm,' Ruth whispered, squeezing his arm as the children's screams of 'again' drowned out all other sound, before Thomas added 'please.'
'Thank you so much for today Ruth,' said Mary, nodding towards Liam who was standing with his new friends, watching Harry who was stoking up the fire, ready to introduce the marshmallows.
'We haven't even told Catherine or Graham yet, we wanted to tell you first and ask if you'd be my best man,' Harry told Malcolm, when the subject of the wedding came up while Ruth was supervising Thomas's bath before putting him to bed. Once Ruth gets back we'll tell you the rest.'
The fire had been loaded with logs, the curtains had been closed and the house as it always did had taken on its cosy glow.
'You're a lucky man Harry,' not that you don't deserve it of course,' Malcolm told his friend, as Harry reflected on the words of 'Not a day goes by when I don't think of you,' the song that had become his mantra and could so easily have spelt out his destiny, but now kept him grounded.
'Ruth's devoted to you, you will look after her?' Caused Harry to look at Malcolm and ponder the ridiculousness of his question.
'It's just that after I ... we lost Colin,' and Harry understood. Ruth had become Malcolm's closest friend.
'We have a child together and even if we didn't, I promise you I will. And by the way Malcolm, any time that you want to come and check, you'll always be welcome,' he added.
'Do you and Ruth ever talk about the old days? You know when we were all on the grid,' and Malcolm had changed the subject.
'House rules change Malcom we'll never forget it, any of it, but talking about it, no we don't. The past is just that and it's the future that counts for us now, it's all any of us have.'
'Well I never, Harry Pearce a philosopher, it doesn't take a genius to know who you've been living with,' said Malcolm, raising his glass with sincerity.
'What's he said now?' Harry asked Ruth who had arrived back in the room unheard with a grin on her face.
'He wants Malcolm to live with us. Apparently he's been voted everyone's favourite uncle.'
'We'll have plenty of room if you want to,' Harry told Malcolm with a knowing grin.
'The wedding, you wanted to talk to me about the wedding?' said Malcolm, wanting to side step the issue of his recently formed fan club and his ridiculous question, he stood up and moved from sitting next to Harry to the chair. He did it without any drama or explanation just nodding to Ruth to sit down. It just felt like the right thing to do, it was after all where Ruth usually sat.
'July….. the seventh in the church,' Ruth finished Harry's sentence, before they went on to tell him that it would be family and close friends only, which of course included him.'
'If I'm your best man Harry what will I need to, apart from telling everyone what a wonderful bloke you are?' Malcolm asked with his usually serious face now intact, only to be told that providing he didn't lose the rings and managed a speech without any jokes, then that was about it.
'Honeymoon, I assume that you're having one?' and they confirmed that one night at home on their own, with Thomas staying at the vicarage and that was it, it was what they both wanted. A honeymoon could wait, they weren't about to treat Thomas like a parcel that got passed around, while they headed off to who knows where.
Malcolm smiled, thinking at how times had changed and them with it. 'He's a lucky little boy,' he told them.
Another hour, by which time they'd discussed their plans to invite anyone who wanted too, to come to the beach for the evening, and Malcolm had signed up to finding a way to produce music and lighting, on a beach that was miles from electricity.
'A piece of cake for a genie,' he smiled at them, before announcing that he was going to head for bed.
'By the way,' he said, pausing in the doorway, 'if you two fancy an evening out on your own whilst I'm here then do it, I'm more than happy to look after Thomas,' was as a result of Harry telling him that he wanted to take Ruth to choose a ring.
'Monday then,' said Harry smiling, 'if we go early enough we can call in and find out if the planning officer has made a decision.'