December 11th, 1927 11:20 am

This past week has been fairly emotional for me, what with having to deal with Eamon Bates and all. My father, back from the dead, by his own choosing. I probably haven't handled it as well as I should have. I don't know. It's hard to say what I would have done if not for Anna and the children in my life. But...the worst is over, I hope. Anna says it is and I know she wants to tell Will he has a granddad, and she's right, he should know. I just think we need give it a while, make sure he's sticking around this time.

It hasn't been too busy at the hotel the past couple of weeks. It's mostly salesmen and overnight guests passing through on the train. The pub, on the other hand is doing a grand business. Archie's hearty stews and chowders are going over very well at both lunch and dinner and we can always count on the bar being full. I'm so glad we decided to open up for meals. I think that's what will save us in the off season.

Sam's daughter came in to visit him a couple of days ago. I didn't even know he had one. She and her family live in York. I have an inkling she wants him to go live with her, though for the life of me I can't imagine why. I've never met a more disagreeable old cuss. We got on fine when we first bought the hotel, but the past few months - well ever since he tried to kill me with an axe really*, it's been touch and go. I don't know what happened with him and Mrs P, but she should consider herself lucky. I could just let him go but I hate to because he lives in the back room. I don't want to be the cause of him losing both his job and his home. If what I'm thinking is fact and she does want him to move to York...my problem is solved.

Since it's been slow we never went over to the hotel today. I know Anna loves being back at work, but she hates when the housework piles up too, so we've taken the day off to get some cleaning done. That's why I have the time to write in the journal now. I've mopped myself into a convenient corner of the kitchen. The one near the hearth, the teapot and the rocking chair.

Anna just walked past the doorway, stopped with a baby in one arm and a stack of sheets in the other and exclaimed, 'Uh-huh, journaling. You couldn't mop yourself out of the kitchen, I suppose?'

'Hey, I'm writing in the journal, it was your idea.' I pointed to the large bowl of potatoes I'd just finished peeling while I was sitting there, before I took up the journal. 'Potato soup for dinner, love,' I said with a wink. She shook her head, laughing and moved on. God, I adore that woman. But, I think the floor is finally dry.

I'll get the soup going and see what else she has for me to do.

~ John Bates

*See Chapter 16 The Pickled Onion Thief

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Pirate Granddad

'Well, I think we should tell him.'

'What do you mean?'

John and Anna had taken the day off as it was slow at the hotel anyway. Now, after spending most of the morning catching up on housework, they were finally ready to relax. The afternoon had turned cold and grey. The snow had begun to fall around lunchtime. Their parlour, however was toasty warm, and that's where they were gathered to have their afternoon tea.

Fee was napping in her basket in front of the fire. Anna was sitting on the sofa folding some clothes and John trying to get a fussy Finn to sleep, and William, well...William was the topic of their conversation and they spoke in low whispers as the boy ran around the house, playing a game of hide and seek with Jack and Charlie, although the cat was impossible to find.

'Tell William about…' Anna looked around making sure her son wouldn't hear her words, '...about your father.'

'Anna,' John sighed, the baby in his arms giving in to weariness from constant rocking. 'I don't know, maybe we should wait. What if he decides to up and leave again? I don't want the boy to go through anything near what I did.'

'But he won't. He's old, John, and that's one reason why he's here. He's tired of wandering around with no landing. Tired of being alone. Old age makes one softer, you know. He just wants a place to rest 'till the Lord calls him home. A place where he knows he'll be taken care of when he can no longer do it himself.'

John grimaced quite angrily. 'Right...he should have thought about that before leaving. Now he shows up because he needs us? You just added to his sins with those words. And I doubt very much if he thinks about the Lord, Anna. He never did.'

'Silly beggar, that's how life is,' she insisted. 'You can't punish him for thinking he would be forever young and fit. We all think like so.'

'But we don't abandon our family for the time being.'

'And for that he's asking your forgiveness, isn't he?'

'He wouldn't if he was still an able bodied man, would he?'

'You stubborn thing!' Anna threw a sock at him, rather exasperated. He threw it right back. 'I understand why you are so hurt but he's your father…' she folded the last piece of clothing before looking up to her husband with a sincere expression on her face. 'Your mother wanted you to forgive him. For her, you should do it. At least to let her rest in peace knowing that you gave him a second chance. That's all she wanted. You read the letter, John.'

John looked down at his daughter now sleeping peacefully in his arms and sighed. His eyes filled with tears, as they usually did when his mother was mentioned. He nodded. 'All right...all right. You've convinced me, Anna.'

Anna stood from the sofa and walked toward him, placing a sweet kiss on his cheek. 'You're a wise man, Mr Bates. Should I call him in here?'

He looked up at her as she stood at his side letting her fingers twine through his hair. It was nearly impossible for him to deny her anything. But placing an arm around her hips and burrowing his head into her waist he said, 'Not yet and we should both do it, I think. Let's just...let me just think about it first.'

Anna smiled at him before gently caressing Finn's chubby cheek. 'Put her in her basket now, I'll make us some tea.'

Later that night, when the girls were asleep, they were found in the nursery. William was tucked in waiting for his story and Anna sitting down on the edge of the bed, waiting too.

'And what story do you want tonight?' John asked.

William wrinkled his nose. 'Can you tell me a story about a pirate?'

John looked over at Anna, trying hard not to roll his eyes.. She quirked her brow at him. 'A pirate...you say?'

'Uh-huh…' the boy thought for a second, looking at his mother before locking eyes with his father. 'Daddy, where's Captain Finn? I miss him. He told me stories about pirates all the time.'

'Oh, I see,' John frowned. 'You like his stories better than mine?'

'No, I just miss his because he hasn't told me one in awhile.'

John sighed, feeling his wife shift on bed next to him, one of her hands beginning to rub his shoulder. 'Tell him,' he heard her whisper.

John nodded. 'Son,' he took a deep breath. Anna's hand found his and he took it, squeezing it gently for all the courage that he needed now. 'There's something I want- we want to tell you about Captain Finn.'

'Is he gone forever?' the boy asked, his eyes pleading and his bottom lip quivering for all the world like his mother's did when she upset.

'No. He's not gone forever, in fact...he...he won't be going at all.' John lowered his head, trying to think of a good way to tell the boy the truth. 'You see, son, Captain Finn...well, he's my father. He's your granddad.'

William screwed his forehead up, taking in his father's words. He was not quite grasping the importance of such a confession.

'You see, my darling,' Anna began. 'Daddy thought his father was dead, you know that.'

Will nodded.

'...but he's not. He was just...missing. And now he's come back,' Anna continued.

'Why?' William asked, confused.

'It took him some years to be able to find us,' John added. 'We didn't know who he was until a few days ago, that's why we didn't tell you.'

'You didn't know your daddy?' Will was incredulous.

'No. You see...when..when my dad went missing I was only a boy, and it was many, many years ago,' John told him. 'I grew up, he grew older and I didn't recognise him at first.'

'Was that why you were so mad? Because your memory quit working?' the boy questioned innocently and his words made his parents chuckle.

'One of the reasons, yes...but it doesn't matter now,' John said.

'Where is he then? Where's my granddad Captain Finn?' It was if it was just now hitting William. The thought that he had a granddad, and he was a proper seaman, to boot was beyond thrilling.

'He's living in the village. He's just been busy but, you'll be seeing him again,' Anna replied, shooting John a look.

'Yes,' John gave in, rolling his eyes at his wife. 'With time you will.'

'Just you wait until I tell Percy my granddad is the Captain!' William exclaimed excitedly. 'Why aren't you a Captain too, daddy? You should be one too!'

'I'm not a seaman, son. I like being home with mummy, you and the twins. You see, seamen they don't...they don't have much time for their family, unless they're old and they need someone to take care of them.' John answered Anna's previous look with one of his own.

'But I want to be a Captain of a great boat when I grow up!' the boy said decidedly, a huge smile on his face.

'Well, we will see about that. Now you go to sleep. It's late,' John urged.

William crawled from under the covers, giving his father a big hug. 'That was better than a story, daddy!'

'I'm glad you liked it, son. Come on, give your mother a kiss and say your goodnights.'

William did as John told him, placing a loud kiss on his mother's cheek before crawling back under the blankets.

'Goodnight daddy. Goodnight mummy.'

'Goodnight son, sleep well,' John replied, tucking the boy in and kissing his forehead before leaving the room.

'See...your son is more understanding than you think.' Anna told him as they walked down the hall, one of her arms around his middle as he wrapped one around her shoulders.

'I just don't want any of my children to suffer with any sort of loss. I know I can't protect them from everything. Life is already so unpredictable as it is, but if that old man up and takes off again...'

'Don't worry love. Your father is too old and weak to run away again.' She chuckled as they stopped in front of the bathroom door. 'Me first? Or you?'

'You go ahead. I'm feeling a bit peckish,' he said, rubbing his belly.

'How can you be hungry after all the potato soup you ate?' Anna giggled.

John side-eyed her before taking her index finger in his hand and poking it into his ribs. 'Feel that? There's room for one more bowl there, I think. I'll be up in a minute.' John kissed the top of her head and turned toward the stairs.

The bathroom door opened not five minutes later. Anna was at the sink putting cream on her face. She looked at John over her shoulder as he lowered the lid of the toilet seat and sat down to ate his soup. 'Why are you eating in here?'

'Because I wanted to be with you, not down in the kitchen with the animals,' he said, licking his spoon. 'Your husband is a very good cook, by the way.' Then he got up and nudged her with his hip. 'Mind if I borrow your sink to rinse out my bowl, wouldn't want this to dry on here?'

'Borrow it? Are you going to give it back? Hand it here, I'll do it. Quite a day, wasn't it?' Anna watched him through the mirror as he stood at the toilet, his back to her.

He flexed his shoulders and stretched his neck slightly. 'That it was, my darling, that it was.' Finished, he flushed the toilet and turned toward her. 'Are you done with the sink? I'd like to wash up too, if there's any hot water left.'

Anna wrapped her arms around his neck as he pulled her flush to him. 'You're feeling better aren't you?'

He rubbed his nose against hers. 'I'm feeling...I'm feeling better, yes.' He lowered his hands to cup her bottom, giving her a squeeze. 'Now go on, I'll be there in a minute.'

'I'll be waiting,' she said, slipping out the door.

Telling his son the truth had made him lighter, even though there was still a trace of insecurity within him, and he knew the only thing that could make him feel better about that was Anna. Her kisses and warm embraces would soothe him through the night, and he would return the favor as he loved her.

With time all wounds heal and the two of them were the biggest proof of that. With time...only with time and love.

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December 11th, 1927 9:45pm

Today was a most satisfying day. We got so much done around the house. John was even able to get Will to pick up his room, with the reminder that Christmas was just around the corner. The fact that everything ended up shoved under his bed is beside the point. That's a lesson for another day.

I spent the biggest part of my day ironing and folding laundry. I did the wash early yesterday, hung it out, brought it back in at dusk, frozen stiff. Will's trousers stood on their own! Then I rehung almost everything in the warm kitchen where it took all night to dry. Things seem more difficult in wintery weather. The laundry really piles up now that we have the twins and I'm back to working. I'm so lucky John is as helpful as he is. He doesn't think of it as my work and or his work. He thinks of it as our work. He even sat at the table tonight doing the mending for me. Where does that come from anyway? From having a single, working mother, I imagine. He's always been helpful. Too bad I can't thank her, but maybe she knows.

And then, the most important part of our day, we told William who Eamon really is. It wasn't easy for John. He's so afraid Eamon will disappear again and break Will's heart and John's too, I suspect. I'm just so proud of him for the way he's handled everything. He truly is the best person I have ever , he's my husband and I should feel like that, but it's the absolute truth.

I wish I had a photograph of Will's face when John told him. He was beside himself with happiness. And I think John feels better getting that out of the way too. I believe we'll all sleep better tonight.

I'm thinking we'll ask Eamon to dinner some time next week. We haven't all had a sit down together and I hate to think of him all by himself every night when he has a perfectly lovely family just down the lane. I'll ask John first of course, but they have to get used to each other sooner or later. I'll mention it as soon as he comes to bed.

I have to tell you about the girl's newest game. We call it, Where Did It Go? They'll throw something down on the floor and when we throw up our hands and say, 'where did it go?' they giggle and squeal their heads off. They think it's the funniest thing ever, but it does get a little too much when it goes on for more than a few minutes. Luckily, Will enjoys it as much as they do and he's always willing to play with them.

He isn't playing with Percy as often either, which is fine with me. They seem to fight about everything lately and I have a feeling that when Percy finds out the Capt. is Will's granddad he will not take it well.

Oh, here comes John now. Hello, Mr Bates!

~ Anna Bates

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'Hello, Mr Bates!' Anna smiled flirtily at her husband as he walked in the room. His hair was damp and loose, falling over his brow. He had his trousers on still, but he was bare chested and his braces were swinging down on either side of his legs. She closed the journal and placed it on top of the nightstand. 'I see you are all done.'

John winked, taking off his trousers, followed by his underwear, and folding them neatly on top of a chair before walking toward the bed. 'Should I put my pyjamas on?' he teased her.

'Big silly! Come here.' Anna said, stretching her arms out for him. 'I have to thank you for that delicious soup and for your help today.'

John smiled as he crawled in bed, sinking into her embrace and resting his head on her chest. 'You don't need to thank me, love. It's my pleasure, you know that.'

'Nevertheless...I want you to know that I don't take you for granted. I never have and I never will.' She kissed the crown of his head, his hair smelling of soap.

'And neither will I,' he sighed deeply before leaning up to face her. 'You can thank me all you want now.'

Anna giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him passionately. 'Don't you worry, Mr Bates…' she whispered when they broke apart. 'I will.'

She felt his arms around her waist then, pulling her down onto the sheets as his lips found the skin of her neck.

'You know...I've been thinking…' Anna continued as he kissed his way along her jaw. 'Your father is all alone when he has his family so close to him.' She heard him moan his response, his attention now focused on the top of her breasts. He shift the fabric of her nightdress aside for better access, and for a moment she forgot what she wanted to say. 'And...well…' his touches too delicious to find any sense of her words. 'Maybe dinner...one of these days?'

'What?' John hovered over her, his cheeks flushed and his lips parted, a questioning look on his face. 'Dinner for what?'

Anna took a shuddering sigh, trying to regain control. 'Your father. I think we should invite him for dinner soon.'

'Why are you bringing him up now of all times?' John shook his head, but before he could say no, she took his face between her hands and pulled him in for another kiss. One of her legs was now around his waist, letting him know of her intentions. 'You're being unfair, Anna. You're seducing me into it,' he said.

'For your own good. Is it working?' she smiled, biting her lower lip, her hands travelling down his body.

'Oh...oh yes it is, dammit,' he moaned, kissing her neck once again. His body beginning to respond.

'And?' she insisted.

'And what?' his voice was muffled by her skin.

'And yes or no for inviting your father for dinner.'

'All right, all right...just...take this thing off.' John fumbled with the strings of her nightdress and with practice he slid it over her head, exposing her to his hungry eyes.

His reply had been spoken without a second thought, but that was fine. It was for his own good. He wouldn't go back on his word now, Anna wouldn't let him, and in the end he would be glad for it. After all, his wife was always right.

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