Chrissy picked the post up from the floor as she walked in. From behind her, James could see that it mostly seemed to be takeaway leaflets, at least three of which would be stashed in their kitchen drawer for the next time neither of them could be arsed to cook.
As Chrissy headed into the kitchen to put the kettle on, James shuffled his son over a little in his arms. Sam had fallen asleep in the car and even them coming into the house hadn't woken the two year old up.
"Oh look" Chrissy had called from the kitchen. "David and Gail have invited us to their wedding." James fought not to groan out loud. She laughed as she watched him from the kitchen door.
"Come on, its not that bad. Its a wedding James, not a chore."
"I know, I know. I like David and Gail, I do. But they're your friends. The reception is gonna be full of nurses and doctors talking about body parts and shit."
"And you can counter with tales of mystery and murder." She comes over to him and takes the still sleeping boy out of his arms. "And besides, kids are invited so if it gets to much, you can just go hang out with the toddlers." James chuckles as he heads into the kitchen to finish off making the tea.
"I might end up doing just that."
.
.
.
Of course, his wife had been right, and the wedding had been a lovely affair. David and Gail were clearly smitten with each other and the whole day was nothing but a beautiful merging of two happy families. Chrissy was off to the side catching up with old colleagues who had left her hospital, and James was content sitting at the table watching Sam playing with some of the other children. A couple of eight years olds had seemed to take his son under their wing, and Sam was clearly in awe of the older boys, following them around and trying to copy them.
Not long after, Sam came running over to him and pointed over at the dance floor, where it seemed that the other kids were dancing with their parents.
"Want dance!"
"Do you want to go and dance little man?"
"Dance! O'there. Daddy too!" Sam tugged on his arm and he stood up, looking around for Chrissy. She was still talking to her friends, so he resigned himself to his fate, and let his son lead him over to the dance floor.
It was quickly apparent to James that not only did he not know how to dance, he definitely didn't know how to dance with a two year old. Sam quickly fixed this by standing on James feet and leaning back, holding on to James' hands. He giggled happily as James started to walk around the dance floor. He looked down to see his son beaming up at him, and couldn't help but grin.
The song slowed down and without warning, Chrissy was next to him. He scoops Sam up onto his hip and turns to smile at her as the kid lays his head on his shoulder, finally seeming tired out.
"Care for this dance Mr Hathaway?" He puts his hand around her waist, swaying gently with their son falling asleep between them.
"Thought you'd never ask."
.
.
.
James looked around the function room, smiling at the amount of joy that seemed to be filling the space. He'd known Charlie since he'd been a trainee firefighter with Sam nearly twenty years ago, and no one could deny that he and John made a perfect couple. It still somewhat surprised him when any of Sam's colleagues remembered him from back then, and he was deeply honoured to be invited.
He took a swig of his beer, mentally noting that this should probably be his last one. He was no where near drunk, but it was soon going to be a choice between another drink, and painkillers, and while he knew what the preferable option was, his knee wouldn't thank him in the morning. And a hangover will make him feel every single one of his sixty six years. A hand landed on his shoulder and he looked up to see Holly smiling down at him.
"You alright James?"
"Never better. This is lovely isn't it?" Holly smiles, looking out over the room.
"It is, I'm so happy for Charlie." She spots a few tables away, and gives his shoulder a squeeze. "Let me just go and say hi to Miranda. Oh, if you wanted to go up to the room, don't feel you have to wait for us James."
"I'm fine where I am for a bit. If you want me to take Ben up to bed, let me know."
"Thanks. One late night won't hurt him though." She makes her way between chairs towards her friend, just as the aforementioned four year old runs over to him.
"Granddad! Come an' dance wiv me."
"Granddad is too old for dancing Benny."
"Even wiv your stick?"
"Even with my stick, go on though, I'll watch you from here."
"Okay! I gonna do a big dance." Ben runs away, but instead of heading towards the dance floor, he swerves to the left and tries to swing off Sam's hand where he's stood talking to Charlie and John. Sam looks down and before long, he's grinning apologetically at their hosts and allowing himself to be lead to the dance floor by the determined four year old.
James takes a last swig of the dregs of his pint and grins when he puts the glass down. Ben is standing on Sam's feet, holding onto his hands and cackling as Sam stomps around the dance floor with him. The little boy has his head thrown back in laughter, and Sam is laughing too, exaggerating his movements and making his son laugh even harder. It transports him back almost four decades, to doing the same thing for Sam, when his joints were significantly more functional, and life hadn't quite kicked him in the head yet. But the once familiar pang of grief doesn't come, he can enjoy the memories now, for the brilliant times they were, without focusing on the loss. He smiles softly as the song slows down and he sees Holly make her way over to Sam and Ben.
The four year old jumps off Sam's feet, and then sits on the floor and holds his hands up to be carried. And that's his cue. He picks up his walking stick and heads over to his family. Ben grins sleepily up at him and points.
"Granddad gonna dance" Sam snorts and James shoots him an exasperated look.
"Grandad is heading off to bed. Does Benny wanna come and keep me company?" The little boy thinks about it, but all his energy has clearly worn off and he nods, standing up and reaching up to be carried. Holly picks him up and carefully hands him over to James.
"I'll have him in my room," James says, knowing they are in the hotel room next to him. "Its a twin, and I think we left his bag in there anyway. Have a good night."
"Thanks James," Holly says. "Come get us if he's any trouble."
"You won't be any trouble will you mate? Come on Benny, lets leave Mummy and Daddy to dance." The little boy waves goodbye to his parents and lays his head on James' shoulder as he limps towards the lifts. A contented little sigh comes from his grandson and James smiles softly.
"Yeah. Me too mate, me too."