'Daddy's good at weddings,' says a serious looking Freddie who having latched onto Harry the following morning when they are walking along the seafront in Southwold, the idea being that they have a fish and chip lunch in a café near the lighthouse, then and only then if it's warm enough Freddie can dig to his hearts content or if not visit a nearby donkey sanctuary, the implication being that not only did he overhear their conversation but assumes that Harry thinks that the wedding is going to be an unmitigated disaster, having already asked him if he can call him Uncle Harry and telling him that he's nearly six, only for him to add, 'I've never been to a wedding can I come to yours?'
Not wanting to presume despite there not being a single reason and is sure Ruth will feel the same that both Freddie and Lucy shouldn't come to their wedding Harry says, 'let's wait until we're having lunch shall we and see what your dad thinks?'
What Ian thinks, given the way Harry poses the question, is that providing both their children remain silent for the length of the ceremony, one which will be unconventional in as much as it's not going to be in church but in a room which in all honesty has the same feeling of serenity, which on the day will be decorated with flowers that Marianne has ordered at the florist in the village, is that their children will provide a welcome distraction in as much as everyone else will at some time during the day want to get a piece of Harry and Ruth to the extent that both the emotional and physical space that all couples need on their wedding day will be limited to a few privately snatched moments. That and from a purely selfish point of view if the children get tired he won't have to ask before putting them to bed or will Harry and Ruth object to giving them breakfast in the morning, because unlike most couples any thought of a honeymoon has been overtaken by their desire to have a child which means that he and Alice who are staying at the pub will be able to have a mini honeymoon of their own.
All of which is agreed during what is a very good lunch combined with smiles and the decision that Lucy can have a party dress for the occasion which sees Freddie turning metaphorical cartwheels to the point where he concedes to Lucy's wish that they go and see the donkeys, because as his new best friend Harry tells him the beach close to where they live is much nicer and tomorrow which is the day of the beach party he will help him build a sandcastle. A combination that by the time the children have had a bath and are tucked up in bed means they are asleep within moments allowing the adults unlike the previous evening and without the revelations, to relax in front of the fire until they too by mutual agreement head for bed.
.
Waking up to hear the rain lashing against the windows, had Harry not needed to check that the fire was still alight he might well have turned over and gone back to sleep but as it is and with visitors in the house, he reluctantly rolls away from Ruth grabs a sweater and makes his way downstairs. Not expecting but is pleasantly surprised when just as he is about to put the kettle on arms that are clearly hers wrap around his waist, resulting in a risk worth taking given how early it is, to have sex for first time since their visitors arrived, if not the first time in the kitchen, but this time born out of need that rises to the point where neither of them even consider what the consequences might be if someone was to walk in and find them within moments of climaxing. Followed by a deep feeling of satisfaction combined with their early morning tea which they drink on the sofa in front of the fire in the sitting room, which is where Ian finds them an hour later wrapped around each other and fast asleep.
After which breakfast comes and goes with no indication from Ian that he has seen them or knows what preceded tea and a cuddle on the sofa, which is not only a blessing especially for Ruth who would have been mortified although Harry not so much, is why he is so good at the job.
A job which right from the start Alice had accepted would involve intensely privately conversations she would never be privy to and is why their own marriage is rock solid and more importantly is how they both see the couple under whose roof they are staying, to the extent that they would trust them with their children if heaven forbid anything were to happen to them. Children who when Harry's phone rings to say that the forecast as from lunchtime is for the sun to come out so the beach party which had been due to start at four is back on are watching a Disney film. At the same time that she is planning ahead as to how and what furniture will need to be moved to accommodate nine adults and two small children around the dining room table, plus if Lucy is going to have a new party dress then Freddie must have a new pair of trousers and shirt, whilst the soon to be married couple are sitting in kitchen with her husband who has just told them that he is obliged to have the are you sure about this chat as in the sanctity of marriage whether they are believers or not.
Something that had Harry been asked the same question when Ruth had stood on the quayside all those years ago or when the car had exploded which had killed Adam he would have found it impossible to answer without it containing an expletive, whereas now although he isn't a believer in the true sense, his outlook on life and the fact that every morning when he wakes up he thanks whoever is out there that Ruth is the first person he sees is causing him to wonder.
Thoughts which are still with him when they walk into the village because even on quiet days there is limited parking, a village with not much more than a population of three hundred people and in this case makes him think that either the doctor had been right or there is something in the water, because the number of what he estimates to be children who are under five who are swarming like bees around a honey pot are making his head spin. The honey pot in question being the bonfire which has just been lit, cordoned off he is pleased to see along with an area which has designated for the firework display, both of which are a sensible distance away from the marquee where food ranging from burgers to seafood salads and all else in between is making his mouth water.
Reading his expression and in a voice that brings him back down to earth, 'they're not terrorists Harry they're just children,' Ruth whispers, before adding, 'which unless you've changed your mind is what we're planning on having.'
'Of course not,' he says, trying but failing to ignore the plural in Ruth's sentence or the way she is smiling because rather than imagine a child growing up on its own as he has done up until now, he can picture one who will grow up in the company of either a brother or sister.
Thoughts which are put to one side because the food when it arrives is not only good but comes with a free beer, a glass of wine or a hot drink, delivered to the first available table, after which he and Freddie head to the beach with the promise to be back in time for the fireworks. Only for what are now scrambled thoughts to be resurrected which if it hadn't been for the moonlight and the torches which are illuminating what are some seriously good castles as well as just piles of sand are of Catherine and Graham at the same age, causing him wonder what their reaction will be to Ruth and him planning a family and how their opinion is more important than what anyone else thinks, making him well up.
An emotion that he manages to hide even from Ruth, when twenty minutes later the sandcastles are forgotten as the fireworks far better than he expected given that this whole event is for charity light up the night sky, and mercifully when the time comes doesn't prevent him from having a good night's sleep.
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Quite how quickly what amounts to almost a week has gone, is born out the following morning when, 'you're absolutely sure about this,' Alice says to Ruth, at a time when Harry is helping Ian carry what looks to be far more than they arrived with, for what will be a three day stay at home before they return for the wedding. Ruth having repeated what she and Harry had discussed before breakfast that the children will be more than welcome to stay with them and not just because Alice will be occupied the day before, the day of the wedding itself and the day which follows, because other than going into Southwold on the day preceding the wedding to collect Harry's new suit and her dress, they have nothing else planned. As will be the case on the day after the wedding which they are hoping to share with Catherine and Graham for what Harry having told Ruth is calling the big reveal and Ruth is insisting will be just news that she is sure Catherine and Graham will accept for what it is.
'Which is why she adds, 'positive' before giving both the children a hug, whilst imagining a scenario that will see Ian and Alice getting to know hers and Harry's child or children as well as they know theirs, combined with the realisation that this is almost certainly the first occasion that either she or Harry have said goodbye to anyone when one or the other of them hadn't been trying to hold back tears.