'What did Catherine say?' Ruth who had woken up when his phone rang asked Harry, when on the second day in a row she had fallen asleep in the garden having fed James.

'That she and Graham have begged some time off work so that they can come and meet him.'

'When and for how long?'

'Sometime between two and three tomorrow and I'm guessing for a couple of days because she was adamant that they didn't want to interrupt our routine or do they expect us to feed them which is why they've booked rooms at the pub.'

'Then I wish I didn't feel so tired.'

'You've had a baby, we're both being woken in the night when he needs feeding and I'm quite sure they won't expect us to be our usual bouncy selves but I'll put them off if you think it's too soon?'

'No, I'm glad that they want to see him whether we're bouncy or not.'

.

As if he not only understood but remembered every conversation that his parents had, James who when he wasn't being fed, bathed or having his nappy changed smiled at almost anything, in this case turning on the charm in a way that so reminded Ruth of Harry, that when they had walked into the village the following morning after what had been a better night's sleep to buy some fresh veg, fruit and bread, she found herself coping with the isn't he gorgeous and he reminds me of mine at that age from the shopkeepers concerned, and in particular Mrs. Barnes who owned the café, who after inviting them in for what she called their usual, namely a cup of coffee for Harry and a pot of tea for Ruth because heaven forbid that it came in anything that resembled a mug, minus something to eat because having recently had breakfast they weren't hungry, only for her to present them with a cake to celebrate his arrival.

Having thanked her and promised to call again soon they were now wishing that they had driven rather than walked because with a cake to accommodate in addition to the other shopping it required some rearranging in terms of where to put everything, which meant that James was sharing his buggy with an assortment of vegetables and half a dozen bread rolls, when they were walking the short distance to the village green they knocked on Malcolm's door. Where no reply suggested he was in the back garden which to gain access required those who were in the know, namely them to press a button which opened the side gate. Something which begged the question they had never asked as to what if any other pieces of kit Malcolm had squirreled away from his days on the grid.

Not so his smile which never changed until they told him as they wanted to do before Graham and Catherine arrived that as soon as they had known they were having a boy they had decided to call him James followed by Malcolm, causing it to broaden and for Ruth's resolve not to cry to completely fail.

'Would you like to come to tea this afternoon because Graham and Catherine are arriving at some time between two and three?' He tried to decline when Harry made the offer, because not only could he see how tired Ruth was but thought they ought to spend time as a family, only for James blow a raspberry which suggested he agreed with his parents who by now were glad of a sit down somewhere quiet and where worshiping James had reverted to being their prerogative before they said their goodbyes.

Which left an inwardly smiling Malcolm literally rather than figuratively holding the cake, whereas they and not for the first time when they got home appreciated how it had become a haven of calm, which in this case allowed Harry to unpack and put away the shopping, whilst Ruth who by now had recovered sufficiently to carry James upstairs to change and then feed him, before in the quiet of the room beyond the kitchen with the windows onto the garden wide open and with a couple of hours to spare before Graham and Catherine arrived and with James asleep between them, they themselves had something to eat.

Clock watching didn't help to pass the time, or was there any passing traffic, in fact apart from the times when the post van pulled up outside the last vehicle of any description which had required them to open the door had been when they'd shopped in advance of James's arrival in Ipswich, where in addition to pots of paint because they wanted to change the colour to be more muted and a frieze they had added, the furniture to rejig the small room to accommodate a baby and a sizeable number of smaller items, all of which had been delivered so that Harry and Malcolm hadn't been over stretched time wise, had only been eclipsed by the comings and goings before during and after their wedding. An event which had cemented their relationship with Harry's two older children which had left Harry in particular with the assumption that Catherine wouldn't shy away from anything or would she be lost for words, most of which came with a look that said I tell it as it is, no prizes for guessing who she had inherited that trait from as had James which meant that he was more than surprised when Ruth said to her, 'support James's head and don't squeeze him too tightly,' when she handed him over, that Catherine developed an expression to suggest she was holding an unexploded bomb, whereas Graham when the time came responded to James's smile by saying, 'hello little brother I'm Graham.

Malcolm's arrival soon afterwards and the need to make tea, which now that Ruth's hormones had stopped flip flopping sufficiently that she was able to ask Catherine to help her, broke the ice in as much as she told Ruth that he father's expression had reminded her of the day when he had shown her the poem 'The prayer for my daughter' when not only had he struggled to hide his tears but it had been the turning point in rebuilding their relationship.

'That was then and this is now and ignoring what has happened in between, James's arrival hasn't changed the way that your dad feels about you and Graham or will it, because not only are you his only daughter but we want nothing more than you both get to know and love James, because despite what Graham suggested we are not planning to have another baby,' Ruth told her, before throwing in for good measure, 'and if I were you I'd talk to your dad and tell him how you feel.'

What remained of the afternoon until it was time for James to have his bath and go to bed, which again saw Ruth suggesting Catherine might like to help her went smoothly. Helped in the first instance because James chose this moment to kick his legs in a way to suggest he was going to swim before he walked, which meant that Catherine got more than she had bargained for in terms of a soaking, whilst downstairs Graham had asked Malcolm what his house was like which had bought him an invitation to pop in for coffee the following morning, which as Ruth pointed out when they were finally on their own, left an opening for Catherine to have a quiet word. What that meant, especially for Harry who had never put quiet and Catherine in the same sentence he had no idea?

.

The morning as it always had been and still was their favourite time of day started early for Harry and Ruth, changed only in that James had become their alarm system that almost always coincided with Harry bringing Ruth a cup of tea. At a time when a good number of the population of their tiny village were still sleeping, today including Catherine and Graham but not Malcolm who had stuck to his guns and was going for an early morning walk on the beach, minus the planned dog until James was older.

A beach that three hours later was large and in this case empty enough and if you knew it as well as they did, allowed Harry in complete isolation the luxury of watching his wife feeding their son in advance of Malcolm who was having coffee in his own garden with Graham and a much calmer Catherine who was wandering around the village in search of a present for James, on a morning when the sun wasn't beating down but was sufficiently warm that James was wearing his sun hat and Harry the smile which as it always had been was reserved for Ruth.