With the words of the song still playing in the background and blissfully happy after a lot more worshiping into the early hours they had finally fallen asleep, but not before agreeing that for the moment that neither of them were ready to tell Malcolm or Jo that they wanted a baby, which was why when Jo arrived before Ian and Alice and asked, 'will you promise me that if I ask you a question that your answer won't mean that I have to ask it again or word it differently?' Harry was ready for anything.
Hence, 'depends what the question is Jo.'
'Well actually there are two questions although they are connected, firstly why aren't you on your honeymoon and secondly why the morning after your wedding is you wife of less than a day given the noise that is coming from upstairs giving Freddie and Lucy a bath?'
Putting to one side the fact that he had once been Jo's boss and trying not to smile whilst knowing that if he tried to side track her it would only serve to give her more ammunition, 'Ruth's fine, because as we always do and made by me, we had our first cup of tea in bed. As for the honeymoon the where and when is still up for discussion,' he delivers in such a way that sees Jo giving up. But only until Ruth appears still clad in her pyjamas and looking equally if not more happy, explaining that the reason the two children had stayed overnight was firstly to give Ian and Alice a break and secondly that staying in a pub at their age wasn't appropriate, before going on to add that this was the second time that the family had stayed with them, the first of which had been for a week in advance of the wedding because when they had been chatting after Ros's funeral not only had Ian suggested that distance was no object when it came marrying them but he couldn't remember the last time that they as a family had had a holiday together.
At which point Freddie helpfully chipped in by telling her that he and Uncle Harry were best friends, the elder of which Jo was considering nominating for Mr. Domesticity since he was disappearing into the kitchen flanked by the children to prepare breakfast, allowing her to follow Ruth into the room beyond and to take in the extent of the view which was the prime reason they had chosen to buy the house which even in the depths of winter was breathtaking. Before telling the person that she misses more than she does any other, 'you had a beautiful wedding,' then following it up by saying, Harry's so different from what I remember.'
Only for Ruth to say, 'not with me, he just needed to find a way to hide it from everyone else.'
Trying and failing to think of something else to say, besides which Ruth is now laying the table at what still feels like an ungodly hour seeing as it is the day after the wedding, gives Jo another chance to watch them as a couple, adding fire cracker in bed to Harry's credentials because even with his back to Ruth there is an unspoken current passing between them, as is the realisation when Malcolm arrives ten minutes later by which time breakfast is in full swing that she is the only one who has to go back to work and as such wants to beg another day doing whatever amounts to normal in this household, because unlike yesterday which been teeming with people, today there is a feeling of intimacy that she wants to be a part of. That and the reason for her questions is because just as they had once done, she is now the person who goes back to an empty house every night and more often than not wonders what fresh hell she'll have to deal with in the morning or in other words is lonely.
.
The so called clear up which Ian and Alice had insisted they do Harry and Ruth refuse point blank, raising the question as to what they as a group are going to do on what is obviously a day when wrapping up against the cold is a priority, solved after Harry walks over to the bookshelf for what he describes as his problem solver which is his Glories of Suffolk Handbook, which means that the plan once they have finished breakfast and loaded the dishwasher is to drive to Framlingham because as well as having a castle there are a wealth of shops and plenty of places to eat. More than that it offers Jo the opportunity to watch them away from the house and to appreciate the ease with which Harry picks up Lucy and then Freddie and straps them into their car seats. Not though with the same vision as Malcolm who had spent a day with them in Southwold and now is even more convinced that a baby is either on the way or soon will be but because his middle name is discretion is keeping his thoughts very much to himself.
On arrival Freddie is not alone in wanting to see what the inside of a castle built in the fifteen hundreds looks like, although he is the only one who is jumping up and down alongside Harry, Ian and Malcolm as they join what is very short queue, which allows Ruth, Jo and Alice who is keeping Lucy occupied to enjoy not only the warmth but a relaxing three quarters of an hour, shortened given that the battlements are currently off limits because they are slippery in the comfort of the café, before they drive into the centre of town and park up.
One which is chalk from cheese compared to Southwold and not only because it is inland so isn't subjected to the icy blast that is currently keeping its inhabitants indoors, because rather than have one long shopping street it has amongst what are the many medieval buildings, side streets, an indoor market and a children's soft play centre which is where the family head having agreed that they all meet up under the clock tower in an hour, because Ian who has always claimed that his job is not a million miles away from what Harry used to do is aware that unlike the day of Ros's funeral, today it's Jo who is out of sorts.
As do the newly-weds and is why, 'I would suggest that both Catherine and Graham who live alone feel the same way as you do and it's not as though you need lie to them about what you do,' says Harry, having jumped on the same proverbial bus as Ian and Ruth.
Ably assisted by Malcolm who chips in by saying, 'even now after all these years there are moments when I wish I could tell my neighbours the truth.'
Only for Jo to apologise by saying, 'I'm sorry, me not being one hundred percent is not what you needed to hear on your first day of married life.'
To which Ruth replies, 'rubbish,' before adding, 'not married life of course.'
Unlike Harry's response which is a visual one implying that rather than say I bloody well hope so when they are sitting in another café because he and Malcolm having been looking at all things medieval both need a warm drink. One which it isn't being brought by a serving wench as had been the case in the mock dining room of the castle, albeit that she was stuffed presumably with straw and had breasts to suggest that her duties went far beyond the dining room, given the Lord of the manner who had a face which had reminded him of Dolby and how the stuffing in his case and verbally had been done by Ros god rest her soul, after which they head back out into the cold and in search of what Malcolm and Jo have been insisting is to buy them is a wedding present of their choice.
Unusual maybe but as Harry has recently taken over what he sees as a welcome change by doing the majority of cooking, they choose what are a set of saucepans which unlike their current ones are designed for the new stove that is the focal point of their kitchen, as it was he remembers in The Good Life, but in their case without the pea pod wine and the much put upon Margot, whereas their kitchen is an oasis of calm.
Where the stove in question unlike the one in the sitting room doesn't require logs, but between them now that he has got the measure of both ensures the house is always cosy, a sentiment that when they eventually arrive home, shoes shed and lined up by the door and because Jo had been honest and open about how she was feeling and after a quiet word with Ruth and at a time when Ian and Alice are settling the children in front of the TV, the last remaining secret that he will ever keep, sees Jo going into raptures and Malcolm with a look that he knows only too well means that he already knew.
That he then follows it up by saying, 'well you're getting plenty of practice,' meaning the time they are spending with Freddie and Lucy, as opposed to suggesting that he has bugged their bedroom, embarrassment obvious on his face which is so Malcolm, not only answers the question as to why they have delayed their honeymoon but sets the tone for the rest of the evening, which ensures that it's a much happier Jo who leaves the following morning determined to call Catherine and suggest that they go for a drink or maybe a meal, without the news that her father and Ruth are hoping to add to the family, whilst she herself will be able to keep a link which she'd thought she'd lost.
In contrast to a not so happy is Freddie, until Ian promises him that they will come and see Harry and Ruth after the Easter Services in April, which just leaves Malcolm who they have invited to stay on for a few more days, without earplugs being implied.