South for the Winter

Pascoe has come South, just for three months – he got a placement with The Government Office for Science – GO-Science.  Naively, I thought he might return to the parental home and commute into Westminster on the crowded train.

I went to enormous pains to make his bedroom welcoming – dammit, I even put the ironing board away.

But did he show any gratitude?

GO-Science offered to pay rent on a modest room in London and he seized the opportunity.  Well, what twenty-four year old wouldn’t want to live in the humming heart of London for a time at least?

So you would think that maybe I’d forgiven him. 

But no – I had resorted to sending him passive aggressive texts:

“Hope your new accommodation is lovely and spacious.”

“Hope you’re managing to cook delicious meals in the tiny shared kitchen.”

But then at the weekend, he appeared at our house, as he had said he would.

Standing next to him in church I felt both ridiculously short and stupidly proud.

And all was forgiven.