Round 3 - Part 1

(Author's Note: For this round, we challenge you to write a story about a character turning sixty-four based on a line in the song When I'm Sixty-Four.)

Grandma

Lyrics used: Grandchildren on your knee
Vera, Chuck and Dave

I shifted my basket to my left hand and knocked on the door. A moment later it was flung open by a small girl with curly red hair.

"Grandma!" she beamed. "It's Grandma!" she called over her shoulder. Two small boys pounded down the hall, followed by Kate, their mother and my daughter. Unlike the children, Kate looked stressed and annoyed.

"How often have I told you to wait for me before you answer the front door?" She scolded her daughter.

Vera stared back, surprised. "But it's Grandma!"

"I know that, but it could have been anyone! Next time, wait."

Vera's expression turned mutinous. "But-"

"That's enough," announced Kate, firmly. I cleared my throat.

Kate turned to me. "Sorry. How are you, mum?" We hugged awkwardly.

"Fit as a fiddle," I told her, smiling. "You look tired, though," I added, before I could stop myself.

Kate grimaced and ran a hand through her hair. "Yes, a pupil free day... which I had totally forgotten about! I thought it was next week. I had planned to go to the Mortlock, but... Never mind. Come in."

I followed her down the passage to the kitchen, the children surrounding me, each vying for my attention.

"There's no school today, did you know that?"

"Did you bring us a present?"

"What's in the basket, Grandma?"

Kate spoke over the top of them. "We didn't have an arrangement today, did we?" She sounded anxious.

"No, it was a spur of the moment thing. I just thought I'd pop around and see if you were free for a coffee."

"Oh, that's all right then. I'd hate to think I'd forgotten that as well!" She gave a smile that was more like a grimace. She looked like a woman near the end of her tether. And although I thought a lot of it was self-inflicted, who was I to judge?

I came to a sudden decision.

"Why don't I stay and look after the kids for a bit while you go to the library?"

"Oh, would you?" Relief washed her face for a moment before she had second thoughts. "But Darren-"

"Darren isn't here," I pointed out, rather tartly I confess. "You go and do your research. We'll be fine. No running with scissors and we promise not to play in the traffic."

Kate shook her head, smiling despite herself.

Dave rolled his seven-year old eyes.

"Why can't we run with scissors?" asked Charlie, earnestly, really wanting to know.

Vera frowned. "That's silly, Grandma. Playing in traffic would be dangerous."

"You are so right," I told her. "And so is running with scissors. Just imagine if you fell over."

Charlie looked unconvinced and I resolved to have a quiet chat later.

Kate was still dithering, knowing that Darren wouldn't approve but I could tell she was eager to have some quiet time on her project.

"Come on, Kate. The kids and I will be fine for a few hours." It shouldn't be that big a deal, I felt like adding, but for once, tact won out.

Darren. Hmm.

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that mothers-in-law and sons-in-law will dislike each other on sight. A TV trope perhaps, but sadly true in our case.

From Darren's point of view, I was an interfering old woman (though I had only just turned 64, hardly in my dotage!) who wouldn't leave them alone to live their lives the way they wanted. Or, to be more accurate, the way Darren wanted Kate to live her life.

I'd quite liked Darren when I met him, until I realised how controlling he was. Oh, not in a creepy pathological way, (at least, I hoped not!) but in an irritating, my-way-is-the-right-way kind of way. I honestly didn't know why Kate put up with it. Still, not my business, I told myself. As long as he didn't try and stop me seeing Kate and the children, I wouldn't interfere. Well, not much.

Eventually, Kate left for the library and the kids and I made our lunch. Home made pizzas, which were a lot of fun, if a bit messy. I'd brought some biscuits in my basket and we ate those for dessert.

I glanced around the kitchen while Vera got out the Scrabble board (I was the only one who had the patience to play it with her), and Charlie and Dave settled down to play a Mario Bros game on the TV.

I decided the kitchen could do with a bit of a clean. Darren and his expensive Dyson vacuum cleaner be damned. I wiggled my nose while the children were occupied and the place looked brighter in a flash, everything neat and tidy. There, that was better.

I didn't need to wiggle my nose, of course, but a TV character I'd seen as a child used that trick and it had appealed to me. So funny, and best of all, it drove Darren wild when he caught me doing it. Just because he had no powers, I liked to point out, was no valid reason for the rest of us to stop using them. I'd had numerous arguments with Kate over this, but it was one of the compromises she said she was prepared to make to keep the man she loved.

Apparently, Darren wanted them to be a 'normal' family. Though I couldn't see how using a vacuum cleaner and a mop to clean the house instead of a handy spell, was going to achieve that. Life was too short for dusting, my mum always said, especially when you didn't have to. With triplets to take care of, I would have thought he'd be grateful for any assistance they could get. And surely a cleaning spell was harmless.

I sighed.

The tip of Vera's tongue protruded as she concentrated on her letters. It was her last turn and she had two letters left. As usual, there weren't many spaces free to build on. Her face brightened as she hurried to place her A and I after an L which was on the board.

"Lay," she beamed. "I'm out, Grandma. I get the extra 50 points!"

"Hmm. I thought it was spelt L.A.Y." I ventured. I tried to walk a fine line between encouragement and correct spelling.

Quick as a flash, Vera had the answer. "Oh, this is a different word. You say it the same but you spell it different."

"Differently," I corrected absently. I doubted Vera had ever heard of medieval poetry, but who knew? I smiled at her. She was a bright kid.

"Well done!"

I was adding up the scores when I heard the front door open and close.

"Kate? I'm home," announced Darren's voice from the hall. Damn. He was early. Never mind.

I plastered a smile on my face. "We're in the kitchen, Darren," I called out, suppressing a smirk at the silence which followed.

"Susan? We weren't expecting you, were we?" Darren appeared in the doorway, a frown creasing his brow. "Where's Kate?" he added before I could answer the first question.

"She's at the Mortlock."

"Oh? How long has she been there? She didn't tell me you were coming."

I bit my tongue on the answer I wanted to give.

"It was a spur of the moment thing. I just popped around for a coffee and offered to mind the kids so Kate could go to the library."

"That's kind of you, but I'd appreciate knowing when you plan to visit, in advance." His tone was clipped.

"Would you? I'll do my best to remember," I said with a vague smile as I got to my feet and hunted around for my basket.

The expression on his face would have curdled milk, without the intervention of a hex. I thought only Vera's presence stopped him from being even more offensive. But even as I walked to the front door, I could hear his scornful tones asking who had miss spelt L.A.Y.

I comforted myself with visions of turning him into a toad, but I refrained, regretfully.

My head was buzzing as I walked along to the train station.

I wondered what Darren would do when Vera hit puberty and came into her full powers. She was already showing a few indications, like a touch of prescience. (She'd known I was at the door before she'd opened it.) Our power ran down the female line so, sadly, Charlie and Dave would miss out.

Unfortunately, I could only do so much.

Kate had to decide matters for herself, but the sooner she realised Darren's behaviour was nothing to do with her being a witch, but everything to do with him being a control freak, the sooner we'd all be better off.

Still, it wouldn't hurt to refresh my memory on the toad spell.