"It is fine, just go! You'll be late! It's already 3pm and your flight is at 6! I'm sure she'll be here soon," I said as I hugged Yvonne and slowly maneuvered her towards the waiting taxi.
"Okay okay, but let me know how things go alright? And if you two do not..."
I closed the car door on her before she managed to delay even more. Sticking out my tongue her response was one of playful indignation. If the window would not have been rolled up I'm certain I would have heard a "Well I never!" Some waves and air kisses later she disappeared around the corner, on her way to the airport.
And with that was our vacation cut short. It never ceases to amaze me how getting an employer to do you a favor is near impossible, but you're expected to drop everything and head out because they had to lay off a significant amount of staff and you're now left to pick up the pieces. Thank heavens I left the corporate world some time ago.
That didn't mean I would get out scott-free however. Linda was still on her way here. Call me old-fashioned but I would have called her grandma, if it wasn't for my girlfriend's family being the modern kind where relationships were on a first name basis.
"If we ever have kids they can call me Yvonne," she once exclaimed cheerfully.
"And they can call me dad," I replied.
"I would protest, but then again, what kind of name is Stephen?" she said mockingly. "With a PH!"
Kids were however still a thing of the far future, while Linda's arrival would be far more imminent.
Our intentions were good. We would have two weeks off together, enjoying our new home for the first time since we bought and renovated it. And Linda would come on over to pay us a visit, stay for a few days, and get away from being on her own all the time. Not that she's complaining. Well into her sixties she was still "young at heart dear. I don't feel a day over 25." She had no interest in hanging out with the other ladies in her neighborhood because, and I quote "they are old. Yes I know, don't look at me like that." We didn't need to pick her up because she was "totally capable of traveling on my own. I know my way around an Uber." Yvonne heading out didn't stop her either, so I guess it would be just the two of us.
It couldn't have been more than 15 minutes before I heard a "Yoooohoooo, I'm here!" echoing through the front yard. Her head was sticking through the opened rear window of the Uber like an over-excited spaniel, her curly gray hair fluttering in the wind, waving frantically at me with a beaming smile and a pair of sunglasses so big you could hide a good hangover behind them.
Wriggling herself back inside she exchanged some words with the driver and when the door swung open she yelled "Stephen dear, you have to show me how I can tip Leandro. He has been excellent! His daughter is heading off to college."
Of course she had wrung the man's life story out of him in what at most was a one hour ride. And I'm certain he knew more about her than he would have wanted to. There she was, heading up the driveway with a suitcase so large you could live in it, waving goodbye to poor Leandro. He deserved that tip.
"Hi dear," she exclaimed, her suitcase rattling up the driveway. "What a wonderful place this has become!"
She had visited us once before when we moved in to what at the time was a once stately villa that had seen no maintenance for at least two decades.
"Thanks, it has been quite a lot of work," I assured her as I walked towards here and motioned to hand me the suitcase.
"No need dear, I can manage these last twenty meters just fine" she said, as she walked past.
I couldn't hold back a smirk. She hadn't changed a bit. Still as young and spritely in her mannerisms as ever. She didn't so much fool anyone as to her actual age, but she had long ago decided that it didn't imply you had to turn into a frumpy old houseplant. Dressed in a brightly colored sweater that would have pleased Mondriaan, an equally loud pair of pants and some white sneakers, some might say she wasn't dressing her age. But she would argue she was simply dressing her mood and she looked good doing so.
As I followed her into the house, she left the suitcase next to the stairs, put her handbag on the hallway console and energetically turned towards me.
"Come here, it is so good to see you!"
As I bent over to give her a hug, her hands grabbed my cheeks and she planted a smack on my lips. She smelled amazing, in a pleasantly floral manner. Somewhat concerned she was about to pinch my cheeks and tell me how tall I had grown I stood back up and said "Welcome, it's good to see you too. It has been far too long. I hope the drive over was good?"
"Excellent," she exclaimed.
"I'm sorry Yvonne had to go, but she should be back before you head out again."
"Oh don't worry about it, I just feel sorry for her having to interrupt her vacation like that. I'm sure we'll be fine together."
After giving her the exclusive tour of our new digs, we settled down in the garden for a drink.
"It's a lovely place the two of you have here Stephen. I'm sure you guys will enjoy it here."
"It has been a lot of work, almost like a second job for Yvonne, but I think it has been worth it," I agreed.
"So how are the two of you doing? Will there be a marriage any time soon? Will I become a great grandmother?"
Okay, here we go, I thought to myself. This is going to be an awkward few days while we work through why we're not married and don't have kids.
"I'm just kidding honey. I know times have changed. As long as the two of you are happy together that is all that matters. Marriage isn't all that important, and definitely don't get pressed into having kids," she reassured me.
She was surprisingly forward thinking when measured against some of the younger members of our respective families.
After babbling on for a while and finishing our drink, Linda lightly slapped her knees and stood up.
"Right, could you show me my room dear? I would like to freshen up a bit."
"Follow me," I said, sticking out my arm for her to grab onto.
As we headed upstairs, her arm around mine, she briefly squeezed it tight and said "What an excellent host. I'll make sure to leave a good review."
I made a second trip upstairs with a surprisingly heavy suitcase. What on earth she was keeping in there I don't know, but I dropped it off in her room and left her on her own.
With Linda in the guest room upstairs, I headed back down to clean up and prepare for dinner. Linda was Yvonne's grandmother on her father's side. She had divorced around the time she reached 50 years of age, to much chagrin of the conservative family, and hadn't remarried since. There apparently had been some potential partners, but she had enjoyed no longer being attached. According to her it had more upsides than downsides. Each time I had met her she certainly didn't seem to be down on herself, always cheerful, energetic and welcoming. While Yvonne's parents hadn't been unwelcoming to me, they were always somewhat distant on the edge of disapproving. Linda in contrast seemed to welcome me into the family with open arms, impressing upon Yvonne what a catch I was, which always caused Yvonne to roll her eyes further back than I thought possible.
As I prepared some pasta with a salad and a decent bottle of wine, I heard the guest room door open again. Hearing footsteps descending down the stairs and approaching the kitchen I turned around.
"A quick bit of freshening up does wonders to the mind. And I thought I'd slip into something a bit more appropriate for the weather we're having," Linda said.
She had changed into a wonderful red sundress, the top of which perfectly hugged and accentuated her figure, only to flow playfully outward once reaching the hips, charmingly decorated with a white floral pattern. Her white sneakers were replaced with some red summer-y sandals, leaving her surprisingly tan legs exposed and glistening in the sunlight. It's perhaps not appropriate to say about a woman her age, but she cleaned up quite nicely.
She was a great dinner guest. We spoke about everything and nothing, laughed about fun family stories, embarrassing things Yvonne had done as a kid, and she updated me on the latest family gossip. It wasn't lost on me how wonderful a woman she was. In many ways her easygoing nature reminded me of Yvonne, but with several decades more experience and fewer fucks to give, yet nothing but class.
As the evening moved towards its later hours, and alcohol had moved us into deeper discussions, I somehow felt brave enough, or perhaps stupid enough, to ask her about how she felt about being on her own. Her cheerful and slightly tipsy gaze turned a bit more pensive.
"It's fine. It's fine. It's not... Yvonne seems to think I'm lonely, doesn't she? But I'm not. That's not it."