Happy Birthday and All That (25 page)

‘Oh no! I completely forgot. Tom's out in the garden. I'd better check on him. He's probably playing with snails.'

He was fine. Just playing with the sand. His chin and T-shirt were stained pink from raspberries.

‘Tom,' Posy called, ‘Aunty Flora's here! I didn't know we had all those raspberries in the garden. I don't suppose you've any room for some of the lovely fruit Aunty Flora brought?'

‘I might. If it's strawberries or plums.'

‘Come in then. We'll have to go and get James and Poppy soon. Do you want to come with me to school, or stay with Daddy, if he's here?'

‘He waved at me out of the window,' said Tom. ‘Can I watch “Thomas”?'

‘If you give me a kiss.'

‘If you give me a strawberry.'

‘I love it when their breath smells of strawberries or raspberries,' Posy told Flora. ‘Izzie's asleep. I expect you guessed that. There was something else I wanted to talk to you about.'

‘There surely can't be more, or worse,' said Flora, rolling her eyes.

‘Kind of. Aunt Is has gashed her leg and even honey poultices aren't working. Aunt Bea has broken her wrist in Morwenstow Church.'

‘Oh no,' said Flora. ‘Are they all right?'

‘She says it's all very tiresome,' said Posy. ‘She wants us to go down and help if we can in the summer.'

‘Oh Posy, I will between bookings. I've got a couple of weddings, all the usual stuff. I'm sure I could get down a few times for long weekends. I wonder if Stella might like to come too. She's very useful. And I would like her to meet them. Maybe we could come down for my birthday.'

Posy raised her eyebrows very slightly. ‘Well that would be good. Actually, I did tell Aunt Is that you'd come down when you could. I was thinking of taking Lettice and the children and going for the whole holidays. I don't know what to do about Frank. I don't like the idea of him being here all by himself. Or not,' she added darkly. ‘But someone will have to feed the cat, and I don't want to be with him at all.' She offered Flora a piece of chocolate and then went on. ‘I really don't know what use Aunt Is thinks I'll be with all the children there, but we'd certainly have a nice time. In her day babies and toddlers spent their time asleep outdoors in their prams, or playing in their playpens.'

‘They have still got our playpen in one of the barns. It might be worth trying, you never know,' said Flora.

‘It really would be such bliss to get away. I've always wanted to take the children on holiday to Cornwall for the whole summer. And if people knew I was going for six weeks without Frank they'd start to speculate, and maybe I wouldn't have to say anything to anyone. I suppose the children would miss him.'

‘But they'd have such a good time. You never know, things might get better.'

‘Unlikely, unless he gets a time machine. Or I do. I keep wondering if it's all somehow my fault, that I wasn't paying enough attention.'

‘Posy! Don't be ridiculous. He's the one who did it. Write out a thousand times “It isn't my fault. I am in the right.”

Flora thought that in a way Posy might have a point, but she wasn't going to say so. She thought that Posy had never, ever, seemed to pay enough attention to anything.

‘I'm taking the children to the Balloon and Flower Festival,' Posy announced to Frank while the children were eating their breakfast.

‘Daddy come too! Daddy come too!' Poppy chanted, and he kissed the top of her head.

‘Yeah Dad, come,' said James. ‘There's rides. It'll be cool.'

‘Can I ride my bike?' Tom asked.

‘It's much too crowded for bikes. There wouldn't be anywhere to leave it if you were going on things, we'd never get it through the marquees.'

‘We never take our bikes to the Common any more,' Tom grumbled.

‘Oh that's not true,' said Posy. ‘We certainly took them at, um, Easter. Anyway, your father's in charge of bike-riding so ask him why.'

‘We can't take them to the Balloon and Flower Festival, but we'll try and take them out soon,' said Frank.

‘And I want my other stabiliser off,' said Tom.

‘OK, OK, as soon as I get time,' Frank sighed. Tom had been riding very well and very fast with just one stabiliser since the last summer.

‘Time between smoking in the shed, not cutting the grass, going to the pub and doing other unmentionable things,' muttered Posy.

‘Mummy, please can I bring Lettice? I want her to see all the flowers.'

Isobel started to pelt the table with pieces of her toast and circles of banana.

‘Izzie! No throwing toast!' As Posy bent to start wiping the debris of breakfast from the floor, Izzie scored a direct hit between her shoulder blades.

‘I really don't know why I wear black T-shirts. I should wear yellow and brown smear-patterned ones,' she said. ‘We might as well try and go early, before it gets too crowded.'

She hadn't planned on doing anything with Frank, but seeing as it was Saturday and everyone was at home, seeing as the children wanted him to come, seeing as taking all four of them to the Balloon and Flower Festival by herself would be a complete nightmare …

‘Daddy can I bring my bike? Please? Please?' Tom implored.

‘OK, Tom. But you won't be able to go on any rides or buy anything or go in any of the tents, or have a go at anything …' Frank said. Posy conceded to herself that he could be quite useful with the children sometimes. She decided to just act as though he were coming, as though it weren't an issue. She was determined not to do any arguing in front of the children. Then she had a bright idea.

‘Why don't you just take them? I'll stay here and get some chores done.'

‘Oh Mum,' said James. ‘You have to come. We always all go to the Balloon and Flower Festival together.' Posy realised that he must have sensed that something was wrong.

‘Well go and get dressed then. OK, we'll all go.'

Honestly, Frank thought, all this fuss and deliberation about something so simple. It would be at least another hour before everyone was ready to go.

Finally, finally, the children were ready. Posy was packing a bag with drinks of water, nappies, wipes, boxes of raisins, little
tubs of strawberries and grapes, kitchen roll, tissues, a bib for Izzie, plasters, antihistamine cream. Frank couldn't stop an audible groan from escaping.

‘I think I'll just see if Izzie wants a feed before we go …' she said.

‘Posy, she seems fine. She is past one …' He immediately wished he hadn't said it. He was no longer allowed to make suggestions, or say anything that might be construed as criticism. Now Posy would be in an even fouler mood with him, if that were possible.

‘Well you're the expert on babies. Just don't blame me if I have to stop to feed her. Now where's Poppy gone? Oh, honestly.'

‘I think she went outside, Mum,' said James, trying to be helpful.

‘Poppy!' she yelled, even though Poppy would have no chance of hearing her if she was in the garden, ‘Hurry up! We're going! James, go and get her. Be quick.'

Frank didn't know what the hurry was. The bloody show would be open all day for two days. All they had to do was cross a road and walk down a path to get there. Only Posy would behave as though it were one of the Wonders of the World, the World's Fair come to Southampton, a visiting land at the top of the Magic Faraway Tree, soon to move off on its cloud and never be seen again.

That morning they had all been woken by the hisses and roars of the hot air balloons launched for the 6 a.m. mass takeoff. There would be another one tonight, more tomorrow, and now they would see some of the balloons tethered in a field at the top of the Common. Frank had got back to sleep, but the children had been up and rampaging since then.

At last James and Poppy returned sniggering from the garden. Poppy had her Miffy rucksack bulging with what Posy supposed were dolls and other unnecessary things to bring. She felt too weak and defeated to protest. She knew that she would
end up cramming it all into the pushchair basket or carrying it herself.

As they set off down the road Posy thought, ‘What a nice picture of a happy family out for the day we must make.' The children were all wearing shorts and stripy tops, Frank was looking as close as he got to smart in some relatively unscathed khaki trousers and a shirt that Flora had given him for his birthday. It remained smart because he hated it and wore it only when nothing else was remotely clean. Posy thought that she herself was the one rather letting the side down in her summer uniform of faded flowery skirt, black T-shirt and dreadful M & S mummy sandals.

Tom was holding on to the handle of the pushchair, telling her all about the things he might ride on, Frank was holding hands with Poppy whilst he simultaneously played plantain ‘soldiers' with James. They love him so much, she thought, and he them. Now where had she packed the tissues?

Karim's grandfather was dozing in his front garden on a dining-room chair, his baseball cap pulled down over his eyes. He woke up as they passed.

‘Mrs Parouselli! Please wait.' The party came to a halt. He went into the house and reappeared holding an envelope. ‘Family are all in Pakistan. Please take this. I am too old to go.'

Posy saw that it was one of the raffle prize envelopes from the school fête.

‘Oh thank you. That's really kind of you.' She opened it. ‘Wow! A hot air balloon flight! Thank you! Oh it's for today. That's so lucky. Thank you. Look Frank! I wonder how many it's for.' She turned the leaflet over. ‘Oh, it says “family”, that's great. Thank you.'

‘It is for you,' he said solemnly.

‘Thank you,' said Posy.

‘Cheers,' said Frank.

Karim's Grandfather nodded at them and returned to his chair.

‘We'll wave as we go over,' Posy called. ‘Thanks.'

As soon as they were out of earshot she started to worry. ‘Do you think they have crash helmets? Perhaps we should go back and get the cycle helmets. Do you think there are baby-sized ones? Do you think babies are allowed to go? Perhaps Izzie and I will just watch while you all go …'

‘She is a toggler,' said Poppy. ‘Are we really going in a balloon?'

‘Maybe,' said Posy.

‘If Mummy thinks that the crash helmet arrangements are sufficiently impressive,' said Frank. ‘If the parachutes come with belts and braces.'

At that moment Posy wished that he was dead. She felt as though venom must be squirting out of her eyes at him. She could push him out, or win a real life balloon debate on who was the most at fault.

‘Wow, are we really going in a balloon?' James couldn't believe it.

‘We'll see,' said Posy.

They went to the so-called ‘community marquee' first because each year their favourite thing was the Southampton Geological Society's lucky dip. For just twenty-five pence you got a small labelled rock - often rose quartz (Poppy's favourite), or smoky quartz or strawberry quartz or iron pyrite. Elsewhere there were rides and hook the duck, and some of the hot air balloons tethered next to the arena. The children had their faces painted - James as Spiderman, Poppy as a butterfly, Tom as a ladybird. As they wondered what to do next they spotted a small purple and yellow striped tent, like the ones that knights have at jousts.

‘Hey kids. It's Linus the Magician! And Stella. They must be doing a show. Let's go and say hello.' Posy's heart was gladdened by the sight of them, but as she approached Linus disappeared into the little tent that was to provide the backdrop for the shows. Her face fell, and Stella noticed.

‘Hi Posy! Hi kids!' she said. Frank hung back and Posy noticed that Stella didn't acknowledge him. Posy knew that Flora had been out with Stella the night before, and she thought that Flora would have told her about Frank and the baby - she hadn't asked her not to. ‘Linus is just getting changed,' said Stella. ‘He doesn't like the audience to see him in his civvies.'

‘Pay No Attention To The Man Behind The Curtain!' Linus yelled. ‘Mrs Parouselli, I will be right out.' He reappeared in his costume, a dinner jacket with a purple silk lining, a fez, his huge trousers (surely a clown size) held up by green braces. His bow tie was purple, spotty and askew.

‘For you,' he said, and presented her with a feather bouquet. Frank looked disgusted and walked off to the next stall to examine a display about Hearing Dogs for the Deaf.

‘May I keep it?' she asked.

‘Of course,' he said.

‘You can't guess what I have in my bag,' said Poppy, doing a twirl to show him her Miffy rucksack.

‘And you can't guess what I have in my bag,' he replied, taking off his fez and pulling a black velvet bag out of it. ‘Now, James first.' He gave the bag a shake, it acquired some angular bulges. He offered it to James. James pulled out a turquoise calculator with buttons like Smarties. ‘It will help you to find the answers,' he said. ‘Now Poppy.' This time the bag contained a silver and pink sequinned heart-shaped purse.

‘Wow,' said Poppy. ‘Is it magic?'

‘You will always be rich in love,' he said.

‘Now Tom.' Tom got a bendy plastic sword. ‘To help win all of your battles.'

Isobel was asleep in the pushchair. ‘Come back for the show and I'll make her a balloon animal,' he said.

‘What about Mummy?' asked Poppy.

‘Oh, I don't think there's anything in that black bag for me,' said Posy. Behind them a band struck up. ‘We have to go,' said
Posy. ‘It was lovely to see you. Thanks for all the presents. We've been given a balloon flight ticket, somebody else's raffle prize.'

Linus raised his impressive eyebrows. ‘Well Bon Voyage. Are you all going?'

‘Probably,' said Posy. ‘I don't really know what's meant to be happening.'