Splintered Lives (38 page)

“I am having the birth pains every twenty minutes and my water broke a little while ago before Simon came to get you.
 
I hope you don’t mind, but I need another woman to be with me, and you are the nearest thing I have for a mother.”

“Oh Mula you have given me so much pleasure that you think of me that way,” Sarah replies as she puts extra pillows behind Mula.

“Are you comfortable, when the next pain comes hold on to my hand?”

“When the pains come every ten minutes, that is the time to go into hospital.” Sarah tells her.
 
David has arrived, and she can hear the men talking in the sitting room downstairs.
 

“Would you like a cup of tea, it will steady your nerves and those of the men. It will give Simon something to do.” Sarah told her,

Sarah calls downstairs for someone to make a pot of tea for all of them.

“You’re too late.”
 
David walks in with a tray and Simon follows with the milk jug.

“Hey! What a team.”
 
David says with laughter in his voice as he gave Simon a hug, out of habit.

Simon was concerned for Mula, but a lot of the pressure had been taken from his shoulders because of the presence of Sarah and David and he knew in his heart, these were his parents.
 
Mula drank her tea thankfully, she felt the comfort of Simon’s presence and the fluttering of fear left her heart. There was a state of tranquility, hung in the room and they all felt it.
 
The time passed without incident, until four o’clock and then Mula had stronger more painful birth pangs and it was time to go to the hospital.
 
They were both doctors but it was different when Mula went into labour properly and Simon wanted the best for her.
 
He stayed in the birthing room whilst Sarah and David stayed outside.
 
Sarah and David, who were the only interested grandparents there, waited for their grandchild to be born, outside of the birthing room.

Simon held Mula’s hand and tried to take the pain for her.
 
He was very surprised at the strength of the pain and the struggle for the baby, as well as the mother, to come into the world.
 
Eventually the baby cried its first cry, and the relief of its parents was great to see.
 
The nurse told them, “It’s a boy.”

The nurse came to find Sarah and David and told them to go to see their grandson.

“Oh my God,” Sarah sobbed.
 
He is the image of Simon when he was born,” and with tears in her eyes, she touched his little head gently.
 
There was none there to back her statement, for it was her mother who had held her hand and been her birth partner.

“Simon, he is exactly like you when you were born.
 
Mula he is beautiful.”
 
Sarah tells them, with awe in her voice.

David shakes Simon’s hand and bends to kiss Mula and the baby.
 
“This little baby has a cousin in England just a few weeks his senior, your sister Anne’s youngest child.”

David was quite emotional and Sarah hugged her husband and her son.

“We’ll leave you in peace and let Simon get to know his son.
 
Ring us if you need anything Simon.
 
Have you told the Menons and Sahida?” David asks.

“Yes I have informed everybody in Kathmandu and my grandfather promised to let Mula’s grandfather know the news.”
 
Simon told them, as he enfolded the baby in his arms.

It’s time for Sarah and David to go home.
 
The baby has been named and his parents are proud of Taj David Menon –Thomas.
 
The Menons and the Thomas’s families are happy with the naming, and Sahida and Mark promise to be there for little Taj.
 
Mark has been given a job for his firm in the area and he and Sahida are very close.
 
James and Taz were working well together, and Mula is staying at home to look after the baby, and Simon is a proud father, who enjoys his work at the hospital.

Chapter 53

 
There was a reception for Sarah and David, a couple of days after they arrived home.
 
Charlie had invited all the relatives, and everyone wanted to know the score.

Anne and Daniel and the children arrived first, when David whooped as little Dan tried to jump on his back.
 
He knelt down so that the little boy could put his arms around his grandfather’s neck, David ran around the garden, to the delight of little Dan.
 
Anne went out to talk to her father, holding little Amy in her arms.

“My word, she’s grown whilst we have been away, she’s three months old now, isn’t she?” David asks his daughter, as he hugged the whole lot of them.

“Yes, she’s put on ten pounds, whilst you have been away.” Anne tells him.

“She’s beautiful, just like you were at that age.” He replies.

Sarah went out to join them, and took the baby girl from her mother and snuggled her granddaughter, Amy, in her arms.

“We’ve missed you all, but Simon has become a father, whilst we were there.
 
We waited until Mula had their baby, before we felt we could return.

“You’ll love Mula when you meet her, and Simon has made a lovely doctor and father.
 
I wish you could have been there, darling, but it wasn’t possible as things were.
 
When Amy is older, I’m sure you’ll be welcome in Pokhara, at your brother and Mula’s home.” Sarah says.

The rest of the family spilled out onto the green, well-kept lawns, and as the day was bright with blue skies, the refreshments were served outside, where the children and the adults could take advantage of the warm sunny day.
 
Charlie was reminded of Simon, when he first saw him.
 
Sarah and her sister, Katie, were chatting and laughing, Sarah telling her about Mark and Sahida.
 

“I think he may be smitten with Sahida, he met her before, when he came to visit me on his trek, when he was eighteen. She’s one of the younger sisters of Taj, Simon’s birth father.
 
There was quite a lot of loving looks going on, when we were with them, both seemed interested in the other, it wasn’t one sided.
 
Hey, we might have in-laws in common and the family ties stronger, if your Mark has his way.” Sarah teased.
 

After tea, the party went into the house, and David showed them the many photographs, he had taken of the family and friends, as well as the scenery of the area where Simon lived, where he worked and where Sahida had worked.
 

“That’s where Sarah worked, and from where we brought her home, when Taj died.” Joe says.
 
“It was the most beautiful place we had ever seen, wasn’t it Mary?” he asked his wife.

“Absolutely!” Mary replied, she then turned to Katie and said, you’ll perhaps be invited to meet Mark’s friend and then you’ll get the opportunity to see it.
 
They showed them where the Menons lived in Kathmandu, as well as Mula’s grandfather’s cottage in the hills, and because the pictures were relevant to all the family, there was excitement and enthusiasm and quite a lot of chatter.
 
They admired the pictures of Mula and Simon, and their house near to the forest.

Katie was surprised to see her son, Mark, in the pictures, always close to Sahida, and the twinkle in his eyes always for her.

“Oh, do you think he is smitten, and what a lovely girl?” Katie asks Sarah.

“They met before, and danced together, at the party we gave for Mark and his friends.” Sarah tells her.

“Do you know, Mark hasn’t settled down and I have wondered why, because he seems the family type to me.
 
He is a caring, happy man.”
 
His mother tells Sarah.

“I know, he saved my life, when he told mum and dad about my predicament.

Strangely enough, Sahida hasn’t married either, but they do seem happy together.”

“Hey! Are you accusing me of matchmaking, like David has already done?” Sarah asked her sister, as she threw back her head in laughter.

Charlie entertained little Dan by showing him the wildlife on the lake, at the bottom of the garden.
 
He was getting a bit frail, but he was eighty-six and he was unable to carry Dan, like he used to carry Simon.
 
He loved the extended family and always felt part of Sarah’s family, as his own.
 
His only sister had died two years ago and David was all that was left of his own family.
 
Charlie had had a wonderful life, being part of David and Sarah’s.
 
He fretted about Simon and hoped he would see him before he died.
 
He felt he was too old to travel to Pokhara, with all the airplane changes and the large airports to walk through. But he hoped, in a year or so, Simon and Mula would travel to Britain and bring little Taj with them, as David had told him Taj was the image of Simon, when he was that age.
 
The party came to a close as all the relatives left for their homes, sun- kissed and looking well and healthy, having smiles on their happy faces.

Life was pleasant and the years passed, Sarah and David took up their retired life, walking around the lake almost every day, in between house chores and the shopping.
 
Charlie would sometimes walk with them, other times he would prefer to do a bit of gardening, although Sarah had started to do the hard weeding, and David had taken up the job of mowing the extensive lawns.
 
Charlie had friends who came to visit him and Sarah and David invited people to dinner, sometimes, as they both loved cooking and they tried out new recipes.
 
Their social life was full and their daughter lived near, so they saw a lot of their grandchildren, and babysat when they were needed.

2008

Chapter 54

Charlie was almost ninety and David wanted to make a party for his father.
 
Charlie was still healthy but he was a bit frail, but he would not own up to the loss of his strength, he tried to do too much in the garden, still growing tomatoes and peppers in his greenhouse, as well as, courgettes, potatoes and greens in the vegetable garden. He had started when he first moved into the house by the lake.

David knew that Charlie would love to see Simon, his first grandchild, and he decided he would mention the party when he next spoke to Simon.
 
Taj was almost five years old and, hopefully, he should be able to take the plane journey to Britain.

David tentively asked Simon, if it would be possible for him to bring his family on a holiday to stay with them, at the time of Charlie’s ninetieth birthday, as a surprise for Charlie.

Mula came on to the phone to talk to David and she told him her grandfather had died just a week ago and the cremation had taken place and they, Simon, Taj and herself had taken the ashes to the river.
 
Her mother, his daughter, had not attended and she was feeling sad.
 
David called to Sarah to speak to Mula, after telling her the sad news.

Sarah was full of sympathy, and Mula could hear it in her voice.

“Mula, we are so sorry for your loss, we know that he was the mainstay of your life, until you married Simon.
 
We would love you to come and visit us, if it is possible, and give you some time to come to terms with your loss.
 
David’s father, Charlie, will be ninety in three week’s time and he would love to see Simon and his family, we are hoping that it is possible for you all to come.
 
We would love to see you all and especially little Taj, who looks like Simon did at that age.
 
Charlie has been thrilled with the photographs you have sent of each of Taj’s birthdays, and he swears he is so like Simon at that age.
 
David has made a copy of each photograph for Charlie, to keep in his room.”

Mula felt better after she heard Sarah’s voice and she said, ”I’d love to come but I will have to ask Simon if it is possible for him to get away from the hospital.
 
We have not had a holiday for a long time, so I’m sure he will be able to get some leave.

I’ll put him on the phone.
 
I hope to see you soon.”

Simon took the handset from Mula and replied, “We would love to see you both again and the family. I’ll ask at work, if I can be spared, and let you know.
 
James could, perhaps, work my shifts at the hospital. He is, at present, acting as a G.P. to the mountain villages.
 
James has helped with my amnesia and sometimes, memories come back to me, I remembered a lake, with birds and animals, different from the ones we have here.
 
James has been very patient with me, and he thinks that eventually, I’ll remember everything.
 
I’ll ask at work about the holiday and let you know.”