1:07 p.m. - 2024-01-30
The king of snack foods

It's all change again and she asked me to come over on Sunday evening and stay till Tuesday morning. She's moved seeing her dad to Sunday afternoon from Monday afternoon to free up her time. It's upset my routine slightly as Sunday has always been my day to lounge around in my dressing gown, do my chores and generally relax. That's moved my chores to Saturday and although I'm not gigging at the moment, I will be regularly again come the end of February on most Fridays and Saturdays. I'm sure i'll manage, I might just need to up my game a little.

Sunday evenings events were a little unexpected. I arrived around 8.30pm after a quiet drive and a stop over at the local supermarket to get some supplies for my visit. I asked her if it was ok if I rustled up a quick supper for myself as I hadn't eaten since lunchtime. I was standing at the stove preparing my supper when Lilly appeared beside me and asked me what I was making. The king of snack foods I replied, chicken super noodles with hot buttered toast for my supper. Her eyes lit up and she asked if she could try some.

What started as a supper for one ended up a supper for four. Marion and Stephen, Lilly's boyfriend joined us at the breakfast bar and we all had super noodles, with a hand cut cob loaf, toasted and buttered with light soy sauce to drizzle over everything. It went down a storm and I was surprised to find out none of them had ever tried super noodles before.

Lilly is a lovely girl, she's slightly taller than her mum and I'm guessing she is her father's daughter as she doesn't share her mother's features. I still don't know much about that situation as any time I've asked, i'm only ever told it was all in the past and not worth a mention. All I know is he had gone even before Lilly was born. Lilly is confident, articulate and has great people skills. She is also sharp as a tack, just like her mother and never misses anything.

Her boyfriend Stephen reminds me of my younger self. He's quiet, and little shy around new people, rarely ever starts a conversation or asks things although he speaks well when asked something. They compliment each other but are quite different personalities. Both are heading off to university this coming autumn if their placements are confirmed. I'd like to think they will stay together but university life will open their eyes to new possibilities and new people. As a matter of historical fact, most of the couples I knew who ended up university students drifted apart from each other. New life, new friends, and new loves.

I was put to work on Monday to see if I could fix stuff that needed fixing. I replaced a ceiling pendant for her hall light which had broken and wouldn't take the shade. She watched closely as I showed her how to isolate the lighting ring supply, and ever conscious I might slip into mansplaining how a lighting ring works, I did my best to describe the basics to her. She was delighted with the end result. With a new shade and a soft tone bulb fitted onto the new pendant, her hallway looked nice and cosy. I dropped a screwdriver on the floor at one point and it wedged next to the radiator pipe. As I picked it up I felt a damp patch on the carpet.

Marion told me the radiator had leaked before and her dad had intended to fix it but had never got around to it. It had already been drained and the feed switched off to minimise leaking. The return valve was faulty. She had all the parts in her toolbox so I offered to repair it for her. It took about forty five mins to replace the valve, trim off the old olive from the micro bore, refit the pipe to the new valve and tighten it up. Once I'd bled the radiator, she turned up the thermostat et voila! No more draughty hallway or leaks and a nice toasty radiator warmed up the hall in minutes.

She made me coffee and a sandwich for lunch and sat quietly at the breakfast bar watching me and smiling as she held her coffee cup in both hands. She was so quiet that I had to stop eating my lunch and ask her if everything was ok. Everything is fine she says, it's just you. You're full of surprises and you keep surprising me. Is there anything you can't fix? she asked as she got up off her stool and hugged me. Can you fix me? she whispered quietly. I tell her I'll do my best to try if she wants me to.

We spent the afternoon in each other's arms and for the first time without prompting, she opened up to me about Lilly's father and why she never married. It was a sad tale and there were tears as she told me it. There are things in life that aren't for places like this and what she told me was one of them. It's one more thing I share with her now, and even though I feel privileged to be taken into her confidence, there are sometimes things I wish I didn't know. I'm reminded that even with all my experience of life, there are things that even I can't fix. It begs the question, is it necessary to know everything about the people we love and care for? Are some things from our history better left unsaid to remain a burden we alone must carry?

Yes, I do realise I am being rhetorical. Answers on a postcard to the usual address will still be welcome as always.