Unexpected

 

Unexpected

Melia, 20 months old

Mooching around on Saturday, doing nothing in particular as usual, we received a ‘phone call from our eldest grandson. He was headed in our direction, and would we be about for a visit?

Momentary panic as I looked around the sitting room. We hadn’t got five hours to clear up! On the other hand, we hadn’t seen him and his little family for a long time. Of course, we would be delighted to see them. After all, they were coming to see us, not conduct an inventory of the house and a critique of our home management.

Callum knows us well, and lived in the caravan on our drive for a year while he did his gap year near GCHQ. (The rest of the house was full with Susannah and her little boy.)

When they arrived, their little girl, Melia, had just woken from a nap and was clinging to Kat, unwilling to engage with strangers, and quite right, too. 

Really not sure, but safe in Mummy's arms

She is used to dogs and cats. There are two of each in her house, and all her Dorset cousins are knee deep in dogs, mostly working Labradors like ours. Nonetheless, we gated our dogs in the kitchen so that they could adjust to the excitement of visitors.

As Melia roused, she relaxed and showed her lovely smile, until Barry or I looked at her, when the shutters immediately came down. When we released the dogs, who went straight to Callum, she was entranced by them and life suddenly seemed more familiar to her.

 Gilbert, trying to understand

 Gilbert, our young boy, is not accustomed to toddlers, so he skirted around Melia, sniffing her surreptitiously, not yet realising that little children are sticky and good to lick. Roxy, having grown up with Frankie, is wise to the ways of infants and paid close attention as Melia munched a selection of sandwiches and satsumas.

The cats prowled around, as cats do, and Melia stroked them. Then she got into one of the empty dog beds, a big, fluffy doughnut of an affair, and was very happy. She is a very capable little girl and will be a loving big sister next March, when she will be two years old.

All too soon, it was time for them to leave. It was such a lovely surprise to see them and made our day.

The dogs were exhausted, as they always are with any change in routine, and slept soundly for the rest of the evening.