Anyone who reads my books will know that children feature in a great many of them. Not as main characters but as a strong supporting cast, adding depth and normality to a sometimes taut situation. Mostly they add humour too. In Double Fault, however, the two year old twins are the story. Without them their parents wouldn't be struggling to come to terms with the past or to walk the tightrope that is their future.
My 3 granddaughters, now aged between 8 and 21, have always provided inspiration as I have watched their antics, listened to them and played with them. And this brings me to the fact that I am beyond excited!
My two eldest granddaughters live close by so the lockdowns of Covid19 didn't affect us too much, especially as one of them has a horse that has to be tended every day. This meant we could meet up outdoors and chat as we filled hay nets, mixed feed or hacked a short distance into the country to keep the horse's muscles supple. My youngest granddaughter lives in Hong Kong, however, so Covid has been a real problem, especially as previously we spent so much time with her both in the UK, Hong Kong and in Australia (where she was born) The only positive was that Covid quarantine, which was dreadful and prolonged in Hong Kong, meant her parents gave her a very early induction into managing Skype by herself, so we have been able to maintain a bi-weekly Internet relationship for nearly 3 years, reading stories online, drawing, playing games. Now, however, she is coming to the UK and the thought of actually seeing her and hugging her is wonderful.
She and her Dad will be with us for 3 months, including Christmas. Her whole UK family can hardly wait and nor can she. On Skype she beams from ear to ear as she counts down the days. Her Mum won't be joining us because of a job change and yet another country change, to Singapore this time, whereas our son works online so can transfer to the UK without too much of a problem! She is, however, a fab daughter-in-law, who thinks Astrid will benefit far more from being with her extended family than being caught up in the chaos of the move, and we agree. What a change it will make to our daily routine though.
No more leisurely starts to the day over coffee and the daily news because she has a full online school schedule from 9 a.m. No more increasingly flexible mealtimes as she apparently has the appetite of a horse! No more quiet evenings because her bedtime is later than it used to be. No more shared crosswords or reading a book as we eat our lunch because table manners must be honoured!
There's the house too. My older granddaughters saved their toys for their small cousin's visits, so now my daughter's loft is empty and my spare bedroom is full. Lego of every shape and size, Cindy dolls, Barbie dolls, baby dolls, a walking/talking doll plus piles of clothes for all of them, boxes of games, jigsaws, a doll house, Smurfs, the list goes on and on, and I have to find storage room for all of it. Then there are the two shelves of children's books, the baskets of drawing paper, pens, paints, pencils, craft materials, glue, scissors. The hope is, of course, that with so much to do she will be very happily busy for most of the day. And when she isn't, well there is the horse to visit, tennis, baking, music, a walk to the beach, looking for squirrels in the pine woods....
And of course we need to introduce her to some local children too. There are twin girls who live nearby, and friends' grandchildren, and the junior section of the local tennis club. It will all be fine I tell myself as I wonder if my energy levels will hold up. They probably will and her Dad will take up the slack when he's not working...and when she leaves I might even have an idea for another book...one with a child in it!
In my Mapleby Memories trilogy Remembering Rose (Book 1) was inspired by a 6 month stint in Australia looking after Astrid. Loving Ellen (Book 2) is a follow on.
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