No going back - 37. Colin 13: Pictures & Gardens

The photos that Owain had ordered to be printed came remarkably quickly, and without thinking too much about it, Colin had bought some mounts for them and packed up both pictures, the selfie and the ice cream sundae one, and sent them to his Mum and to Annalisa.

Tuesday evening, when Colin and Owain had had their usual Chinese take-away, joined by Joe, the boy had showed them how to combine their photos into one album and to select images to create an on-line album to share. And Colin had shared it with his Mum and Annalisa. He'd been on holiday, so, he was going to tell people, wasn't he?

He'd already showed the guys at work a selection of pictures, including the ice cream sundae one and a priceless one of Owain mugging stupidly to camera. Having Owain in his life was becoming less of a big deal, so, encouraged by Joe, who showed him how, he set his background on his phone to be another picture of Owain, one where he looked attractively Owain-like rather than being silly.

Colin had wondered whether he dare suggest going to visit his Mum on Sunday. Would Joe be doing his own thing? When they talked about him staying with Owain, Mhairi had been firm that he could perfectly well cope on his own, he didn't need anything like a babysitter. So, in his email to his Mum, along with the link to the holiday album, he had asked whether she was around on Sunday?

---

"What's the matter?"

"Why?"

"Well, your face is as long as a wet weekend."

It was Thursday; Owain and Colin were taking advantage of Joe being out with friends from the course and having a drink at the wine bar. Of course, Owain admitted they didn't need to worry whether Joe was in or out. But Colin was amused at how mother-hen-ish Owain could become about the boy, though he kept his amusement largely to himself. The bar was surprisingly busy, and the idea of a quiet evening out rather disappeared, they decided to have just one drink, forgo food and have a take-away instead.

"I sent Mum those photos and emailed her to warn her. I asked about Sunday."

"Why? Do you want to go over?"

"I'd wondered; just drop in, show willing."

"But…"

Colin wrinkled his nose, "She's going over to Miles and Annalisa's for lunch, which is almost unheard of."

"Special occasion?"

"Didn't sound like it. She's sure they'd love to see us if we dropped in."

"Bloody hell. Seriously?"

"Yeah. As if the last few months didn't happen, as if Miles wasn't…"

"A homophobic arsehole?"

"Yeah."

"You want to go? We could….” Owain paused and considered, “Stir things up a bit."

Colin stared at him, wide eyed, "Seriously?"

"I'd be willing if you were. If you thought it'd do any good."

"Flogging a dead horse, more like. If we go, then either we'll have a big row…"

"Which will be your fault, I presume?"

Colin pulled a face and nodded, "Or we're nice as pie, and he's won."

"So?"

"I emailed her and Annalisa saying that given what happened last time you and Miles were together, us dropping in wasn't wise."

"And?"

"No word from Annalisa. Mum said I'm being unreasonable, and that Miles and Annalisa would like to see me. That you'd misunderstood and Miles had meant no harm."

"Fucking hell. I'm sorry."

Colin shrugged, "I should have known better than to get my hopes up."

"Just plug on. For God's sake, don't rise to the bait. Keep up the chatty emails and hope she sees sense."

"I really thought, after the visit."

Owain shrugged, "You and me both. But…"

"Miles is the favourite. I doubt it’s to do with me being gay, really. It's that he's always been The One. Always was. I'm just little brother."

"Talking to Mhairi now, I realise that's a bit how she felt. But that was because I was a man. The irony is that I hated it, every moment. So, don't rise to it. You're a success in your business."

"And I've got a cute boyfriend."

Owain exploded, bursting out laughing, "I think we'd better pursue this conversation elsewhere."

---

Colin shared banter about holiday snaps with Jimmie, Bruno and the guys, getting comments about his posh holiday which he took in good part. A new bloke, Andy, admitted that he’d love to have gone somewhere like that, but whilst his kids were young, Centerparcs it was, and Bruno had shyly admitted that he and his girlfriend’s Italian beach holiday had included a romantic weekend in Venice.

An email from Ray about the choir’s plans for the Autumn had led to an exchange a about their holidays, and Colin had sent Ray a couple of his pics, including one of him and Owain, whilst Ray sent pictures of his and his wife’s trip to Brittany where they’d had their family staying including, by the looks of it, lots of grandchildren. Colin showed the photo to Owain, they were having a quiet Saturday morning, Joe had been out early (and quietly) to go to his course.

“You reckon we could do something like that with Mhairi and Joe?”

Owain pulled a face, “Don’t see why not, as long as there was plenty of space. Joe might not fancy two weeks with old fogeys, but you never know”, he grinned and tweaked Colin’s thigh. “We’d have to be careful; I wouldn’t be able to have you over the kitchen table”.

Colin exploded with a mixture of laughter and embarrassment. They’d never really done anything like that. The most daring had been the sofa. “You suggesting…”

Owain’s eyes sparkled, “I’m up for it, if you are”, his hand worked its way up Colin’s thigh and the cotton pyjama pants providing little protection. Colin gulped, then kissed Owain. It wasn’t over the table, but if Joe had come in, he might have got a surprise.

Saturday afternoon, Colin and Owain wandered into town to get some bits and pieces for the house, and the sort of groceries that Colin preferred to buy in person. With him spending more time at Owain’s house, he was getting more confident and stocking the larder with things that he could use to rustle up a quick meal. Joe was spending the rest of the day with the kids on his course and seemed to be finding his feet. Rayleigh’s name had cropped up a few times, and Colin was pleased that Owain felt relaxed enough in his relations with his nephew to speculate that come the Autumn, there might be a few new faces in Joe’s crowd of friends.

There had been complete radio silence from Colin’s family. His expectations, well both their expectations, had been a little on the high side after his Mum’s visit, but it was disappointing, all the same. Owain mentioned the idea of choosing your own family rather than having the one you were given, something that came up in an autobiography that he’d read. When they got back home, Owain had insisted on digging out the book, Armistead Maupin’s Logical Family and Colin was pleased he did and started reading it immediately.

In town, there was a display of Summer plants and pots outside QD. Owain announced that he wouldn’t dream of buying anything like that at QD, but it set him thinking, “How about we go to the garden centre tomorrow and make a start on the garden?”

Colin looked thoughtful, “There a lot of preparations to do.”

Owain smiled, “But I’ll need tools, spades, forks, the lot. And you said we’d need to put some compost or something on the soil.”

“Yeah. So, there is a lot go and get. And…”

“Yes?”

“If you don’t mind me being around regular to look after them, we could get a couple of big pots and have some colour there now.”

“You can be around as often as you want, I like having you about the house.”

Colin’s nose wrinkled with pleasure, “Cheeky bugger, you mean, not just the kitchen table?” they both laughed.

“Just checking. Is looking after the pots the equivalent of us getting a pet together?”, Owain smiled at him, and Colin stared back, rolling his eyes.

“Something like!”

They were still laughing when they bumped into Jo and Sandra coming out of the Deli, the four of them ending up having coffee together. The Deli had a small café area, and they were lucky, a table was just becoming free. Jo was Owain’s work colleague, but amazingly, they didn’t talk about work or Owain’s family. Jo and Sandra had been walking in Scandinavia, travelling around by train which sounded appealing, and they were interested in Colin and Owain’s Italian odyssey as it was an area they’d never visited.

Colin found Jo quite sharp-edged, but Owain insisted that away from work she was softer, which made Colin wonder what it would be like working with her. In fact, she and Colin ended up having a long conversation about techniques for making wooden buildings. It seemed that the two women had been to several open-air museums like the one he’d visited with Owain in Oslo; log cabins and stave churches featured heavily in the discussion. Owain and Sandra seemed quite happy sitting on the sidelines and Colin suspected that Owain was rather amused at the turn of events.

Before parting, however, Owain brought up one family matter. Colin and he had been discussing the idea that Owain’s Father might have discussed things with Nathan that he never brought up with his children. Owain felt that relying on Joe to have a discussion with his Father seemed unfair, giving their tricky relationship and Nathan might be more open to talking to Sandra being as she was a professional. She agreed that it might be a good line of research and took Nathan’s contact details.

Saturday evening was Owain’s latest cooking lesson, baked potatoes with pork escalopes in a cream and mushroom sauce. Colin was pleased both that Owain did everything without messing up, and that he, Colin, managed to sit on the sidelines and not interfere.

Amazingly, Joe was up for coming to the garden centre with them on the Sunday, as long as he got a lie-in. So, Sunday morning Colin was clearing the garden with a bit of help from Owain, the two planning what they were going to do, which borders were being expanded and such, when Joe appeared looking tousled and remarkably young. He proceeded to consume an unfeasibly large amount of scrambled eggs and toast, but then insisted on washing up, which Owain said was definitely a novelty. Colin thought that Mhairi did not give her son as much credit as he deserved, but then reflected that the same might be true of his relationship with his Mum. Colin made a mental note try and have a quiet word with Owain, once Joe wasn’t around, though he was aware that Owain’s relationship with Mhairi was still prickly in places.

They drove out to a nursery that had been recommended by the man that Colin’s Mum bought things from. As usual, his Mum had not only told him what to buy but where to buy it. Owain quietly commented that whilst the care and fore-thought were impressive and helpful, the moment was rather a microcosm for Colin’s Mother’s micro-managing of his life in general. Back to Mother’s trusting their sons, Colin supposed.

The nursery was a family-run affair, and associated with it was a country-store and café. None of them had any idea what a country store might be, and the suggestions varied from the unlikely to the downright rude. But they agreed that investigations would have to wait until after they’d chosen the gardening things.

A lot of what Colin advised Owain to buy was useful rather than attractive, tools, bags of compost made from horse-manure and more liquid fertiliser. Owain might not be a gardener, but thankfully he did understand enough to realise that this was all designed to help the plants and improve the soil.

“Is horse poo really good for the soil”, Joe was looking at the bags rather dubiously.

“Yes, evidently it’s rich in nutrients.”

“That doesn't make sense, does it? If it’s rich in nutrients, why do horses get rid of it, if you see what I mean?”

Colin shrugged, “Sorry, you’ll have to ask a biology teacher or something.”

Joe, however, wasn’t to be beaten. He was a real child of his age; he simply typed a question into Google on his phone. Colin was still wary of using the phone like this, but Joe was soon quoting alarming facts about horses’ digestive systems.”

Owain’s response was to roll his eyes, “Do we really want to be talking about this if we’re having tea and cake at the café?”

Joe’s responded with an eager, “Are we?” whilst Colin’s eyes lit up.

“You’ve only just had a huge breakfast.”

Joe grinned cheekily, “But I’m a growing lad and Colin, here, has been working hard.”

Once the stuff was stowed in the car, they walked over to the country store. This proved to be full of decorative items that neither of them really needed. Colin picked up a decorated coat-rack for the hall, something that Owain actually did want, but quoted a price that made them all laugh.

There was a good food section, but it was all rather high-end, speciality things or pre-made frozen meals, and after browsing Colin thought he did rather better at the Deli in town. The cake was, however, amply worth the wait for a table.

Once Joe had polished off his cake, he turned to them and played a blinder of a question, “Do you think my Dad might be prosecuted because of the dodgy things he was doing”, the boy looked a bit embarrassed at the topic but soldiered on in quiet undertone “You know, because she was underage?”

“Blimey”, Owain huffed, “that’s quite a question.”

Colin knew that Owain was worried about Joe’s relationship with his Father, but this was on an entirely different level. Owain didn’t seem to have a ready answer, but Colin thought the boy’s question needed a response, at least.

“That all depends. It needs reporting and the Police would need some sort of proof. The girl…”

“Lilah.”

“Lilah, or her parents would need to make a statement to the Police.”

Owain seemed to recover, “A credible statement. As an elder of the church, Nathan might get benefit of the doubt.”

“Mum thought they’d been paid off. Lilah’s parents. By the church.”

“Very likely, but the parents might change their minds, or Lilah might.”

“Do you think, like, that there are more?”

“You mean was your Dad messing around with other women, almost certainly yes, I’d say, but that’s a guess based simply on what your Mum has told me.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought”, Joe looked glum.

“But there is something…”

“What?”

“Well, the pool of possible candidates is quite small. After all, when I still attended church, there weren’t many girls or young women in the congregation.”

Joe laughed, “Tell me about it.”

“So, where would your Dad find other girls.”

Joe frowned, “Dunno. Not many at church and he doesn’t do much except work and church.”

“So, it might not be that many.”

Colin nodded, “Lack of opportunity.”

“But if there’s anyone else, it might be unpleasant for your Mum, as it shows he’s been cheating on her even more.”

“And lying about it.” Joe looked remarkably fierce.

“But it wouldn’t actually be illegal, unless they were underage, which is looking less likely.”

“For lack of opportunity”, Joe looked thoughtful, “So you reckon…”

“That your Dad is probably OK, but only he knows what he’s done, and he might be on tenterhooks, anxious about what might come out of the woodwork.”

“Oh. OK.”

“There’s one thing, though. It wouldn’t be pleasant.”

“Him getting prosecuted?”

“Yes. It might seem his just desserts, but believe you me, the press would have a field day and their digging might be unpleasant for you and your Mum. You wouldn’t get to sit quietly on the sidelines.”

“So the best thing is to hope he gets away with it.”

“Bugger.”

“What about the church, won’t someone report it to them?”

Colin’s question was perfectly valid, but Owain explained that the Brethren was an independent Evangelical church, with only a loose affiliation to a larger body. There wasn’t really anyone to report them to. And they wouldn’t be prosecuted unless you could prove that they had been involved, whilst the Brethren’s Elders had already shown their feelings on the matter, by paying off Lilah’s family, so Owain thought it unlikely that they would turn on one of their own, and Colin had to admit that this was a perfectly valid, if unsatisfactory, argument.

Joe was quiet after this but seemed to recover somewhat as they wandered round the plants for sale, both enjoying the more exotic things and looking out for the more practical ones on Colin’s list. Joe seemed to be drawn to plants that were highly dramatic but on reading the labels, Colin could usually list all the reasons why they’d not be suitable for Owain’s garden. However, they did buy one or two, but then spent ages looking at pots. The traditional ones were expensive and bloody heavy, so Colin suggested a couple of light-weight fibreglass ones and a selection of what he laughingly described as robust plants to go in them.

“Robust?”

Colin grinned at Owain, “They won’t easily die of neglect, and if they do then you haven’t wasted a bloody fortune.”

Owain’s response was to laugh and kiss him, which did make him go all pink and bashful, but Colin had relaxed enough to let it happen, he was becoming more comfortable with PDAs. Joe, of course, looked on at their antics with bemusement and, thankfully, amused tolerance.

Back home, there was time to at least make a start and Joe proved a very willing worker. Digging up the lawn to expand the existing borders was hard work, and it seemed that Owain had had unfeasibly high expectations. Of course, by the time they called it a day, they’d only got a fraction done.

“Perhaps we should simply accept what there is”, Owain was staring at the amount they’d done and was disheartened by the work that still needed doing.

Far more experienced at what it took to make a garden, Colin shook his head and robustly commented, “Wimp! A garden is always worth the effort.”

“Did your Mum have to do stuff like this?”

"Dad was still alive then and I think he did most of the hard digging. But she still does a lot of things like that herself."

"And Miles helps with the heavy stuff, now?"

"Not on your life. I think she gets a lad in the village, Stewart, to come over and help. He likes being outdoors, so prefers gardening for her to filling supermarket shelves."