In Love with Lori Ch. 05

We loaned the cars to the National Motor Museum, except for my great-grandfather's Bentley; we gave that to Uncle Richard, as it's his grandfather's car, and he is the oldest son of my grandfather, it felt right that he should have it; I think father would have liked that it went to his big brother and boyhood best friend. My father's and Charlie's motorcycles stayed with us, though; there are some things I will never let go of.

Maybe the kids will do something about that ugly place in the fullness of time; I won't. English Heritage and The National Trust have both hinted that, as the place has no architectural, historic or aesthetic significance, public funds really wouldn't stretch to buying up and shoring up that hideous relic, and as the number of potential buyers could be counted on the fingers of one foot, they'd look the other way if we 'accidently' demolished that hideous eyesore, hmmm...

In the meantime, neither Lori or I have any urge to build another monument to bad taste like that place; our egos will never be that bloated, and with Lori's good, straight-shooting Iowa morality and common-sense to guide them, I don't think our kids will either.

Richard and Hugo did attempt to cook up a "Business Trip" to Des Moines, and they asked Lori for the numbers of some of her friends; at first she was outraged; she wasn't pimping-out her school friends for those two, family or not, and she let them know it in no uncertain terms; Richard and Hugo were silently awestruck as Mount Lori erupted, but after she'd calmed down, they apologised and asked her properly to introduce them to some nice girls of her acquaintance, as they wanted to meet real girls, with real values, just like her, etc, etc. I learned a lesson that day in the fine and delicate art of buttering-up from two masters of the art, remind me to shake their hands, once they wash all the grease off...

As it happens, two of Lori's friends from Des Moines, girls I'd known since they were out of diapers were Lori's bridesmaids, Sara and Josie, and Richard and Hugo's jaws hit the floor with a resounding 'clang!' when they saw those girls. They may not have looked like Lori, but they came from the same kind of background, they'd known Lori and me all their lives, they had the same accent, attitudes and outlook as my Lori, and my two playboy cousins fell like a piano down a mountainside.

Aunt Sophie is of course busily gleefully planning the weddings. Good old Richard and Hugo; at last, two pairs of green eyes tempted them head-first into the noose their mother's been dangling in front of them for years, but you know what? I don't think they care...

My life with Lori is loving and rewarding, and we have immense fun as a family, so perhaps keeping it in the family really was my best move, ever!

(Jack Cameron and Andrew Edgeworth and their wives appear in 'Shining Girl', and Harry Waterfield and his sister-wife, Sai Fong appear in 'All I Ever Wanted')