A few minutes after finding a seat on a train at the local railway station this morning a lady walked through the train checking tickets. She took my ticket in her hand, read the destination, raised her eyebrows, and said “my word - that’s quite the trek!”.
An hour later I boarded the longest leg of the journey, secure in the knowledge that I had a seating reservation, I discovered the train had cancelled all seating reservations. I’ve never made this journey and the seating reservations work. Thankfully I found a seat some way down the train.
Three hours later I arrived at a rain sodden railway station in the far south west - my Dad standing on the corner of the car-park overlooking the track, squinting towards me through the driving rain.
Half an hour later we arrived at my parents house, and put the kettle on.
It feels odd - being here on my own, after so many years shepherding three daughters during visits.
Earlier this week my youngest said “you’re going to Nan and Grandads on Friday, aren’t you?”. “Yes”. “I’ve got college on Friday”. “I know”. “I haven’t seen them in ages”. It didn’t take a genius to pick apart what she said, and what she really meant.
“I’m not going to the beach, or the amusement arcade, or anywhere else - I’m just going to visit”.
She didn’t respond.
This evening I’ve been subjected to an hour of “Coronation Street” on the television. I had no idea who the characters were, or what was happening, but thanked my lucks stars that I didn’t live in that street - it would appear from what I learned in that hour that most people had been unfaithful with most other people in the street, many held grudges against each other, and apparently one of them was a serial killer that had been slowly bumping off one character after another without suspicion.
Anyway.
I think it might be time for a cup of coffee. The weather is supposed to clear up in the morning - perhaps I’ll escape for a walk down to the sea before the rest of the house wakes up. Before any of that happens I’m going to make a coffee and call home.