“Children need to be out by nine thirty”. “But, we still haven’t got our sticky toffee puddings yet” said the boys. The pub is not allowed to have children in their premises after a certain time. The puddings were served just in the nick of time and they gulped it down. Lakshmi was wide awake by this time. She had just dozed off as I pushed the buggy into the pub garden earlier. Joshua was disappointed, but she was too deep in her dreams and we let her sleep for a while.
Lakshmi wanted to hold Alfie’s lead as we walked with Gwyn and Louise to their hotel where dogs are allowed to stay. Alfie kept taking frequent ‘wee’ breaks along the way. We wondered if he had prostate problems as well. “Good boy” Lakshmi called out each time he moved along. I had to keep reminding her that he was much older than her and a bit of respect wouldn’t go amiss.
Putting Lakshmi to sleep wasn’t a problem by the time we got back home. I read her Mickey mouse’s version of ‘Jack and the beanstalk’. Normally long books bore her, but not this time. We have a busy day ahead and it was time to sleep.
Monday dawned and the sun shining through the curtain drawn windows woke us up. Lakshmi’s Appu had to go to the temple, while we got ready to welcome the guests. Soon they arrived one by one and the house was full. The main guest of the day was still yet to come. She arrived just in time for the ceremony to start in the afternoon. All her grandparents, great grandparents, aunts and uncles were there to bless little Lavinia as her dad whispered her name three times in each ear.
The sun shone brightly all day long. It was a repeat of Lakshmi’s first big event exactly two years ago which also coincidentally fell on the same bank holiday Monday. Everyone special to her were able to attend without taking a day off work. The others who couldn’t, sent their love.
It was a perfect day for a barbecue. The barbecue grill hasn’t been used for a long time and so it stayed in it’s home in the garage. The catered food proved to be a hit. The boys played with Lakshmi in the garden while the oldies made the most of the warm day. Alfie tried to bury his food in the garden. ‘Rubbing your nose on the grass is not going to work’, I tell him. A green woodpecker came to visit, ‘you can visit as long as you don’t drill holes in my Oaks’, I warned him.
It was another glorious day to add to the list of auspicious days in our life when the gods have smiled down on us. I looked around and saw the jigsaw pieces of my life’s puzzle slotting neatly into their allocated places.
