Page 115 of Spiralling Skywards
Liam didn’t hesitate to step forward and embrace Nan. I watched as she ran her hands up and down his back, but my smile turned to a look of horror when they moved down to grab his arse cheeks.
“Nah, you’re no good to me. You’re safe, Sarah, I won’t be running off with your fella, not unless he puts on a few pounds, he’s a bit too skinny for me right now.”
“Who’s too skinny?”
Grandad strode across the lawn towards us as he dried his hands on a small towel.
“Not you, that’s for sure,” Nan called out.
“Well that’s coz you keep feeding me, woman.”
“It’s nothing to do with what I feed ya. It’s the beer you drink in that shed every day and the whiskey you sip in front of the telly every night. Not to mention the amount of liquorice allsorts you polish off every week.”
“I’m eighty years old, Maisie, I’ve worked hard all my life and raised these two fine people. I think that entitles me to drink, sip, and polish off whatever I bloody well like, which includes you when the mood takes me. So there’ll be no chasing after younger men, there’d only leave ya disappointed anyway. You’ve had sixty years of the best, there’s no going back from that.”
He looked at me and winked.
“Can the pair of you stop talking about geriatric sex for Christ’s sake? You should be done with all that by now.”
“You jealous, son? Is your ol’ grandad getting it more than you?”
Luke shook his head and headed back into the house.
“C’mon, Winston, let’s go and get drunk.” The dog followed Luke.
While Nan and Liam watched my brother’s retreat, I stepped into Grandad’s arms.
Despite his age, he was as tall, as upright and agile as I’d always remembered him to be. His once sandy hair was a little thinner, and now totally grey, but he was still a handsome man.
“How are you, Sunshine? You look well.”
“I’m good, really good.”
“The Aussie still looking after ya?”
“Very much so.”
I breathed in the scent of his Tabac aftershave, Ariel soap powder, mixed with a little bit of sweat, and something else.
“You been having a sneaky roll up in the shed?” I asked him.
Nan thought he’d given up smoking years ago, but I’d seen the tin of rolling tobacco and papers in the shed he had at our old house and knew that he enjoyed the occasional puff on a cigarette.
“Come on now, thought that was our little secret.”
“It’s not good for you.”
“I know, but it’s only every now and then. Let’s meet him then, introduce me to the bloke who’s made my Sunny Girl smile.”
“Yeah, good deflection there.”
“You like that, did ya?” he asked with a sly smile.
Why did men think that by winking or smiling at a woman they could get away with shit? Why were women stupid enough to fall for it and let them?
We both turned to face Liam and Nan. My mouth may have fallen open as I watched her touch her hair, giggle, and then reach out and touch the top of his arm. Nan was a serious flirt, and Liam was lapping it up.
“Grandad, this is Liam Delaney. Liam, this is my grandad, Archie Carter.”
