Chapter 12
12
Bex was right. There was no reason for Daisy to be nervous. Not about the coffee shop, at least. Meeting Theo’s family, though, that was a whole different matter.
‘Okay, what do I need to know?’ Daisy said as they hit the motorway. They still had a solid four-hour drive ahead of them until they arrived in Yorkshire, and Daisy wanted to put it to good use, making sure she made the best impression on Theo’s family as possible.
With his eyes on the road, Theo let out a slight hum before he spoke.
‘Okay, well, don’t get into politics with my dad. That’s the first thing.’
‘He’s into politics?’
‘He is, and he thinks that it should be the number-one priority in everyone’s life.’
Daisy thought about the comment for a moment. ‘I guess it is kind of important. We do need to know what’s going on in the country we live in. And it’s obviously useful to know what’s going on in the rest of the world too.’
‘Oh, yes, I’m not disagreeing with that,’ Theo said. ‘But Dad’s passion goes way beyond there. You bring up the slightest thing and he’ll start telling you when these laws were first put in place and what regulations other countries follow instead. Trust me, politics is not something you want to get into with him. Plus, if he disagrees with your viewpoint in the slightest, he’ll spend the rest of our visit trying to convince you you’re wrong.’
‘Okay…’ Daisy said, now understanding why Theo had said it was a subject she needed to steer clear of. ‘What should I talk to him about instead?’
Theo pondered the question. ‘Birds,’ he said finally.
‘Birds?’
‘Yup. Dad loves birds. I got him one of those camera boxes last Christmas. You know, where you can watch while a bird builds their nest. Something laid eggs in it. A blue tit, I think it was. Anyway, he can talk for hours about that. Not that you need to worry; you just have to be yourself. They’ll love you just as you are.’
Daisy smiled at the comment as she considered the topic of birds a little longer. A few years ago, she wouldn’t have known where to start. Even when she had moved to Wildflower Lock, she had struggled to tell the difference between an egret and a cormorant. But now, she could talk at length about the various birds of prey and waterfowl that lived on the canal. Yes, she would do well talking to Theo’s dad about birds.
‘Okay, so what about your mum? What do I need to know there? Is she into birds too?’
‘My mum? God, no. That’d hardly be her number-one topic of conversation.’
‘So what would be?’
Daisy glanced at Theo and noted the way he was staring at the road ahead of him. His hands were gripping the steering wheel unusually tightly. Of course, it was probably about the traffic and driving on the motorway. It wasn’t something they did very often now that he was back living in Wildflower Lock.
‘To be honest, I don’t know. You’re just going to have to judge the conversation when you get there, I’m afraid. Mum’s one of those women with a hundred different hobbies. One minute she’s into quilting, the next she’s taken a lead role in the village amateur dramatics performance, and then two weeks later she’ll be helping with the WI, making jams and chutneys for their latest shows.’
‘So she likes cooking, then?’ Daisy said, grateful to have found a commonality she could use, although surprisingly, Theo shook his head.
‘No, she hates cooking.’
‘But you said she makes chutney?’
‘If the WI wants chutney. Mum’s one of those people who can’t be left out of any situation. That’s why she does all these different hobbies: to make sure she’s always included.’
‘Oh,’ Daisy said, not sure how else she was supposed to reply to such a comment. It didn’t sound exactly complimentary.
‘I think it’s a retirement thing,’ Theo replied. ‘She wasn’t like it when we were growing up. Or at least I don’t remember her being like it. But when retirement hit, she suddenly found herself without a way to spend her time and started taking up all these hobbies, and she hasn’t stopped.’
‘She was a teacher, right?’ Daisy said, trying to recall what Theo had previously told her about his family. ‘Or was that your dad?’
‘Sort of. They were lecturers,’ Theo explained. ‘Dad lectured in politics. No surprise there. Mum in history. Though she took early retirement years ago.’
‘History?’ Daisy tried to recall what she could from her school years, sitting at the graffiti-covered tables in her history class. Her teacher had been addicted to dictation, she remembered that much. Lessons were all spent sitting in silence, with the students scribbling away as fast as their wrists could manage, trying to make sure they didn’t miss a single date or name. It was fair to say Daisy didn’t have the fondest memories of history, and she had dropped it before she even hit GCSE level. She would probably have to find other conversations to have with Theo’s mother, and given all the various artistic hobbies she enjoyed, they were bound to have some similar interests. Weren’t they?
It didn’t take long before the effect of the late night was taking a toll and Daisy found herself struggling to keep her eyes open, but the last thing she wanted to do was fall asleep and leave Theo driving all that way with no one to talk to and so she struggled on, chatting away, turning the volume on the radio up extra loud so that she didn’t drift off. And for a while, it worked, until a couple of hours into the trip, when they stopped off at a cute farm shop for something to eat. Afterwards, with the weight of the food sitting in her stomach, and the warmth of the sun beating through the windows and heating the car, Daisy found her eyes feeling heavy. It was too much. She just needed a quick twenty-minute nap. That was what she told Theo. A quick nap and she would be fine. And so she let her eyes close.
‘Hey you.’ Theo’s hand rocked her gently on the shoulder.
A sound that was something between a yawn and a groan escaped Daisy’s mouth as she finally pushed herself up straight.
‘Wow, I needed that.’
‘I figured as much,’ Theo replied.
Still yawning, Daisy blinked a couple of times until her vision finally focused, and she was surprised to find they were no longer on the motorway. In fact, they were no longer on a road of any sort. Instead, they were parked up outside a large gate, which lead to a private road.
‘I hope you’re feeling well-rested,’ Theo said as he leaned across and kissed her lips. ‘Because it’s time for you to meet my parents.’