Id spent the last two years working in Dubai, and when I finally got back to Liverpool I discovered that my son, James Whitaker, had a surprise waiting for me.
My daughter, Georgina Whitaker, had married a fellow of a different nationality a nice chap from Dublin called Patrick OLeary. I moved in with them for two years, looking after my newborn grandson, Oliver, and keeping the house in order.
Georgina and Patrick both worked for the same software firm in the city, so they were only home when the sun was setting. I hoped that arrangement would go on forever, but life had other plans. One evening they told me, politely but firmly, that they no longer needed my help and asked me to find somewhere else to stay. A month later I was back in my cosy terraced house, only to find that I wasnt exactly welcome there either.
While I was living with Georgina, James divorced his first wife, abandoned the flat hed been sharing with her, and decided it would be a brilliant idea to move straight into my place. He didnt even bother to ask for my permission. To make matters more interesting, he brought his new wife, Hannah, who was already expecting a baby. Suddenly I was faced with the question: should I kick out my son and his pregnant wife? Of course not but how do three, soon to be four, of us manage in a onebedroom flat? Neither James nor I have enough pounds to rent somewhere else.
I rang Georgina and explained the whole mess, hoping shed understand and perhaps invite me back to her flat. She didnt. It seems she and Patrick have a very different outlook on the world.
Jamess behaviour is, if you think about it, understandable. He never counted on me returning. Now Im sleeping on the kitchen couch, stepping out during the day to do my shopping and visit friends. James and Hannah chat normally, never raise their voices, but Hannah seems to have taken a permanent vow of ignoring me.
Its clear she doesnt like the idea of me living in the same house. I never imagined that at sixty Id become a redundant piece of furniture, with someone else running the household. James is only worried about his pregnant wife and doesnt seem to notice the housing problem at all.
Im hunting for a parttime job and dreaming of having my own place again. The new inlaws have moved out to the countryside, where the rent is cheaper but the commute would be a nightmare. Should I tell Hannah to move back with her parents? Do you think James could find work out there? Im not sure what to do
