Dad, do you mind if we crash at your place for a couple of months? Harry asked, his voice halfwonderful, halfnervous.
No objections, his father replied curtly.
Harrys parents had split about ten years earlier. His mother remarried after a couple of years, but his dad, George, stayed single, living alone in a threebedroom flat in Manchester. Georges temperament was, to put it mildly, a bit of a nightmare. Women drifted in and out of his life, never staying long, yet he never abandoned his son. Besides sending child support, he bought everything Harry needed and took an active, if stern, role in his upbringingstrict, masculine, devoid of overt affection, but with a fathers sense of duty.
Harry went on to the workforce straight after his Alevels and moved out of his mothers house, renting a room in a student hall. A few years later he married Emily, a schoolfriend hed known since they were twelve. They were saving for a deposit on a new flat, when the landlord of their current room announced he was putting the place on the market. Well have to wait until the sale goes through, he said. Harry thought of asking George for a temporary roof, since the old mans spacious flat was practically empty. Georges brief refusal left Harry about to give up the idea, when the father added:
You can stay, just keep it quiet.
Thanks, Harry exhaled a sigh of relief.
He knew his father was a man of few words, a lover of silence and a miser of emotion. So the keep it quiet rule didnt surprise him. Emily, five months pregnant, appreciated the peace as well. What she didnt realise was that quiet applied only to the two of themnot to the house itself.
George awoke at five in the morning, his slippers slapping the floor as he went through his ritual: bathroom, kitchen, back to the bathroom, then the kitchen again. In the stillness of dawn the flat was a cacophony of shuffling, clacking, and the occasional thump. Bloody hell! hed mutter whenever something fell. The fact that other people were still asleep didnt seem to bother him one bit. If you dont like it, youre free to go, hed think, never inviting anyone over.
Besides the morning racket, George kept a tight leash on Harry and Emilys habits. No TV after nine p.m., he declaredthe noise keeps me up. No frying foodthe smell gets on my nerves. Conserve water and lightIm not made of money, hed remind them. This went on for a week until Emily was admitted to the hospital with complications.
Two days later a sternlooking George showed up at the maternity ward, a plastic bag of fruit in hand.
The baby needs vitamins, he said, handing over the bag.
Thank you, Mr. Hart, Emily replied politely.
Right, he nodded. Ill be off. Listen to the doctor.
Will do, she smiled, waving goodbye.
After Emily was discharged, George resumed his fiveamrise, but this time he tried to keep the clatter down a notch, as if the quiet were a form of care. Hed call out for breakfast in a gruff tone, or silently snatch a rag and mop the floor himself, because a pregnant woman needs her rest, hed think.
They finally bought a flat three months later. George insisted on a full refurbishment before they moved in. Emily gave birth right in the middle of the renovations, so she and the newborn, little Molly, had to return to Georges flat for a while. Her motherinlaw and the grandparents visited a couple of times after the discharge, but George always put on a poker face, pretending he wasnt thrilled to have guestsexcept for Molly. Whenever he saw her, that hardetched expression softened into a grin. He swore hed protect her from any world that dared threaten his tiny granddaughter.
Every morning George took baby Molly out for a walk, giving Emily a chance to catch up on sleep after sleepless nights. He even learned to change diapers without a fuss. When the day finally came for them to move into their newly finished flat, George, wiping away a rare, reluctant tear, said in his usual gruff tone:
Youre still young, living with a newborn. Stay here a bit longer. Not for long. Until Molly gets married.
Harry and Emily stared at each other in disbelief. George, turning away, added:
Its just oldman sentimentality. Dont get all soft about it. Bring the babe in and start packing. Youll still have time to move before the King of Heaven decides to shuffle the world again.
Harry and Emily had expected George to be waiting for them to move out, but the old mans sudden softening left them speechless. They decided to stay a while longerafter all, a doting granddad was a nice bonus.
George, now fussing over Molly with a gentle coo, felt a happiness he hadnt known in years. Hed finally found the most cherished, most valuable person in his lifehis little granddaughter.