And mother came too

Three gossips and their object of desire.

AND MOTHER CAME TOO

 

When the local gossips that ran down just about everything and everybody, saw Fergus out with the woman who was going to be his wife, they weren’t surprised. Oh, no - they were angry. What had she got that none of them had? It didn’t take long for them to find out. Lucinda, who was the future wife of the handsomest man in town, had a rich and classy mother called Grace. Lucinda was a faded-looking woman, and didn’t hold a candle to her mother, or any other woman. She wore the most expensive clothes, and when she got engaged to Fergus, a diamond ring that was obviously not purchased in a local jeweller, was to be seen on the ring finger of her left hand. Lucinda was a mystery. Nobody knew her provenance. They also didn’t know what she did for a living. They all knew that Grace, who dressed as if she were going to meet royalty, was the brains behind the two. Long before the wedding was announced, Grace’s presence was more visible than Lucinda’s. It was all very well, the gossips argued, but was he going to marry the mother or the daughter?

What the outsiders didn’t know, was that Fergus was ambitious and Lucinda’s mother, Grace, had all the right contacts for him to climb the corporate ladder. Grace and Fergus were two of a kind: she had what he needed for a better life, and he was the most desirable man she knew to be her daughter’s husband. Grace knew that, by herself, Lucinda wasn’t up to much, and so she had to - of necessity - interfere. Left to herself, Lucinda might have got herself a man who was not up to Grace’s standards.

 

The three main gossips in town were Diana, Anne, and Nicola. They were young and pretty, and looked after themselves very well. All of them, at one time or other, had gone through a crush on Fergus. The three usually met up for a gossip on Saturday afternoons. They were all single, and no boyfriends in sight. “I wouldn’t have minded so much if he was going to marry one of us, even if I wasn’t the chosen - but her? Well, there has to be some kind of explanation we don’t know about,” declared Diana.

The local newspapers and a couple of the better nationals, had announced the forthcoming wedding of Fergus and Lucinda.

“He’s a dental surgeon. I wonder where Lucinda fits into all this,” Anne commented.

“I went to see him once, and he was very good as a dentist. He never said much, and this was rather off-putting, I thought at the time,” Nicole said.

“Do you think he’ll still be living here, or will move away after he’s married Lucinda?” Diana queried.

Anne yawned, “We’ll have to wait and see.”

The trio of puzzled young women did everything they could to avoid meeting up with Fergus plus Lucinda and her mother.

“Are you going to the wedding?” Nicole asked her two friends one evening when they were holed up in Diana’s bedroom. There were magazines with film stars’ and pop singers’ photos covering nearly every page. The girls were desperate to nab a decent looking man, for the same reason Grace had manoeuvred Lucinda and Fergus together. The idea was, that if the father was handsome, even if the woman wasn’t so wonderful, then the children stood a good chance of being attractive at least. If there was money, then all the better. As usual they were chatting.

“I refuse to be seen standing outside a church staring at a desirable man marrying somebody I don’t approve of,” Anne said, as she flicked through one of the magazines.

Diana sat on the only armchair in her bedroom, and said, “He’s not getting married around here, but in her church in the village where she was brought up.”

“How did you find that out?” Nicole asked.

“The owner of the confectioner’s was hoping for the order for the wedding cake, and felt insulted when he was informed it was going elsewhere,” Diana said, enjoying the looks on her friends’ faces.

“Well I, for one, am not going to some village lost out in the countryside to see the best-looking man I’ve ever seen, throw himself away on such a drab woman,” Nicole declared.

It would have been interesting to have had Fergus’s opinion on the conversation.

 

The night before the wedding, Fergus was sitting in his room in an hotel not far from where he would wed Lucinda, with his best friends, trying not to get drunk. His friends had girlfriends who were the epitome of good looks, and who made the most of themselves with their clothes. They spent the evening drinking, and then they left Fergus alone in the room with his thoughts.

 

Whatever passed through Fergus’s head that night, didn’t prevent him from arriving with his best man, five minutes early the following morning at the church. The ceremony and clothes had been chosen by Grace. The flowers, paid for by Fergus, had also been Grace’s choice. The bride arriving late had been Grace’s idea too, but she had calculated badly there, and that was because she hadn’t taken into account Fergus’s strictness on punctuality. His patients never had to wait, and should they have to, he would send the nurse out to excuse him for his tardiness and explain why. He stared straight ahead as Lucinda and her father walked down the aisle. When she arrived at his side, he said, “Couldn’t you have been here on time?” Lucinda, who thought she had won the lottery with Fergus, had just received her first brush with his strong indomitable character.

 

The female trio split up, to go and live in different parts. Their jobs took them far afield. Every so often they would meet up for dinner and chat. At age thirty-five they were still unmarried because, according to them, no man had ever come anywhere near Fergus in the looks department. After all, if you have to spend the rest of your life with someone, they might as well be good-looking as ugly. Their mothers kept them up-to-date regarding Fergus and Lucinda, whose father had died, leaving her and her mother in a healthy financial situation. What shocked the trio even more, was that Lucinda had managed to turn out a chain of daughters who looked like her. For them it was a tragedy, but Grace felt it keenly, that none of them had inherited Fergus’s black curly hair and lithe body. What had gone wrong genetically? Fergus made sure he had more and more work at his clinic, so as to avoid going home to the female stronghold, over which his mother-in-law reigned supreme. Thanks to her, though, he had got wealthier patients, and made a good living. Grace nagged Lucinda about her appearance and the fact she had only given birth to daughters. “What’s the matter with you? Fergus will leave, if you don’t give him a son, he’ll find someone who will.”

Lucinda knew how frustrated Fergus was with so many daughters but she didn’t know what to do, so she continued having girls.

 

After the fifth daughter was born, Fergus went on holiday with his friends from his youth. The motive was to be free of domestic encumbrances and feel free. They went to a multi-sports-centre in Switzerland, where they could unwind and practice different sports. Fergus had put on weight since his marriage, due to his sedentary life as an orthodontist. He wasn’t pleased with his physical appearance, and had begun visiting the gym in his lunch break. He had been pleased with the improvement in the tightening up of his muscles, especially round his waistline. His friends stared at him, and said, “You look fantastic, Fergus.”

Fergus replied, “I’d like to look a lot better, and that’s why I wanted to come here to get my body back into pre-marriage condition.”

“Thinking of getting married again then, Fergus?” one of the jokers in his group said.

Fergus stared and said, “Not in a million years. It’s been too hard, and at times I only want to walk away from them all.”

From that second on, the group of forty-year-old men threw themselves into all the sports available. After a week, they were as fit as they had been at twenty, except the ones who smoked. The second week brought about an even much better improvement in their physical aspect.

 

Back home, one of the girls complained about a pain in her stomach, and it was appendicitis. The doctor asked Lucinda to sign the consent form for the operation, and for Fergus too. “My husband is away at the moment, and so he can’t sign,” a trembling Lucinda said.

“It’s all right, I’ll sign it, if I may. I’m the child’s grandmother,” Grace told the registrar.

The child was operated on that afternoon, and went to a nice comfortable room where her grandmother stayed with her. Lucinda went home to attend the rest.

 

On the last day of the men’s stay, a group of women in their thirties arrived at the hotel. Fergus paid no attention to them, but they did to him

“Is that who I think it is?” Anne asked Diana and Nicole.

They stared in the direction she was pointing. They saw Fergus and friends leaving a lift, carrying travel bags and going over to reception. They chatted for a couple of minutes, and then they went out to a waiting taxi.

The trio went to the receptionist and asked about the men. The receptionist said that the men were leaving. The trio felt a bit out-of-sorts, but stayed at the resort.

 

Fergus got home around midnight.

Grace was sitting on the sofa reading, “Hello, did you have a nice time?”

Fergus stared at his mother-in-law, “Why are you here? Where’s Lucinda?”

“She’s gone to bed. We’ve had a few awkward days with one of the girls in hospital with appendicitis.”

“How is she now?”

“Better. I signed the consent form. You don’t mind, do you?”

“Of course not. Couldn’t Lucinda have signed it?” Fergus asked.

“She got nervous, and so we both signed.”

“I’m tired. I’ll see you later, in the morning,” Fergus admitted.

Fergus went up to the room he shared with Lucinda.

Grace closed her book and went up to her room.

 

Diana, Anne, and Nicole still met up from time to time. They had been very impressed at Fergus’s physical aspect in Switzerland. They knew that they had booked into a very good place to tone themselves up.

 

The holiday away from the noise of his daughters, had given Fergus an idea. He said nothing to anyone, until he had it all prepared.

 

One day when he was off work, he said to Lucinda, “I’ve arranged for the first three daughters to go away to school. I can’t stand all the shrieking and screaming. They’ll be going at the beginning of next September. It’s better for you, as I’d prefer you to work in the clinic as my receptionist. It would be a good experience and get you out of the house.”

Lucinda, who had never worked in her life to earn money, was taken unawares. She stood before her husband flabbergasted. “What about your present receptionist?”

“She’s my nurse, that’s why I need another person in the clinic to help out. Don’t worry, I’ll pay you a decent wage for the hours you put in.”

“What if I get pregnant again?”

“You won’t. I’ve had a vasectomy, there are far too many women in this house. You can start next week, to get used to how the clinic is run. All right?”

Lucinda, who was in a panic, said, “Whatever you say, Fergus.”

 

Grace said to her daughter later, “It’s for the best. Now, perhaps, the girls will get some discipline. You’re too soft with them, they ride rough-shod over you. Now you’ll be able to go to the beauticians and spas and buy some nice clothes.”

Lucinda felt depressed, her nice easy life at home with her daughters was coming to an end. Fergus’s having a vasectomy as well, meant she would never have any more children.

 

During the months that Lucinda was beginning a new chapter in her life, Diana’s mother died. That event entailed Diana’s getting in touch with Anne and Nicole and all her relatives. The funeral was a rather lavish affair and many invitations were sent out. One of them made its way to Fergus’s clinic, because Diana’s mother had been a patient of his for a long time. Diana’s father also sent invitations to doctors and nurses and the dressmaker, in fact, anyone who had known the deceased. The day of the funeral was only slightly chilly and everyone who attended was suitably attired. After the interment a light meal took place in the local hotel and pub, ‘The Miller’s Arms’. Diana stood beside her father, shaking hands with the guests and thanking them for coming. Grace had accompanied Fergus, as Lucinda had declared she had a bad head. On reaching Diana and her father, Grace thought to herself, ‘that’s the sort of woman Fergus should have married’. She had been aware for a long time, that she had made a grave mistake in encouraging Lucinda and Fergus.

 

Lucinda was lying on her bed when Grace and Fergus got back. She felt very sorry for herself, in that her mother and her husband had gone to the funeral and not stayed with her. Grace stood staring at her daughter lying down on her bed in a state of pure misery, and thought that if Fergus ever strayed, she for one wouldn’t blame him.

 

The trio felt deflated on the death of Diana’s mother. They knew and understood more clearly their own mortality. “If we’re ever going to get something more out of life other than a job, a car, a home, we’d better hurry up,” Nicole said to her friends.

“We might have left it too late. Most men in our age group are married, or divorced, or not interested,” Anne added.

“Never mind, in the meantime we have to keep on with our lives,” Diana said, feeling very down.

 

Fergus, Lucinda, and Grace, took their two youngest children to the theatre to see a children’s musical. On the way back home there was a large patch of oil on the road. Fergus did his best to straighten up the car and prevent it from slipping and sliding, but it ended up crashing into a tree. Grace had thrown herself over her granddaughters, but Lucinda had taken fright and had undone her seat belt to get out of the car. She had opened the door and was flung out. Fergus banged his head and entered into unconsciousness. Grace, who was still shaking but with her faculties intact, rang the ambulance, and the fire department, and then the police.

It had been so predictable where Lucinda was concerned. She had never shown any sign of having any common sense. Grace and the two girls were all shaken up, but not injured. Fergus was taken to hospital, where he had scans all over his body to make sure there were no hidden injuries. His right leg was broken, but that was no impediment for him to return to work when he was given permission.

 

One day, Diana went to the dental clinic and saw Fergus tottering around on crutches. “How do you manage to work with a gammy leg?” she asked him.

“Don’t ask. I really can’t tell you. Do you want to make an appointment? If so, the nurse will give you a day and time,” Fergus said, leaning heavily on his crutches.

“I should have my teeth seen to, but that’s not the reason I’ve come round. My father misses the dinner parties my mother used to give, so he wants to start doing some entertaining without her. He likes having people round to dinner.”

Fergus sat down on a chair and stared at Diana. “I remember you from a long time ago. You used to go around with two other girls.”

“Yes, we still do, when we can. They don’t live here any more and I’m here because my mother died, and I didn’t want to leave my father alone.”

“Do you need a job? If so, I need a receptionist so that my nurse doesn’t have to keep answering the phone or the door.”

Diana couldn’t believe her ears. She was being offered a job with the man she had adored ever since she had first set eyes on him.

“Thank you, it would be a welcome distraction, as my father doesn’t need any help, he’s in perfect health. When shall I start?”

“Tomorrow, if you like. I’m sure you’ll find it easy enough, and I accept the invitation to dinner, too.”

 

Diana said nothing to her friends about her job with Fergus for a long time. She knew what they would say - you lucky old thing! There were times, as she got to know Fergus well, whether she was lucky or not. He often complained about his bad leg and had treatment for it. She wondered about his relationship with Grace, but as it seemed aboveboard, she accepted it had to be. She also realized that he preferred his friends’ company, and as far as she knew, he didn’t have any girl-friends. The nurse, who was called Mary Jane, said that Fergus had told her that he’d promised himself never to get involved with another woman.

 

Diana, seeing there was no hope of catching the handsome Fergus, handed in her notice and went away again, and her father went to live with his sister.

 

Grace reigned in Fergus’s house till she died.

 

Diana and her two friends had to make do with other women’s chuck-outs.

 

Fergus remained an enigma.