“Dodo? Oh my God, Dodo, I’d… It’s… Oh Dodo, I missed you so much, please…!” she breathed, dissolving in tears, Doreen suddenly there to hold her as she sobbed into her shoulder. Lizzie hugged her tight, Doreen murmuring to her while she patted her back and stroked her hair, soothing her and fishing out a hanky for her to wipe her eyes and blow her nose. When Lizzie had calmed down, Doreen held her at arm’s length and looked her up and down.
“Look at you, Lillibet, all grown-up, a mother, and so beautiful; I missed you so much, Lillibet, more than I can say! I’ve waited so long to see you, and now here you are, and your beautiful children as well. I missed you, sweetheart, more than you can understand, I thought I’d lost you forever, I prayed for you to come home, and now you have!” she dabbed at her eyes, just as Lena was doing, and I nearly was as well.
Lizzie urged the two children forward.
“Allie, Marcus, this is my Auntie Dodo, she helped my dad bring me up, she was like my mum when I was growing up, I want you to say hello to her.”
The children looked shyly at Doreen, obviously affected by their mother’s emotional reunion with her aunt, not knowing quite what to say. Marcus broke the ice, holding out his hand.
“Hello Auntie Dodo, is that your real name?”
Doreen smiled at him as she shook hands with him.
“No, Marcus, my name is Doreen, but you can call me Auntie Dodo if you want; that’s what your mummy always called me.”
Marcus grinned at her, looking so much like dad it made my breath catch in my throat.
“I like that; my Auntie Dodo! My name is Marcus David Robert Daniels, and I’m nearly seven! You can call me Marcus, if you want.”
Doreen smiled at him.
“How do you do, Marcus, I’m a lot older than seven, and I’m very pleased to meet you! And who’s this?” she smiled, turning to Allie.
Allie grinned at her.
“I’m Alison, but everyone calls me Allie, and I’m nearly thirteen! Are you my granddad’s sister? Does that mean you’re my Great-Aunt?”
Doreen smiled even wider at Allie’s sharp inquisitiveness.
“You are so much like you mother when she was that age, it’s almost like having her back again! Your mother grew up here, in this house, your grandfather and I, and your other aunt, my sister Minnie, helped bring her up from when she was just a baby. She went to school just down the road there, with her friend Emma, and yes, I recognised you too, Emma Fraser, you haven’t changed much either!”
Emma smiled at that, exchanging glances with Lizzie.
“I was wondering, Miss Morgan it’s been a long time!”
I looked enquiringly at Doreen, who smiled back at me.
“Lillibet and Emma both went to the Cathedral Primary School where I was Headmistress, Emma and her sisters, Lillibet, and….” she broke off as she nearly mentioned Robert Fraser, before continuing “… and a lot of other people they both know, who still live around here!”
Once the awkward moment passed, we sat down and chatted, Lena anxious to make some sort of connection with her nephew and niece, while I made tea, passed around fruit juice or fizzy drinks, biscuits, and generally acted as host while Lena’s family connected. I was just congratulating myself on a successful afternoon when Allie caught my eye with her own sharp little eyes.
“So tell me something, Darryl; why do you look so much like Aunty Emma?” she asked shrewdly, so I told her.
“My father was Robert, Emma’s older brother; I was… adopted, and didn’t know until my adoptive parents told me. Emma’s my aunt, too!”
Allie grinned at me.
“So Lena and you are having a baby, and this baby will be my first cousin, right?” I nodded.
“So it’ll also be Mum’s niece, nephew, whatever, right?” I nodded again.
Allie leaned back and smiled.
“And it will also be Aunty Emma’s what, Great-Niece or nephew? Wow, this family just got complicated! Anything else you want to tell me?”
If only I could!
I grinned at her.
“Nope, nothing else to tell, now you know as much as I do!”
Marcus piped-up then.
“Mummy said you’re a doctor; do you stick needles in people and cut them open?”
I had to grin, but I shook my head.
“Well, someone else sticks the needles in, but yes, I do the operations!”
The conversation went on in this vein for a while, the kids asking Lena and I surprisingly sharp questions about our lives, my job; Marcus, in keeping with every little boy, wanted to know all about the gory bits, but I kept those to a minimum. They were all a little shocked, I think when Lena asked if they could be free for a week, as we wanted to take them to Cyprus with us as soon as possible, like the end of the week?
Allie was excited, Marcus was incoherent, and Lizzie was brimming again at the thought of seeing dad again, and to be honest, so was I; I’d never felt their absence so keenly, even when I was away at medical school, at least then, mum and dad were only at the other end of 120 miles of motorway. Emma herded the kids out so Lena could talk with Lizzie, so I took the three of them to Veracchio’s, a local gelato parlour, to try some of the best Italian ice cream in Clifton while Lena and Lizzie ironed out their plans.