New Year Story Challenge 2022

[Plantaholic]

I agree with the others, well done Oma.

[Oma]

Finale

Mandy sat at the kitchen table , it was early morning everyone was still asleep ,
picking up the cards she opened the one from her Sister ,
she was on a round the world Cruise that her and her husband had been saving and planning for for many years ,

She had left the card with Mandy’s Mum who had brought it round on her way to one of her clubs last night ,

Mandy had worried about her Mum after Dads death her Mum seemed to shrink into herself for a couple of years but now she had a better social life than Mandy , she was always out at one club or another

Smiling she read the cheeky note her sister had added in the card ,

Today was her and Phillips 13 th wedding anniversary . Where had those years gone,

They had a really good marriage , yes they had there moments and rows who didn’t but they had more laughs and good times than they did upsets ,
Phillip had been a excellent father to all three of their girls , They all adored him
He was a strong loving father and always ready with a cuddle or a shoulder to cry on ,

Amy had classed him as her father since the start and he was so proud of her ,

More than George ever was ,

When Amy turned 18 George sent Mandy a email saying himself and his new wife agreed that now Amy was 18 his parental duties were no longer required
After all she would now come into the trust fund he had arranged for her so they had decided all contact could be severed .

Parental duties , what Parental duties fumed Mandy , the man was a moron .

She had been so angry with him Phil had to make her calm down before she told Amy he had contacted them .
Phillip didn’t think Mandy should show Amy the email he didn’t want her upset , but Mandy wanted her to see it , she didn’t want Amy trying to contact him in the future and be rejected

They waited till Mandy’s sister had taken the twins to the park one day and showed Amy the email ,
Amy sat quietly reading it with Philip hovering behind her ready with a hug if needed .

After a while Amy got up and accepted the hug from Phil , she didn’t cry but she did say , I don’t want his money .

Phil took her by the shoulders and said yes you do your entitled to it for all the years he didn’t provide for you ,
You don’t have to use it now but in the future you may need it ,

You have always been my Daddy I don’t need him that’s for sure said Amy

Phil hugged her even harder Mandy could see the pride in his face ,

George was never mentioned again .

Just as Mandy switched the kettle on Phil came into the kitchen ,
Morning Smudge face he said , he always called her smudge face since he came in one day when she was pregnant with the twins and her face was smudged with soot where she had been cleaning the fire grate out .
Happy Anniversary , your present is in the sitting room but you can’t have it yet till after breakfast .

The twins had their leaving Disco at school tonight , it was the last Disco at this school , after the summer holidays they go up to the Comprehensive,

So much had Happened since Mandy & Phil had been married
not only had the twins come along but Mandy had expanded the surgery again and had taken on more staff , business was steady , the new housing estate at the edge of the village had boosted clients but she had no plans to expand any further , she wanted to keep it a moderate size

Phil being a master Carpenter had opened a unit selling bespoke furniture , it had taken off really well much to their surprise and work and sales were steady .

Some unexpected things had happened too ,

Amy had announced shortly after her 18th that she was joining the Army ,
That had been a total shock to them , they had no idea she had been considering it ,
She wanted to be a Army Medic and that’s what she had been doing the past few years and loving it .

Suzy her Sisters daughter had realised when the twins were born that she loved children so decided she wanted to be a primary school teacher ,
At uni she met her partner , A lovely girl called Megan , they now lived together about 30 miles away ,
It was a bit unexpected to them all apart from Amy and Joseph apparently they always knew she was gay .

Joseph had indeed become a vet , well at least he had just qualified as a vet but was taking one more year of training to get more experience before he joined Mandy as a small animal surgeon ,
Mandy hoped if he stayed with her she could hand over the business to him when the time came for her to retire .

Standing at the gate Mandy and Phil watched the twins go down the lane with their friends to the Disco ,
They were identical in looks but so different in everything else ,
They both favoured their father with thick black glossy hair big brown eyes and olive skin

Annie was a real girly girl all pink and fluff , she was a thinker loved to read and considered everything before doing anything ,
Her life was Horses and Ballet , she was happy for her sister to take the lead ,

Chloe on the other hand had been the noisy one from the moment she opened her lungs and screamed when she was born ,
Chloe didn’t like dresses , they interfered with hanging out of trees and climbing fences and you couldn’t crawl around looking for bugs in a dress ,she never stopped talking such a noisy child .

They had gone shopping for party clothes at the weekend with Amy when she had been home on leave ,
They hero worshiped Amy and she adored them , always had done from the moment they were born ,
Her and Suzy spent as much time as they could with the babies and loved taking them out as toddlers .

Annie had chosen a pretty lilac summer dress with gold strapped shoes and a headband to hold her long hair back ,

to their surprise Chloe had chosen Jeans but a glittery top and the same strapped shoes , she had even chosen a glittery scrunching to hold her ponytail
There was hope for her yet thought Mandy .

Mandy couldn’t believe how good life had been she was one lucky woman .

Turning back to the house Phil put his arm around her waist , we didn’t do a shabby job did we he said ,
No said Mandy we did good .

Life wasn’t bad at all was it , here’s to another 13 years thought Mandy .

[Daisy]

Thank you Oma - you've scratched the itch of wanting to know what happened next to this family. Amy and the twins are great characters, and I wasn't too surprised to find George was still "George". I love how you described how Amy reacted to him by not wanting his money, and how much she loved Phil and saw him as her father.

I've loved every episode - a lovely family saga. Dare I whisper - can we fast forward to the next 13 years, please? xx

[Oma]

Oh my goodness Daisy I would be writing a book There are bits I would have tweaked mind you but too much in my head to put it all down in writing

[Gemini]

Aww lovely Oma

Such a lovely feelgood read.

Charles Dickens started out by writing in instalments for newspaper you know!

[Daisy]

Oh my goodness Daisy I would be writing a book

It's never too late, Oma!! As Gem says, Charles Dickens started by writing instalments, and there are authors on Amazon who do something similar - a series of short books, each following on from the other but also complete in themselves.

[Plantaholic]

Well done again Oma, it could develop into a Saga.