Hug it out – Daniel 57

[For a quick guide go here: Quick guide.]

[Old back story is here: Story so far at 30 Nov 2020 and read more recent Daniel episodes especially this one.]

[Other back story through in-links.]

Daniel was not a hugging kind of guy. He was fine with displays of affection, but that was a more personal, behind closed doors thing. He was also fine hugging his child, but he classified that as a cuddle. Hugs were different and hugs were problematic. He didn’t really feel like hugging someone just because they’d met, or completed a meeting, or had had a good night out drinking and now were departing their separate ways. The post-business-meeting successful-deal type hug that his colleagues used to carry out and sometimes, sickeningly, impose on him in the office, that was the kind of hug he really detested. The idea that making money immediately gave you the right to throw your arms around someone – what kind of idiot had introduced that into the workplace?

So as he sat outside in his front garden, watching Daisy play among the flowers and warning her away from the pile of decaying rubbish that sat next to his drive, he could attest to not feeling his best. Because he’d been hugged. By Chrissy.

Chrissy sat opposite him. She’d arrived earlier, earlier than he’d expected. Earlier than snack time after school. Earlier than if she’d given him time to prepare for her arrival. Which could have meant he would have avoided the hug. As it was she was out of the car, on the lawn, hugging Daisy and before he could even suggest that was a bit rash she had her arms around him too. It felt wrong because they weren’t together anymore and wrong because of the pandemic. Wrong for all the right reasons.

“Isn’t it great that it’s nearly all back to normal now?” said Chrissy in a semi-excited voice, thereby trying to talk to both of them at once, thought Daniel. 

“Well, we’re not there yet,” he said. “And I’d rather that you hadn’t just, you know, done that.”

But Chrissy wasn’t having any of it, and in any case Daniel found himself preoccupied with the car  she’d got out of that was now pulling away from their drive. Who was it who had dropped her off? It didn’t look like anyone he knew.

To make matters worse, Chrissy had bought cake. Daniel knew this was a comment on his recent doubts and this was just the kind of surreptitious dig he’s expect from Chrissy, but it would also interfere with the whole run up to tea time and eating of tea. And of course Chrissy easily let Daisy eat a couple of these sugar filled treats before Daniel could brief everyone otherwise.

“You’re becoming like a grandparent,” he said quietly. “All these treats.”

“Nothing wrong with her grandparents,” Chrissy snapped back, lightly. Daniel felt chastised and let it go.

“So how was school today?” She asked Daisy.

The two bumbled through their conversation much as Daniel could predict it. Daisy mainly liked school although it was strange sometimes and some of the other children said funny things that didn’t make sense - or at least didn’t make sense to her. Someone had told her Rylan Clark-Neal was silly, for example, although Daisy’s own investigations and interests had now expanded beyond his universe into a couple of strange talent shows as well. She demonstrated these to Chrissy by sharing her own audition piece, acted out and sung at the top of her voice from a stage framed by the plastic slide she’d now (“Very Much”) grown out of.

As she danced around Chrissy turned back to Daniel.

“You’ve done a good job this year,” she said. “I’m impressed.”

The compliment took Daniel by surprise and for a while he literally didn’t know what to say or do. So Chrissy continued.

“I didn’t think you’d be up to it, to be honest. Not that I thought it would be a disaster or whatever,  but she’d always been demanding and this hasn’t exactly been a walk in the park for anyone.”

“It’s nice of you to say,” said Daniel cooly. 

“And I’m sorry that I was - difficult - when this all kicked off. And perhaps later too. But we all went through things, yes?”

“Things,” echoed Daniel. “Yes. Things. What is this leading to?”

“This might be hard to consider,” started Chrissy, “But I want to settle down again.”

“With who?” Asked Daniel.

“With you,” said Chrissy.

Daniel was flummoxed. “But we hate each other, remember? We can’t just get back together as if…. As if we didn’t hate each other.”

“I’m not thinking of that,” said Chrissy. “I don’t want to keep flitting around everywhere and just catch up with you whenever I can. It’s all too much left to chance. I miss out on so much – unicorns, Rylan Clark-Neal, Who’s Voice is it Anyway…. I was thinking we should have a clear routine. Times when we’re together, times when I have Daisy, but of course she mainly stays here because this is her home.”

Daniel tried to process the idea and thought it was probably a good one. “I guess we could make that work,” he said cautiously. “But you have to let me do things my way, right. Not helicoptering on my patch, right?”

“I want to make it work,” said Chrissy reassuringly.

Daniel called Daisy over. “Your mum says she’d like to see us more often,” he said. “That’ll be nice, won’t it?”

Daisy looked from one parent to the other, blew a raspberry and ran off towards the rubbish heap.