Could Colin win the approval of his mother-in-law?
BY TERESA ASHBY
Set in 1963
COLIN didn’t know what could have possessed him to suggest such a thing. He’d done it on the spur of the moment without thinking about the consequences.
Mrs Archer went pink.
Perhaps she was feeling guilty for moaning about Colin not five minutes ago, thinking he was out of earshot as he made a pot of tea.
His mother-in-law didn’t usually visit if he was likely to be home and made no secret of the fact that she didn’t like him.
He wished he knew what he’d done to offend her, apart from marrying her only daughter.
She’d also expressed displeasure at her first grandchild being a girl.
“It should have been a boy,” she’d muttered when Colin went to tell her the news.
Nevertheless, she was a good grandmother and seemed to love little Janice.
He thought they’d turned a corner when she accepted an invitation to come to see their new council house, but then he’d overheard that conversation.
“I know you’re happy with it,” Mrs Archer had been saying, “but my door is always open if you want to come home.”
“Why would I want to come home?” Sheila laughed, but it wasn’t her usual warm laugh.
It was as brittle as ice.
“You might thank me for making that offer one day,” Mrs Archer replied.
“I don’t think so,” Sheila snapped.
Colin had breezed in then with the tea and a big smile on his face, as if he hadn’t heard the exchange.
“Would you like a biscuit with that, Mrs Archer?” he asked.
“No, thank you,” Mrs Archer replied primly.
She was sitting there with her knees pressed together and her handbag perched on her lap.
“Did you tell your mum about our holiday, Sheila?” he asked.
“Holiday?” Mrs Archer perked up.
“We’re going in a caravan,” Colin explained. “It belongs to my father. He’s lending us his car, too, which I thought was very kind of him.”
“A caravan?”
Mrs Archer didn’t seem to know whether to be impressed or not.
“You could come with us if you like,” Colin had then suggested. “It would be nice for you to spend some time with us and the baby.”
Once the words were out, it was too late to gather them back in.
“Oh, Colin, what a lovely idea!” Sheila exclaimed. “What do you say, Mum? Will you come?”
“Well, I don’t see why not,” Mrs Archer replied, and Colin’s heart sank.
He’d had his fingers crossed hoping she’
