We got to the country house just before lunch and unloaded the car with Mr. Purdy’s help. I detected a raised eyebrow when I told him Mike’s bags were coming in, too. But he didn’t say anything. Mr. Purdy had stocked our larder, so we took time for a quick lunch. Over lunch we discussed where we should go first. We decided to visit with Gwen’s parents first, since they were just down the road. Then we would take our leave and go see Mike’s parents.
The discussion with Ian and Edith went better than I expected. Ian’s reaction fell short of the SS Grandcamp explosion, but just barely. He glared at Mike and I. He ranted for about twenty minutes, then stormed out and went to his studio. Edith was fighting back tears but otherwise maintained her composure. Edith was ruled by her emotions and affection for her family. But to her dying day, I never saw her truly lose her temper or her composure. We talked with her for a while and made sure she understood that Mike wasn’t pregnant because I cheated on Gwen. We had discussed it extensively, weighed all the factors, and did it with our eyes open. We understood the social implications but decided to proceed anyway. She had calmed down considerably by the time we left for Mike’s parents. Edith promised to talk to Ian. While I appreciated her efforts, I worried about how that conversation might go.
The conversation with Mike’s parents was completely different. I’d only met Gary and Betty Dickens a few times. And while we had been on friendly terms, I wasn’t nearly as close to them as Gwen was. They took it surprisingly well. I don’t believe they were happy that their unmarried daughter was pregnant by a married man and had done it intentionally. They listened calmly while we described how we discussed Mike’s desire to have a child and why we finally agreed to proceed. There was no explosion or apparent hostility toward me. I chalked up their grudging acceptance to two factors. They were going to have the grandchild they hoped for, even if the circumstances weren’t ideal. And they had lived a rather Bohemian existence in Paris among the Lost Generation for several years before returning to the States after Mike was born.
The next month was stressful at best. We spent more time than previously with Mike’s parents, and I got to know them better. We didn’t avoid Ian and Edith but my interactions with Ian remained tense. His demeanor was chilly, bordering on hostile. I tried three times to talk with him in private. But he just glowered at me and told me to leave his studio. It was Ian’s sister that finally managed to break through Ian’s anger. I don’t know what she said to him, but Edith had told Gwen that Alice showed up unannounced and violated the sanctity of Ian’s workshop. Gwen told me her mother claimed she heard them arguing from her garden.
I was home alone when Ian showed up at the house with 5-gallon pail of ice and cold beer the afternoon after his argument with Alice. There was still an underlying current of anger, but it had tempered somewhat. I let him in. He looked around and then turned and went back onto the porch and took a chair. He motioned for me to join him. I sat, hesitantly. I wasn’t sure drinking beer with someone as angry with me as he was was a good idea.