Author's Note – Second Helpings is only my "take" on an established episode of the Thunderbird Series. It is not intended to imply this is how it actually occurred.

SECOND HELPINGS - PART 1

The "Other Side" of the Eddie Houseman Story

A Thunderbird Fanfiction Story in two parts written by "mcj"

Disclaimer – "Eddie Houseman" is the character from the original Thunderbirds episode "End of the Road" and acknowledge all characters in this story and parts of the conversations are the exclusive property of Carlton. (But thanks for letting me borrow them!)

Let me begin this story by saying; if nothing else, life around here can sometimes be pretty darned interesting.

Not that life isn't interesting all the time of course; we here at International Rescue are never bored with the exciting life we lead. We jet all over the world. We save lives. It's "what we do" and we all love it.

But what I also term "interesting" is the special little romance which has been blossoming within our ranks over the past couple of months; one my brothers and I have been watching evolve with a good deal of mirth and speculation.

It started with the glances across the table at mealtimes, progressed to little walks along the beach holding hands; escalated with the cheese soufflé they made together in the kitchen, spiralled to include late night suppers overlooking the ocean … and last night, from what I've been able to ascertain; reached the final crescendo.

His first "taste" of his "favourite dish" discreetly behind closed doors.

That's right you guessed it. My little brother Alan and Miss Tin-Tin Kyrano are more than "just friends" these days. I think it's pretty fair to say these two are now a couple.

So far Alan hasn't said anything about what happened between the two of them last night. More than likely he knows what he'd be subjected to if he did. But being his closest brother and the one he always confides in with the important stuff, I'm pretty sure he'll at least tell me. He trusts me more than the others when it comes to talking about things like that. I guess it's because we're as close as two brothers can be; always have been. There's nothing we don't know about each other.

The hardest part of course will be trying to act surprised when he calls me to one side and tells me. You see, Alan doesn't know what I saw this morning as I was preparing myself for an early morning swim, and despite the fact he won't be too impressed, it's a little difficult for me to somehow forget that I saw it. I mean, how often does a guy see a woman leaving his little brother's suite at five o'clock the morning? Especially one who's wearing nothing but his robe!

It doesn't happen very often.

As for the clothes she was carrying underneath her arm at the time …gee … even in the half light of the dawn, it was pretty hard not to notice they were the ones she was wearing last night during dinner.

All jokes aside, I have to admit I'm really kind of happy for Alan. I think I'm even jealous. He's got something the rest of us don't have and after a lot of soul-searching on what he wanted from a relationship with Miss Kyrano, it's only right for him that he's got it. They've been in love with each other for ages and it was about time they told each other how they felt.

But their romance wasn't always this rosy. In fact, I think you'd probably call the chain of events leading up to last night's big event any other word but rosy.

Erratic?

Unpredictable?

Pear-shaped?

Believe me, pear-shaped is a pretty good description because everything around here went pear-shaped, including International Rescue, the day a certain Mr Eddie Houseman jetted in from the mainland to look up "an old friend."

… and threatened to destroy Alan's perfect little world...

-OOO-

At the time this travesty began, Alan was absolutely smitten with Miss Tin-Tin Kyrano, our very beautiful, very worldly Assistant Engineer.

Alan in love is pathetic.

He knew how he felt about Tin-Tin but he had no end of trouble trying to find the words to tell her.

So what did he do?

Alan being Alan, he sat back and didn't do anything.

Instead of saying what she wanted to hear, he remained silently infatuated, his eyes following her wherever she went; making every excuse he could to be with her; and hanging off her every word.

With this in mind, I'm sure you can imagine the reaction when the sleek red jet came in to land on Tracy Island and the secret love of his life opened her big brown eyes, swooned twice on the couch and breathed the words no man in love with a woman would ever want to hear.

"Eddie! Eddie Houseman…"

The words kind of oozed out of Tin-Tin's mouth like this Eddie guy was some kind of male divinity. I suppose as far as things go in the looks department, I had to admit she was right. Houseman had to be thirty at least; tall, dark and handsome, with deep expressive eyes and the most devilishly attractive dimple right in the centre of his chin. Boy oh boy, you only had to see the way she looked at him and the way he looked at her to guess that these two had been more than "just friends" in the past.

Now I've got to say you had to be in the middle of all this to truly appreciate Alan.

I mean, there he was in his designer best, head over heels in love with Tin-Tin, and trying to pretend he wasn't threatened by the arrival of the suave, sexy and sophisticated Mr. Eddie Houseman.

Then he started to pout.

He forgot of course that all eyes Tracy were focussed on him and not one of us was about to miss a solitary thing when it came to the developing relationship between himself and Miss Kyrano. Even Dad had a bit of a smirk on his face at Alan's petulant reaction and had to resort to burying himself in his paperwork before he started to laugh.

Then of course there was Tin-Tin.

She knew Alan was besotted with her, she knew he had a terrible jealous streak, and being a woman of the world who was sick to death of waiting for his proclamation of love, she decided nothing would be better than to enjoy a good flirt.

The bat of an eyelash … the hint of a seductive smile…hair arranged to highlight two sensuous lips …oh yes ... our Assistant Engineer certainly didn't need any instructions on how to inflame a man. What we all wanted to know was which man she was intending to inflame. I hedged my bets with my brothers and said it wasn't Eddie.

At this point, into the equation came Grandma.

As you know, Grandma has been on a mission of mercy since International Rescue began. As far as Grandma is concerned, Tin-Tin was handmade for Alan and that's all there is to it.

In one breath she tells Tin-Tin that Alan has his eye on her and in the next one she tells Alan the exact same thing in reverse. I swear she won't be happy until she's got the two of them tucked up nice and tight together in a great big marital bed. I might also make the statement that once she's managed to get them in there; she won't be letting them out in too much of a hurry either. Not until she knows her long awaited great grandchild is on the way. That's her sole intention.

Grandma is funny to watch when she wants something and with true International Rescue spirit she isn't about to "give up at any cost."

It was this admirable character trait which started the whole thing off with Eddie Houseman.

At the time of Eddie's arrival, Grandma was in the middle of her latest campaign to get Alan and Tin-Tin together.

One night after watching the two of them "watch each other", yet again, over Dinner, Grandma decided that Tin-Tin needed to have a brand new evening dress. She then proceeded to sit up until the small hours of the morning making this low cut number she knew our Tin-Tin would love. Of course Tin-Tin thought the dress was fabulous and Grandma immediately suggested in both directions that she needed to find somewhere special to wear it.

... or someone special to wear it for...

Tin-Tin smiled to herself at Grandma's interference and waited patiently for Alan to extend the long awaited invitation.

Alan, of course, failed to take the hint.

Needless to say, when Houseman's jet dipped and wove in the air before coming into land on Tracy Island, Grandma wasn't very happy. She knew the arrival of any "old friend" of Tin-Tin's could only mean trouble for this fledgling little romance, and let me tell you right now, Grandma was having absolutely none of that.

On the outside Grandma seems like a sweet little old lady.

On the inside she's a brilliant military strategist who's frankly capable of anything if her plans for the future look like they could be in jeopardy.

As I said before, life around here at times can be pretty darned interesting.

And with the arrival of Eddie Houseman it was about to get a whole lot more interesting still.

We all pretended to be occupied when Kyrano showed our "visitor" in; Virgil faking sleep on the couch, Brains studying the chess board and Dad, Alan and I reading the nearest thing we could grab from underneath the coffee table.

Scott, who hates faking anything, elected to stand out on the balcony.

Dad broke the ice when Houseman was introduced; shaking Eddie's hand and saying with his usual politeness how happy he was to meet an old acquaintance of Tin-Tin's. He asked him all about his flight and had a pleasant conversation about his jet. However I knew by the look on Dad's face that Houseman's jet was the last thing he had on his mind. All he was focussed on was how long Tin-Tin's "guest" was intending to stay and interrupt the proper functioning of International Rescue.

So Dad being Dad, he decided point blank to ask him.

"Err … so Kyrano knows what to do with the Guest room," he explained, uncomfortable at the sound of his own directness.

Then Scott got in on the act and came in from the balcony to ask the exact same question again.

"You know ... for the Guest room," he stumbled, glancing at Dad.

Dad and Scott are such a pigeon pair when it comes to the security of our operation. They simply can't help themselves when it comes to "operation cover-up." So while the rest of us were enjoying watching Alan sulk, mope and feel sorry for himself, they were bolted together worrying themselves sick about how they were going to deal with the situation if or when International Rescue was required.

Grandma, on the other hand, just wanted Eddie Houseman out of her mathematical equation. One plus one had been perfect. One plus two was a crowd. Unlike Dad, Grandma wasn't the least bit worried about operation "cover-up". She was more worried about "operation Tin-Tin," especially when it took Eddie less than a couple of hours to woo our Assistant Engineer out on the water for a private little interlude under the stars.

"That young man definitely didn't come here to play chess," she frowned, folding her arms in discontent as the boat sped out into the bay. "More like a swift game of something else if you want my opinion."

Poor Alan.

He didn't say anything but Grandma's observation of Houseman's intentions really cut him to the bone. He hadn't even gotten to second base with Tin-Tin yet; at least we didn't think he had, and listening to Grandma speculating Houseman was here for "nothing more than second helpings" of what he was yet to experience himself was almost more than he could take.

Virgil and I looked at each other as he wallowed in his own misery; half heartedly pressing down the keys on the piano and wearing a face of stone.

Our eyes followed his to where their boat floated about in the moonlight under the fullness of the summer moon.

We both grinned. There was nothing like a good old fashioned Tracy ribbing to lighten up a crisis and what a better time to do it than when your baby brother was at his worst?

I've got to say Virgil started it but as usual I was happy to play along.

"Saaaay where's Tin-Tin got to, Gordon?" he teased, knowing full well he was about to light what we both knew was Alan's very short fuse.

Then it was over to me to fan the fire.

"Don't tell me you haven't heard, Virgil?" I said, trying not laugh. "This Prince Charming flew in and is really sweeping her off her feet"

Virgil feigned a shocked surprise as we watched the steam rising.

"No!"

"Yeah!" I exclaimed, pretending to be shocked too.

We both beamed from ear to ear with hilarity as our award winning performance continued.

"Is he as handsome as me, Gordon?"

I nearly lost it with that one. I had to swallow a couple of times to try and contain myself.

"Nearly, Virgil," I finally managed to say. "Nearly."

That was the end for both of us. Just as he was about to explode we both burst into laughter and ragged him for all he was worth.

Alan's brow furrowed when he realised our aggravation was nothing more than the usual brotherly joke. He told us in a low and sulky tone to cut it out. He didn't know what had gotten in to everyone. Wasn't there anything else to talk about except Tin-Tin and Eddie Houseman? They were just friends.

"Friends," he emphasised.

You could see his mind ticking over the enormity of that one. If Houseman's definition of being friends with Tin-Tin Kyrano was anything like Alan wanted his definition to be, things would have been getting more than just a little heated out there in that boat.

After what seemed to be forever the boat headed back to shore and as if to add insult to injury, Houseman made a point of anchoring it in a tiny inlet just out of eyeshot from the villa. The two of them stayed out there for hours and I'm sure after witnessing the chemistry that had existed between them earlier that day in the lounge, it was pretty fair to say they wouldn't have been talking about the weather.

But whatever was or wasn't going on in the back of that boat, Eddie Houseman was completely oblivious to the havoc his visit was causing in the ranks of International Rescue.

Dad and Scott spent the evening behind closed doors, conversing with John on the procedure that would need to be followed from the space station if the Thunderbird craft were required. Virgil joined them to give some input once the strategy was devised.

Grandma watched the boat from her bedroom window trying to work out what to do next.

Alan stood on the balcony, craning his neck, green with jealousy.

As for me … I sat in the lounge pretending to read the paper. I couldn't have cared less about what was happening in the boat. Watching everyone's reaction to Houseman was all the entertainment I needed.

-OOO-

Day number two of Eddie Houseman's visit turned out to be every bit as entertaining as Day one.

It all started over breakfast and this time it wasn't Alan who was the centre of attention. Day Two belonged to Grandma and when she started with Eddie Houseman, Dad nearly died.

Nine o'clock in the morning came, and as was his customary practice, Dad sat himself down at the Breakfast table and buried his head in the financial pages. He accepted the offer of orange juice and coffee from Kyrano, but declined to take any food until the rest of us arrived back from our varying fitness pursuits.

I came in soon after, invigorated from a two mile swim in the sea. Dad lifted his head and acknowledged me, and then gave me a reminder to go put on a decent shirt before I sat down with him at the table.

"Inconvenient as it is, don't forget we have Company," he said.

"Company. Hmpph. That's not what the heck I'd call it." Grandma mumbled unhappily without looking up from her coffee.

Dad looked over at Grandma who was situated at the other end of the table.

"What's that you said, Mother?"

"Nothing," she replied in a tone which told him it wouldn't be wise to pursue the matter any further.

Dad shrugged. He figured something trivial had gotten Grandma going and whatever it was or as was usually the case with Grandma, whoever it was, he didn't want to become involved.

When I returned minutes later, wearing the requested shirt, Virgil, Scott and Alan had all joined Dad at the table too. Virgil and Scott had seated themselves in their customary positions near Dad and Alan had decided to sit next to Grandma, no doubt to receive a bit of moral support for his more than flagging ego.

Grandma, as always, didn't let the precious apple of her eye down. She reached out her hand to squeeze his after he flopped dejectedly into the chair beside her.

"How are you feeling this morning, sweetheart?" she asked gently. "Did you manage to get any sleep?"

Alan shook his head.

"No, Grandma." he sulked. "No I didn't."

"I didn't either." she admitted with a frown.

"Gotta give up all those secret afternoon naps, Grandma." I grinned, slipping into the vacant chair to her left. "They're the real reason you can't sleep."

I looked across the table at Alan and winked. "You on the other hand don't even have that excuse …"

That little comment quickly earned me a slap on the wrist from my very edgy, very unhappy Grandmother.

"That wasn't why your brother couldn't sleep young man so you just mind yourself. He's got some very important things on his mind and they're not to be taken lightly."

"What do you mean, ma'am?" I smirked glancing at the miserable Alan.

"You know exactly what I mean," she warned me. "Leave your brother alone."

After a few minutes Kyrano hurried in with the remaining glasses of orange juice and then followed up with a huge pot of strong black coffee. His whole expression changed when he noticed there were still two vacant chairs to be filled, one on each side of the table.

Eddie's.

And Tin-Tin's.

Oh dear.

Now it was Kyrano's turn to frown.

You didn't have to be a genius to work out what he was thinking and it came as no surprise when he said he thought he might take Eddie's breakfast up to the guest room to "start off Mr Houseman's day".

I watched with avid interest as he headed back to the kitchen at the speed of lightening to make up the required tray.

All this was pure gold in the entertainment stakes and I didn't know which part of the entertainment I was silently enjoying the most.

…or which person's reaction.

Scott's face didn't move but a very discreet wink with his right eye indicated his thoughts to Virgil.

Virgil simply smiled in return, trying not to make his amusement too obvious.

Dad didn't even get it.

Alan looked like he was going to be sick and swallowed his orange juice in one huge gulp.

Grandma's eyes narrowed with displeasure as the maths began again in her head. Had one plus one equalled one in the back of that boat last night? All I could think was God help Houseman if it had. By the look Grandma had on her face, I fully expected her to jump up at any minute, grab Kyrano's tray and burst into his room to see if they were together.

Thank goodness a freshly showered and shaven Eddie Houseman appeared not twenty seconds later, enquiring if anyone had seen Tin-Tin.

Kyrano put down the tray and shook his head with relief.

Grandma had to exhale three days worth of oxygen.

With practiced smoothness and not realising the panic his lack of punctuality had caused, Eddie sat himself down and apologised for being so late for breakfast. The sea air made a man sleep more soundly, he said. That, and the wonderful evening he had experienced with Miss Kyrano.

Then he had the nerve to say he hoped he hadn't missed anything.

"No chance of you ever missing anything," Grandma mumbled again under her breath.

"Pardon me, Mrs Tracy?" he asked with true politeness.

"I said the only thing you've missed is the coffee, dear." she replied in her sweetest voice, indicating the now empty pot in front of her.

He smiled at Grandma and said it didn't matter. He didn't care too much for coffee in the mornings anyway.

If only he'd have left it there.

With still no sign of Tin-Tin, he stupidly went on to make the observation that their "big night out" under the stars must have been all too much for her. It didn't help when he starting prattling on again what a great time they'd had together in the boat, what a terrific girl she was and how happy he was to "be able to enjoy renewing their acquaintance."

It was then Alan rose to his feet and excused himself, saying he didn't feel very well. Dad, of course, set the newspaper aside and frowned after him as he left the room in a huff.

"He seemed all right a few moments ago," he commented looking at Scott and Virgil, obviously expecting some sort of explanation.

"Dad," Scott said trying to keep a straight face. "Alan wasn't feeling too good last night either."

Dad looked blank.

"He was really off last night Dad," Virgil chimed in with a more than a little emphasis. "Don't you remember Sir?"

Dad still didn't get it.

"Yes I do remember, but I thought he was only like that because of ..."

Dad stopped mid-sentence as the realisation dawned.

"Oh ... errr ... ummm ...yes ... well he's probably just tired ..." he flustered, looking everywhere but at Eddie Houseman. "I'll make a point of looking in on him after breakfast to make sure he's feeling better."

He changed the awkward subject by turning to Kyrano. "Speaking of which; I'm starved old friend. How about some breakfast?"

Breakfast.

Oh dear.

It was then the trouble began again.

Kyrano had excelled himself for our "guest" and had produced a dazzling array of food which covered every square inch of the table. Even though I got the distinct impression he had reservations about Houseman, Kyrano was professional to the core when it came to attending to the needs of the guests who visited Tracy Island.

"Please feel free to help yourself to everything," he said in his quietly efficient voice.

I'm sure Kyrano didn't mean "everything" in quite the context it was taken but Houseman didn't have to be asked twice. He dug into the food like the world was going to end.

I was astounded.

Life on Tracy Island gives a man a healthy appetite, but this guy even made an amateur out of me.

He had second helpings of everything; the fruit, the cereals, the pancakes, the eggs, and finally, when he must have been bordering on explosion, second helpings of Kyrano's delicious French toast.

Grandma watched the whole time without comment but when Houseman reached forward for his second helping of the toast she was unable to control herself any longer.

"You certainly enjoy your second helpings don't you, son?" she observed with a sarcasm even I didn't think she was capable of.

Eddie, of course, thought Grandma was only making pleasant conversation, so he nodded his head, smiled and agreed.

"Sure do, Mrs Tracy." he acknowledged. "A man doesn't know what he's missing unless he's tried it at least twice."

Uh oh.

I don't think he should have said that.

Grandma's smile didn't alter but the fire in her eyes sure did.

"I'm sure that's true dear," she ground out, "but I find it very interesting that this time you've flown half way around the world to do it."

Dad recognised the inference immediately and spluttered his coffee in disbelief. He dropped the newspaper to the floor, lifted his eyes to Grandma's in dismay and in true International Rescue style did the only thing he could do to save the situation.

Reverse thrust!

"Mother, I'm sure all of us would fly half way around the world to enjoy a meal like this," he stressed, calmly trying to indicate what was left of the food. "Isn't that right boys?"

Dad looked at the three of us with expectation. Scott's hurried ''Yes Dad" couldn't have been more sincere; Virgil's urgent "Yes Sir" was almost genuine; and my wide-eyed "That's right Father" was said with exactly the required enthusiasm.

Dad threw a tight smile of thanks in our direction and then an even tighter one in the direction of Grandma.

"As you can see Mother, Kyrano's culinary skills are appreciated by all of us…not just Mr. Houseman."

Touché.

I think Dad just told Grandma in his own tactful way that it was time she settled herself down.

The day continued after that, with the creases in Grandma's temple deepening, Alan emerging from his room after a long talk with Dad about women, and Eddie and Tin-Tin disappearing for a couple of hours to "swim" in the bay on the other side of the island.

Dusk fell late over the shores of Tracy Island and as was customary on a hot summer night, we all gathered on the balcony to enjoy an aperitif before we went in to have Dinner.

All of us, that is, except our Assistant Engineer, Miss Kyrano.

After another day in Eddie Houseman's arms she was busy upstairs preparing to go with him to the mainland. He'd planned for them to have dinner, enjoy a spot of dancing and then to "further reminisce old times gone by."

"She's wearing that lovely new dress I made for her too," Grandma pined looking directly at Alan.

Alan swallowed in the silence, lowered his head and began to count the ice cubes in his drink. He didn't know what to do about the situation with Houseman and had all but given up.

By now Dad was starting to feel as sorry for Alan as the rest of us. He didn't want him to start feeling "unwell" again, so he tried to take his mind off things by clearing his throat and making the broad statement that Tin-Tin was only going to the mainland with Houseman to do International Rescue a favour. She was aware of all the pressure Eddie's visit was causing, he said, and she was only trying to help.

I know Dad meant well, but if he thought a comment like that would make Alan feel any better, he was sorely mistaken.

Alan again didn't say anything, but the long walk he decided to take in lieu of Dinner sure said it all for him.

I watched him disappear onto the darkened beach, head down, hands in pockets, totally dejected. He was past the sullen stage now.

He was really hurting.

Something inside me suddenly said "enough was enough." What had been a joke the previous evening was fast becoming the opposite. I loved my little brother, despite his failings, and he sure as hell didn't deserve this.

I made a pact with myself to stop the teasing and the jokes.

However ...

I've somehow come to expect that fate works in mysterious ways on this island and what was soon to follow was definitely no exception to the rule.

Ten minutes before Houseman was due to leave the island with Tin-Tin, he received an urgent call from his Construction Company who were building some kind of new road on the mainland. He looked a bit rattled when the call came in and asked Dad if it was all right for him to take it in the study. When it ended, we all lifted our eyebrows in surprise when he headed for the guest room in a panic and began to pack his things.

He didn't tell Dad too much before he left, only that he'd been recalled to the construction site to take care of some sort of dire emergency.

He didn't bother to tell Tin-Tin anything.

In fact, he didn't even bother to say goodbye.

I don't think it takes too much guessing to figure out what happened when Tin-Tin found out the news.

Tin-Tin had heard the engines of the jet on her way downstairs to the lounge. Realising they were Eddie's, she hurried out onto the balcony where all of us, except for Alan and Grandma, still stood.

She looked stunning in the beautiful low-cut dress and it was obvious from the trouble she had taken with her hair and exotic make-up, she had been expecting more than just a night to remember with the handsome Eddie Houseman.

Scott couldn't look when her face started to crumble ... neither could Virgil. I can't take it when a girl starts to cry either, so I did the only noble thing I could do.

Do what they did and made a beeline for the lounge.

That left Dad to pick up the pieces and believe me when I tell you he wasn't very good at it. He'd never had to raise a daughter and I don't think he realised he couldn't just pat her on the back like he did to us and offer a few words of advice. In fact, I think it's fair to say Dad's lack of skills were never more obvious than when he stood on the balcony with Tin-Tin, trying to think of something to say to explain Eddie's behaviour.

"I guess his Company means a lot to him." he stumbled as the plane disappeared into the sky.

Tin-Tin didn't answer and continued to look into the horizon with devastated, tear-filled eyes. I'm no expert on women but somehow I don't think you're supposed say that sort of thing to someone who's just been left hanging by a man.

"He'll write to you."

We really needed to save Dad from himself… and fast. He was terrible. Now he was making it sound like Eddie had run off to join the military.

Tin-Tin was clearly heartbroken at the position she had now found herself in. What had started as a simple flirt to torture Alan into telling her how he felt had backfired to involve not only Alan's innermost emotions but her own fragile ones as well. Intentional or not, she had started to fall for the womanising Eddie Houseman and it was a big shock for her to find out that she had been nothing more to him than "just another girl."

She turned away and left the balcony before she started to cry.

Errr ...nice going everyone... especially you Dad.

For a few moments nobody moved. We weren't used to Tin-Tin crying. Teasing and arguing the point with Alan maybe but never crying.

The silence was unbearable.

Scott eventually cleared his throat and came out with what everyone was thinking.

"Well that finishes Eddie as far as Tin-Tin is concerned."

Both Virgil and I looked across at him with one eyebrow higher than the other. Hardly the greatest revelation!

Dad was still a bit shaken but put the emotional crisis in the back of his mind when Virgil went on say we'd all been very lucky not to receive any emergency calls during the period of Eddie's visit.

Dad nodded and refrained from saying how glad he was that he'd gone.

All four of us looked at each other when we saw Alan walking back towards the villa. At least the kid would have a smile back on his face when he heard the happy news. But there was one thing we all forgot. Alan was still under the impression Tin-Tin had gone to the mainland with Houseman and he didn't want to talk to anyone.

"Let him be Mother," Dad warned when Grandma tore out of the kitchen and went to follow Alan up the stairs.

Grandma stopped in mid-flight and turned around prepared to argue. This time Dad didn't flinch.

"Alan needs to think about this a little longer." he emphasised in a powerful voice which said he meant business.

Like Grandma, I was surprised at Dad's position. After his own dreadful attempt to comfort Tin-Tin, I thought he would be all for Alan trying to do something to make her feel better. Lord knows he sure didn't.

Wrong again.

Dad knew Alan better than we thought.

"Tin-Tin is very upset, Mother." he stressed. "And the last thing she needs right now is Alan knocking on her door, trying to make himself feel better."

-OOO-

Chapter 2 to follow

-OOO-