Eleanor Grey often found her soninlaw Arthur a puzzling, almost foreign sort of man. He seemed never to have learned the small comforts of a settled home, and family life never quite suited him. At the house Arthur was frequently absentone week he claimed a mountain of work, the next he was off on some urgent errand with mates, never behaving like an ordinary husband.
Eleanor grew increasingly worried for her only child. Three years they had been married, yet no children had arrived, and it seemed Arthur valued his friends more than his own family. Emily, their daughter, brushed it off, saying they were still young and not ready for a brood. Still, Eleanor could not shake the suspicion that Arthur might be seeing another woman, especially when Emily seemed to believe every word her husband whispered.
Though Eleanor was never one to lecture others on how to live, she also could not simply stand by. She decided to watch her soninlaw more closely, hoping to understand him better. In time she saw his true nature: a man who liked to put on a show, to be seen. At the birthday she threw for Eleanor he presented an enormous bouquet of roses, drawing gasps from every guest. What a splendid soninlaw, they cried, he must love his motherinlaw dearly, not a pennystingy fellow at all. The flowers were indeed a marvel, but Eleanor sensed the gift was less about love than about flaunting his own generosity. She thought, halfamused, that a bouquet of that size would cost more than £5,000. She kept her thoughts to herself, though the gesture was undeniably flattering.
Reflecting on this, Eleanor concluded that Arthurs flair might be turned to the familys benefit. Other sonsinlaw might help on the garden plot or earn a larger wage, but Arthur disliked the countryside and was always on the road. An opportunity soon presented itself, though it was hardly pleasant. One rainy evening Michael Evans, a quiet man of the neighbourhood, was stopped at a traffic light when a reckless driver slammed into his bumper, shouting that Michael had caused the stoppage and was therefore at fault. Michael, ever the gentle soul, was ready to take the blame in part just to avoid a quarrel.
Eleanor remembered Arthurs recent boast: If anything happens to a car, Ill be there in a flash. True to his word, Arthur rang, asked for the location, and sped to the scene. He spoke calmly with the constables, quoted the relevant roadtraffic statutes, and soon Michael was cleared of any wrongdoing. After that incident Arthur seemed to glow with a new confidence, a side of him Eleanor had never witnessed before.
Emily later explained to her mother, Mum, thats Arthur for youalways ready to dash off and help. He works for the fire service, so he loves feeling like a hero. A quiet, settled life isnt his cup of tea; hes more like a schoolboy, always off to rescue someone, whether its his friend Leonard whose boat capsized or a neighbour whose car is stuck in the mud. Eleanor smiled, I was wondering why you said he was unresponsive, but now I see hes just different.
When their matriarch, Beatrice, fell seriously ill at her cottage in the Yorkshire Dales, the family needed to get her to a London hospital. Eleanor phoned Arthur immediately. He arrived with a colleague in a work vehicle equipped with a special stretcher seat, lifted Beatrice gently, and escorted her to the clinic. From that day Eleanor held a deeper respect for her soninlaw.
A few weeks later Eleanor herself found herself in a sticky situation. While buying a small set of garden rakes in a shop during a cold winter, she slipped on the icy path outside a neighbours house. Trying not to fall, she clutched the neighbours car with the rake, setting off its alarm. The owner rushed out, furious, shouting, Youve scratched my new car! I have dashcameras everywhere! Before the quarrel could explode, Arthur rolled up in his old foreignmake estate car. Excuse me, sir, he said, my vehicle is the one that grazed yours, not yours on mine. Look, theres no damagejust a scratch the size of a penny. He offered the neighbour a thousand pounds on the spot, and the man, seeing no real harm, accepted. Eleanors reputation was saved, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
Having been called Mum by Arthur in that heated exchange, Eleanors affection for him grew even stronger. She finally understood why Emily adored himhe was generous, quickwitted, and ever ready to lend a hand. A few months later, when Emily announced she was expecting, the family celebrated the arrival of a grandson, Daniel, in the late summer. Arthur, now a beloved figure to his motherinlaw, helped transport the infant to the grandparents cottage, promising to take the child to the garden someday when the little one could run among the roses.
We are all different, yet it is wiser to look for the good in each other, for it is almost always there, rather than cling to flaws. May everyone find happiness, health, and the simple wisdom of a life lived together.
