The Wadhams: The Perfect Present

By Karen Byrom

Illustration: Shutterstock

We’re delighted to bring you the continuing adventures of Life & The Wadhams, featuring the younger members of the family. Not yet met the Wadhams? Read the background on My Weekly’s best-loved family, then come back and enjoy the next generation’s adventures as Mike and Polly Wadham’s elder grandson, Alex Clark settles into family life with wife Natalie and toddler son William. Now living in a house with attached annexe for Natalie’s grandmother Julia, they’ve just welcomed twin daughters Lyra and Lottie into their family.

Alex Clark frowned as he bent over the laptop on his knee, his calculations for the month spinning around in his head. There had been so many expenses lately, what with moving into the house, the larger mortgage and the arrival of twins Lyra and Lottie. Not to mention the cost of living and the fuel bills going up!

On the plus side, there was rent coming in from the flat above the salon, but then Iris had to be paid manager’s wages while Natalie was on maternity leave.

Balancing the books was a delicate job, but their heads were above water – just.

Soft steps on the stairs told him that Natalie had got the babies and little William settled for the night. Alex closed the laptop and stretched out his arm across the back of the couch.

“Budge up!” Natalie nestled down beside him and yawned loudly. “I’m as tired as the kids tonight. William has been wearing me out today.”

Alex laughed. “He really has hit the terrible twos, hasn’t he? Let’s hope it all magically melts away when he turns three next week.”

“I’m not holding my hopes out,” Natalie replied. “Look at Ruby – and she’s five.”

“She’ll settle down when she starts school next month,” Alex said. “Mum and Dad are counting down the days. Talking of which, they were asking me what they could get William for his birthday.”

“Clothes,” Natalie said immediately. “He has so many toys already. As long as he gets a couple of Matchbox cars along with them, he’ll be happy. Won’t it be nice having his party in our own garden this year, though? I’m really looking forward to it. Keisha and Robbie are bringing Kayla and there will be half a dozen of his pals from the nursery, along with Ruby and the rest of your family.”

“It’s a lot of work for you,” Alex said doubtfully.

“Oh Jennifer has said she’ll help,” Natalie said easily. “Your sister’s an absolute star when it comes to parties – she just loves organising them.”

“You’d think she had enough organising her own.” Alex laughed. “It’s at the end of the month, isn’t it?”

Natalie nodded. “She wanted to wait till she was on holiday before celebrating – says she’s owed two parties in one as the pandemic ruined her eighteenth birthday plans. So she is going all out for her twenty-first. Talking of which, we still haven’t bought her a present.”

Alex sighed, and glanced sidelong at the laptop. “I know it’s a big birthday, but we can’t afford much. Not with all the expenses we’ve had lately.”

Natalie frowned. “I really want to give her something special, to thank her for all her help. She works and studies so hard at the hospital, yet she always finds time to help us out.”

“I know. But she’ll understand we can’t afford much this year. We’ll make it up to her on her twenty-fifth.”

Natalie smiled, and got up to make coffee. One of things that had made her fall in love with Alex was his eternal optimism. He was like his dad Jim, that way. In their eyes, things would always look better in the morning – and they invariably did.

But Natalie’s tomorrow brought trouble – in the shape of her grandmother Julia, who knocked on her door as soon as Alex had left for the garage where he worked with Jim. He’d taken William to drop off at nursery.

Natalie had just got the babies settled and had been looking forward to a few minutes’ peace. But Julia was determined to have a peek at her great-granddaughters. Having missed the first two years of William’s life, she was making up for lost time, and her mantra of each family keeping to themselves in their adjoining homes was fast becoming a distant memory!

“Those babies are eight weeks’ old,” she said, looking down on them in their cot. “Isn’t it time you were thinking about their Christening?”

Natalie blinked. “Christening?”

“Yes.” Julia nodded. “Such a pity there are two of them or you could have had your dad’s Christening robe. It’s a family tradition to wear it, you know – you looked very sweet in it at your Christening.

“I suppose Lyra, as the oldest, could wear it, and we could get a similar one made for Lottie. Or she could wear William’s. I assume you still have it?”

Natalie blinked again at this rapid fire of questions.

“Em… William isn’t christened, Gran. Alex and I aren’t really church-goers, and we weren’t married in church so we decided…”

She tailed off, not willing to lie. They hadn’t decided anything. They just hadn’t thought about it.

“Not christened! Well, that settles it – you need to get on and organise it as soon as possible. I’ll speak to the vicar at my church – he thinks well of me, and I’m sure he’ll be happy to perform the ceremony – for my sake,” she added sniffily.

“And don’t worry,” she said, holding up her hand to forestall Natalie’s next objection. “I’ll pay. It will be my gift to you all. We’ll ask your father to come down with his family – I haven’t seen them since your grandfather’s funeral. And I suppose your mother will come over from Spain…” she rattled on, as Natalie desperately tried to get a word in edgeways.

Both babies stirred, and the two women bent to take one each into their arms.

“Come to Gaga,” Julia crooned, snuggling Lottie into her shoulder. Natalie smiled. Her grandmother was definitely softening – but she couldn’t be allowed to dictate her family’s future. That was for her and Alex to decide.

“A Christening?” Jennifer looked dubiously at Natalie.

The day of William’s birthday party had dawned bright and sunny, and now the whole family were out in the back garden as Alex, his friend Robbie, Dad Jim, and younger brother Matty tried to figure out the instructions for constructing the complicated climbing-frame-come-chute that Natalie’s mum had ordered to be delivered for her grandson’s third birthday. He was hopping around in glee, yelling encouragement, while his slightly older cousin Ruby “helped” in her own way by opening packets of nuts and bolts and spilling them onto the long grass, leaving the men to hunt them down.

Julia was in the kitchen with Alex’s mum Pinky, putting the finishing touches to the Spiderman birthday cake William had demanded, and Natalie, Jennifer and her friend Keisha were taking the chance to relax on the patio with a glass of strictly non-alcoholic, fizz.

“I think it’s a great idea,” Keisha said. “I had Kayla christened when she was four months, and I’ll do the same with this little one.” She stroked her tummy tenderly.

“But your family are churchgoers, and you were married in church,” Natalie pointed out. “We only go at Christmas and Easter, and only then because it’s tradition. We’re not great believers.”

“What does Alex say about it?” Jennifer asked.

Natalie smiled. She’d introduced Julia’s suggestion for a reason.

“Like me, he’s a bit dubious about a Christening. But he thinks some sort of ceremony to celebrate their arrival would be a good idea. So we’ve decided to have a naming party for all three children. Apart from anything else, it will give us a chance to invite people who couldn’t come to our wedding. Remember how restricted the numbers were.

“Gran is a bit miffed that we’re not having a religious ceremony, but she’s coming round to the idea, and has said she’ll still help pay for it. It won’t be large or lavish, but it should be lovely.”

“What does a naming ceremony involve?” Keisha asked. “Do you have godparents?”

Natalie shook her head. “No. We’ll have guardians. Keisha, we’d like to ask you and Robbie to be William’s guardian. And Jennifer, Alex and I would like you to be the girls’ guardian, if you’re willing.”

Jennifer’s eyes shone. “It would be an honour. Oh, what a wonderful way to start my twenty-first year, as a guardian to these two beautiful girls. You couldn’t have given me a better present, Natalie.” She jumped up to hug her sister-in-law warmly.

Natalie laughed. “I’m giving you work as well – I’d like you to help organise the party, if you would.”

Jennifer looked delighted. “Ooh, I’ve never organised a naming day celebration before. I’ll have to get on to Google to find out what’s involved.” She swung round and raced to the lawn to give her surprised brother an equally vehement hug, knocking the nuts and bolts he’d finally located out of his hand and back into the grass, before grabbing William and Ruby’s hands and leading them in a mad dance around the garden.

Drawn to the kitchen window to see what all the commotion was about, Julia sniffed loudly.

“I don’t know what Natalie and Alex are thinking about. A guardian. The girl is no more than a child herself.”

Pinky smiled. She was getting used to Julia’s sharp tongue, and knew the woman did not mean half what she said.

“My daughter will take her responsibilities seriously when the time comes,” she said. “Now let’s get these candles lit and the cake out. There may be a naming ceremony to plan, but we have a birthday to celebrate first.