The Ex and the Grandkid

My ex, Mark's, grandson is now 20 years old. He is now wanting to move back down to Melbourne from Queensland.

So Mark asked me if Jay could come and stay. We have a spare room, Charlie is already here, and they are the same age, why not, I thought.

Mark can be bossy and think about himself, I know that about him and, quite frankly, I just see that as a part of him, a part of his charm.

But for someone who hasn't had a relationship with him, and to whom he doesn't mean the world, the appeal may not be the same.

When Mark was a kid he had a deviated septum, it was quite bad from all accounts. He continually had nose problems, which I think led to some bullying as a kid, and as a teenager. In his very early twenties he had it fixed. But sniffing, nasal sounds, still trigger him.

So when he has come to stay he has been, shall we say, difficult about our bulldogs, as bulldogs snore, and sniff and wheeze.

He has asked for the bulldogs to be put outside and has generally complained about them when he has been here, which for me, I just deal with it, I tell him to shut up, not that that stops the complaining, but for Sam it is upsetting.

So, at the suggestion of Jay coming to stay with us, Sam was triggered and he was as unhappy about the idea as I have seen him unhappy about anything. So, it looks like it's a no to Jay.

Well, Mark, I guess you should have been more gracious and acted more like a guest when you came to stay. Sure, it's me, and you can say anything and act in any matter with me, as we have a long and deep history, and you are my favourite person in the world, but it's not just me.

I write this sitting on the floor at my coffee table with the open fire at my back, with a bulldog sitting in my lap using my right arm as a chin rest.