Goodbye Mr Latte ...for now

Saturday, August 9 08

"Well Mr Latte, this is the last chance I will see you for a while, so I'm going to savor every moment. Look, I've even got chocolate sprinkles today to make it special," declared Mrs Bennet.

It wasn't hard to step into another world. Mr Latte helped her do that. Her mind needed to go somewhere, anywhere - a place where she wasn't the cleaner, the cook, the bottom wiper, the referee, the picker-upper and the camp packer. Here, it was just her and Mr Latte. It was where she had time to acknowledge that her earring was missing, she was wearing odd socks and she was sporting blue and white toothpaste streaks in her hair. This was normal of course, but as she was usually in the throes of wiping runny noses, finding the right shoe for the right child and pulling a metal spoon out of the hands of one twin Bennet before it smacked her sister, she had no chance of fine-tuning her own appearance. It was in moments like these, she had luxury minutes to even think about herself. She left the toothpaste where it was and instead decided to press the pause button, breathed deeply and sat in her favorite cafe, people watching. Old friends were chatting animatedly, children were desperately trying to persuade their mother to buy them a gingerbread train and an elderly couple sat in amicable silence: the lady acting mum by pouring the tea, the man getting up without being told to fetch a teaspoon.

Mrs Bennet held Mr Latte tightly. She wanted to stay here a long time today. Outside threatening clouds were circling the car park. It didn't bother her, but she knew tomorrow it would. The Bennet's family holiday started in the morning and didn't she know it. That's why she was here now. Bennet daughters one, two and three were so excited they were getting at each other and Mrs Bennet was secretly and guiltily wishing she could stay at home. With rain forecast for the next five days, she had visions of watching a little twin Bennet sailing away on an airbed while the other happily splashed away in a mud bath - probably the colour of her coffee dregs.

Mrs Bennet took the final swig and sighed.

"Well, Mr Latte, I shall miss you. But I must get what I came in for - matches, milk and bread. Soothe whoever needs soothing while I'm away and I'll see you when I get back!"

Reluctantly, she peeled herself off her chair and reluctantly hunted for the last camping items. As Mr Bennet daily pointed out to her, camping had been her idea, so she needed to embrace it - even if she did so at the eleventh hour!