Will you be my new grandfather?(Dill McLain) It was a wonderful summer day. Mervyn sat in the living room of his large house near the window in a colossal fauteuil he once many years ago had imported from France together with other pieces of furniture. As a young couple, they had travelled several times to Europe and his wife fell in love with the French furniture. He already had breakfast and was now enjoying a second cup of coffee. Lydia, his housekeeper, cleaned away the breakfast tray and closed the door. He let his mind wander looking through the window into the garden and across the lawn to the paddock. Garden and grounds were well maintained. Mervyn took care of a large part of gardening himself. A gardener came sporadically when needed, and the swimming pool was taken care of by a local bath attendant. The riding stables and the surrounding ground including two large horse paddocks were rented out for many years.

Mervyn lived for more than six years alone in this large house. His wife had died of severe pneumonia. She had first recovered somewhat, but there was a relapse, and she had no more strength to survive also this phase. They had a son who was a mountain climber and adventurer and who was ten months per year underway anywhere in the world.

At the age of 70, Mervyn had sold his well running engineering firm because he thought to give young people the chance to develop and realize new ideas and projects would be useful. He stepped entirely out of his business and did not want to accept the offer to standby as a consultant. He played golf with a group of colleagues three times a week, and he read a lot. In the first four years after retiring, he took care of his bank portfolio and wasted a lot of time for nothing. With the general situation of bank business being in an ongoing decline, with the horrible scenarios on the financial markets and the even more dreadful consequences for many people, he lost interest. He decided that his time was too precious.
Once a week he went shopping at the large shopping mall. He enjoyed filling his shopping carriage with all sorts of products and smiled whenever he thought about Lydia having to try to prepare some excellent meals with the wild variety of food he shopped. Twice a week, when Lydia was rehearsing in the church choir, he cooked himself, if he did not go out.

He took a last sip of coffee, placed the cup back on the table and looked thoughtfully out of the window. From far away, one could hear laughter and people talking. Mervyn looked at this watch. It was 10.30. At this time, the class came back from their morning ride. For a short moment, a touch of happy life came up and temporarily, a kind of deep joy also filled the living room. Then, there was silence again.
Mervyn looked pensively at the large painting on the opposite wall. It showed a landscape, a vast plain in Africa, with an elephant herd in full motion. His father had travelled several times to Central Africa and brought this picture for them. There was an exceptional dynamic in this work, and it was painted with great skills. He knew every detail of the said painting. Yet a child, he would close his eyes and tell every aspect of it. But now, Mervyn really saw neither the elephants nor the landscape. His eyes got lost deep inside the powerful and authentically painted scene. And there he just sat and stared. Something was going on inside him. He felt strange and closed his eyes for a moment. Then, he opened them again and made an earnest face. He took his eyes off the vast painting and looked down at the lightly curved legs of the salon table. A long time he remained to stare at these strangely crooked table legs. Then he suddenly felt like he was hit with a soaking wet cloth. He slapped his thigh vigorously and said, "Boredom, absolute boredom!"
He realized to the full extent that in fact, he was bored to death. His life was boring. These endless repetitive dinners among men were absolutely bland. There was no real challenge in his life.
He took his eyes off the table legs and began to stare at his left knee, then at his right knee. After a short moment, he sat up, put his hands on his knees in a kind of a deciding position. He bent his elbows, still holding his knees and looked at the racing elephants in the large painting on the wall, and said, "Something must change. I must look for a project. But what project?" He raised his eyebrows.
Suddenly, he stood up, hit the seat with his flat hand as confirmation of the knowledge he just reached and looked at his watch. It was high time for his weekly shopping. He packed his golf bag and equipment in the car for the next day and drove to the shopping centre where he shopped extensively and without a shopping list. His mind was occupied with other things.

After having loaded all his shopping bags in his 4 wheel-drive car, he was just about to open the door on the driver side, when a ball rolled by his feet and disappeared under his vehicle. A young girl with curly hair fluttering around her face came running along and then knelt down to look under the car. Mervyn walked around the car because he thought that the ball might have rolled further to the other side of the car into the parking lot. But there was no ball. He heard the girl shouting, "It got stuck under your car. It got stuck. I can't reach it. Can you help me please!"
Mervyn slowly began to bend his knees and finally knelt down and turned his body low over the ground, which took some effort, so that he could look under his car. He had to twist his shoulder and head heavily and then looked upside down under his vehicle. It was an extremely uncomfortable position.
"Hello, do you also live in your car?" said the girl with such a sweet voice and he perceived her pretty face on the other side, where she appeared to be lying flat on the stony ground. He was totally fascinated and looked at this young beauty with her incredible brown eyes, which seemed to smile at him.
"My arm is not long enough. Can you please help to get my ball?" repeated the girl. Still lying there on the other side half under the car. Supporting his body by his hands and elbows, Mervyn could hardly move and began to feel the unusual position in all sorts of muscles of his body. He reached out with one hand but could also not come close enough to the ball that got stuck because of an empty, squashed beer can that was under the car.
He said to the girl, "What is your name, young lady?"
"Adriana!" came the happy answer.
And then she asked again, "Do you live in your car?"
"Why do you ask such a thing?" Mervyn said, not knowing why this question came up.
"I live in a car, a car that always stands in the same place in a field!" the girl explained. He wondered, "Your parents live with you in a car in a field?"
"I do not have parents!" stated the girl, clearly articulating.
Mervyn was confused and asked, "Where is your mother?"
"My mother is dead, it is because of this white powder which she took!" the girl reported as if it were the most normal thing.
"And where is your father?" Mervyn asked.
"I never had a father!" the girl immediately countered very determinedly.
Mervyn could hardly stay longer in this extremely uncomfortable posture and decided to also lie flat on the ground.
And then he asked, "Do you live in a car in a field alone?"
The girl smiled over all her face, it was like sunshine under the black car. And she then explained, "I live with my twin brother who wants to become an ice hockey player, and with Raphaela, she is very nice!"
The girl added, "Can you now help to get the ball, please?"
Mervyn collected his limbs carefully and very slowly got on his feet. He felt stormy in his head, was confused but at the same time enchanted. He got a golf stick from the back of his car and knelt again down with some difficulty and finally moved flat on his belly also. He reached out with the golf stick and moved the ball towards Adriana. She grabbed the ball, robbed back, stood up and disappeared.
A voice could be heard calling, "Adriana, we have to go to get the bus!"

Mervyn still flat on the ground, crawled back and began slowly to get on his feet. It was all a bit too much for him, and he remained a moment half up but still on his knees, supporting his weight on the golf stick.
Adriana came running around the back of the car, put her arms around Mervyn's neck and kissed him on the cheek. Then she looked at his eyes and asked, most charmingly but also with an almost pleading undertone, "Will you be my new grandfather?" After that, she turned around and ran away, giving him twice a heart-touching hand wave, until she disappeared.
Mervyn's heartbeat increased, leaps jumped. He knelt there and did not know precisely what was happening to him. He remained there kneeling with the golf stick in hand.
"Hey man, in need of a lift?" asked a young man in a sports outfit and helped him up. "Is everything ok with you?" the youngster wanted to know.
"Yes, yes, thank you, I'm ok!" Mervyn replied and gave him a short wave. The young man nodded and went to his car. Mervyn put his golf stick in the back of his car and then got behind the wheel, where he just sat for a long while.
Finally, he drove home, unloaded the shopping bags without a particular interest in what he was doing. He dropped into his armchair by the window and fell into deep thought.

After 90 minutes he got up, went to the kitchen and drank half a bottle of water. After he went to the basement with long, purposeful steps. In the far corner, he reached out and pulled down a black case from the cupboard. He carried the black box to the living room and began to play his trumpet, which he had not touched for over 10 years. Lydia stormed into the room with wide-open eyes, stared at him, and then left again.
On the next day, Mervyn called the golf club to let them know that for a specific time, he could not come because he had an urgent mission to do.
He requested an immediate appointment with his lawyer and arrived there in the afternoon. Without further explanation, he asked for information about campsites in the broader area with the caravan or mobile homes, places that were reachable by bus and from where inhabitants went for shopping to that particular shopping mall. Very determined, he added, that he urgently had to look for someone and that he intended to visit all these places. His lawyer called one of his assistants and instructed him to help Mervyn establishing a separate list with such campsites within a certain radius and accessible by bus.
The young man, a prospective lawyer, had the bright idea to contact the bus centre, from where he could provide detailed information. About an hour later, Mervyn left the law office with quite an extensive list under his arm. He drove home in a great mood and full of zest for action.
He spread out the detailed map of the broader area on the large dining table, which he had once bought but had hardly used. In one of the compartments of his desk in his office, he looked for his university utensils. He had kept them all these years for nostalgic reasons. He soon found what he was looking for and went back to the living room, smiling and carrying a leather etui from which he then pulled out a drawing compass. With great enthusiasm, he began his project. Keeping the shopping centre as a starting point, he drew various circles at different distances with the compass. He almost got into a kind of fever and was somehow excited.
Now he began to carefully note a first group of the locations from his list of camps on his map, first those at a closer distance. Finally, he stood in front of his plan, hand-rubbing and with a happy expression on his face. And with a loud and firm voice, he said into the living room, "So now everything is ready, tomorrow I begin with my search!"
He stormed out of the room and into the kitchen, where he loudly announced to Lydia, "For the next few weeks I will take longer trips. Please prepare a packed lunch and drinks for me daily, so that I can leave after breakfast, and we'll start with it tomorrow!"
Lydia seemed stunned and looked at him for a moment, before answering, "Fine, we'll do so!"
Mervyn hurried out of the kitchen and went up to the first floor. He spent the next two hours in his walk-in closet, laying out a set of pants and polo shirts as well as a sporty but neat long jacket. Then he spotted on the top shelf his hats, which he had not worn for quite a while because now he was most of the time wearing a golf cap like everyone else of his age. But now it would be appropriate to put one of his beautiful cowboy hats back into operation. He reached out and picked up the first three, tried one after the other, and then, after examining it in the mirror, decided on the model with the little feather in the leather strap.

On the following Monday, he began his project. In a happy mood, he first drove to the petrol station to fill up the car. Then he drove off. On the passenger seat, he had the large map neatly folded ready with the specific page showing the region to be visited today. Mervyn turned the radio on, and soon he drove along, whistling with the music. He felt great, and at least 10 years younger.
While driving along, he thought about his own life, and he came to the point where he nodded several times and even underlined his thoughts by patting the steering wheel. Finally, he nodded again in agreement and stated out loud, "Yes, it is high time to do something meaningful instead of just drifting along with getting older!" And then remembered little Adriana's sweet smile, and his face shone like the sun. He looked out into the vast farmland. On the horizon, there were a few clouds that looked like mighty sheep.
After almost two hours, he reached the place of the first caravan campground he had marked on the map. Now he was suddenly nervous. The tension inside him was growing visibly while he got out of the car. He stretched and shook his legs, which had become a little stiff from the ride. Now he stood there in the parking lot looking a bit hesitantly over to the entrance of the park. He thought about it for a moment, because he could not just go in there and check out all the camping cars. One would think he was an intruder or even crazy. Mervyn scratched his chin. He had not even thought about this before. Maybe his project was not that easy, after all. Now he saw the smiling face of the girl under his car looking at him again. He straightened up, pulled his pants up and strode purposefully towards the entrance. There he greeted politely through the open window in the wall, a kind of reception desk. "What can I help?" came a stern voice from behind a computer screen. And when Mervyn did not answer immediately, the head of a rather bulky man appeared.
"I'm looking for a little girl named Adriana, around five years old. Does a girl live here who fits this description?" Mervyn said through the window into the room, trying to sound entirely relaxed. The bulky man got slowly on his feet and came closer, looking somewhat rigidly at Mervyn's face.
"And why are you looking for that little girl here, are you related to her?" the man asked, frowning. Mervyn searched for the right words. In the end, he just spontaneously declared, "Well, I met this girl after shopping on the parking lot of a large shopping centre. Her ball was caught under my car."
"Aha, and now you want to meet her, sounds a bit unusual too, doesn't it?” The bulky man countered and raised his eyebrows. Mervyn's blood rushed to his head, and he felt rather uncomfortable. Then he collected himself and explained his concern in simple words, "Well, the girl told me that she lives with her brother and grandmother in a caravan and that the mother had died because of the white powder and a father had never existed. Somehow the girl invited me to visit but then ran away after a voice called her name. I wanted to visit and see if I can help!"
The bulky man placed his elbows on the windowsill and looked at Mervyn with a rigid expression on his face. After nodding twice, he then stated with a rather indifferent voice, "Yes, yes, there are plenty of such stories, unfortunately, nothing unusual nowadays." After a short pause, he added, "This campsite here is mostly inhabited by older people. There are actually no children living here all the time, at most some come to visit from time to time. So the girl you are looking for cannot be found here."
Mervyn thanked him for the information, wished him a good day, and turned to leave. Obviously disappointed. The bulky man called after him, "There are several campsites in the area, I wish you every success with your search!"
A little contrite, Mervyn then sat in his car on the parking area and ate his lunch snack Lydia had prepared for him. With a different pen, he marked this first place on his map with a 'no'. He poured himself a mug of coffee from the thermos bottle found in the picnic basket – Lydia had really thought of everything. While he sipped his coffee, he looked out over the landscape. Then he gave himself a jerk and whispered resolutely in the direction of the windshield, "You don't give up now, Mervyn, no, go ahead now!" Shortly afterwards he was driving in the order of the next place marked on his map.

The next campsite was a combined place for short-term tourist stays and a larger area for long-term residents. The reception was housed in a small bungalow. In front of it, a few groups of tables and chairs invited people for a cold drink under giant trees. An amiable middle-aged woman received Mervyn and listened attentively and with joy in her eyes as he explained the reason for his visit. She understood quickly and picked up a list, which she studies briefly while leafing through it several times. Finally, she stated, "I'm so sorry, but none of our children is called Adriana. We have quite a lot of children here, and I just checked the three newly arrived families, but I do not yet know by heart the names of their children. No, we have no girl here with the name Adriana. You probably know that there are two large Caravan sites on the other side of the lake, which is a couple of hours driving from here."
Mervyn thanked her and explained, "Yes, I'll go there tomorrow and continue my search. Goodbye!" He waved briefly and left. Of course, he was a little disappointed and, above all, increasingly tired from the several hours of driving. But of course, he was grown enough to know that finding the little girl wasn't the easiest thing in the world. It would be an incredible coincidence if he could get there so quickly. Back in the car, he drank a few sips of mineral water from the bottle he brought with him, and looked briefly, somewhat pensively, through the open window at the campsite. And he was wondering what kind of people would spend their lives in such a small space in cars. For a moment, he thought of his own very generous living situation, and it almost shook him to believe that he would have to live in a small trailer. He sighed deeply and started the engine.
After the dinner Lydia had prepared for him, he sat for a long while in his favourite armchair, thinking about his day. And whenever he thought of the little girl's face smiling at him, it hit him right in the heart. Then he took the map and checked again exactly tomorrow's route to the two campgrounds at the other end of the enormous lake. Well, this was going to be a busy day tomorrow.

The next day, Mervyn got up full of energy, had breakfast, and then went to the garage with the packed lunch that Lydia had prepared. He put the folded map on the empty seat next to him and turned the radio on. It was a classical program, and soon he was driving ahead on the highway and occasionally sang lustily along with the opera arias he was familiar with. He was in a happy mood as he hadn't been for a long time. After about two hours of driving, he reached the southern tip of the enormous lake. He took a short coffee break and looked pensively at the water. And again he saw the cute face of little Adriana in front of him, and it made him smile. The journey continued on a newer motorway, always along the lake with a breathtaking view. One looked over the water on the one side and extensive meadows and forests on the other. Soon the announcement came for the entrance of one of the two caravan sites. But Mervyn decided to visit the one further away first.
Once there, he parked his car in a vast parking lot that was already well occupied. Apparently many people lived here who owned a private car in addition to their caravan. Obviously, this was also an almost first-class site. There were two restaurants and a small sports field as he could see from the massive map on the wall while he waited his turn at the reception.
"We are fully booked, sorry and there won't be any vacancy anytime soon!", a slim, young manager in half-tattered designer jeans scurried at him. When Mervyn didn't move towards the exit, the young man raised both eyebrows and stared at him. Mervyn cleared his throat and finally explained why he was there. Now the young manager actually smiled slightly and answered, "We have numerous children, but I don't know of a girl with this not very common name here, but for the sake of good order, let me check the database."
After a few minutes of intensive search in the apparently numerous pages in the computer, the young manager explained in a slightly nasal voice, "Well, we have an Adrian and even an Adriano – both boys!" Mervyn could not hold back and asked, "You are absolutely sure they are boys, there is no doubt about it, right?" The young manager stretched up bolt upright and looked over the computer at Mervyn with an expression on his face that suggested what he was thinking. Finally, he said, "Yes, absolutely sure. I entered the data myself, and I personally wrote down the data on the occasion of my visits to the families!" And after a deep breath he added, "Incidentally, the two boys are already twelve and fourteen years old. This information should indeed be enough for you. I still have important things to do if you allow me to do so now!" And with that, the young manager turned away.
Mervyn politely said goodbye and left the reception. A touch of frustration came over him, but he quickly chased it away. He could really not expect to already be successful at the third campsite. That would be almost a miracle. After having comforted himself with these explanations, he felt better again. Back in the car, he marked the place on the map as done, drank some water and drove out of the parking lot back onto the highway. But now in the direction from which he had come. He decided to stop somewhere at a suitable place with a stunning view at the lake and enjoy the lunch that Lydia had prepared again. So while he was eating his delicious chicken salad with fennel – a speciality of Lydia's – he watched with amusement a beginner's stand up paddle course on the lake.

From there, he reached the next campsite after about an hour's drive. This place seemed a lot more grounded and very rustic. Already at the entrance building – a kind of a log house – one immediately felt the casual atmosphere. "Good afternoon, what can we do for you?" came a singing voice from behind and when Mervyn turned around, he faced two beautiful young ladies, obviously twins, their shapely bodies wrapped in sporty outfits and smiling at him. He explained his search for a girl by the name of Adriana, and by now, he had already a good skill to bring up the matter clearly and quickly. The two beauties listened attentively and then shouted in unison, "Oh, how sweet, that's wonderful, you absolutely have to find her soon. We hope and pray for you!" And then, the two of them smiled at him, which made him rather queasy. They just stood there. However, they made no further move. Finally, Mervyn asked a bit confused, "Could it be that you have a grandmother living here with a girl Adriana and a boy?" The two sports mermaids now put on puzzled expressions, and one of them explained then with an almost tragic undertone, "Oh no, unfortunately not. We do not have any older people here. This is a special place for large patchwork families, that is, the ex-partners and the new partners all live together with the children of the various phases and relationships. We have families with sixteen members and more!" And again, the two smiled extensively at him. "And there is no girl named Adriana?" Mervyn wanted to know to make sure, he tried everything. "We are so sorry, no, there is no girl with such a name here!" Mervyn thanked and headed for the parking lot. When he turned around briefly, he saw the two beauties waving and heard them excitedly screaming, "You'll find her pretty soon, we feel that!"
"Well, yes, it sounds good, when they say that, although how can they know that!" Mervyn muttered to himself and turned the key in the ignition.

He arrived home in the evening quite tired and exhausted. However, his vigour and hope for the search remained strong. There was no doubt about that.
After dinner, he suddenly felt a great desire for opera music, which made him smile continuously while he looked for the right thing in the music cabinet. He hadn't listened to classical music for quite a long time, since the death of his wife to be precise. "Yes, exactly this is the thing now!", he said firmly to the music cabinet and put on the Nabucco CD. And so he sat in his big armchair and enjoyed the great arias – especially those of the high priests and then the unique, world-famous choir singing really pleased him. Mervyn felt great and later went to bed still with the perfect music of Verdi in his ears.

On the following morning, the journey went in the opposite direction. Mervyn turned up the radio again – this time rock music was playing – and so he sang loudly and unleashed whenever he knew one of the songs or at least parts of it. Again and again, he laughed all over his face and tapped the rhythm. Alternately on the bars of the steering wheel. And just when they brought the Jailhouse rock on the radio, he drove into the driveway of today's caravan site and up to the front parking lot right by the door to the reception. A tall, longhaired guy in tattered blue jeans and unbuttoned denim gilet rushed out of the door and screamed with his fists in the air, beating the beat, "Hey man, you really have a drive today, I like it!" He planted himself in front of Mervyn's car and grinned widely while resting both hands on his hips so that the view was clear of a mighty tattoo of a horde of horses on his chest. Mervyn turned the radio down and presented his request through the open car window.
The longhaired guy looked at him in surprise for a moment, as if he could not understand something. Then he interjected with a growl, "Oh man, I thought you'd come to live here as a new rock member of our society and bring some good money with!" After a short pause, he added, "No, no children live here, absolutely not. These are all adults and huge rock music fans, which is a must to get a caravan place at all. We are the last big rock-music celebrators here. And after these words, the longhaired man threw himself into the appropriate scene with his legs apart and imitating Elvis Presley for a short moment. Then he reached into the car and patted Mervyn's arm several times, whispering in a smoky voice, "You'll find the girl soon, I can feel it, keep searching, good luck!" Mervyn waved to him with a grin and turned the car.
He drove homewards, then after an hour parked in a lovely picnic area and ate his lunch. Chewing thoughtfully, he watched various families with children at the wooden tables, and he muttered, "Yes, it's a daunting task to raise children!" With this thought, he suddenly realized that – should he find little Adriana – he might also be asked as a tutor. Until then, he had not thought anything like that. Now he was pensively and briefly stormy in the head. "My goodness, I didn't even think about that, I'm not the youngest anymore, and yet I have no idea about raising children!" he whispered insistently against the windshield as if it were a sworn friend. Before any dissenting thoughts could get through to him about cancelling his plan, he saw Adriana's curly hair and lovely smile, and it was all over for him.

That evening after dinner, he listened to the opera 'Il Trovatore', and he could hardly contain his enthusiasm, so beautiful and so tragic and stirring. Even in sleep, he heard the beautiful woman's voice singing.
On his way to the sixth caravan campsite on the next morning, Mervyn found a radio station with opera music. Overjoyed, he drove along the highway and singing loudly. In between, he shouted out loud, "Oh, I have time, then I just keep searching for weeks, but I know I'll find her!"
When he soon after saw the sign for the junction that led to the campsite he wanted to visit today, he got astonishingly increased heart palpitation, and an inner tension developed. He could not understand why and took several deep breaths. After about half an hour, the camp appeared. Mervyn slowly drove the car into the parking lot. Finally, he parked also this time – like the day before – directly in front of the reception. After getting out of the car, he shook his legs. It had been a long drive. Mervyn bent back into the car and picked up the water bottle. He drank a few long sips, then put the bottle back in the cup holder by the driver's seat.
He turned around slowly, and at that moment a young man with long dreadlocked hair came running up to him in great jumps, with widely spread arms and grinning all over his face. And embraced Mervyn, hugged him tightly and screamed full of joy, "Hello, hello, grandfather, great that you finally came, we have all been waiting eagerly!" Then he moved back and pulled out his mobile phone, still grinning happily and showing his teeth. Mervyn was utterly taken by surprise and stood there in disbelief. He heard the Rastaman crowing happily into the phone, "Get ready, get ready, grandfather is here, we'll be over in a minute!" After saying this, he took Mervyn's arm and pulled him away on the path. Mervyn had no choice but to go along. He just let it happen. And so he hurried with the Rastaman across the camp, past caravans and groups of tables and chairs full of people who waved cheerfully, while the Rasta announced several times, "Grandfather is here, he is here!"
And then they stopped in front of a somewhat old-fashioned camping car, and before Mervyn could relax, Adriana appeared jumping out of the door loudly screaming, "Grandfather, grandfather!" She ran up to him and then hugged him tightly around the waist and did not let go of him. Over Adriana's head, Mervyn saw a somewhat shy boy slowly approaching, looking a little wistfully. The Rastaman gave him a sign to come closer. Now the little girl raised her head and said in a cute voice, "Grandfather, this is my brother Antonio, we are twins!" And at these words, she took her brother by the arm and pulled him toward Mervyn, so that he finally stood there hugging both children while they embraced him tightly. An indescribable feeling of happiness ran through him.
Something made him look up. A very attractive lady, about his age, dressed entirely in purple, her chin-length grey hair held back from her face with a purple ribbon, stepped gracefully out of the caravan and beamed at him.
"Hello, so you are the grandfather that Adriana has longed for. She had talked about you day and night. It's nice to have you here. And I understand Adriana, she chose really well, you look great!"
Mervyn stood there speechless, marvelling completely amazed at this purple goddess and very slowly swallowing her wonderful words. He felt his skin tingle all over, and the most beautiful violin tones ran through his head. He could not control his thoughts anymore, but he felt a tremendous bliss come over him, it almost washed him away. The longer he looked at the attractive lady in purple – who smiled ravishingly at him – the more the ground seemed to move beneath him. Or was it not the ground at all, but his innermost that was just celebrating a colossal awakening and overwhelmed him with a passion that was no longer known. Finally, he managed to regain his composure, he stretched out his hand over the head of the two children who were clutching him, "Hello, my name is Mervyn, and I am happy to meet you!" The attractive lady slowly came closer and took his hand, "The joy is mine, my name is Raphaela, generally called Raphy, and I am the grandmother of these children!"
The touch of her handshake made Mervyn's knees almost buckle, and again velvet currents ran through his whole body. He almost sighed aloud. He would have loved to sit down and hold this woman's hand, forever.
Now he felt a gentle patting on the shoulder. He heard the voice of the Rastaman happily saying, "So, now you're all finally safe and united, I will leave you a bit alone, but later there will be a barbecue in front of the restaurant. Of course, we will celebrate the grandfather's arrival extensively!"
Now the lady in purple – the kid's grandmother – called, "Come on, children, we'll show grandfather the caravan!" The two obeyed immediately – apparently, they were excellently brought up – released their grip on Mervyn's waist and stormed in the direction of the nostalgic trailer. Everything inside was carefully installed, meticulously and practically furnished, and there was a masterly order. Mervyn was speechless and smiled delightedly at Raphy. And then suddenly he asked out of the blue, he did not know why, "Do you like Verdi, his operas?" Raphaela beamed all over her face and answered with a sigh in a whisper, "Yes, of course, my grandfather was Italian, I am an avid opera lover!" Then her face became a little thoughtful, and she added, "Unfortunately, there isn't much going on out here in this regard, and I haven't been to an opera for a very, very long time!" Mervyn proudly answered, "That will change, we will soon go to the opera together. But first, we will listen to all my Verdi records at my house!" Now a longer drum roll rang out, apparently calling for the barbecue. And everybody was heading in the direction of the drum. Mervyn offered his arm to Raphaela, and the children happily jumped ahead.

The Caribbean barbecue was the most beautiful and exuberant Mervyn ever experienced. It was a great, happy round of tables with people of all ages, excellent food and music that carried everyone away. They celebrated until the early hours of the morning. Mervyn spent that night on the folding bed in front of the trailer. For a long time, he looked up at the treetops, which were gently moving in the night wind. He was happy.
The next day, they – Raphaela and the children – in Mervyn's car drove to his home. He gave them a detailed tour of the house, the outbuildings and also to the stables with the horses. Adriana and Antonio were alternately enthusiastic and then overwhelmed and amazed with big googly eyes. Raphaela also seemed very impressed but was good at hiding it. But she kept glancing at Mervyn from the side when she thought he did not see it. However, he did see it. And he was so happy, he just could not help it, he announced succinctly, "You all will move in here with me now, and then we will be a real family!" The two children cheered and performed a dance of joy, while Raphaela wiped away a few tears. And Lydia stood on the threshold of the kitchen, laughing and applauding. Of course, this meant that she would have a lot of work to do in the future, but she thought it was great.

The following week, they drove out to the caravan site, and Mervyn had the caravan transported to his home. Now, it stood in the yard, beside the pavilion serving as a playroom and retreat for the two children. They were now to go to school there in the next town.
They formed a wonderfully functioning and harmonious family as if this had always been the case and the most normal thing in the world.
Eight months later, Raphaela and Mervyn were married in a romantic scene at the caravan site. Adriana and Antonio brought the wedding rings and Kelvin the Rastaman, and Lydia acted as witnesses.
The wedding of the two 75-year-olds was celebrated with a roaring Caribbean party until the early hours of the morning. The newlyweds sat holding hands in the grass marvelling at the sunrise.

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