It is not unusual for me to be annoyed with Robbie - he would probably tell you that being 'in the doghouse' was an almost daily occurrence! That isn't true, of course there are minor irritations and I get annoyed when he rearranges the fridge, hides the recycling bin, puts things out of my reach and leaves the toilet seat in the wrong position (believe me I could come up with a much longer list!) but serious disagreements are much less common.
We are a very odd and unconventional couple, but it works, I love him more than I could express in words and I know that he feels the same. That is why I worry about him, especially when it comes to looking after his health and well being and I get seriously annoyed when he takes foolish risks with his health. Yesterday he was at the railway station by 6.10am and he didn't get back to Northampton until 11pm. He was asleep on his feet and in so much pain that he could hardly walk! Nothing so important that it is worth risking your health. A friend of his gave him some very sound advice, I just hope he takes notice.
" .......... She speaketh of kind tongue. The railway will break itself without your intervention, and it will heal itself thus. Will the railway fixeth you? The runes say "bugger off". Do less more often; the difference is negligible."
It seems that Robbie is aspiring to become a Mills and Boon writer - in other words creating a work of fiction that doesn't sound real and expecting the readers to suspend their disbelief! He didn't get as far as writing it down but the more he repeated the story the less believable it became.Robbie managed to upset me during the afternoon. I was having the day from hell, in fact it is no exaggeration to say that it was the week from hell. Things were going wrong at every turn, it felt like a line of dominoes falling over. I will not bore you with the whole list of problems, but the final straw was the car not passing it's MOT, needing several expensive repairs and not being ready until Monday or Tuesday. The frustration and expense had me really worried and when I told Robbie about it all he could say was that he was OK because he had his bus pass! I felt so upset that I put the phone down, so he was in a mood with me and I didn't hear from him again that day.Robbie was due home soon after 6pm and after a dreadful week I was looking forward to a 'normal' evening. Six, seven and eight o'clock came and went with no Robbie and no contact. I guessed that he was out enjoying himself and he wasn't going to tell me because he knew I wouldn't like it. The trouble is that it is always possible that he could have had an accident or been taken ill and as time went on I couldn't put those thoughts out of my mind, so by 9pm I was angry and worried.10pm came and went and there was still no contact so I got on with all the evening jobs and at around 11pm I locked the front door, took the key out and went to bed. I must have dozed off because the next thing I knew it was 11.30pm and I got a text thanking me for locking him out - he had forgotten his key! I got up and let him in, but I was in no mood for excuses and I went straight back to bed. The next morning he told me that he had gone out for a drink because I had annoyed him. He'd caught the train to Rugby but had dozed off and only woken up as he was departing Milton Keynes for Euston (any excuse for a bit of cranking!). He then had to buy a ticket to get back home. He said he didn't bother to text me because he was annoyed with me. To borrow a word from my son - whatever! I hope his adventure was worth a night on the sofa!
Robbie is making himself feel at home in the dog house, after the Friday night fiasco he is likely to be there for the foreseeable future. On Friday morning he set off for an appointment somewhere far away. I can't remember where he said he was going, but I distinctly remember that he didn't say a word about the possibility of being late home. He didn't contact me all day, so at about 5pm I sent him a text. When he had not responded by 6.30pm I phoned him, but he ignored the call. Hours passed, his dinner was put in the dog and I got on with my evening. Eventually he sent a text with the exact time of his arrival at Northampton. I took this as a request for a lift, I sat there waiting for him and he went straight past heading for the bus station. I can't tell you exactly what I said to him, but it caused him to turn back and get a lift. He even insisted on stopping to buy chips at 11pm! To say I was unimpressed doesn't even come close. Out of the last 5 days he has been seriously late home 3 times, even Network Rail can do better than that in terms of punctuality!
I spent another Saturday without Robbie, he did text a few times, but it doesn't really make up for not being here. I did ordinary things, a trip to the supermarket, housework, my writing work, feeding hungry animals and hungry people and other exciting tasks. Emily was busy packing to go on holiday to Cornwall first thing in the morning, I would love to be in Cornwall again.
Robbie sent me a text asking me if I would like to go to Glasgow on a rail tour, I thanked him but said no. If I go to Glasgow I want to go on a Pendolino, I don't see the point of going on an old train when you could go on a new one. Robbie thinks I am mad, but he is not really in the best position to judge, he is not exactly normality personified! He seemed to take great offense at my lack of good taste when it comes to trains and he tried to get me to change my mind, but in the end he gave up and said he would ring me a bit later on. I waited for his call, but by 2am I gave up and fell asleep.
A few days ago when I had objected to him going on this rail tour he reassured me that he would be home early on the Sunday morning, in time to make me a cup of tea and a bacon sandwich. I woke early on Sunday morning and I was looking forward to seeing Robbie again after almost a week away. I listened to the radio thinking that it wouldn't be long before he got home, time went on, I had my bath, made my own cup of tea and listened to the Archers, but still there was no sign of him. There were no texts, no phone calls, and no reply when I tried to contact him. Lunch time came and went and I got on with my ordinary routine, but I was increasingly worried and annoyed about the lack of contact. Finally sometime after 3.30pm Robbie phoned me with the usual set of excuses. He was too tired to phone last night, he overslept, his phone was dead, there are no payphones in Birmingham, he forgot to ring me.
What annoyed me most was that he thought I would be OK about it - I wasn't! I reminded him that he had been put on a final warning the last time he did this. He seemed to think it was all very trivial - I didn't! Everyone has their limits and he was about to discover mine! At just after 6pm I picked him up from the station.
I had plenty to say, but it resulted in me offering him a choice, me or the rail tours. When put like that it only took him a few minutes to decide - in favour of the rail tours! So he packed his things and I took him back to the station, with him telling me that I had given him an impossible choice. He didn't seem to understand that I found it deeply hurtful (but not surprising) to come second to a train! He plodded off to the platform feeling very hard done by. I waited in the car park and about ten minutes later I got a text saying "OK, you win!" and shortly afterwards he plodded back to the car. The silly thing is I don't want to 'win' I just want a lot more consideration.!
