Back home?

I made it back all right, eventually.

Begin: as earlier posted, stressed. Also aggravated by pointless annoyances on another website, and that an eBay seller has completely ignored my “I'm not at home until x, don't post my item out until then,” and posted the damn thing anyway. I don't think it'll arrive until after I get back anyway, so no worries there I think.

Lift into town, thankfully, a little stressful in timing but less in appearances worry.

Wander through, get present for Dad, get new handbag from charity shop. Wander down to train station, get food, catch train.

All good.

I play some Castlevania: Circle of the Moon on the train. There's now 2 Levels left 'til I hit 99, and I get to move onto the next game.

Arrive in Leeds, and there's one lady I want to go up to and ask “is something wrong with how I look? You keep staring at me.”

So I hop on a train to Bradford and it sets off... in the wrong frigging direction. Turns out the guy I asked on the platform misheard my question asking if the train was going to Bradford. Hop off at first stop, hop back on train going in opposite direction, walking down the most treacherous path to get to the platform...

Back in Leeds, take two: get on right train. Success, basically hide away from group of kids on the train because really I just can't cope with any attention at this point, and I can tell just from the conversation their having that I would get attention. I bury myself in a Metro.

Arrive in Bradford, at the second station, walk down the platform and find my Mum. Dad is not with her, and we're getting a taxi. She tries to reassure me, but really, she's not given me any other stories than the ones in which my Dad is not coping.

We get back, after gossiping in the Taxi, and I don't have time for a nervous stop outside the door to steel myself. I dump the majority of my bags in the hallway and wander into the front room. Knowing full well that this is the first my Dad has seen of me. I kinda wave and say hi, like I do, provoke a pause while he looks me over, and then nothing at all. I wander off to sit in my brothers room like I usually do when I'm here, plug in and switch off.

Mum cooked for us, which is unusual as to be suspicious, she usually doesn't. She wants this to be a normal Christmas, where everything goes perfectly despite everything being different this year. Family members are dead and I'm a woman and it's all going to come crashing down on her if it doesn't go just right. I think she's trying hard to make sure I don't feel ostracised by the family, and so far, I don't.

More difficult will be managing the inevitable and more numerous than usual 'he's and for a change of pace wrong name usage.

I am glad I got back okay though, the whole trip worried me a lot more than actually being here. Bradford is every bit as backwards as I remember it to be (I find Leeds to be not much better, in honesty). I'll be trying to find an alternative to coming up for next year.

The adventure continues...