he got to come here if he wasn’t able to stay at home. I couldn’t look after him, it’s too much work for me.’
‘I can’t even imagine.’
Nadine stopped in front of a door. ‘Here we are. So, like I said, I haven’t told him you’re coming. He may get a shock or mightn’t understand who you are. Be patient, he doesn’t always make a lot of sense, but this is your Dad.’
Matt stood still and stiff as a board as Nadine tapped on the door. A grunt came from inside. Nadine opened the door and stepped in. Matt caught his first sight of his father, who faced the other direction and looked taut from this side. Nadine greeted him and said that she had brought a visitor with her.
‘What did you do that for?’ Matt’s father growled as he turned to see what intruder Nadine had dragged in.
Matt prepared to turn on his heels and run, but it was too late. His father’s face changed from a gruff frown into a glowing mass of smile, and then it changed again, into a screwed up mess of tears and shaking.
‘Matthew!’ His father cried. ‘You’ve finally come.’ He turned to Nadine. ‘I told you he’d come, didn’t I? I told you, and you all never believed me.’
Matthew was glued to the spot, uncomfortable as hell but overcome by the emotions his father showed and those that flooded over himself . His father was actually happy to see him. His father loved him. Matt took a deep breath, walked over, shook his father’s hand and took a seat next to him at the small round table. It was a good place to start.
They talked about family for the next hour, about what went wrong and why they had been apart so long. Andy Robertson never blamed Matthew’s mother for any of what happened, only himself . As Matt listened to his father, he felt himself getting lighter. A tingly warmth trickled through his body, leaving him feeling giddy. He knew, that with some effort from both sides, they could build a relationship. There was a lot of ground to make up.
‘So what do you do Matt? Why are you in New Zealand? You didn’t just come to find me?’
Matt wanted to lie, but would never deceive someone like that. ‘I’m here on business. A bit of research I guess you would say.’
‘You’re a researcher too? I used to dabble in academics.’
‘Dad,’ Nadine said, teasing him, ‘you didn’t just dabble. You spent hours in that shed of yours chasing down one theory or another.’
‘Right you are dear. Right you are.’ He turned back to Matt. ‘So, what’s your study?’
‘I’m a Professor of History at the University of South-West England. I double majored in History and Archaeology, and then continued with a doctorate in history, mostly in Switzerland.’ Matt looked at Nadine and his father. They stared at each other, smiles dancing between them.
‘When did you say your relationship with your mother got strained?’ his father asked
‘About when I went to Switzerland. The distance, it put a strain on things.’
‘Explains a lot.’ Nadine directed her comment at Matt’s father.
‘Indeed.’
‘What?’ Matt was perplexed.
‘Your mother never told you what I did for a living?’
‘No. She barely ever mentioned you.’
‘I’m going to hazard a guess here, Matt. Your mother didn’t become distant with you because of the physical distance. She became distant with you because you followed in your father’s footsteps.’
Matt was perplexed. His father was a historian?
‘It must have damned near killed your mum when you left her to study the same subject that I pissed her off so much with.’
‘Ah.’ Was this guilt he was feeling? He felt guilty for upsetting his Mum by following his passion? This was silly.
‘What are you studying in New Zealand?’ Matt’s father asked, pulling himself up with his good arm, as if to hear better .
‘Something a little controversial.’
‘I’m all ears.’
‘Dad’s no stranger to controversy,’ Nadine said.
‘What do you mean?’ Matt asked.
‘I tended to buck against
‘I can’t even imagine.’
Nadine stopped in front of a door. ‘Here we are. So, like I said, I haven’t told him you’re coming. He may get a shock or mightn’t understand who you are. Be patient, he doesn’t always make a lot of sense, but this is your Dad.’
Matt stood still and stiff as a board as Nadine tapped on the door. A grunt came from inside. Nadine opened the door and stepped in. Matt caught his first sight of his father, who faced the other direction and looked taut from this side. Nadine greeted him and said that she had brought a visitor with her.
‘What did you do that for?’ Matt’s father growled as he turned to see what intruder Nadine had dragged in.
Matt prepared to turn on his heels and run, but it was too late. His father’s face changed from a gruff frown into a glowing mass of smile, and then it changed again, into a screwed up mess of tears and shaking.
‘Matthew!’ His father cried. ‘You’ve finally come.’ He turned to Nadine. ‘I told you he’d come, didn’t I? I told you, and you all never believed me.’
Matthew was glued to the spot, uncomfortable as hell but overcome by the emotions his father showed and those that flooded over himself . His father was actually happy to see him. His father loved him. Matt took a deep breath, walked over, shook his father’s hand and took a seat next to him at the small round table. It was a good place to start.
They talked about family for the next hour, about what went wrong and why they had been apart so long. Andy Robertson never blamed Matthew’s mother for any of what happened, only himself . As Matt listened to his father, he felt himself getting lighter. A tingly warmth trickled through his body, leaving him feeling giddy. He knew, that with some effort from both sides, they could build a relationship. There was a lot of ground to make up.
‘So what do you do Matt? Why are you in New Zealand? You didn’t just come to find me?’
Matt wanted to lie, but would never deceive someone like that. ‘I’m here on business. A bit of research I guess you would say.’
‘You’re a researcher too? I used to dabble in academics.’
‘Dad,’ Nadine said, teasing him, ‘you didn’t just dabble. You spent hours in that shed of yours chasing down one theory or another.’
‘Right you are dear. Right you are.’ He turned back to Matt. ‘So, what’s your study?’
‘I’m a Professor of History at the University of South-West England. I double majored in History and Archaeology, and then continued with a doctorate in history, mostly in Switzerland.’ Matt looked at Nadine and his father. They stared at each other, smiles dancing between them.
‘When did you say your relationship with your mother got strained?’ his father asked
‘About when I went to Switzerland. The distance, it put a strain on things.’
‘Explains a lot.’ Nadine directed her comment at Matt’s father.
‘Indeed.’
‘What?’ Matt was perplexed.
‘Your mother never told you what I did for a living?’
‘No. She barely ever mentioned you.’
‘I’m going to hazard a guess here, Matt. Your mother didn’t become distant with you because of the physical distance. She became distant with you because you followed in your father’s footsteps.’
Matt was perplexed. His father was a historian?
‘It must have damned near killed your mum when you left her to study the same subject that I pissed her off so much with.’
‘Ah.’ Was this guilt he was feeling? He felt guilty for upsetting his Mum by following his passion? This was silly.
‘What are you studying in New Zealand?’ Matt’s father asked, pulling himself up with his good arm, as if to hear better .
‘Something a little controversial.’
‘I’m all ears.’
‘Dad’s no stranger to controversy,’ Nadine said.
‘What do you mean?’ Matt asked.
‘I tended to buck against
Similar Books
