‘I need to have a word with Kyle.’
She was trying to pull him away. ‘What? No, you talked to Amelia, that was enough wasn’t it?’
‘I’m afraid not.’
‘Dad…’
‘Don’t worry, he’ll be in one piece when you get back.’
‘Fine. I’ll go get us a mulled cider each.’ But she didn’t look at all sure when she walked away.
Nathan waited for the customer to take the tree Kyle had netted and when Kyle saw him waiting with no Scarlett around to leap to his rescue, he looked as though he was preparing to stick up for himself, standing tall, chest pushed out like a pufferfish doubling in size when it felt threatened.
‘Can I have a word?’
Immediately defensive, Kyle’s only response was, ‘Why?’
‘I wanted to apologise. I was out of order at the party.’
Kyle lined up Christmas trees to cover the gap that had just been made by the sale, feigning nonchalance the best he could now instead of looking ready for a fight.
‘Scarlett seems to like you,’ Nathan tried again even though Kyle had his back to him. ‘I think we got off on the wrong foot.’
‘You accused me of stealing, when you saw me in the park.’ He was fiddling with the bottom branches of a tree Nathan suspected didn’t need attention at all.
‘Kind of understandable given our history, though, don’t you think?’ He got no response. ‘I’m sorry if I got it wrong this time.’
When Kyle stood up to full height he wasn’t far off Nathan’s six foot two. ‘Ifyou got it wrong?’ Pufferfish was back.
‘Look, I’m trying to apologise. I made assumptions at the park, and I really shouldn’t have gone off at you at the party. But I do worry about my daughter. And that’s the part I won’t apologise for.’
Kyle backed down. ‘She’s a nice girl.’
‘I know she is.’ And he wanted her to stay that way. She was good at school, she worked hard, she was carving out a future. Kyle on the other hand had a past that had left him angry and, from what Nathan knew already, it was enough to give him cause to worry. He never wanted Scarlett to be collateral damage in whatever was going on in Kyle’s life.
Scarlett appeared and thrust a cup of hot mulled cider into his hand, probably in case he was tempted to manhandle Kyle. Which he wouldn’t. He was just a kid.
‘Everything OK?’ Scarlett looked from boyfriend to dad and back again.
‘We’re good, aren’t we, Kyle?’ said Nathan.
Kyle shrugged but it must’ve been Scarlett’s influence when he held out a hand to Nathan. ‘No hard feelings,’ he said.
Not yet there weren’t. But Nathan shook his hand anyway.
*
Nathan did his own thing for the next hour. He wandered along to Union Square Park. Although wandered probably wasn’t the right word. With Christmas less than a week away the crowds in Manhattan seemed to have doubled. The streets were full of colour, life, excitement, but he wasn’t brave enough to tackle these holiday markets. Instead, he was content to absorb the atmosphere from the perimeter. A tree with coloured lights illuminated the velvet sky interspersed with towering blocks that made up the city. He watched a street entertainer, a one-man band playing a bright-red guitar, blowing into a harmonica, using feet attached to strings to play the drums fastened to his back. And when he’d had enough of sightseeing, Nathan eventually made his way back to the Garland Street markets, where he’d agreed to meet Scarlett at the Christmas tree chalet.
When Amelia beckoned him as he sneaked a glance at the knitting stall when he walked by, he couldn’t say he was sorry. She handed her customer some change and turned to him. ‘Did you catch up with Kyle?’ She was a good auntie and her commitment to family was something to admire. He’d had his parents in his corner his whole life; it was good that Kyle had someone to look out for him too.
‘I did.’
‘And…’ Her impatience was amusing.
‘Are you worried things got heated?’
She battled a smile. ‘A little.’
