‘Which you didn’t take to school that day.’
‘Well, I never normally needed it.’
‘You needed it then.’
The waiting staff sense something is amiss and hover nearby.
‘Oh for—’
He knows he shouldn’t do it, but something about Heather’s previously sanctimonious approach to his parenting means he can’t quite let it go.
‘So, you’re saying it’s all within your control, Georgia?’ he interjects. It’s a cheap trick, he knows.
Georgia slams her open palms either side of her plate. Crockery shakes on the table, and Scott’s overfilled water glass sloshes liquid onto the white tablecloth.
‘Exactly!’ Georgia says.
And, my goodness, what is with him today? He stares Heather in the eyes with a look of victory, as if they’re locked in mortal combat.My parenting style: one, yours: nil.But the glance will stay with Scott, because he sees the now-recognisable flush appearing over Heather’s smooth cheeks. Her wide green eyes begin to glisten, and Scott feels like a total heel.
What has he done?
Having an emergency call-out to your only living relative in the middle of the workday is no laughing matter for any parent, and Scott can see Heather re-living that experience, right now, in front of them all. Suddenly, the blue flashing lights from hisown trauma are in front of his eyes. He remembers the feeling of impotence.
Not nice.
Why does this woman bring out his combativeness? Nobody else affects him like this.
A lull falls over the table as used glasses and crockery are removed by the waiting staff. Then the girls, who have long moved on from the previous conversation, chat about their plans for the week ahead.
‘We’re both joining the Genealogy Society,’ Brianna offers when Heather asks them which clubs they plan to explore during Freshers' Fair.
‘Genealogy?’ Heather looks as shocked and unsettled as he is. How can digging into their family’s past help a young person as they begin this next stage in their life?
‘Yeah. Neither of us knows that much about the families we were born into.’
Is it Scott’s imagination, or does Brianna make a pointed glance in his direction when she says this?
‘Oh. Okay. Genealogy, then,’ Heather repeats, her face ashen.
‘Yeah. And I’m going back to dance class,’ Brianna adds, her look a definite barb, this time in Scott’s direction.
‘Dance? Great,’ says Heather.
‘Yeah. I went when I was younger, but I haven’t been in seven years,’ Brianna replies.
Scott swallows, wondering if Heather also senses herself locked in some unavoidable torment, which looks set to last for the next four years, if not longer.
FRESHMAN PARENTS' ONLINE FORUM: ST ANDREWS UNIVERSITY
OMG! My DS’s diet! Anyone else’s YP surviving on crisps and chocolate?
Yep. And scary blue fizzy drinks.
