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“I like to be different.” He smiled at her, the first open, warm smile she’d seen from him since he arrived.
“How did you get on today with the surfing?”
“Good yeah, I stood up a few times. Dad properly stacked it, thought he was going to need CPR.” He laughed and took a puff of his rollie.
“I’m glad you guys are having a good time.”
“Yeah, I didn’t want to come if I’m honest, but it’s not been as bad as I thought it would.”
“Why didn’t you want to come?”
Ryan looked at his feet.
“Sorry, you don’t have to answer that if it’s too personal a question.”
“No, it’s fine. I don’t really know my dad. I only met him a couple of months ago.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah, mad isn’t it? He didn’t abandon me if that’s what you’re thinking. Him and Mum lost touch, and by the time she knew she was pregnant she had no way of contacting him.”
“That must have been so hard for her.”
“It was. I’ve always hated him for leaving her, but he didn’t really, did he?”
“So how did you get in touch with him after all this time?”
“Mum found him on Facebook after I started hassling her about tracking him down. Knowing how old he was, Facebook was the obvious place to start the search.” Kate winced, wondering if her own Facebook account put her in theoldcategory. “They didn’t have Facebook back when they got together, or she could’ve found him sooner. It was only a one-night thing between them, so she didn’t know where he lived or anything like that.”
“How do they get on now?”
“It’s a bit frosty. I think Mum feels he owes her big time for all the years she’s spent looking after me by herself.”
“That’s understandable. So, this was a getting to know you sort of trip?”
“Yeah, that’s right. I’m still not sure I like him, I mean, he’s well embarrassing. But he’s sort of growing on me, you know?”
“He seems a decent bloke from the little time I’ve spent with him. Will you spend more time together when you go home?”
“He lives in Hong Kong, but he’s promised to come and visit again this year, and says I can go and stay with him. I’ve told him I’ll think about it.”
“I doubt you’re looking for advice, but I’ll give it anyway,” said Kate, stubbing her cigarette out beneath her shoe. “My dad died when I was really young. I never got the chance to know him properly. The cruellest thing is I still miss him, I mean, how crazy is that, missing someone you barely knew?”
“I get it,” said Ryan, looking at Kate intently. “I’ve missed my dad for years, and I didn’t even know who my dad was.”
“Then all the more reason to spend as much time with him as you can. I wish I’d had that chance. There’s so much I want to know about Dad that I’ll never find out. If yours is offering to fly you out to Hong Kong, grab the opportunity. I’m sure you won’t regret it.”
“Thanks. You’re pretty cool for an old bird, you know.”
Kate looked at him in horror, but his mouth was curled up slightly at the sides and she could tell he was joking. “Well, you’re pretty cool for a yoof. Now, instead of nattering away to me, why don’t you go back inside and spend some time with your dad.”
“May as well,” said Ryan. “I’m freezing my tits off out here.”
Kate shuffled over to let him pass and sat staring out onto the street. Had her dad rode up and down here on his bike? Had he smoked cigarettes where she sat now? Was he sullen like the Ryan she’d met yesterday, or thoughtful and sensitive like the Ryan she’d spoken to this evening? Hopefully Joy would be able to shed some light onto her dad’s character next time she came over.
With a blanket covering the bin bags to deter the gulls, Kate headed back inside to warm up. She made herself a cup of tea and checked her phone for the thousandth time that day. There had been no word from Bob since he’d shouted at her the previous night, and she wasn’t prepared to be the one to break the stalemate. It wasn’t just Bob who’d gone dark on her, there were no messages from anyone. Kate wondered if her absence from Bath had resulted in out of sight and out of mind. There hadn’t been a single cat video from Alex that day.
Kate wondered if Bob still wanted her to go to the office party at the weekend. She wasn’t sure she wanted to anymore, not until he apologised anyway. At that moment her phone buzzed with a message from Bob, in that spooky,your phone is reading your mindway it did sometimes.
