Page 29 of Forget

‘He talks about you, you know.’

‘All glowing, I’m sure.’

She ignored his sarcasm. ‘He’s proud of how hard you work. Says you get that from him.’

That was news to him, his dad being proud. George never said a good word to him ever and hearing it second-hand only accentuated the yawning chasm between them.

‘Speaking of work, I better get stuck into those accounts.’ He shot Glenda a half-assed smile but she didn’t lose the disapproving frown.

‘He’s your dad. Go see him,’ were her last words before he shut the door to his father’s office, the chastisement from someone who’d known him since he’d waddled around in diapers not helping his mood.

Taking a look around the small room didn’t help either. It appeared particularly dilapidated, from the filing cabinets with drawers that didn’t close properly to the tears in the faux-leather pseudo-ergonomic chair behind a desk littered with documents.

For a highly organised Type A personality, this place was his biggest nightmare.

Kicking a half-empty box out of the way, he sat behind the desk and turned on the computer. At least his dad had the sense to invest in good electronics, because if his online records had resembled the rest of this shithole Brock would’ve been tempted to walk out and not look back.

Nothing was password protected despite his initial efforts to educate his old man on the importance of online security, but it made his job easier now. He’d pulled up the business’s financials within seconds and cast a critical eye over them.

Only to be blown away.

His dad actually made a profit, and had for the last five years.

A combination of canny discounting, fair pricing, and minimal overheads meant if his father sold forty cars a year, George made more than enough to live off.

Another stab of guilt pierced Brock’s resolve to stay the hell away from his father. For all George’s faults, he made enough money to care for his wife and that was all Brock cared about. His mum had stuck it out in a dead-end marriage because of the kid she’d never wanted, the least he could do was ensure she didn’t have a hard life now.

A cursory glance at the invoicing showed he had a bit of work to do, along with paying some bills, but all in all he’d stay on top of things if he visited twice a week while his dad recuperated.

His gaze drifted away from the computer to a filing cabinet opposite the desk. Tucked between two towering stacks of boxes, it had a few photos on the top. Photos of a their family.

Brock stood and moved around the desk for a closer look. There were three photos in total, all in tarnished bronze frames. The first showed his newly-wed parents looking way too young in their late teens, his mum with a bulging belly. He’d been born three months after their wedding. No surprise why they got married in the first place.

The second photo depicted the three of them around the car yard’s front sign, staring up at the neon lights as if it were the greatest thing they’d ever seen. He’d been about five then, when he’d still viewed his dad as his hero.

The third photo shocked him the most. Him, in a cap and gown, at his graduation ceremony. A slight frown dented George’s brow, and his mouth had a decidedly surly twist, but there was no hiding the pride.

Brock remembered that fateful day six years ago; and what had followed that night. But discovering his father had a picture in his office of something he barely acknowledged…it blew Brock away.

On graduation day, George had shaken his hand, clapped him on the back, and left after sharing a beer at the pub near uni where all the students and their families had gathered. Brockhad been bitterly disappointed at the time, that even on the most important day of his life his father couldn’t bear to spend more than a few minutes in his company.

But then he’d discovered Jayda sobbing near the toilets and he’d forgotten all about his dysfunctional family and focussed on her.

His father had never been demonstrative. But seeing this photo perched in his direct line of vision every single day rattled Brock and made him realise something. No matter what he thought of his father, no matter how shitty their relationship, his father was injured and lying in a hospital and he should be ashamed of himself for not wanting to at least visit.

Hell, when his mum had called with the news he hadn’t even picked up the phone to speak to his dad. Instead, he’d been a selfish prick, only thinking about himself. Guess he had more in common with dear old dad than he liked to admit.

Shutting down the accounting software and the computer, he glanced at the time. Visiting hours varied at hospitals…that was when it hit him. He didn’t even know which hospital his dad was in.

Yeah, he was a shitty son. But he knew this unexpected attack of guilt prompting him to go visit the old man would do little for their relationship in general. He would never understand how his dad could treat his mother so badly, with the constant insults and put-downs, just as he would never understand how she put up with it.

But for now, he’d do the right thing.

Time to extend an olive branch, no matter how short, to his father.

14

It bugged Jaydathat Brock had no online social media presence.

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