Whos that? The one we werent expecting! I roared, slamming my hand on the mantel. If youre not here to leave, you can just go back out the door!
Dad, what the? Andrew stammered, eyes wide. Ive been away for twenty years and you spring this on me!
If it were up to me, Id have met you with a belt! I snarled, grabbing at my waist. Never mind, well sort this out right now.
Take it easy, lad, Andrew stepped back, hands raised. Im not a child any more; I can answer for myself.
Ah, theres the spirit! I barked, letting my hand drop. You strike the weak, run from the strong, cheat the good and grovel to the wicked.
Then why are you so angry? What are you accusing me of? Andrew shrugged. If I ever did anything wrong, its been twenty years. Times healed it and forgiven it.
Easy for you to say when youve never been at fault, I snapped. You want everyone to forgive you, but Ive got no forgiveness to give.
What could I possibly have done to you? he challenged. Back at the academy I was always dreaming of the sea, but my parents signed me up for the navy and told me I could never come home. They never replied to any of my letters, even though I wrote dozens.
Did you know that? I asked, mocking.
Andrews face showed total bewilderment. He tried to press for specifics, but the shouting match was cut short by a voice from the kitchen.
Enough of this! Mary Miller shouted, her voice sharp as a kitchen knife. Youve brought trouble into this house! Get him out, Andrew, before he stains our good name!
Andrew froze, as still as a statue. Mary added, If I had the strength, Id grab you by the throat and never let go. I see the devils work right there in that scar on your face.
Someones really laid it on thick, I chuckled, clapping my hand to his shoulder. Give him a handshake, will you?
Parents, whats happening? Andrew yelled. Have you both gone mad? Ive been gone twenty yearswhy the sudden cold shoulder?
Who told you what to do? I asked. Well chase you out, and when the time comes well thank the one who helped us.
Dont ask me how I know, Andrew snapped. I was on the coach home when Pete, the neighbour, spotted me and ran over to greet me. Then a young lad leapt out, shoved his face in my eyes, spat at me and bolted. By the time I caught my breath, hed vanished.
A mysterious hero, I said, smiling. Well have to ask Pete who gave you that shove.
Dad, is that all you care about? Andrew shouted. Just because Ive been away, you think I can just keep disappearing?
What use is a traitor here? Mary asked, eyes flashing.
Why am I a traitor?
Because a voice from the back of the kitchen shouted.
And whos this brave soul? Andrew demanded, his temper flaring.
A figure stepped into the light.
That kid over there punched me! Andrew pointed at the young man, his finger trembling.
Good lad, grandson! I beamed. You didnt miss your chance.
What grandson? Andrew recoiled.
Thats right. Mary stepped in front of me, shielding my view. Your sonabandoned!
I have no son! Andrew shouted, voice cracking. Never had one! If I did, Id know.
Remember why you left the village twenty years ago? David Peterson intoned, his tone bitter.
***
Andrew never called his departure a runaway; it was a planned move that happened a little earlier than intended, for several reasons.
Hed have to travel almost across the country to reach the naval academy, and he wanted to earn a bit of money on the way. He was on a scholarship, but it barely covered a modest life, and asking his parents for help across the miles was impossiblethey could only send food, not cash, and sending provisions was a nightmare.
A second reason was the unrest in his home village. If hed lingered two weeks longer, he might never have been able to leave. The village women were pestering him, and he decided to get away before things got worse.
When asked why, he would have answered simply: I want my life tied to the sea, not to a hearth I cant stand.
The sea entered his life by accident. After school he signed up for national service, hoping to figure out his future. The navy gave him enough time to realise land life wasnt for him. When he returned, a posting to a marine engineering school waited for him, and he decided to have a bit of a holiday before beginning his studies.
He spent his break the way lads do after dischargeliving it up, though his version of living it up was more about staying conscious than getting into trouble. He roamed bars, slept in alleys, and chased any excitement, whether at a table, a brawl, or a night with a girl.
Soon he saw the pattern: a proud soldier returns, ready to change the world, only to be chained to a heavy loadwife, children, farm. He didnt want that fate. No matter how hard he partied, he kept his belt tight and his boots fastened.
There were obstacles, of course, but hed rather suffer a little now than be miserable forever. His good looks and clear plans made him popular with the village maidensyoung, hopeful, and none of them aware of any scandal.
He was besieged from all sidesinvited over, offered sweets, promises of affection, while suitors came to his parents to arrange alliances. He saw the trap, realised he couldnt hold the line, and fled the village a month and a half early.
As the saying goes, A stitch in time saves nine. He arrived in London, rented a bunk in a hostel, signed up for his course, sent a letter home saying hed made it, that hed found work, that all was well.
His parents replied with a furious note, branding him a traitor, a coward, and calling him a worm. They even wrote that he no longer had any family and that his place was at the bottom of the sea.
Andrew was stunned. He kept writing, begging for an explanation, but no telegrams came back. He was stuckstudy first, then maybe a visit later.
When he finally got his diploma, a single, crumpled sheet arrived from home: May you drown, traitor! Coward! signed not by his mother or father, but by David Peterson and Mary Miller.
The meaning was clearhe was no longer welcome. He didnt return home, signed a naval contract, and went back to sea. Every six months hed dock in a port, send a quick note home, then sail away again, no longer waiting for a reply.
At forty, he finally cared more about untangling the mystery of why his parents had turned on him than about any other voyage.
The reunion turned out to be anything but warm.
What were you running from? Andrew mimicked. From the fact that you never arranged a proper marriage for me? Did you think Id never notice you scheming with half the village to find me a suitable match?
I saw the gifts, I heard the promises! You knew I was heading to the academy, yet you tried to lock me down! he shouted.
My aim was to secure a good match for you, but you fell for Natalie and fled! Mary snapped. Found a stray! She added that she had come to us shortly after I left, asking for advice because she expected a child. And we, she said, just tossed our own grandson to the wind?
And when did she show up? Andrew asked. A month after I left, I wrote you, and you told me not to come back!
We were told Natalie had written you about a pregnancy, David replied. You told her to have an abortion and disappear from your life.
Very interesting, Andrew said dryly. And you? After I was banished?
We took her in. She was an orphan, no one else. She even carries our grandsons heart. We raised our boy, Stan! Mary declared.
Call her Natalie, Andrew demanded. We need to sort this out.
There’s no one to sort with, Stan said. My mother died ten years ago. My grandparents raised me!
Right, Andrew shook his head. And my father met his son eyetoeye!
You barely killed me by abandoning my pregnant mother! Stan shouted. At least my grandparents were decent folks.
So it turns out youre all righteous, and Im the only traitor?
And a coward too! David added. You fled responsibility and sent a poor girl to an abortion!
We were told Natalie gave birth to a son, yet you insulted her in your last letter!
Did you see that letter? Andrew asked.
Unlike you, we believed the poor girl, Mary replied.
Well, if you all claim to be on the right side, lets do a DNA test, Andrew suggested. Otherwise I cant prove Im right. If Im the father, you can hang me on the gates.
The test came back negative. Andrew handed the results to his parents.
Clear enough? he asked. Natalie knew I wasnt the father, but she came to you anyway. The real problem isnt that you believed a lie; its that you accepted that your son was a coward and a traitor.
For twenty years you never forgave me. Now I dont need your forgiveness. I might have felt pity, but I dont. So farewell! You said goodbye to me twenty years ago already.
Andrew left, and Stan stayed, continuing to milk the old folk, insisting he was their beloved grandson, that the test was wrong, and that his mother was a saint.
And that, my friends, is how it went.
