Whos that? The one we werent expecting! shouted David Peterson, slamming his hand on the kitchen table. Then you can just get out of here!
Dad, whats going on? Andrew stared, bewildered. Ive been away for twenty years and you spring this on me?
If Id had my way Id have met you with a belt! David grabbed his belt, then laughed. Never mind, well sort it out now.
Take it easy, mate! Andrew stepped back, hands raised. Im not a kid, I can answer for myself!
Thats the spirit! David sneered, letting the belt dangle. You attack the weak, run from the strong, lie to the good and grovel to the wicked.
So, why are you so angry? What are you accusing me of? Andrew shrugged. If I ever did anything wrong, it was twenty years ago. Times healed it.
Easy to say when the guilts yours. Of course you want forgiveness, but Ive got none left for you, David declared.
What could I possibly have done? All I ever thought about back at the academy was why 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 kept writing!
Dont you know? David mocked.
Andrews face showed pure confusion; he wanted to press for details, but the shouting between father and son was cut short by their mothers voice.
Enough! Mary Morgan shouted, wiping her hands on a tea towel. Youre both acting like children! Get him out, Michael, before he stains the family name!
Andrew froze, his jaw slack. Mary added, If I had the strength, Id grab you by the throat. God, Id have to do something, but I suppose the Almighty enjoys a good drama. She pointed at the bruise under Andrews eye.
Someone really went for it, David grinned. Give him a hand, would you?
Parents, whats happening? Andrew yelled. Have you both lost your minds? Ive been gone for two decades! Why the sudden hostility?
Who tipped you off? David asked. Well send you packing, then thank the messenger later.
I have no idea who you mean, Andrew snapped, I was on the coach home, then my neighbour Pete recognised me and came over to say hello. As soon as the coach stopped, a lanky lad leapt out, glared at me, spat in my face and bolted. By the time I recovered, he was gone.
Brave soul, David chuckled. Well have to ask Pete who gave you that welcome.
Dad, is this really all you care about? Andrew shouted. Just because Ive been away for twenty years, you think I can just disappear?
Why do we even need a traitor here? Mary asked sharply.
Why am I a traitor? Andrew muttered.
Because someone shouted from the kitchen.
Whos the brave one now? Andrew growled.
A lanky figure stepped into the light.
That boy over there slapped me! Andrew pointed.
Well done, lad! David beamed. You didnt miss a beat!
Grandson, what are you on about? Andrew recoiled.
Exactly this! Mary stepped in, shielding him. Your son! Abandoned!
I have no son! Andrew protested, voice shaking. Never had one! If I did, Id know.
Remember why you fled that village twenty years ago? David pressed, his voice cracking.
***
Andrew never called his departure a runaway. It was a planned leave, just a bit earlier than intended, and there were a few reasons for that.
He had to travel almost across the whole country to attend a maritime college, and he wanted to earn a bit on the side while studying. Hed been awarded a modest scholarship enough for a decent life, but not enough to rely on his parents for money. They could only send food parcels, and sending those from the other side of England was a nightmare.
There was a second reason. Just before he left, trouble was brewing back in his home village. If hed stayed a couple of weeks longer, the whole situation might have collapsed, especially with the local matchmakers pushing their own agendas. Thats why he chose to go.
When people asked why?, hed say: I want my life tied to the sea. I cant leave a wife at home while Im off on a long voyage, expecting her to raise a family on her own.
The sea came into his life by accident. After school, he first served his country in the Royal Navy. The years at sea made him realise the land life wasnt for him. When he finally got back, a posting to a naval engineering course was waiting, and he could become a ships mechanic.
Before classes began, he decided to have a few nights out, just to make sure he wouldnt feel restless later. Young men after the service tend to party hard not the kind of partying youd call a night out, but more like a series of dares and jokes, sometimes at the pub, sometimes in a backalley, sometimes with anyone whod join.
Andrew saw those lads and thought, I dont want to end up like a caged bird, chained to a house, a wife, kids, and a farm. He kept his own life in check, even stitching his belt tighter before leaving home, bolting his bootlaces tight.
There were some hiccups with paperwork, but better to fight those now than suffer forever. His good looks and clear plans made him popular among the village girls a young, promising lad with no scandal attached.
Everywhere he turned, people tried to court him, promising kindness and support. Delegations visited his parents, hoping to arrange a match. He realised he couldnt keep the defence up. Either hed be forced into something, or his parents would be persuaded otherwise. So he slipped away from the village a month and a half early, before anyone could lock him down.
As the saying goes, Better safe than sorry.
He arrived at the port, got a berth in the sailors hostel, submitted his papers, received his acceptance letter, and wrote home saying hed made it, had a job, and everything was fine.
His parents replied with a furious letter, calling him a traitor, a coward, and a host of other unflattering names all on paper, of course. They even wrote that he no longer had any family home, and that a man like him belonged in the deep sea.
Andrew was stunned, trying to get an explanation, but they never sent a telegram back. He could have stormed back, but the study kept him busy. He kept writing, letter after letter.
When he finally earned his diploma, one thin scrap of paper arrived from home: May you drown! Traitor! Coward! signed not by his parents, but by David Peterson and Mary Morgan.
He never really knew why, but it was clear they didnt want him back.
He signed a naval contract and kept sailing. About twice a year hed dock on the mainland, send another note, then head back out. Replies stopped coming altogether.
He was in his forties when he finally decided it was worth finding out what had spooked his parents twenty years earlier.
The meeting turned out anything but warm and brought a few surprises.
***
What did you run from? From us not marrying you off? Andrew mimicked. Did you think I didnt see you plotting with half the village to line me up with someone else?
I saw the gifts, heard the promises! You knew I was going to study and still tried to trap me!
We wanted you to have a good match, but you made a fool of Natasha and fled! Mary snapped. Found a new girl? An orphan!
That girl showed up after I left, claiming she was expecting a child, asking for our advice. And we thought, What do we do with our own grandchild out of the blue?
And when did she show up? Andrew asked. I wrote a letter a month after I left, and you told me not to come back!
We were told Natasha wrote you about a pregnancy! You told her to have an abortion and cut her out of your life! David replied.
Interesting, Andrew said. What about after I was kicked out of the house?
We took her in! Shes an orphan, no family, carrying our future grandchild under her heart. Look, we even raised Stan.
Call her Natasha, Andrew demanded. Lets get this sorted!
There’s no one to sort with, Stan said. My mum died ten years ago. Grandma and granddad raised me.
Right then, Andrew shook his head. And your son met his dad straight in the eye?
Little of you to kill, after you dumped my pregnant mum! Stan shouted. Good thing my grandparents turned out decent.
So you all think youre right and Im the only traitor?
And a coward! David added. You fled responsibility, sent a girl for an abortion!
But Natasha told us shed had a baby! You called her a liar in your last letter!
Did you see the letter? Andrew asked.
Unlike you, we believed the poor girl, Mary said.
Fine, if you all claim the truth, lets do a DNA test! Otherwise I cant prove Im right. If Im the father, you can hang me at the gate!
The test came back negative. Andrew handed the results to his parents.
Clear as day? he asked. Natasha knew I wasnt the father, but she came to you anyway.
The problem isnt that you believed a liar, its that you accepted a son you called a coward and a traitor!
For twenty years you never forgave me, and now you dont need my forgiveness either. I could say I pity you, but I dont. So goodbye, even though you said goodbye to me twenty years ago!
Andrew left, while Stan stayed, still milking the old people, insisting he was their beloved grandson, that the test was wrong, that his mother was a saint.
And thats the story, mate. Hope you enjoyed the drama.
