The Fall of the Fainthearts

Track Seventeen: Welcome To The Faintheart Estate

Axel: The minute I caught a glimpse of the Faintheart estate I knew I'd made a big mistake. The taxi crawled through the iron gates agonisingly slow and I felt like I was going into the lion's den. It just looked so ominous, like it was looming over the world. I didn't remember it looking like that, at all. The nostalgic rose-tinted glasses had definitely not kicked in.

Florence: Axel was so nervous, kept bouncing his leg up and down the whole journey and was breathing heavy enough for me to hear. I was starting to half-expect to meet the most wicked people in the world, like my in-laws were some sort of fairytale villains. I'd never met any of his family, yet he'd met all of mine.

Isabelle Faintheart: When I opened that door and saw my boy's face again; oh, it still makes me emotional to this day. To see him all scrubbed up so well, standing hand in hand with his new wife. That moment gave me everything I had imagined and more.

He looked so well. His cheeks had colour in, his eyes seemed brighter. He looked as though he had so much more energy, though most of it was nervous. His hair was still long and his smile was still crooked and he was still him. It hit me all at once how I had missed him.

Axel: It was... good to see mum again. It was, I didn't mean to pause. Mum just wants the best for everyone. Sometimes it doesn't work out that way, but her intentions are there.

Florence: Isabelle grabbed onto Axel and must've held him for about a minute straight, just gushing over him and swaying him and squeezing. It was so sweet to see someone care about Axel, in a real, family way. Not just because his ticket sales put money in the bank.

Axel: She ushered us in after a lifetime of standing on the porch and I said my hellos to Harry and Piper, who looked shell-shocked that I'd actually turned up.

Harry Faintheart: It was really good to see my brother again. I think back then I just didn't expect him to come, I was prepared to comfort our mum all night when she realised he was never going to come home. But he did, and it was weird to see him. At that age - I was around fifteen at the time - you grow up so fast. The last time I'd seen him I was about twelve, and we were different people.

Piper Faintheart: I was thirteen when Axel came home. I'd gotten very used to him not being around, I kind of forgot that I had an older brother. I'd get teased a lot in school with people pretending they had tickets to his shows, that they were going to 'see him more often than I do'. I was very, very bitter.

I didn't give him the warmest welcome. Oh, I cringe looking back on it. I just stood looming at the end of the hallway and glared until I thought I'd gotten my point across that I was mad at him for what he'd put our parents through. I don't think he got the jist though, it was just awkward for everyone involved.

Axel: Piper was not happy to see me. It was so strange, she was so young how I remembered her. I mean, she was still a kid, but she was wearing a private school girl's uniform, so she'd been accepted into her dream school, and she looked so much more grown. More like mum. I felt like I'd missed such a chunk of both of their lives, and I had, but I tried not to think about it.

Of course, last to show up was dad.

Tim Faintheart: I took my time to come down the stairs. I wanted to establish that things were going to be on my terms. I didn't want him barging in, thinking he owned the place now that he'd decided to have us back as his family again. That wasn't going to run, not in my house.

Axel: Dad was just how I remembered him, he hadn't changed one bit.

Tim Faintheart: I will admit, I was impressed with what I saw. He didn't look all gloomy and sunken. Them dreadful bags under his eyes had cleared and he looked... healthy. I couldn't remember the last time I could say that and it'd be true.

Axel: All I could manage out to address him was "Dad." Which he affectionately replied with, "Son."
I'd definitely imagined it, but there was some sort of warmth to it.

Isabelle Faintheart: Oh, Florence is simply gorgeous. She's a beautiful woman with a soul to match it. I loved her then, I love her now. I couldn't have picked a better wife for my Axel myself.

She stood there, holding his arm in support with this wide beaming grin on her face. She was so polite, coaxed Piper out of her shell by asking about her uniform - which she'd worn especially to show off, it wasn't even a school day - and her energy lit up the whole room. I don't have a bad word to say about the girl and I never will have.

Tim Faintheart: I was pleased with Florence. When I found out that he'd gotten married, all I could hope for was that it wasn't Figgy. At least he was rid of her, finally.

Axel: The conversation lulled and I could feel myself getting nervous again. I was a fish out of water in my own home, I felt so out of place. It didn't feel right that I'd walked back in so easily after leaving in such a fuss. I started to wonder why I ever did, and then dad opened his mouth.

Tim Faintheart: I asked, "When are you going to start making some decent music?" It was in good taste, he's just always been so sensitive.

Florence: I felt the whole room shift. Axel tensed, Isabelle held her breath, the kids retreated in embarrassment. In one sentence, I realised exactly why Axel felt the way he did. That one question made everything make sense.

Axel: I wanted to leave. I wanted to punch him in the face, and then leave again and never come back. The first thing he says to me is that?

Isabelle Faintheart: Before it could escalate, I announced that dinner was going to be a little bit earlier. I was not having him walk out of that door again, because I knew that he wouldn't come back any more. This was my only chance to put the family back together and it was not over until I said it was over.

I sat everyone around the table, with Tim at the end and Axel as far away as I could place him, at the other end. Dinner was not going to be early, but I whipped up a few entrees to keep them busy.

Tim Faintheart: I will admit when I'm wrong. There is a chance that maybe I misjudged our relationship too quickly. Maybe it wasn't ready for those kinds of quips. I wouldn't apologise, not until he apologised for everything he had done to us. But I would move forward and try to get along with my son.

Axel: Well, at least we were over the worst of it.