Parade's End Epilogue

Like father, like son

It was Michael's first day in school. He got home to find his parents sitting in the drawing room. He went up to his mother and she gave him a kiss on the forehead and then to his father whom he gave a hug.

"How was your first day in school, darling?" Sylvia asked his son. She had grown fond of his son although she never meant to have him. She worried about him constantly, especially when she left him to live in France when she and Christopher separated. In fact, he was the only reason she went out of the house, to visit him.

"Everyone has been very kind and friendly. Luckily, I already know someone there." Michael answered enthusiastically.

"Oh? And who's that?" his mother asked.

"Rose Montgomery. You remember, the girl I was playing with during the party?"

"Oh, and what about the boys you were playing with?"

"They don't go to the same school."

"Hmm..." Sylvia smiled. "Well, since you got through the first day of school, would you like to go to a restaurant for dinner?" Sylvia suggested.

"Alright." Michael grinned. "Are you going?" He asked his father.

"No, I'm afraid I can't go." Michael frowned. It wasn't because he had an engagement that Christopher couldn't go with them, it was because he was going to tell him about Valentine and he knew that Sylvia offered dinner to make their son feel better after he the talk. Although, it probably wouldn't make him feel better at all.

"I'm going upstairs to prepare for dinner." Sylvia informed the two of them and hinted at Christopher that it was his chance to speak to Michael. Christopher nodded.

When Sylvia was gone, Christopher asked his son to sit beside him on the sofa. Michael did so and Christopher began to speak of Valentine, stuttering once in a while. He was expecting him to be shocked or angry by the end of it but he wasn't. Instead he just looked his father in the eyes without saying a word.

"Son..." Christopher uttered, trying to get him to speak.

"I've known about it, about her." Michael was 10 but he spoke as if he was an adult. Perhaps he got it from Christopher.

"How did you-"

"Because I know that you wouldn't leave mother if there wasn't another woman. It took me a while to understand but I eventually did."

"How did you know that it is her?"

"I could see how mother looks at her."

"How does she look at her?" Christopher knew that Sylvia looked at Valentine with hatred but he wanted to know what innocent eyes as a child could see.

Michael pursed his lips and looked down, a signal that meant he wasn't going to speak.

"Michael... How does your mother look at her?" Christopher repeated.

"It's as if... It's hard to explain... but, it's as if she'd lost something that was extremely valuable to her and she wouldn't let anyone know." Christopher fell silent. "Do you remember when her horse died and we only knew about it days later? She had the same look in her eyes, except this time, it seems worse." Michael continued.

Sylvia entered the room and she was now wearing a different dress. She ordered Michael to go and change his clothes for dinner. Also, that would give her an opportunity to ask Christopher how their talk went.

"He's known all about it." Christopher started as soon as Michael left the room. "He knew about Miss Wannop as well."

"Who could've told him?" Christopher glanced at her and saw from her expression that it wasn't her who told him. Besides, Sylvia never lied to him. She was always honest with him.

"No one told him. He said he noticed from the way you look at her." They were silent for a while. "You told Michael that I left you." Christopher said slowly, changing the topic.

"No, of course not. All I said was, we've separated and that I was going to live somewhere far from London."

"I suppose it's Mark." They stared at each other for a long while before Sylvia sat opposite of him. "Have you noticed anything about the way he speaks?" Christopher broke the silence.

"Michael? Yes, he speaks exactly like you." Sylvia smirked. "He is exactly like you. He got nothing from me." Sylvia complained.

"He got your lips." Christopher smiled to her.

Michael came again.

"Mum, are you ready?" Michael was waiting by the doorway.

"Are you sure you don't want to join us?" Sylvia asked Christopher as they both stood up.

"I don't want to ruin his night."

At dinner, Sylvia did not want to remind his son about her husband and his mistress but she couldn't help but wonder how he really feels about his parent's separation. He may be just 10 years old but he already thinks like an adult.

"What did you and your father talk about?" Sylvia started the conversation.

"He didn't tell you?"

"He did, but..." Sylvia gave a nervous sigh and tried again. "How do you really feel about... this whole thing...your father and I's separation... and the girl...?"

"Marchie said that I shouldn't worry about you and father's problems."

"Yes, but how do you feel about all of this?"

"How do I feel? I don't understand. I don't understand why father is with a girl. I don't understand why you let him go. I don't understand why he's not here having dinner with us!" Michael started raising his voice.

"Michael." Sylvia said sternly and he began to calm down. He looked down and finished his dinner without uttering another word and so did she.

They got home and Christopher, to Sylvia's surprise, was sitting on the sofa.

"Michael, go up to your room." Sylvia ordered and he obeyed.

"Won't your mistress be wondering where you are?" Sylvia asked as she poured some whiskey into a glass.

"She knows that I'm here." Sylvia handed him the glass and poured another one for herself. "How was dinner?"

They both sat down opposite of each other. "I was wrong about Michael. He isn't exactly like you. He got my temper. He shouted at me at the restaurant!" Sylvia exclaimed.

"He did? Why? What was he so angry about?"

"About not being able to understand any of this." Sylvia said softly. "He's obviously frustrated that you never dine with us anymore."

Christopher pursed his lips. "He will understand one day."

"Will he?" Sylvia was going to say more, but instead she downed the whiskey in her glass to keep herself from talking because she knew that if she said what she wanted to say, she would hate herself forever for shaming herself. "You'd better go back to your mistress or she'd start thinking that you're being unfaithful to her. And I'm going to bed." She stood up and went up to her room. Christopher did not follow.

What she really wanted to say was that if Michael understood all of this one day, the he must really be a Tietjens, smart, for she, herself, could not even understand and probably would never understand. She didn't tell him that because that would show that she'd been defeated. There was no competition but she didn't want him to see that she was still longing for him. Though she had probably shown him, not on purpose, that she'd lost the fight.