Breathe Again

06: New Wife, New Life

"Liam."

There's beat of silence, a moment that drags on a little too long where both Liam and his father struggle for words to say. And with each passing heartbeat Isaac can see Liam's resolve begin to crumble. Every once of confidence Liam had built up is beginning to seep out of him, Isaac sees him stand a little less tall, his expression begins to look a little less firm.

Eventually Liam appears to find his voice. There's a slight tremble to it but Isaac imagines it's only noticeable to him, someone who knows Liam so well and knows when he feels as if his knees are about to give out from underneath him.

"Long time no see hey?"

His Father struggles for a response, shock evident on his face. He reaches out, perhaps to pull Liam into a hug, perhaps to push his son further away, perhaps to check if he's really there, or if this is just some illusion. Isaac imagines seeing Liam here after so long must almost be like seeing someone come back from the dead.

"Why are you here?" There's no softness to his voice, just bite, and Isaac feels himself recoil slightly.

There is a brief flash of hurt in Liam's eyes but he allows it to spread no further. Instead Isaac watches as the other boy straightens his back and looks his father right in the eye, something to make him feel more confident when all he wants to do is begin to fall apart.

"I figured you'd want family here at an important occasion like this, I mean you invited your mad aunt, surely you'd want your own son there too."

"But who told you it was happening."

"Just because you don't talk to me and mum anymore doesn't mean no one else does."

And there it is, out in the open. Isaac watches the pair transform from polite acquaintances to a father and son separated by time. Isaac feels like there's more than just a few words lost in between them, there's years gone by since they've last talked, and Isaac wonders how they can ever get those years back. All those memories and moments they've missed out on from each other's lives.

All Isaac can think is that they can't. But they're trying and he supposes that that's all that matters.

"I didn't invite you."

It's true and Liam knows it, but as everyone loves to remind people the truth hurts and his father saying what he has known as along still hurts like a knife to the chest. It rips through him leaving what Isaac imagines must be invisible scars and Isaac wonders how he doesn't wince.

Liam doesn't really know what he was expecting, a hug, a warm welcome, a reunion like you see in the movies. Instead all he's left with is what he's known all along, his dad doesn't care anymore, and he's not about to start caring anytime soon. Liam should have listened to his mum, who never had a good word to say about his Father. She always used to tell Liam that they were better off without him but he could never quite understand how that could be true. Now he's starting to understand what she meant, that reaching out was reopening old wounds, and that would hurt more than the empty chair at the dinner table ever could.

"Can we talk?" Liam asks, and there's an undertone of desperation to his voice as he asks, still that faint hint of hope that everything might still work out okay.

"I'm not sure now is the best time to talk Liam, it's my wedding day." His dad's tone is firm, he's clearly already made up his mind.

But Liam isn't giving up so easily.

"And I'm your son, you know, the one you haven't spoken to or even acknowledged since he was five. I'd like to think that in terms of monumental life events the two are pretty on par." Liam can't help the sarcasm that spills into his voice, but he feels full to the brim with emotion and some of it is bound to overflow.