The Train To Nowhere

chapter 19 - through the darkness

I stared. Noah stared. This was the definition of out of the blue. I couldn't believe my eyes. But this was my dad's style, I guess. There was silence for a few long moments, and then he spoke.

"Abel." My name escaped his lips through the darkness as we were stunned into silence. "I'm here to see you and your sister. There's something I need to tell you both."

His voice had a Nigerian lilt, and was deep and mellow. The last time I'd seen him he was rather plump. Now though, he was much thinner. His eyes looked tired and seemed to have lost their memorable shimmer, and he was noticeably older - taller than us too by a couple inches. We stood a few metres apart, and I didn't know what to say still. So we just stood in more awkward silence. Dad looked anxious, like he didn't know where to put himself, and Noah was extremely uncomfortable.

"Abel," he repeated, "Please. Don't make this more hard than it already-"

"Hard?" I suddenly snapped. Dad seemed a bit taken aback at my sudden response after a lack of it. "This was... hard for you, was it?" My voice was impatient, and showed no signs of sympathy. After all, why should I show him any, after the way he left our family eleven years ago?

"I can't go into that right now. Look, I watched your basketball match tonight. You guys were great. Noah, is it? Ah, we've never met!" I could tell he was trying to avoid the subject and my unforgiving glare as he shook hands with my best friend. "I do remember Isaac. You were all great, even if you lost! Simply great!"

"Shut up, Dad," I interrupted loudly. "Just shut up."

Silence again. I kept seeing Noah give me anxious side glances out of the corner of my eye.

"Um... maybe I should go?"

"No!" I quickly said. "No, Noah. Please stay. We're leaving anyway." I tugged Noah's arm to start moving but then Dad held his arm out in front of us.

"Abel, please? I know you think I'm not deserving of your time or attention-"

"That's because you aren't."

"-But that doesn't mean you can completely cut me out here. Look, I want to see you and Zara. And there's something I have to tell you too. Something important."

"So you only just have time for us, now? Once you've cheated on Mum, abandoned our family to run off with this new woman, and never see us. Have you only just realised that after eleven years, you do miss us?"

"You have every right to not want me here, but I'm trying to help. I swear. Just please? Please, Abel? Give me an hour of your time. I'll take you to a coffee shop in Penning Town, we'll have a tea and some cake. I'll talk to you. Then maybe I could pop around and see Zara for a bit?"

"I am not letting you drag Zara into this. She'll be with Mum. It's hard enough for me to see you just pop out of nowhere. I don't want to inflict it on them too."

"But I could just see her for a minute?-"

"You should have thought about that before you had sex with another woman when I was five!" I burst out, my voice in a shout. Dad took a small step away, but more out of precaution than fear. Just then, I became aware that Noah was there again, hearing all of this. I turned to him.

"I'm sorry, Noah. I just forgot you were here," I muttered to him self-consciously with my back to Dad. Noah already knew the story from what I'd told him, but it was an awkward situation nonetheless. "Maybe you should leave?"