when you met me

family

Family

Dud stepped off of the bus gingerly. He was about to visit his Father, whom he hadn’t talked to in almost two years. He wasn’t sure what to say to him, but now that Dud had a steady job, he thought they could start their relationship anew. Surely, he could be slightly proud.

Mara polished her guitar, and stopped to look about her flat. It was tidier than it used to be, and soon enough, she’d be out on her own. In a real ‘legal’ flat, as Dud would say. She shuddered to think of Dud. She glanced to the fridge, where his card was still attached to a magnet. All they needed to do was book a contract, and then she could call Dud. Show him how right she was.

The estate seemed greyer than he remembered. Even the trees in the middle were limp, like all the life had left along with the only two children who would run about it. Dud knocked on his old door and after a minute, his Dad swung it open. Mr. Dudley looked his son up and down, and said, “What are you doing here?”

There was a day, where the two of them were small and fourteen. Dud had sprouted up, but not as tall as he would be soon. It was during a flood, when the phone rang. The flood was caused by the overflowing of the river Thames, which was frustrating, since London rained a lot, and flooding happened, at least on their estate, almost once a year.

“Who the bloody hell was that?” Dud’s Dad barked. “Are you always on the phone when I’m not around? That’s why our phone bill is so high!” Dud mumbled a response and picked up the phone. “Hi Dudlington!” Mara chirped. Dud’s stomach fluttered.

“Who is it?” Dud’s Dad shouted even louder.

“It’s Mara.” Dud responded quietly, through a smile that was uncontainable.

“Oh,” Mr. Dudley said quieter, “Well say hello to her for me.” Dud’s Dad had always had a soft spot for Mara, and Dud never knew if it was because of pity or because of her personality. Dud would never tell Mara that someone pitied her, as she’d hate it.

Rightly so, as she needed no pitying. Well, not a lot. She had two loving parents, Dud had always thought, no matter how much she complained. Dud, on the other hand, had a Mother who died as soon as he was born, and a Father who seemed to be holding it against him ever since.

“My Dad says hi.” Dud said so quietly that it was likely Mara didn’t even hear him.

“Are you coming outside?” Mara asked excitedly.

“We aren’t supposed to.” Dud answered.

Mara groaned down the phone, “Stop being such a baby, and put your wellies on!” She hung up the phone. Though Dud knew he’d get in immense trouble, he just laughed and tiptoed to the front door to get his wellies.

Mr. Dudley spun around and walked back to his chair in the living room, leaving the door open for Dud to walk through. Dud walked through and shut the door behind him. He sat down awkwardly on the old leather sofa across from his Dad, watching football from his chair.

Dud looked around, noticing a few boxes stacked near the wall. He grimaced at the dirt on the floors, his Dad was never a big cleaner. “So, how are you, Dad?” Dud asked.

“How am I?” Dud’s Dad laughed a hoarse laugh. “You abandon the man who raised you for two years and then what? You want to come stay here when you’ve crashed and burned?” He said all of this while still watching the TV.

“That’s not why I’m here.” Dud said, still quietly. “I just wanted to see how you were doing. I got a job in a police unit and my own flat and-”

“And all of that but you couldn’t help me out. Now you’ve come to rub it in my face.”

“No.”

“Just leave, I’m being kicked out of this hole anyways.”

“Do you want to move in with me?” Dud asked heavily, not wanting it but knowing it was the right thing. “Not in a million years.” Replied his Dad with a snarl.

“Where will you go?”

“None of your bloody business. You retracted the privileges of being my son when you left me for dead.” Dud rolled his eyes. “I didn’t know you knew such long words.” He spat. Mr. Dudley spun in his chair and locked eyes with his son. “What did you just say to me?”

“You heard it. I came to mend our relationship. But you’re still a bitter, old man who blames his son for his wife’s death. This is for you.” Dud threw a black box on the sofa. “It’s a watch. Couldn’t think of what else to get you since I just now realized I don’t know you.”

Mr. Dudley stared at his son with a gaping mouth, not able to believe he had a voice like that. Dud took in a sharp breath that felt like a huge release, and he walked out of his living room for the last time.