“I know I shouldn’t have just turned up on your doorstep, but I didn’t want to see you at school. I wanted to apologise to you before it was too late.”
“Before I rejected your daughter’s application?”
“Before I became unforgivable to you.”
“Maybe you already are.”
“I really hope not. We got off on the wrong foot, but there’s still time to change that.”
“Why?”
“I wish I could give you another reason, but the only thing that really matters is my daughter.”
I sigh defeatedly and step aside to let him in.
He hands me the flowers; I accept them.
“I’m only letting you in because I don’t want anyone to see you.”
“Of course.”
“I’m giving you five minutes, and then you have to promise me that you’ll never turn up at my house again.”
“I promise.”
I gesture towards the living room, telling him to make himself comfortable, then grab the remote from the coffee table and switch off the TV. The remains of my Chinese takeaway are sitting on the counter.
“Sorry about the mess,” I say, embarrassed.
No one apart from Anya ever knocks at my door, and she’s used to my lonely dinners, my unwashed hair, caked in dry shampoo, and my baggy tracksuits, which I use to cater to my disproportionately large appetite.
“No, I’m sorry for dropping by with no warning. I’m sure you were busy.”
Is he making fun of me?
I sit on the sofa, and he follows my lead.
“I don’t really know where to start, so I’ll just tell you what I’ve realised.”
No good can come of this; but I find myself nodding, encouraging him to continue.
“I’ve realised that I have to do anything I can for Skylar, to give her a future, and to save my relationship with her.”
“That sounds like a good idea.”
“At this point in my life, she’s the only thing that matters.”
I smile at him.
“And I need your help.”
“I thought you might.”
“And I’m sorry I ever said those things about you.”
“Does that mean you didn’t really mean them?”
“Of course not. I think a hundred other things about you, but I definitely don’t think that.”
