What they wereactuallyasking, and what theyreallywanted to know, was what was going to happen next? Were their jobs safe? Who was taking over? How would it all work?
He wished he had the answers.
His response had been pretty much the same for all parties. ‘Thank you for your condolences. We’ll do our best to get through this and then work on the detail when things have settled down…’
Even he wasn’t sure what this word salad meant, but noted how most went away with a spring in their step and dropped shoulders indicating a lack of tension, which was good.
‘My job is to keep the ship steady.’ His father said this a lot.
Benjamin, unfortunately, had always had a tendency towards sea sickness, especially on choppy water.
He had, as the oldest child, been tasked with delivering his father’s eulogy. A matter that weighed most heavily on his gym-honed shoulders which showed no sign of dropping any time soon. He’d sat at the dining room table with a leather-bound notebook open and his trustyMont Blancin his hand, tapping the weighty writing instrument on the blank page, hoping words might fall from the nib.
They didn’t.
He resorted toGoogleand read how others had paid homage to their fathers in their darkest hours. One or two missives seemed eloquent and heartfelt. He cut and pasted the text onto his phone, deciding to edit the words and rework them to fit the way he felt about his father.
It was only after he’d scratched through the bits that didn’t apply and blanked out anything too schmalzy that he abandoned this method too.
‘I really, really loved my Dad. He was my hero! Always there for me, he was my best friend, my guardian angel even in life!He loved cricket.My dad was my biggest cheerleader, I will be forever thankful for his guidance.He was my rock.’
‘How’s the urology going?’ Allegra had asked only a couple of days ago. His stepmother was, as he’d heard his father once cruelly describe her, untroubled by the weight of intellect.
‘Umm.’ Ordinarily he’d have made a straight-faced comment about the amount of study required, and how it was the male genitourinary tract, with fiddly details of the kidneys, bladder, and prostate that were proving most taxing. But he didn’t, not when they were in this sticky limbo between death and funeral. Emotions were running high, and Allegra’s mascara looked permanently smudged, suggesting tears or excessive laughter, he wasn’t sure which. ‘Good, yeah, good.’ Felt safer.
The fact that he was now only an hour or so away from having to stand in front of the great and good of his father’s circle and every distant relative and acquaintance this side of Bath, to deliver a speech about the man himself, was nothing short of terrifying.
‘Benjamin, cars will be here in about an hour!’
‘Yep, thanks,’ he called out to Allegra. He was never late, yet today everyone seemed to think he might rock up when it suited him, missing the grand entrance entirely or, worse still, arriving as everyone was leaving.
Now wouldn’t that be terrible.
Yes, Benjamin was in a state of shock. Not because of his father’s untimely demise, although, yes, that too, but more because of a very peculiar visit that had occurred five days ago.
‘There’s a bloke in Dad’s study.’ Marcus had spoken, mouth full of bagel, as Benjamin entered the kitchen that morning in search of coffee.
‘Who is it?’
‘Dunno!’ his brother shrugged.
‘Well, is he here to fix something, deliver something, talk to someone?’ The lack of detail was irritating.
‘Talk to you.’ Marcus clicked his fingers, as if only just remembering, and took another large bite of bagel. ‘He said he was here to talk to you.’
‘Bloody hell, I’m supposed to be meeting Dan.’ His friend, and the pickleball court, would just have to wait.
Opening the study door, he saw the back of the man, suited, booted and staring at his father’s impressive portrait which hung over the fireplace.
‘That’s some painting.’ He whistled, turning to smile at Benjamin.
‘Yes, a terrible loss. Erm, forgive me, but do you have an appointment, I didn’t catch your name?’ He did his best to make the necessary enquiries without appearing rude.
‘That’s because I haven’t given anyone my name yet!’ the man laughed. ‘My name is Chen.’
‘Chen-?’
‘Just Chen!’ he laughed.
