“How could he do this?” Gloria lamented.
Robbie kept his mouth shut. Sipped his latte.
He’d cycled to his basement suite after leaving the Banfield Park dock, grateful for the distractions of skirting downtown Victoria on his bike. Tried studying for a while when he got there, but couldn’t focus. Finally, he’d dialled his father, but only got as far as Buddy’s voice mail. “Hi. This is Buddy Hope. Leave a message, and I’ll call you back.”
“Hi Dad. It’s me. Call when you get this,” Robbie said.
Then Gloria called.
When she asked if she could come over, he suggested they meet at the Starbucks on Cook Street. Neutral ground. It always embarrassed him, having family visit his dingy little squat, accessed through its mangy back yard off Oliphant Avenue. Utilitarian was how Gloria described it, compared to the thrift store and junk shop chic of her rented attic digs.
Nosy, his parents had helped him move in, even though the place was ‘furnished’. And they occasionally arrived on his sunken doorstep with care packages. But he discouraged visits. As for Gloria, she and her home decor observations were persona non grata.
“Let’s not rush to judgment, Sis,” he said, uncomfortable under Gloria’s accusing glare from the other side of their table. “We haven’t talked to him yet.”
“He’s switched off his god-damned phone!”
“Let’s keep trying.”
She stared, unmoved.
“If you want me to take sides, forget it, Glow,” he reminded, uncomfortable with her pointed silence. “I told you already, I’m not going there.”
“You told me that before our father fucked off, leaving a self-absorbed note on the dining room table. It’s not taking sides to form an accurate opinion based on the facts, Robbie. Don’t be such a jellyfish.”
He imagined himself drifting aimlessly on silent ocean currents. Upside down, right side up, no sense of gravity or direction. Washing up on some beach as a protoplasmic blob. “I’ll keep calling until I get through to him, Sis. And I want to talk to Mum, too. Then, maybe, I’ll understand what’s going on.”
“It’s not as if this comes as a bolt out of the blue, is it? He’s been itchy ever since he retired.”
“It goes back farther than that, and you know it!” he snapped. “Mum and Dad have been mad at each other for years. They probably should have divorced when we were still in high school.” He clamped his mouth shut. Shouldn’t have said that. His pulse and breathing quickened, as if someone was twisting a tourniquet around his chest.
“Oh!” Gloria fixed him in her gaze, sipping at her mint tea. “Seems you’ve formed some pretty strong opinions of your own, Bro. Are you going to share those sentiments with Mum and Dad?”
“Like I said, Glow, they’ll get where they have to go on their own, maybe with some professional help—and I don’t mean from lawyers.
“Okay,” Gloria sighed. “Okay. I get it. But sooner or later, you might want to climb down off that fence of yours, Robbie. Risk saying something that comes from the heart instead of your head. There’s an emotional calculus, too, you know. Intuition counts for something, and my gut tells me there’s more than a smidgen of spite in what Dad’s doing. He’s hurting Mum and we’re collateral damage, even if you don’t know it yet.”
For a while, they sat in glum silence. “I’m gonna go now,” Gloria said at last. “If you get through to Dad, let me know, eh?”
“Yeah,” he agreed. Then added, “Sorry Glow.”
“Don’t be,” she wagged her finger. “This isn’t just between Mum and Dad. It’s between you and me and Mum and Dad. I’m gonna push, Robbie. You’ve got to know that. Maybe it’s a risk. Maybe I’m wrong. But, for me, any direction is better than just watching things fall apart without doing something.”
“Will you be calling Dad?”
“Yes. But I hope you get through to him first,” she said, standing up to leave. “I’m not in a mood to go easy on him. It’ll be hard for me to keep from sounding off.”
He watched her go. Liked her, difficult as she could be. Gloria moved with an athletic stride—slightly crouched, springy, as if she was ready to pounce or dash or dodge. She didn’t display any of their mother’s élan, but had definitely sprouted from that side of the family genome. Stubborn, opinionated, outspoken, even cocky. Their mother softened that aspect of her personality with nuanced sophistication; you could tell Gloria meant business the second she walked into your field of vision. We’re stuck with each other, he admitted, feeling like a character with a bit part in somebody else’s soap opera.
Next: Sleep on it