Second Chance(16)

Five





Nate got a message from Jack on Thursday afternoon:

Hi, do you fancy meeting up this weekend?

Happy to be distracted from the article he was working on, Nate replied immediately: Yes, I’d love to. Where and when?

Would you like to come here on Saturday? My parents are out.

Nate grinned as he typed: Just like old times then?

Yeah, only with less booze (for me) and weed. You can have booze of course, but I don’t have any weed.

I don’t do that anymore, Nate replied. Then he added: what time?

Eight?

Okay. See you then.



“Dad, can you give me a lift to a party tonight?” Cass asked on Saturday lunchtime.

“Where is it, and what time?”

“Filton.” Cass looked up from the toasted sandwich she was eating. “About half eight?”

“Can I take you a bit earlier, or drop you at a friend’s house first if you can get a lift with someone else? Only I’m going out this evening too, and have to be somewhere at eight.”

Cass raised her eyebrows, as if the idea of Nate having a social life was shocking. “Oh. Where are you going?”

“To see Jack.”

“The bloke from the supermarket?” The words came out muffled around a mouthful of melted cheese and toast.

“Yes.”

Cass chewed and swallowed. “I guess I could go to Katie’s first, as long as her mum says it’s okay.”

“Or I can take Cass,” Nate’s mum suggested.

“Thanks, Mum,” Nate said, grateful but hoping he wouldn’t need to take his mum up on her offer. Close to retirement now, she was usually tired at weekends and he was sure she’d rather be watching telly than playing taxi for Cass. “Okay, Cass. Text Katie and see what works best and let us know a bit later. But don’t forget.” He knew from experience that teenage social arrangements could be hard to organise. It was endlessly frustrating to him how vague Cass and her friends could be. With mobile phones it should be so easy, but maybe that was the trouble. In his day, you made a plan and you stuck to it, barring emergencies. Now, with texts and instant messaging it was so easy to change things at the last minute.

“It’s nice that you’re seeing Jack again.” Nate’s mum smiled at him. “I always thought it was a shame you lost touch.”

“Why did you stop being friends?” Cass asked, the bluntness of youth cutting through to what her gran was skirting around.

Nate scooped a few crumbs from the table and tipped them onto his empty plate. “No reason. It’s just the way it goes when you leave home. We went to different places, grew up, and grew apart. This was in the days before Facebook, you know.”

“I don’t use Facebook.” Cass wrinkled her nose in disdain. “It’s full of old people.”

Nate chuckled. “Ouch. Thanks, kiddo.”

“You’re welcome.”



Nate ended up dropping Cass at Katie’s place at seven-thirty. Katie’s mum was happy to give both girls a lift to the party later.

“Have fun,” Nate said as Cass undid her seatbelt. “My phone will be on all night. Call me if you need me.” The party was a sleepover, which made Nate nervous. But he couldn’t keep Cass on a tight leash forever.

“I’ll be fine, Dad.” She paused, her hand on the door handle. “I make better decisions now, remember?”

“Yes. You do.” She still missed curfew sometimes, and came home smelling of weed or alcohol but she was never too wasted. Since they’d been living here things had been better and he was slowly learning to trust her again. “Text me in the morning when you want picking up.”

Cass gave him a rare, sweet smile. Her usual teenage bravado melting away for a moment. “Will do. Thanks, Dad. Love you.”

“Love you too.” Nate’s heart swelled with love for his daughter. He watched as she got out and walked up the path to Katie’s door, waiting until it was opened before he pulled away.

Cass didn’t look back. It reminded Nate of when she’d started school age four. He’d been the tearful one while she lined up with the other children quite happily, excited to be going to “big school” at last.



By the time Nate rang the doorbell of Jack’s parents’ house, his worries about Cass had taken a back seat to his nerves about seeing Jack again. He’d been hoping to hear from him all week, strangely reluctant to make contact himself. Since they’d made this arrangement, Nate had been looking forward to it more than he was comfortable with. He had to keep reminding himself that they were only friends and that despite their history they still had a lot to learn about each other in the present. He needed to suppress the hopes he didn’t even want to put into words.

Jack’s smile of welcome didn’t help Nate’s resolve. He looked so genuinely happy to see Nate, and when he pulled Nate into a hug—how they’d always greeted each other when they were younger, but was their first physical contact in years—Nate froze for a second before hugging him back.

“Sorry.” Jack flushed as he pulled away. “Old habits I guess?”

“It’s okay,” Nate said, still flustered. “Hugs are always nice.”