Cathy Hopkins - [Mates, Dates 07] (15 page)

Surprise
Surprise!

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I couldn’t wait to
tell Dad. Mrs De Biasi’s reaction to discovering who I was had strengthened my
resolve to get him and Mr De Biasi back together as soon as possible.

When she had grasped
the fact that I really was Matteo’s daughter, she laughed and hugged me, then
cried, then rang her husband and cried and laughed all over again.

‘Very emotional, my
ma,’ said Luke as we listened to her telling her husband the whole story over
the phone. ‘She cries at everything.’

‘I think it’s lovely,’
I said. ‘People shouldn’t be afraid to show what they feel.’

‘Gianni can’t believe
it,’ said Mrs De Biasi after she’d put down the phone. ‘We’re both so pleased
to know Matteo is well and happily married after so much tragedy early in his
life. And so happy to know he has you and your brother Tony, but I fear that he
won’t have changed his mind about Gianni. I hope so, now that we have met you,
Nesta, but don’t get your hopes up, we have to respect his feelings too. We may
want reconciliation but he may not.’

Luke nodded. ‘Yes,
it’s really up to your dad,’ he said.

‘Well, what are your
feelings, Mrs De Biasi?’ I asked.

‘Ah, Nesta. I feel
that life is too short to hold these stupid grudges and those boys had a true
friendship. Too precious to lose.’

Exactly my feelings, I
thought. I couldn’t imagine life without Lucy, Izzie and TJ to share everything
with and talk things over with.

When Mrs De Biasi had
gone off to the restaurant, Luke and I sat down to watch a movie. He’d already
told me that he liked war films and, although they’re not my favourite, I
decided that, as part of my movie education, I had to expand my viewing and
watch a few new genres. He’d picked out one called
Saving Private Ryan
.
Should be OK, I thought, Tom Hanks is in it so it must be a feel-goody of a
sort.

‘It’s really cool that
you want to watch this,’ said Luke as he put the video in the machine. ‘Not
many girls would, but I think it’s important to know that these things went
on.’

‘Oh so do I,’ I said
as I took my boots off, then curled up on the sofa. I was feeling very pleased
about everything. Happy happy. It was all going to turn out brilliantly. Even
though Mrs De Biasi and Luke had their reservations, I was certain I was going
to prove them wrong. I was going to reconcile Dad and Luke’s dad. I could see
the grand reunion now. It would be like those smaltzy programmes on telly that
bring together people who have lost each other and they hug and cry, like Mrs
De Biasi had, then clap and laugh and generally feel good and smile a lot. And
it would all be down to me. Fab. And now, here I was with Luke ready to watch a
serious-type film. Yes. I was definitely changing. Growing up. No one could
accuse me of being shallow any more. Oh no, I reunite people, help heal
troubled pasts and watch war films .You can’t get more unshallow than that.
Yeah. As the credits to the movie rolled, I wondered if I should get a pair of
glasses to wear to complement my new persona. One of those pairs with square
frames that make you look really cool and intelligent. I don’t need glasses,
but I’m sure I could get a pair without a prescription, just for the effect.

Luke and I snuggled up
on the sofa and began to watch the movie. First five minutes, yeah, it was OK.
Ten minutes, not really my cup of tea, but I’ll sit through it for Luke.
However, as it went on, I found I couldn’t even do that. It was
horrible
.
The war scenes were unbelievable, or rather they were totally believable.
Awful. Graphic. People getting blown up and killed left, right and centre. I
tried to make myself carry on watching, but it was too upsetting, so I made an
excuse that I needed to use the bathroom and got out double quick.

As I splashed my face
with water, I tried to tell myself that, as Luke had said, I ought to watch to
know what went on. History and all that. Part of my education, etc. Then I thought,
but I
do
know what went on. I do. Maybe I don’t know names and dates
and countries, but I do know what goes on in war. Hell on earth, that’s what
and it makes me
really
depressed. More than anything.Whatever
nationality, I know mothers lost sons, sisters lost brothers, children lost
fathers. Boys like Tony, Luke, Steve and Lai, hardly older and all sent to
early graves. And I thought, why do people have to fight and kill like that?
What for? Where’s it got anyone? I truly believe that the majority of the
world, of all races and beliefs, want to live in peace. They want to watch
their pot plants grow on their patios, enjoy the summers, their families, their
pets. I hate war. And I’ve just realised that I hate war films too.

After a few minutes,
Luke came and knocked on the bathroom door.

‘You all right in
there?’ he called.

I opened the door.
‘Yes. No. Just… I’m really sorry Luke, but I can’t watch any more of that film.
I hope you don’t think I’m shallow, but… I think there’s so much bad news in
the world, when I watch a movie I want to be entertained not freaked out…’

‘Found it upsetting,
did you?’

I nodded. ‘Yeah.
Sorry. Can’t do it.’

Luke smiled. ‘That’s
OK and I don’t think you’re shallow. Everyone likes different stuff, that’s
all. Look, I’ll find you a feel-good movie instead. Ever seen
It’s a
Wonderful Life
?

At last some of my
swotting up came in handy. Only last night, I read about it in one of Dad’s
books. One of the great classics, the book had said. ‘I haven’t seen it, but it
was directed by Frank Capra wasn’t it? Starring James Stewart?’

Luke looked well
impressed. ‘Yeah. Hey, you know your stuff. Come on, I’ll put it on for you.’

Ten minutes later we
were back on the sofa and this time I got well stuck in. It was a fantastic
movie. All about a man who feels his whole life has been a waste, until an
angel takes him back through it, showing the effect he’d had on people and what
would have happened if he hadn’t been there. It was a really uplifting, amazing
film and left me with a warm glow. Much better than seeing people get their
heads blown off, I thought.

In their different
ways though, both films made me think the same thing - that life is precious
and it’s really important to let the people that you love know it. Friends,
family, whoever. Not to let any petty arguments or misunderstandings get in the
way. By the end of the evening, I was certain that it was fated that I’d met
Luke. It was my destiny to bring our dads back together. I couldn’t wait.

Mum was sitting on her
own in the sitting room when I got home. ‘Where’s Dad?’ I asked.

‘Oh, hi love. Bit of a
crisis with the film. He had to go straight into the editing suite to sort it
out. He’ll be back later. There was some problem on the first rushes.’ My face
must have fallen as Mum looked at me anxiously. ‘What is it, Nesta? What’s
happened?’

I went and sat beside
her and the whole story poured out. ‘You knew about Aunt Nadia, didn’t you?’ I
asked.

‘Some of it,’ she
admitted. ‘Your dad told me about it once when we passed the place in North
Finchley where they all used to live. I could tell it was a very sore subject
for him. Look, I can see that you’re dying to talk to him about it all… but not
tonight sweetheart, please, he’s got a lot on his mind with the film and
probably won’t be back until late. Let him sleep and you can talk in the
morning.’

I did as I was told,
but made sure I was up bright and early ready to break the news to him. Mum was
right. I couldn’t wait. I knew he’d be overjoyed that Mr and Mrs De Biasi
wanted to see him and heal the past.

When I got to the
kitchen, Mum was already making coffee.

‘Can I take Dad’s in
to him?’ I asked.

‘Oh Nesta! You’ve
missed him again. They didn’t sort the problem last night, so he had to go in
first thing. He was up at six. He said to say hi and he’s sorry he missed you
last night and he’ll see you later. He’ll probably be back before lunch.’

‘Did you tell him that
I know about the De Biasis?’

Mum shook her head.
‘No, I didn’t. Talk to him later… but Nesta, don’t get your hopes up. I know
you’re excited about it, but your dad might not have the same reaction.’

‘I bet he will,’ I
said. ‘It’s going to be fab. It all happened a long time ago. He’s bound to
want to see them again.’

Mum gave me a strange
look, then went back to making toast.

Over breakfast, I told
Tony the latest news and together we went to meet the girls and Luke in Costa
in Highgate for mid-morning coffee and a general Saturday hang-out. We got
there first, so bought some cappuccinos and pastries and looked for somewhere
to sit.

‘It’s all starting to
make sense now,’ said Tony as he bagged our favourite seats in the window.

‘What is?’ I asked.

‘Why Dad didn’t want
me to have driving lessons. Remember, he went over the top about it?’

I nodded. ‘Yes, of
course. Nadia had only just passed her test when she was killed. I guess he
didn’t want anything like that to happen to you.’

Tony gazed out of the
window for a while in silence. ‘If he’d only told us what had happened, I would
have understood. I really would. Instead, I thought he was being totally
unreasonable

‘I know,’ I said.
‘It’s mad that we don’t communicate properly. I mean, he’s our dad. He ought to
be able to tell us what he’s really thinking. Oh, I do hope he’ll see the De
Biasis. I mean I understand he was freaked at the time, it was his
responsibility to see Aunt Nadia home and he blew it, but he shouldn’t blame it
on Luke’s dad.’

‘No,’ said Tony. ‘But
I guess you never think anything is going to happen like that. It’s like, Mum
and Dad are always asking me to watch out for you and yet the number of times
I’ve gone off and left you to get home on your own or asked one of the girls to
make sure you get home…’

‘I know. It could
happen so easily. Dad lost his sister. He couldn’t prevent that, but he needn’t
have lost his best friend.’

A moment later, Luke
came in to join us and Tony went to get him a drink from the counter. Luke sat
in the chair next to me and took my hand. I was about to tell him that I hadn’t
had a chance to speak to Dad yet, when a familiar car drove past and slowed
down for the lights at the pelican crossing. It was a black BMW. Our car. And

Dad was in the driving
seat. He glanced in the window at Costa and his face lit up when he saw me. He
waved, then he saw Luke next to me and his face clouded. He pulled over at the
kerb, much to the annoyance of whoever was behind him, and beckoned for me to
come out of the cafe.

‘Dad’s out there,’ I
said to Luke. ‘Won’t be a moment. Maybe he’ll come and join us.’

Outside, Dad waved at
me to get into the car, so I slid into the passenger seat and gave him a big
hug.

‘Hi, Dad.’

‘I thought I asked you
not to see that boy,’ he said.

‘It’s OK,’ I said. ‘I
know everything.’

‘What do you mean, you
know everything?’

‘Luke’s mum told me
the whole story. About Nadia…’

Dad looked like he was
going to explode. ‘She
what’
? She had no right doing that. It’s not
her business.‘

‘I saw photos, Dad. In
her album. She didn’t know who I was. There was a picture of you and Luke’s dad
and Aunt Nadia. Luke asked who the girl in the photo was.’

Dad took a couple of
very deep breaths as though trying to calm himself.

‘It wasn’t Mrs De
Biasi’s fault it all came out, but it did,’ I blustered. ‘And then I watched
Saving
Private Ryan
and it made me realise that life is too short to have any
kind of war, big or little and… and then I watched
It’s a
Wonderful
Life
and I realised that your friends and family are the most important
thing…‘

But Dad didn’t seem to
be listening. He was staring ahead with a grim look on his face.

‘Come and meet Luke
again,’ I said. ‘He’s in there with Tony.’

‘With Tony?’

I nodded.

‘You tell him to come
out at once. I don’t want you mixing with that family.’

‘Why not, Dad? You’re
being totally unreasonable. What happened was a long time ago. It’s all in the
past… And it wasn’t Gianni, I mean Mr De Biasi’s fault Nadia died. He almost
died himself. You must see that. It might have been you in that car with her
and she would have still died. You just feel guilty about it. It’s mad. It was
the fault of the drunk driver who drove into them. No one else’s fault.’

‘We’ll continue this
discussion at home,’ said Dad and he started up the engine. I quickly got out
of the car. Dad leaned over and wound down the window. ‘Nesta. Back in the car.
Now.’