Cathy Hopkins - [Mates, Dates 07] (16 page)

‘No. I’m going back
into Costa, then I’m going to the De Biasis’ restaurant and I’m not coming home
until you come and talk to Luke’s dad.’

‘Nesta, get in the
car.’

I turned my back and
walked towards Costa, where I could see Luke and Tony looking out of the window
with concern. Behind them, I caught a glimpse of TJ, Izzie and Lucy in the
queue at the counter. They must have arrived while I was in the car with Dad.
It wasn’t meant to be like that, I thought as I went back in to join them. It
was meant to be one of the best moments of Dad’s life. I’d wanted to make him
really happy after all he’d been through, but instead I’d never seen him look
so mad. Or sad.

‘Well that went well,’
I said as I rejoined Tony and Luke.

‘You OK?’ asked Luke.

‘Yeah, course,’ I
said, then sighed. ‘Parents, huh? You try your best to keep them on the right
track, but sometimes they won’t listen…’ I tried my best to smile and make
light of what had just happened, but instead, I burst into tears.

C h a p t e r
 
1 5

Stand
off

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‘ I ’d never dare defy
my dad like that,‘ said TJ as we made our way down Jackson’s Lane on the way to
Biasi’s. ’He’d throw me out or something.‘

‘Dad would never do
that,’ I said, ‘but he did look upset.’ Privately I was wondering if I had
pushed my luck a bit too far. I didn’t know what had come over me as I’m not
usually that disobedient, but then Dad and I don’t usually argue.

‘I think you should go
home,’ said TJ. ‘Give him time to adjust to the idea that the whole story about
your aunt is out. It’s a biggie for him. He must have felt he let everyone down
at the time and now you know about it. He probably wants to be the hero in your
eyes. You need to tell him he still is and that everyone makes mistakes and has
regrets.’

‘I did, sort of. I
told him that the only person responsible for Nadia’s death was the drunk
driver. But he wasn’t listening. What do you think I should do, Lucy?’

‘God, I don’t know. Go
home and give him a hug. I feel really sorry for him.’

I felt such a failure.
Giving Dad a big hug is exactly what I’d meant to do. Part of my fantasy of
organising the great reunion. Hah. So much for my mediator, peacemaking,
healing-the-past skills. Me and my big mouth. Nothing ever comes out right.

Luke and Tony had
walked ahead of the rest of us. They seemed to get on really well and I couldn’t
help but think that Dad and Luke’s dad must have looked just like them when
they were younger. I was really chuffed that Tony had decided to come with me
and support me. He didn’t always take my side, but I think he wanted to get
this sorted. Or it may be because he thinks that, if Dad doesn’t come round,
then he’ll never let him drive. On the other hand, it may be because Lucy is
coming with us and it’s a chance for him to hang out with her a bit more. At
that moment, he turned and caught Lucy’s eye and they smiled at each other.
Yeah, he’s definitely come along because of Lucy.

As we walked on, I
considered my options. Should I go home and give Dad a hug and say I was sorry?
Should I let the reunion with Mr De Biaisi go and not push him? Then I remembered
the Frank Capra film last night. The whole story seemed to be saying that
things happen for a reason. We meet the people that we meet in life for a
purpose. Of all the families, in all of London, I meet the De Biasis. It
had
to be fate. I decided to ask the destiny expert.

‘What do you think I
should do, Iz?’

‘Hmmmm,’ said Izzie.‘I
think you should… I dunno, er… be prepared to be flexible. Prepared to bend.
Yeah, that’s it. I read in one of my books that you have to be like a branch on
a tree. You know, it bends in the wind. Whereas stuff that doesn’t bend or
resists, gets broken.’

‘Right,’ I said,
feeling none the wiser. Sometimes I don’t quite get Izzie’s advice. ‘Yeah. OK.
I’ll be a branch on a tree. You got any last bits of wisdom to pass on, TJ?’

‘Don’t ask me,’ she
said. ‘You have to decide.’

‘Well I’m going to
Biasi’s,’ I said, ‘and I’m going to stick to my guns and not budge until Dad
comes to talk to them.’

‘Then I hope you like
pasta,’ said Lucy.

‘Why?’

‘Because you might be
there for a very long time.’

Ten minutes later, we
all trooped into Biasi’s. It was still early and there weren’t any customers
for lunch yet, so Luke took advantage of the quiet time to do introductions,
then fill his mum and dad in on the latest. Seeing their reaction, my reunion
fantasy faded even more. They were horrified.

‘Oh
no
. Oh
Nesta, I’m so sorry,’ said Mrs De Biasi. ‘I remember how stubborn your dad
could be. When he’d made his mind up about something, there was no shifting
him.’

Tony laughed. ‘One of
the many traits he’s passed down to his daughter. They’re both as stubborn as
mules, so this stand-off will be interesting. See who backs down first.’

‘Well, it won’t be
me,’ I said.

‘No please, Nesta, go
home,’ said Mrs De Biasi. ‘We don’t want to come between you and your family.
It’s the last thing we want.’

‘I can’t. Not now.’

Mr De Biasi came over
and stood in front of me. ‘Nesta, go home,’ he urged. ‘Your father blames me
for enough as it is. I don’t need this on top. It will only stir everything up
again. If he doesn’t want to see us, then we must respect that.’

Lucy put her hand on
my arm. ‘He’s right,’ she said. ‘This might hinder rather than help. Remember
what Mum said about not pushing people before they were ready.’

Tony nodded. ‘Yeah.
Best leave it, sis. It’s Dad’s call, not yours.’

I was just starting to
think that maybe they were right when I saw our car draw up outside the
restaurant. Dad was driving and Mum was in the passenger seat. ‘Ohmigod!
They’re here,’ I gasped.

I saw Dad glance in at
the window, then quickly look away. It must have been quite a shock for him
seeing all of us staring back out at him.

‘Come away from the
door,’ said Mrs De Biasi bustling everyone to sit at a table. ‘Don’t stare at
him.’

Two minutes later, the
door opened and Mum came in.

I quickly introduced
her to Luke’s mum and dad and she was very sweet to them, although she gave me
a ‘Just wait till I get you home, madam’ look. ’I’m so sorry about all this
family stuff,‘ she said to the De Biasis, ’You seem to have got caught up in
the middle.‘

‘No, please, we were
so happy to hear that Matteo is well,’ said Mr De Biasi, ‘and to meet Nesta…’

‘She’s so like her
father,’ said Mrs De Biasi, glancing out of the window with a wistful look.

‘Well, I’ve come to
take her home,’ said Mum. ‘It’s lunch-time and Matt wants to spend some time
with her and Tony before he has to go back off to Bristol.’

I wasn’t fooled. ‘So
why did Dad come here with you? You could have come on your own.’

Mum sighed. ‘Don’t be
difficult, Nesta. He offered to give me a lift.’

‘I think he wants to
see the De Biasis more than he’s letting on,’ I said. ‘He needn’t have driven
you to come and get me. He doesn’t usually. It’s the unconscious mind thingee,
oh you explain Izzie, you know, where your subconscious makes you do what your
conscious mind won’t let you.’

Suddenly Mr De Biasi
got up. ‘Enough,’ he said and he walked out and got straight into the car with
Dad.

‘Ohmigod, ohmigod,’ I
said and dashed to the window to try and see what was going on. I could see
that they were in the car and were talking, Mr De Biasi gesticulating and Dad
staring ahead. Everything that Jo had told us about body language on the acting
class was so evident. I couldn’t hear what was being said, but it was clear
that Dad was closed off and Mr De Biasi was trying to reach him.

It was Mum who called
me away. ‘Let them have their privacy,’ she said.

‘But Mum, this is the
big moment…’ I started.

‘Your mother’s right,’
said Mrs De Biasi. ‘Let them be.’

It was agony having to
tear myself away from the window. If I’d had my way, I’d have gone and sat in
the back seat and stuck my head in between them, so that I could have heard
exactly
what was being said and witnessed every facial expression and
every
shift of body language. But no, Mum made me sit with my back to the window and
sip Diet Coke. My mum and Luke’s made an effort to get on despite the strange
circumstances and everyone else was chatting and laughing and having a good
time, but for me the next fifteen minutes seemed to go on forever. It seemed
like the dads had been out there for hours.

After what seemed like
an eternity, I got up.

‘Nesta,’ warned Mum.
‘Leave them.’

‘Yeah. Will,’ I said.
‘Just going to the ladies.’

As I got up to go to
the cloakrooms, I turned and had a quick peak out of the window. They were
getting out of the car. Ohmigod, I thought, I hope it’s OK and they’re not
going to fight or anything embarrassing like that. But no, Dad seemed to be
dabbing his eyes and… yes… now he was smiling.

‘Nesta,’ said Mum, ‘I
said
to leave them.’

‘But… but they’ve got
out of the car,’ I said. ‘Something’s happening.’

Now even Mum couldn’t
resist looking. She stood up and peeked out, then everyone else did as well. Mr
De Biasi was saying something to Dad and Dad creased up laughing. Then the two
of them started walking towards the restaurant. For a brief second, I saw the
boys that they were, Luke and Tony grown older. The moment after that was
hysterical, as everyone dived for their places and tried to look nonchalant,
like they hadn’t really been gawping outside watching the dads’ every move.

The door opened and
they came in. Dad was still laughing as he turned to look at me. ‘Gianni has
just been telling me that you thought Luke was my long lost son…’

‘Der… um, wah…’
I started, then turned to Mr De
Biasi. ‘But how did you know?’

Mr De Biasi glanced at
Luke, who looked sheepish for a moment. ‘Well, I had to check out that it
wasn’t true, so I asked Mum,’ he said, ‘and she told Dad.’

Mrs De Biasi had been standing
there silently beaming and suddenly she couldn’t contain herself any more.
‘Ciao, Matteo,’ she said, rushing forward with open arms.

Dad turned to her and
beamed back. ‘Catarina,’ he said, then he was enveloped in a huge hug.

Then Mr De Biasi couldn’t
hold back either and he and Dad looked at each other and gave each other a huge
bear hug.

At last, it was the
Kodak moment, but of course no one had a camera. Mum’s eyes had misted over.
Mrs and Mr De Biasi both had their arms around Dad. Tony, Luke, Lucy, Izzie and
TJ were grinning like idiots. It was fab.

C h a p t e r
 
1 6

Roses
Garlic

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‘I think friendship is
the most important thing in life,’ I said as I smeared aloe vera gel over my
chin. It was a couple of weeks after le grando reunioni and Lucy, TJ, Izzie and
I were lined up on the bathtub doing our Sunday morning monthly beauty routine.
This time, I’d been down to the chemists and bought four gel face packs. Proper
ones that didn’t dribble down your neck or have raw egg in them.
Au naturel
dribbly gloops may be homemade and healthy, but they really aren’t my style.

‘So do I,’ said Lucy.
‘We must all make a pact that nothing will ever come between us, like it did
for Nesta’s and Luke’s dads. They wasted years.’

‘Each of them had
their families,’ said TJ, ‘so it wasn’t totally wasted time.’

‘Yeah, but there’s
that saying, you can’t pick your family, but you can pick your friends,’ said
Izzie. ‘Friends are like a chosen family.’

‘But whether it’s
friends or family, you have to keep talking,’ I said. ‘Say how you feel, even
if it’s a bit confrontational.’

Seems I started a
craze with the De Biasi thing. Confrontation. Tony confronted Dad about driving
lessons and, although he hasn’t exactly said yes, he didn’t say no either, so
there’s hope. Luke confronted his dad about wanting to be an actor and his dad
said he’d think about it. Again, it’s a start. And Mum confronted her bosses at
work about cutting her hours and they said they’d do what they could to give
her more time and reassured her that she had a secure job with them no matter
how many younger faces they brought in. And I wasn’t left out of the loop. Dad
had a go at me about butting into other people’s business. ‘You don’t always
know what’s best for everyone all the time, Nesta,’ he said. ‘Yes, I’m glad to
see Gianni again, but I would have preferred to have done it in my own time.’ I
did apologise, but privately I think it’s a good job that I pushed him. I know
what ‘in his own time’ means from having him as a dad all these years. It’s
like when Mum asks him to mend a door or change a light bulb. He says he will,
‘in his own time’, which means never. He probably even means to, but Mum has
learned that if she wants something doing, it’s often quicker to do it herself.