Lessons for a Sunday Father (44 page)

I feel him give a little, his weight heavy against me. I give him a squeeze and pull him closer.

“You’re my son. Nothing can ever change that or take it away—not from you and not from me. I love you, you big dipstick. I love you so much. You have to know that.”

And I sit there holding him a while, the two of us looking out to the dark sky, the sea, the lights across the bay, the tilley lamps of the men and the glow of their cigarettes. We sit there, watching them, clutching their cups of tea, huddling against the wind, fathers and sons.

“C’mon then. It’s cold.” I pull him to his feet and give him a final hug. We stay like that a minute, then he pulls away.

“Leave over, Dad. You can’t have blokes hugging along here. We’ll get arrested.”

One last squeeze then I let him go.

“All right. Fancy some fresh chips?”

He nods and we walk along the front together, just the two of us, father and son. Father and son.

Thank you to everyone—adults, teenagers and children—I spoke to while researching
Lessons for a Sunday Father,
including those who preferred to remain anonymous, and especially the following:

Kevin Grout, Jane Ufton and pupils of Lady Joanna Thornhill Primary School in Wye, Kent

Joe Moran, Dominic Bergen and pupils of Walworth School, London

Trevor Dry, the Pied Piper of mackerel, with thanks for providing inspiration and fishing tips

Glass ‘N’ Glaze of Pluckley near Ashford, Kent, especially Jim, Thelma and Trevor Pearson

Dr Paul Barnett, Ned and Dan Brackenbury, Jordan Dry, Will Faulkner, Laurence Fegenbaum, Darren Peters, Oscar Russell, Mark Smithson, Igor Sprodnik, Ben Tansey, Honor Wilson-Fletcher

Terry Hill and Dave Watson for illuminating the mysteries of the male mind

James Barraclough, for early morning alarm calls

Jonathan Edgington, for advice on blokishness, vocabulary and swimming

My mother, Pat McNeill, for slogging through the first and second drafts and offering keen editorial insights as well as nice motherly encouragement

My late father, Mel, who knew that being a Sunday father is a full-time job

My sister, Stephanie, my one-woman cheerleader team, for her unfailing support

My agent, Jo Frank, for being so much more than an agent, and Vicky Cubitt for enthusiasm beyond the call of duty

My editor, Linda Evans, for having immense patience and a light touch with the red pen

… And Larry, a dedicated man, who really puts his heart into his work

Love is a
Four Letter Word

by Claire Calman

also available from
HarperCollins
PublishersLtd

ISBN
1-4434-0216-8

Lessons for a Sunday Father
Copyright ©
2001
by Claire Calman.

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EPub Edition © NOVEMBER 2010 ISBN: 978-1-443-40216-3

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FIRST MASS MARKET EDITION

National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Calman, Claire
Lessons for a Sunday father / Claire Calman.

ISBN 0-00-639222-9

I. Title.

PR6053.A3915L47 2002     823'.92     C2002-902450-1

OPM 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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