Image copyright: Dee Lovering
Mid-winter. Snow. My turn to have the kids. The boy and the girl. I never know what to do with them but I have to have them, what with the fuss I made during the court case, demanding regular access because I’m a caring father, I really am, despite what she and her mother say.
I’ll take them to the café in the park. Again. There’s plenty of forbidden fruit there – burgers and chips; ice-cream. And we can watch the joggers, the people walking their dogs, the other kids running around throwing snowballs, having fun.
We’ve nothing to talk about.
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patrickprinsloo 
Great character building. The father’s voice shows how out of touch he is with his children, and gives a glimpse of his self-centredness. However, he keeps trying, I think. I’m going to trust that he’ll wake up to himself before it’s too late. Plenty to think about in your story.
Thanks Margaret. Wish I had said that.
Patrick
The stark truth of the absence of love versus that deliciously sarcastic line of
burgers, chips & ice cream as FRUITS, forbidden or not ( the food pyramid gurus
must be enraged 😉 ) made for a complete literary meal.
Kudos, Tay.
Kind words. Pleased you found it a lip-smacking read.
They were probably too busy playing games on their hand held electronics to know Dad was around anyway.
Possibly true. Thank you for adding a further level of despair to my already bleak tale.
A story that exists far too much in today’s society… I can only hope he wakes up and tries to get to know the children he fought to have access to!
I’m sure things will turn out well. Or maybe not. Oh dear.
Brutally realistic portrait of a dysfunctional family.
Excellent.
Thanks for comment.
Big dilemma for a single dad
Indeed. Hope he finds a path.
Distractions are good if they have nothing to talk about. Maybe they’ll share a great moment and things will turn around. I sure hope so! You can’t get that childhood back. Very thoughtful take.
Thanks. On rereading I find it a bit depressing – no salvation here.
I can’t imagine why he has no wife.
Ha. You can read him like a book.
You capture the speechlessness of a drifting-apart family perfectly. I only hope, when the kids grow older, there will be something to talk about. Unless he wants to be detached. Unless the kids get fed bad stories about their father through their mum. The kids always lose.
Oh these kids will lose big time. Unless I rescue them.
His detachment is so tragic, I wonder if it will leave a permanent mark on his kids. Some truths are impossible to hide. Well told, Patrick.
Thanks. I’ll try cheerful next week.
When children become pawns on an emotional chessboard, everybody loses.
Good piece.
Losers every time. Good comment.
Dear Patrick,
This one goes straight for the jugular. The dad’s voice feels so real and the fact that he doesn’t even name the kids other than “the boy and the girl” speaks volumes. Very well done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Thanks Rochelle. Pleased you picked up on the forgotten names.
I’m not sure it’s necessary to talk to them anyway. Listening seems to be the way it goes. Really vivid impressions here of a family cast apart. Well done.
I hope listening works. Hope they pull through.
This felt very real.
Afraid so. Gloomy write.
I like the list of forbidden “fruit.” Well told story of a family gone bad.
Thank you. Things happen.
Good voice. Sad story, but hopefully it will end well enough.
We hope so.
The children might grow up with fond memories nevertheless and appreciate him hanging around their lives, even if he is doing it as a duty.
Certainly hope so.
Nice work, Patrick. You’ve avoided the obvious cliches this week and still written about a common occurrence. Poignant.
Not a happy write, though.
Happy is overrated.
“Vinay Leo R.” said the exact words that came to my mind. So sad the casualties of broken families. Well done!
So true.
That’s sad. 😦
It is. Thank you.