After her dad left the family, Emily developed a particular fondness for avoiding him altogether. Despite his enthusiastic promises to keep in touch, she wanted absolutely nothing to do with the man. Still, her grandmother, with the persistence of a well-bred spaniel, urged her to call him, stressing that he was still her father and deserved a place in her life. This struck Emily as rather odd, especially considering that her mum wouldnt speak two words to her ex-husband if they were the last people left in London. However, in the hope of not upsetting her mum, Emily found herself occasionally meeting up with her father.
On one occasion, Emily was taken out of her lessons at school just to see him. Her teacher was, understandably, less than thrilled, but when your own dad shows up at the gates, theres really not much a teacher can do except sigh heavily and mark you absent. Back at her fathers place, Emily discovered her classmates gossiping about a supposed sister of hers. She dismissed it all as nonsenseuntil she met his shiny new family, complete with a cheerful wife and a very small daughter. Emilys stepmother was surprisingly lovely, the sort who asks about your maths homework and remembers your favourite biscuits. Meanwhile, her father parked himself in front of his laptop, barely acknowledging either daughters existence.
As time went by, her dad started to collect Emily from home more regularly, casually suggesting she could look after her much younger stepsister. Emily was less than enthusiastic about this arrangementunderstatement of the yearand flat-out refused to accept the little girl as her sister. Still, she felt pressured to go along with it all, just to maintain the farce of a happy relationship, as her mum and grandmother so desperately hoped. When pressed to stay longer at her fathers house, Emily dug in her heels and claimed she had mountains of homework waiting. Her dad barely blinked, offering the helpful solution that she could do her schoolwork at his while simultaneously babysitting her stepsistersince he and his wife fancied popping out for the evening.
Feeling unappreciated and relegated to unpaid childminder, Emily finally hit her limit and swore never to set foot in her fathers house again. When her dad rang to ask where she was and reminded her, ever so helpfully, about her responsibility towards her stepsister, Emily stood her ground. She absolutely refused to be treated like some sort of free nanny. She pointed out that he hardly ever spoke to her, and only seemed keen when it came to palming off his daughter onto her so he could focus on important business.
This lack of affection and appreciation only widened the distance between them, and their relationship swiftly unravelled. Attempts by her father and stepmother to patch things up were as successful as a chocolate teapot. Eventually, Emily confronted him directly, demanding an explanation for his behaviour. His answer was brutally honest: someone had to look after the youngest child, and he didnt even pretend that he missed her.
And so, the knotty tangle between Emily and her father remained forever unresolved, with no reconciliation in sight. His actions had left a mark that couldnt be mended, leaving Emily to feel undervalued and simply used.
