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letting me know just
how much of a disappointment I am.  Yes sometimes, he does subtlety, other times, he just comes straight out and says it.
    “Do you have any jobs
on this weekend?” Mum asks me, changing the subject, slightly.  She’s
always looking out for me.
    “Yeah I’m working at
Sorry Grandma! on Saturday night.”
    “Sorry Grandma! 
What kind of a place is that?”
    “It’s a club in the
city Ma.”  It will be my first time playing at this venue.  I have
only been there once and that was just as a patron.  They are holding an
amateur DJ night this weekend.  Although at the clubs closer to home I am
not considered an ‘amateur’ this seems like a good opportunity to broaden my
horizons as a DJ.
    “I don’t know where
they get these names from!”  Mum exclaims as she joins us at the
table.  She says it jokingly, not meaning anything by it.  Dad on the
other hand just grunts his disapproval.  DJing at clubs is not what he considers a career, or job, even a hobby like I
do.  He thinks of it as a complete waste of time, of course.
    “Why bother?” 
He asks sullenly without looking at me, not expecting a response.  So I
don’t answer, I just let his comment roll off my back and dig into the food Mum
has placed in front of me.
    “Good stuff Ma!” I
say as she pats me on the head with a smile on her
face.  She is easily pleased, she’s also a great cook and I happily praise
her.  It’s just the three of us here now.  My older brother, George
lives in Preston with his wife and their three boys.  My younger sister,
Maria is also married, living in Dingley.  Her and her husband have a
daughter and are expecting their second child soon.
    So that just leaves
me, the unsuccessful, one at home.  Not that I am home that much, in fact
I avoid it more and more, or should I say I avoid Dad and his disconcerting
looks and little digs at what a failure I am.  It’s hard to please Dad,
too hard to live up to his ideals.   He was
married and had bought his first home by the age of twenty.   The very house we are still living in.

 
    “Thanks Ma!” I say as
I take my plate to the sink.  “I’m going to Dan’s.”

 
    “Okay Nicky, have a
good time and say hello to Dan for me.  Tell him to come to dinner
soon.  We haven’t seen much of him lately.”

 
    “Will do,” I say
giving her a quick squeeze on the shoulder as I pass.  “Thanks for
dinner.”  Glancing at Dad I note that he is shaking his head, what else is
new?  I know he is shaking his head at me, but not because I am going to
Dan’s, who knows why this time.  In Pa’s eyes Dan is a
success.  He works full time as an accountant and has his own
apartment.  Although he isn’t married yet he has two up on me.
    Dan has been my best
mate since primary school.  He graduated from high school as dux of our
year.  He continued studying and became a qualified accountant. 
Academically we couldn’t be more different.  But socially we just click,
always have.  He may have my parents fooled, he has that serious-guy-act
down pat, but I know the real Dan.  He is a party animal, always out on
the prowl.  I don’t know how he has the head for all those numbers every
day when he is out partying most nights.
    I pull into the car
park outside Dan’s apartment and note there is a red hatchback parked next to
his car.  I recognise it as Jo’s car.  I hope that doesn’t mean Kelly
is here too.  As I make my way up the stairs I pass Jo, she is by herself
so that answers my question.
    “Hey Nick!”  She
smiles sweetly at me as she passes, her blonde hair swinging from side to side
as she goes down the stairs.  She is wearing a grey power suit type jacket
and tight fitting skirt, perfectly fitting her in all the right places. 
She has a great set of legs.
    “Hi,” I reply but she
doesn’t stop so that is as far as the conversation goes.
    Dan’s door is wide
open when I reach it, he must have seen me pull in.