‘What are your parents’ names again?’ Knight kept fiddling with the buttons of his shirt and straightening out his pants. He had his white and mustard striped ‘brave’ pants on. I smiled at him. He was human after all.
‘My sister is there, too.’
‘Yeah. Thanks. What’s her name again?’ Did his face colour just drop a shade? In a sadistic way, I found it comforting that Knight was so nervous; it made me feel less inadequate for wanting to implode into oblivion.
‘Did you bring your passport? Mum’s asked for 100 points of identification.’ Seriously, she did.
‘Yeap. Got’em.’ And sure enough, Knight pulled out his passport, driver’s license, Medicare card, and the names, phone number and address of his parents. Wow. This was an operation.
I parked the car, pulled the hand brake and killed the engine. I looked over at Knight.
‘Are you sure?’ My hands were still positioned on the hand brake and on the ignition, ready to take off again. Knight drew a breath.
‘It’ll make for a better story if I say yes, wouldn’t it?’ He grinned and got out of the car. I released my grip. This guy had balls.
Knight watched me jumble up my keys, make sure that the car was properly locked, adjust my clothes and hair, scratch off a bug from the windscreen and finally he stepped towards me, took my hand and led me to the restaurant. He laced his fingers through mine and gave it a comforting squeeze. Together we entered the belly of the dragon.
‘So, you do exist.’ My father said once we sat down after formalities. Dad and Knight had gripped each others’ hands in greeting with steely eye contact.
Knight laughed, ‘Of course I do.’ Only because I somehow dreamed you into life. And then it began.
‘Debra tells us that you’re from Queensland, what are you doing in Melbourne?’
‘I came down to help a friend with a business. He’s a fashion designer and is trying to launch his label here.’ Ah yes, the business partner and also his housemate and also his ‘boyfriend’. I smiled inwardly.
‘Then how can you just leave? Don’t you have a responsibility with this friend?’
Knight shrugged. ‘I jumped into it too soon. Turns out we’re not compatible as business partners. We tried and it didn’t work.’ Oh no! Knight immediately saw his mistake. ‘As in, there wasn’t enough discussion and communication about what each of us wanted.’ He glanced over at me. I wanted to reach out for his hand but couldn’t risk it. Oh gosh, what were we doing? Mum signaled for the waitress to stop with her cart of little Chinese dumplings. Soon enough our table was covered with steaming plates and bamboo trays of foods alien to Knight’s palette.
‘Have you ever tried chicken feet before?’ Dad challenged.
‘It’s really good’ I encouraged, seeing his hesitance.
Knight pulled a cheeky grin, ‘Is it going to run right through me?’
I laughed and I took a bite. Knight followed suit.
‘Mmm,’ He licked his lips, ‘Saucy.’ And spat out the phalanges. Why is he so relaxed?
‘Something bothers me,’ my father continued, taking a sip from his tea cup, ‘to walk away from a business shows lack of commitment. Do you know what it takes to build a successful business? The same amount of energy it takes to build a successful relationship.’ I glared at Dad. Dad glared at Knight. Knight glided over the attempted segue.
‘No, I know what it takes. I don’t know if Deb told you, but I owned a café back at home. It was tough!’ Dad forehead crinkled with skepticism.
‘Yes, she did tell me…’ and Dad proceeded to ask Knight left, right and centre about his café; the origins of his idea, his managerial approach, his staff, his product knowledge, his weekly turnover (which Knight avoided and talked about the loyalty of his customers), how much profit he made selling the business (which Knight avoided and talked about the handover).
‘Dad! Stop asking about money! That’s private.’ Dad, amazingly, eased off.
‘I can see where you’re concerned-‘
‘Oh, you don’t know the half of it.’
‘And money’s not an issue. I have enough so that Deb and I can travel safely and comfortably.’
Dad’s nostrils flared, ‘You’re paying for all of it?’ Gee, this is the first I’ve heard of this.
‘Well, not all of it. I’ve offered to pay for fuel and Deb can handle her part of food and accommodation. It’ll be split.’
‘Where do you plan to go exactly?’ Everyone turned to Vivian. It was the first time she’d spoken. Oh right, I haven’t even told Vivian my plans…I’d been spending all my spare time with Knight.
I answered this one, ‘We’re making our way up the East Coast. His parents live near Brisbane.’
‘Cool.’ She bobbed with approval and dipped her prawn dumpling into some chilli sauce. See? Why can’t it be as easy as that?
‘Knight. Do you not see how ridiculous this all is? You two have only just met!’
‘When she told us, we couldn’t believe her! And then she kept talking and talking about it!’ Mum finally spoke up.
‘How many girlfriends have you had?’ Oh my gosh.
‘I’ve only had one serious girlfriend-‘
‘But many non-serious girlfriends?’ Knight’s mouth gaped.
‘Dad!’ He ignored me.
‘Where do you fit into all of this? What are your intentions? Why do you want to take our daughter away?’
The million-dollar question. My whole family, including myself, leaned in with anticipation. Why is he going through this for me?
Knight was taken aback but recovered quickly. He squared his shoulders and cleared his throat.
‘I want to be Deb’s friend. From what she’s told me, she’s inexperienced with travelling. I want to be there to offer her protection.’ My heart melted.
‘What if it’s from YOU she needs protection?’ Knight didn’t even blink.
‘I promise, I’m no danger. Look, Deb’s a beautiful girl. I can see where you’re worried. But she’s also a smart girl and she can judge for herself what kind of person I am. She’s going to be the driver and it’s her car, so it’s going to be her call. If she wants to kick me out at any point, that’s fine. I can find my way home.’ I looked around expecting the whole restaurant to give a standing ovation. Dad was in his signature pose with his hands clasped, elbows on the table. His expression unreadable. He was not backing down.
‘So you want to travel?’
‘I do. I enjoy it.’
‘Then do it on your own. I did it years ago when I backpacked in North America. It’s much more fulfilling. No compromises. No restrictions. More freedom.’ I sat up, my eyes blazed. ‘You need to travel to gain life experience. You’re an energetic young man, you should go. By yourself.’
‘WHAT!’ Some customers looked over. I was trembling in my seat. Tears of anger brimmed. I felt the heat in my face. Why have those words never been directed at ME?
Vivian spoke for me, ‘Dad! Are you serious? You’re encouraging Knight but not Debra?’
‘Knight is not my daughter.’ Dad snapped. I wanted so badly to jump up on the table and stomp on every bowl, plate and squish every dumpling. I wanted to pull down the stupid, overly-ornate chandelier down from the tacky mirrored ceiling and smash it into the lobster aquarium. I wanted to rage through the restaurant like Godzilla through Tokyo. It was so unfair! All these years Dad never even let me entertain the idea of travelling- let alone travelling alone! I dug my nails into my knees. I nearly drew blood. Then I felt a comforting hand over mine. Knight had reached out under the table cloth. His eyes were still on my parents.
‘I don’t want to be the cause of any further dispute. If it makes you feel any better, here are my parents’ details. Feel free to give them a call and have a chat. They’re lovely people.’ They’d have to be if they produced YOU. Knight pulled out the card and offered it across the table with two hands. It lingered. Oh please, just take it. Finally, Mum reached over and took it, assessed it, and slid it into her bag. Her mouth smiled, her eyes didn’t.
Yum Cha was over. As a group we stood up and said our civil goodbyes. Knight and I left quivering, clammy and out of breath. We looked like we just tumbled and squeezed through the intestines of a beast. And survived.
