As the afternoon progressed I could feel myself falling more in love with my father. I liked Janice too. They were such a stable, loving family. My father made it clear to me that he wished us to maintain contact and get to know each other. He even apologized to mum for not making any effort to contact her, and for not making any contribution to raise me.
Mum laughed. "You were a kid then. It's too late to fret about that now."
"I hope to pay back now," he said, "by spending time with Juliet."
We drove home that evening, mum and me, the two of us floating on a cloud. Before we had even made our way off Eddie's housing estate I could see she was mulling over how she could snare him.
"Pity he's so settled. She's nice Janice, but I bet she's frigid in the sack."
Eddie had promised he would phone me that week, and he was better than his word. Later that evening, he called to check that we had got home safely, and then he asked me if I would like to see Evita with him in London. I said yes. My heart was skipping. He said he would get tickets for the coming Saturday night and that he would meet me at Waterloo Station at noon.
"Let's do some fun things before heading off to the theatre."
I asked him if Janice and the boys were coming too. He said no, that it would only be the two of us.
"Janice will be at home with the boys. Don't worry. Let's enjoy. We can have dinner either before or after the performance and then I'll drive you home."
I did wonder why he wasn't picking me up too as we don't live so far apart. But he said that his office was in the City, and because he had to work late Friday and be in early Monday, he would be staying in London over the weekend. So that was that. My first date alone with dad was set.
