Dad fell to bits after mum left. She really was the love of his life. When I started living with him at home again I took on a lot of the chores. Dad was drinking a lot. I understood that, I really did. But he wasn't the only one that was hurting. My family had been ripped apart and I still missed my mum even though I hated her for what she had done. And I missed Jacob so badly. Why couldn't he come back home and live with us?
Dad was still managing to run the business but that was about it. When I got home from school I had to cook tea for us other wise there wouldn't be any. Dad's diet was mostly liquid these days. Granny came round quite often and gave me some lessons but I picked it up pretty quickly. Rice and pasta are pretty easy to make it turns out. Brodie would east just about anything you put in from of him and he helped out too when he was home.
I wasn't getting much supervision at this point in my life. All I wanted to do was hide in my bedroom anyway. I played piano for hours and channelled a lot of my feelings into that. The piano was always there and never let me down. It wouldn't get drunk or cheat on me with a guy called Graham.
I had music lessons at school with Mr Harris. I liked them particularly because I got out of maths early to attend them. The music room was sound proof and had grey spongy walls. Mr Harris was pretty nerdy. He was transparently pale with wiry black hair and had hairs sprouting out the neck of the jumpers he wore that looked like his mum knitted them for him. He was a dork but he was always in a good mood and didn't shout so he was alright in my book.
Sometimes he would walk around the room hitting a woodblock to keep time but mostly he sat on the piano stool next to me. He was quite exacting and never let me away with anything and I appreciated that. I improved as a player under his tutelage even though he was a dork.
My guitar playing was coming along well too. I didn't have lessons in school for that. I learned at home. Granddad taught dad to play when he was young and he taught me to play too. Dad gave me lessons as well but once I got started I mostly taught myself. James the new lodger liked that I was musical and had given me a few lessons as well.
Dad had a workshop at the bottom of the garden. It was the garden shed, but the previous owner of the house had been a clock mender so the shed was a cut above the usual flimsy wooden hut and was a good workspace. I loved joining dad in work shed and would often take him out cups of tea and sit and watch him work. He would give me jobs to do and I could tell he was teaching me to take over some of his work for him. I know he wanted me or one of my brothers to take over the business from him one day but we all had our own dreams and he respected that even if it made him sad.
Those happy times helping dad in the shed were few and far between after mum left though. Dad drank whiskey alone in there. I half expected to find him howling at the moon.
I was being neglected whether my parents intended it or not. When kids are being neglected, there are unscrupulous people who will swoop in and take their place.