throwing stones

Eric got the job. Except it was just going to be weekends and fewer hours than he expected.

"I'm sure it'll be fine once you've made it the first month or so," his dad's advice. "Who knows, maybe they can't get along without you after awhile."

"Hardly," Eric highly doubted that. "All I'll be doing is bagging groceries. Maybe some cashiering later."

"Its a start," Of course, his Dad wasn't telling him what he should go into in the future. His father worked in insurance as it was. "Its a struggle any age you are." As dismal as it sounded, Eric knew he was right.

They didn't have a big discussion of it, but they took a walk together in the chill of fall. Leaves were drifting slowly so was their conversation. And Eric could sense an apology in his father's voice and yet it never exactly came. "I promised your brother I'd keep in contact with you more. If it all works out, maybe we'll all be a bit more closer. I'm hoping to move us to Ottawa."

"Canada?" Eric hadn't expected as much. His father's family was pretty much a homegrown brood back in the village where his father grew up, but evidently most were scattered now and he believed things would be better if they moved. "But won't Ian be, you know, sad?"

"This boy wants to travel," his father just smiled. "Don't think I can keep him in one place long."

And then Eric found out his father was divorcing his second wife.

"I suppose you met someone on the Internet," Eric then said. "Is that how it worked out? Why you're moving."

"You know me so well," he then smiled. "But I have Ian. He's all I've actually got. His mother moved out over a year ago. And yes, I have been writing to this woman for sometime. It was never romantic. She was just a friend. And well, I decided I'd take a chance."

"But what if, if you don't know her at all?" Eric would have said, 'have you lost the plot..' but he knew that wouldn't have matter now to his Dad. It seemed so set in stone.

"We'll just see," his Dad shrugged. "Francine has a daughter about Ian's age."

"But the winters are so harsh in Canada," Eric reminded him that his father wasn't all so fond of them. After all, he'd rather be in Spain on holiday, usually.

"I know," Eric's Dad looked at him brightly, "That's why we're going there now."

"Now?" It just hit Eric that his father would be closer to him than he thought.

"Maybe by summer you could come up. Even bring Ellie. I wouldn't mind." It really set in stone.

"Yeah," Eric nodded. "Sure."