Unforeseen Circumstances: Day 13

Word Count: 78,035

Summary of Events:

Weston, feeling sceptical that Darryl had suffered all the injuries Shaw had reported from slipping on his ice cream, stopped by the hospital with Andie, and was surprised to learn that Shaw had told the truth when reporting Darryl's injuries. Before going home, he and Andie stopped for fuel and saw Weston's sister, Shannon, who told them she'd been at Weston's maternal grandparents for a few days because of an incident at home, but was heading back home again, which made Weston a tad concerned. After breakfast the following morning Weston and his father were surprised to be called on by Jarvis Lockhart, Shaw's father, who wanted to know what was going on, having heard that Shaw and Weston's father were no longer friends, so Weston's father explained everything…

Excerpt of the Day:

“Well, thank you for not being upset,” Dad said. “I do feel badly that things have come to this between myself and Shaw, but Weston means more to me than any friendship, and if my friends or their families are out to cause him distress and even harm, I will prioritise his safety and wellbeing, no matter the cost.”

“And that’s only right,” Jarvis said. “Any father ought to care about his children like that, but reasonably. If their child is being a problem and they do such a thing as you’ve done out of denial that their child is a problem, that’s a bad thing, but you’re protecting your son from a problem child, and that’s right. Too many people these days, I think, are shockingly indifferent to their children. They think making money or other things are more important than raising up the next generation that will truly be their best legacy. Children aren’t like cattle, you can’t just feed them two or three times a day, make sure they’re healthy, and keep their fences in good repair, you need to be more involved in their lives, after all, they’re your offspring, not your possessions.”
“Yes,” Dad agreed.

Weston withdrew from the living room door, suspecting he’d not yet been noticed by Jarvis, who was getting to his feet and making his way to the door with a bit of a hitch to his step that Weston had been told was the result of having been roughly head-butted by a cantankerous young steer shortly before he’d retired and handed the farm over to Shaw.

“I wish Shaw were more like that,” Jarvis said. “Darryl might never have been a problem in the first place if he’d not been so focused on turning bigger profits with the farm. It’s not that I don’t want the farm to prosper, but what use is a prosperous farm if you don’t have capable kids to take it over from you?”

From his position in the dining room doorway, Weston saw enough of Dad to see him nod.

“Weston’s a good kid,” Jarvis said. “You’ve done a good job with him, even with all the things you’ve had to deal with otherwise. I’m honestly impressed.”

“Thank you,” Dad said quietly.

“Well, hope you have a good harvest,” Jarvis said as the door opened.

“Thank you,” Dad said. “Goodbye.”

“Bye,” Jarvis replied.

The door closed and Weston stepped out of the dining room doorway. Dad looked at him.

“That was certainly not what I expected when I saw he was on the other side of the door,” Dad said.

“Me either,” Weston said.

“I feel bad for him,” Dad said. “I’ll bet he feels like he was a lousy father, but I really don’t think he was.”

“Then what do you think it was?” Weston asked.

“Well, Shaw’s always been… I guess you’d say an ‘anything you can do I can do better’ type,” Dad replied. “He’s not good at taking advice that’s offered to him when he doesn’t want it. In fact, I’ve heard that independence is a Lockhart trait, and I always thought that Shaw had it in spades, and that’s seeming more and more to be to his detriment.”
Weston nodded. He had to agree.