Opportunity by Charlotte Grimshaw Page B

down,
talking.
    Charles started to walk away. Dan glanced from him to the
other boys. Then he jogged after Charles. Charles looked
behind and began to run. Dan ran faster, caught hold of his
arm, and Charles fell onto the concrete. Dan held him down,
hard, for a moment. Then he half got up, went down again,
and did a mock wrestling hold.
    He came back, pushing Charles ahead of him.
    'Here's your villain,' he said. He was breathing hard, his face
red and sweaty. He thrust Charles at me, his knees skinned
where he'd fallen on the concrete. 'I think your mother wants
to talk to you,' he said. He winked at me and Karen.
    'What do you think you're doing?' I said to Dan.
    'We'll make him a decent citizen,' Dan said.
    'No,' I said. 'We're going.' We started to walk away. I hugged
Charles's shoulders.
    Dan came up behind us. He put his hand on my shoulder.
'Is there a problem?' he said.
    'He's my son. You don't tell him what to do. I do.'
    Dan began to shake. He leaned over me. I had a sense of
how tall and muscular he was. 'I think we're all entitled to set
appropriate standards,' he said.
    'He's my son. If he needs telling, I'll tell him.'
    Dan clenched his fists. He came up very close. 'I think we
all . . .' He choked. I'd never seen him angry before.
    'You do not tell him what to do, and you do not touch him.
    Ever!' I hurried Charles away. We got into the car. I looked into the rear-view
    mirror, into my own eyes. I thought of Dan shaking, his face screwed up. I
    looked at Charles. He didn't say anything.
    ***
    The next day Dan handed me an envelope, his hands trembling.
I took it and walked away.
    I read it. It was long and articulate. Dan apologised. He
realised that an issue had arisen between us. He was confident
that, though we might have some different ideas about
appropriate discipline and standards of behaviour, we could
acknowledge them, work through them, and go on making
sure the boys progressed well. He and I understood each
other. We had the same aims and goals. It was natural there
might be the odd situation where we would diverge, but we
knew we were mostly in agreement. It would be a shame if
anything affected the great friendship between the boys. Dan
realised his expectations were high (and he didn't think
unrealistically so), but he was perfectly able to be flexible if
others didn't have the same . . .
    The letter ran on, repeating itself. It was bullying, full
    of jargon. It was elaborate and strenuous. Under the surface it threatened,
    it accused. It aimed to send me scurrying, flustered and apologising, to heal
    the rift. I had the sense of Dan clutching at something he desperately wanted,
    a sense almost of hysteria. I thought of the other fathers I knew. They were
    busy, preoccupied with their adult worlds. They cared about their children.
    But they didn't take much notice of their children's friends. I sat by the
    pool, reading the letter again. I couldn't believe I'd been such a fool.
    ***
    Dan stayed away from us for a week. Then one morning he
came across the playground. His face was white and strained.
He talked very fast.
    'Hope that's all sorted out? Tom's been at me about his
website. We haven't had the photo of Charles yet. Could I just
have a picture of him? Tom will be really pleased.' He took a
digital camera out of his bag.
    'No,' I said.
    'No?' He blinked.
    'And the videos you've taken of Charles — at sports, at
swimming. I want you to give them to me.'
    He knew what I was saying. He gave me a look of such
hatred I backed away. His face burned.
    In the days after that, all I could think about was how to
keep Dan away from Charles. I couldn't tell anyone, because I
had no real evidence. I didn't want to hurt Tom. It made me
cold to think that I'd pushed Charles to play with Tom. I kept
coming back to the fact that Charles had kept his distance. He
had kept away from Dan.
    The boys were to go on a swimming trip. Parents were
invited, but Max and I were going to a wedding. I said to