Mark's Scars

Eveline left early the next morning as planned. By the time Sarah got up to have breakfast, the house was practically empty. Her brother had driven Eveline to the airport. Her mother was also nowhere to be seen. Only her father was home and she guessed from the delicious aroma was in the middle of cooking up a big breakfast for Sarah

"Ah, Sarah about time you got up. It's almost nine, your mother had to meet a foreign friend, some middle-eastern Sheikh, I think. Even though she says she is on a break from work, the reality is her job is very much a twenty-four/seven job. She has to maintain that vast network of contacts and friends, but she chose that life so. Anyways come, sit down, I'm almost done."

Sarah walked over to the dining table and took a seat as she surveyed the behemoth of a sandwich her father had created for her. She wracked her brain, as she planned out how to tackle this task without causing a big mess. She gave up and complained a little exasperatedly

"Dad, why do you always insist on making it so big. How am I supposed to eat this?"

"Stop complaining, Sarah, you're a grown woman. Just enjoy your food. Not like there's anyone around to see you eat sloppily anyway. Or is there someone you haven't told me about."

Sarah heard her father's teasing and immediately stuffed her mouth with the food before her attempting to end the conversation. She noticed her father smirk before he walked over with his plate of food and they enjoyed their meals in silence.

Just as Sarah finished her breakfast, she received a text. She looked over and saw it was from someone she had not been expecting.

"Sarah, I heard you were discharged from hospital. Are you free?"

The text was from Mark.

"Yeah I am. Why what's up?"

"Are you at home?"

"No, I'm at Dad's place."

"Okay, be there in twenty mins."

Sarah had thought they would meet up at a restaurant, bar or somewhere else and had not been expecting him to come and pick her up. It seemed very much like a date. Sarah became a little flustered as she realised twenty minutes was barely enough time for her to pick an outfit and change, let alone all the other things she needed to do to look presentable.

Derrick noticed Sarah's sudden panic as she got up from her chair and ran upstairs, he looked over with amusement.

"Sarah what's wrong? Why are you in such a hurry?"

"I don't have time Dad, Mark's coming over, before you ask, I don't know why either. Can you delay him a bit when he gets here? I need to get ready."

Derrick shook his head and laughed.

"Fine, fine, I'll get him to do the dishes."

Sarah thought her father was joking, but she didn't have time to worry about Mark, she had to quickly do her routine.

Derrick heard a car pull into the driveway and knew Mark was here. Derrick had only seen Mark a few times, usually when he had dropped Sarah off after work on occasions where she could not drive. Other than that, there was one time where they had met at a charity event and had perfunctorily introduced each other and exchanged pleasantries. After all their lines of work were very different, he was the Chief Engineer of Longford Resources whilst he was the Chief Communications Officer of the Eight Network and so their circle of associates and friends hardly met.

Derrick was also not someone who enjoyed social events and networking lunches, dinners or what have you. He preferred exchanging ideas, whether it be latest geotechnical sciences, geological issues or brand-new technologies that were about to revolutionise the field of mineral and petroleum resources. He admitted he was a pretty boring guy and still could not believe that he had managed to marry Rowena.

Derrick heard a couple knocks on the door and opened it, only to see the fresh face of Mark.

"Ah, Mark, Sarah said you were coming over, come inside and take a seat. You will probably need to wait a while."

"Oh, Derrick, good to see you. Ah, that's fine, I did ask on short notice."

Mark walked over to the lounge and took a seat.

"Mark, want a coffee, tea or water?"

"No, I'm alright thanks."

"Ok, so what brings you here today and is so important."

Derrick saw Mark look around and hesitate a little before he said

"It has to do with Sarah's story she was investigating before the accident. Did David tell you it wasn't an accident?"

"What! That old man didn't say anything other than he was leaving to calm down some disgruntled shareholders after your company got acquired by the Marsh's."

"I think we should wait for Sarah to come down before I say anymore. She deserves to know the truth after what she went through."

Derrick calmed down and nodded, before he got up to make himself a coffee and a green tea, he knew Sarah would need later.

"So, how has your company been since Alistair bought it?"

"Well, not much has changed other than a few personnel swaps. He had all the fat trimmed and those that had been overlooked under the old guard were promoted. Most of the employees have already jumped on board his vision for the future of the company. He wants us to expand our reach into Asia. Make more content for them, buy more content from them and build on them as well as adapt them to our base here."

"Hah, sounds like Steven and Alistair have very similar ideas. Whereas David focused on European and American partners, Steven's been going hard on our Asian friends. Japan, China, South Korea, you name it and he wants to have a crack at it."

"Well, the future prosperity of our companies is all based on whether we can crack that market. The Western market is already oversaturated as it is, the internet has made many things easier for the entertainment industry but at the same time many of our old methods simply no longer hold up."

"Well at least you have plenty of friends in Asia."

"My family does, sure, but I would rather not rely on them."

"It's probably not my place to say this, but I will say it anyway. This is coming from a guy that felt helpless as he saw his family fall apart and despite his best efforts could affect nothing for the past ten or so years. You should reconcile with your father, I do not agree with what he did, but it is obvious he did it because he thought it would be better for him to do it, than you. He was clearly thinking about you. You should not wait until it's too late to talk to him."

Mark looked unsettled at the mention of his father and responded a little hostilely

"Derrick, I know you mean well, but there are moments in our lives where we realise the saying blood is thicker than water, is just that, empty words. What my father did, I will never forgive. I cannot. She did not deserve that. After all she did for us, how could any sane human do that to her."

Derrick sighed as he saw the anger in Mark's eyes and knew that he had still been unable to move on from those tragic events. Perhaps this was why Sarah and Mark were so close, they both bore some unhealable scar and perhaps they both felt something familiar in each other. A shared pain, an understanding of what held them back, their emotional baggage they simply could not discard as to do so would render their lives meaningless. It was that baggage that has defined them so far.

However, Derrick had seen how his wife had finally shed that skin. He knew Sarah acted as if she had remained unaffected by the events of the past, but he knew she simply hid the scars deeply. He knew their relationship over the past decade or so had their ups and downs. He had tried to give her space by moving out after she graduated, he knew many had misconstrued it as him abandoning her, but he did not care, he did not need to explain it to these third parties, after all, the only one he needed to care about was Sarah.

However, life was cruel. He had tried to make sure Sarah knew how he felt and to make sure she knew he was always there for her. Where there was once a brilliant and cheerful little girl, that scampered around always asking him to carry her. There now was a proud and independent woman, who had embarked on the next stage of her life, without the need for her father.

Derrick and Mark sat silently as they stewed in their own thoughts and waited for Sarah to come down.