Number of words: 202

Mary, who, with her sister, Louise, laughs at the idea of confiding in her father, also finds her father reluctant to “just talk” or “go over things” with her the way her mother does. “He sits down with me, and if we’re talking about stuff like school or job, he listens, but most of the time you realise you are having half a conversation. I know he has opinions, like which language course to take, and which colleges to apply to, so he sort of leads the way, but only so far, and then his interest sort of dives. He is not really tuned in. I start to explain something to him, and he tells me he is sure I can figure it out for myself. If he likes what I do, he takes the credit: ‘I knew you would come to that decision.’ But then when he says ‘well, it’s up to you,’ I feel he is disapproving, but he is not going to bother to tell me. I feel – yech! Horrible squelchy inside – when he sort of disappears from the conversation and doesn’t let on on how he feels.” 

Excerpted  from ’You don’t really know me’ by Terry Apter.