Temporal Exploring 101 - Cultural Immersion

II.18 The Parents' Weekend

"My name is Taylor. Francis Taylor. Of Taylor, Hampden and Clark." The man who had been commissioned to pretend to be my dad here in the 1960s extended his right hand. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Hart."

We were standing in front of the headmistress's office. Fortunately, the hall was deserted as most of the teachers, students and staff were outside in the park, participating in the parents' weekend in one way or another.

"Same here."

I shook his hand. I was gradually getting better at the handshake thing, or so I liked to tell myself.

"Congratulations. You did an exceptionally good job at playing my enraged father, Mr Taylor," I commented.

"I may have overdone it a bit, at some point." Mr Taylor offered me an apologetic smile. "Miss Hart, you are representing a valued and important client of our firm. I sincerely hope that I did not inadvertently create additional problems for you."

"I don't think you did." I smiled wryly. "I am kind of curious, Mr Taylor. Did you volunteer for the job of pretending to be my father, or were you, I don't know ... conscripted, if that is the correct word for it?"

"Indeed one might say that I got conscripted. My esteemed associates, Mr Hampden and Mr Clark, both are a few years too old to credibly play the role of your father, so I was left with little choice in the matter." He smiled. "Besides, I have a daughter who is approximately your age. I must admit that my dealings with her rather inspired my performance."

"You were chewing me out good, I have got to give you that."  I grinned. "So what is next on the agenda?"

"I have no idea, Miss Hart. I thought I might follow the headmistress's suggestions and mingle with the other parents and the teachers."

"Yes, that would  be the plausible thing to do for my dad," I agreed. "You must stop addressing me as Miss Hart, though. Remember, I am your daughter, Catherine."

"Certainly, Miss ... I mean, Catherine."

I led the way through the corridors and outside into the park. Most of the students' parents seemed to have arrived, at that point. Parents, teachers and students were crowding the lawns, standing together in small groups or assembling at the stalls where snacks and refreshments were being served.

Many of the women and girls were wearing fancy summer dresses. Most of the men were wearing suits and ties, but there were also several of them who were attired in a similar way as Mr Taylor.

I noticed Nancy Kerrington standing together with her mother, her sister Liz and Natty. I walked over to the small group and introduced Mr Taylor to them as my dad.

Lady Kerrington talked to him about Aberdeen and its university for a while. I was gratified to note that he appeared to be fielding her questions well enough.

Lady Kerrington mentioned that Natty and I had visited Kerrington Manor for a weekend, and she spoke highly of both of us.

"I wish Nancy was a student as diligent as your daughter and Natalie are," she told him. She turned towards Natty. "You are currently at the top of your class, aren't you, dear?"

Natty blushed but made no response other than an awkward nod.

"She really is," I confirmed. "At least, when it comes to math and the sciences." I grinned. "Now, history is an entirely different matter."

"Don't even talk about history," Natty groaned. "Or French."

"Nobody likes history," Nancy agreed.