Letter from my Father by Dasia Black

Author:Dasia Black
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Brandl & Schlesinger
Published: 2014-03-19T16:00:00+00:00

XI

Henry

One spring evening in 1981, my friend Renata called me to say that Henry, a friend of her husband Kevin’s from his days as a transport engineer in Papua New Guinea, was visiting Sydney. Would I like to meet him? Renata told me that Henry was an economist who had made a distinguished career as a public servant in the Department of Territories and now ran his own economic consultancy in Canberra, advising on government policy. He had been born and received his early education in Germany so we had a European background in common. He had recently divorced and had an eleven-year-old daughter and an aged mother, both living with him. He was Jewish and was sixteen years older than I. He was a highly-respected and witty man with an original mind, much loved by his numerous friends and colleagues. He was rather lonely, however, so they suggested we meet.

This was enough information to frighten me off. What was the point of meeting someone so much older and living in another city? Why would he be interested in me and I in him? But I was attracted by the original mind and the risk-taking part of me agreed to meet him on the proposed blind date. It was May 1981, a wintry evening. Renata and Kevin picked me up and we drove to a restaurant in Kings Cross where we were to meet Henry. My first reaction was shock. His face really did look older. His forehead was broad above penetrating steely blue eyes, slightly sunken cheeks, a protruding nose and a narrow chin. Certainly not for me, was my snap judgement, though I noted also that though Henry was short, he had a strong, muscular body.

But when he started talking in his deep gravelly voice, I listened – and kept on listening. Here was a man of intellect and wide knowledge. He had a pithy comment on every subject that came up, from politics and economics to art and literature. It was a lively evening, with Kevin and Henry reminiscing about their times in Papua New Guinea and the many acquaintances they had in common, and gossiping about what was going on in Canberra politics. On the way back to the car, as we walked and talked, Henry lightly put his hand around my waist. An electric current went through my body. I felt that this was the touch of a man.

He asked whether we could meet again and I replied that I would enjoy that, but was in the throes of finishing my PhD. Another meeting would have to wait until I had finished. A couple of months later I sent him a note saying that I had just handed in my thesis and would be pleased to meet him on his next visit to Sydney.

Henry called Kevin and asked him to arrange another foursome. Renata said that they would be happy to arrange an evening together but that Henry needed to phone me himself and ask to meet me.

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