Chapter 9The Sunday roast had been consumed, and the pudding plates cleared away. Then Pam was sent out to play so the grown-ups could talk, and the time of reckoning was due.
Kenneth took a deep breath, mulling over the carefully chosen phrases he’d tried to formulate. If Kit could manage this, so can I, he thought, bracing himself.
“Dad, I want to say how much I appreciate your offer,” he began. “But I can’t take you up on it.”
As his dad started to interrupt, Kenneth continued hastily, not wanting to allow his prepared speech to be eclipsed by yet another pointless and damaging argument.
“I’ve tried, I really have, but I’m not able to be the man you want me to be. If I came back and worked with you in the factory, it would be a disaster. In the end, I’d only embarrass you. I’m sorry
