my father visited this weekend, no minor distance to travel, and it was easily the strangest visit he's made here. he'd brought along a somewhat awful friend (neither my sister nor I had ever seen or met him before he came to sleep at our house), who lingered around remora-like and entirely got in the way of father-daughter(s) time. which both my sister and I were put out about. I like my dad, and I'd have liked to really spend time with him, but as it was, his visit was like seeing a movie whose premier you'd been anticipating, that ends up being so bad you forget you've seen it and instead you just keep looking forward to seeing the film when it comes out. as if it never happened.
I haven't been able to figure out just what my dad was thinking bringing this guy along. all the way from minnesota, no less. my dad is not a man to explain things well himself, so he's been no assistance in making the reasons clear. my dad is the kind of man who thinks that many things in life are self-explanatory and not worthy of elaboration. things such as bringing along to california a chumpy sidekick, a near-stranger even to him, a man with a horrible laugh and without the sense or tact to leave the room or the house or the table long enough to allow for family catch-up time, to sleep on his daughters' floor for three nights. I am the kind of woman to need to know why, and there hasn't been any good answer.