It’s been 20 years since we last saw each other so we check off all the bits some adults made us believe were important – Where are you living these days? What are you doing for work? Are you married? – before two decades of silence squashes our tongues. My son wanders over with eyes the size of pizzas. You introduce yourself as the boy who could never make it to the Wimbledon final in Virtua Tennis 2 with his dad and I laugh and we call Pat Cash swear words standing in a church for the christening of a baby you just vowed to protect and guide.

Carl Burkitt 2024