"So I know how he really feels, and I can keep that in mind when I make decisions. So he knows that however angry he gets, and whatever he says to me when he does, I'm still his father."

That's going to be the most difficult part, being away this long; a year's worth of things just festering.

But they'll work it out, if and when the time finally comes. They always have.

"He's a good kid. If things really escalate, he always apologises." A smile tugs at his lips, and he shakes his head. "He made me cast Zone of Truth on him once just so I'd know he really, really meant it."