I had never driven a Lexus before, or a Mercedes, or anything expensive really. My history of cars was a short string of second-hand sedans that I eventually sold to a wrecker when the cost of repair surpassed the cost of buying a new one. I could feel the small smile on my face as I rounded the corner to my father in law's study, the keys jingling merrily as I spun them on my right index finger. A brief knock, a 1-2-3-4 rap I had picked up from watching Doctor Who on repeat, there was a brief moment of silence before the man of the house responded with a clear "Come in".

As the polished wood opened it revealed a small room decorated well with bookshelves, framed photographs of family and landscapes of what my extended family fondly referred to as 'the old country', and opposite the door and seated in front of a windowless wall sat a heavy mahogany desk where he did most of his work at home. "Good afternoon, Father. I'm just dropping off the car keys." And elderly man, his face marked well with age lines nodded in greeting as I moved past the room's other occupants - two of the house guards, large and serious men wearing well-fitted suits that though not as fine as Father tended to wear were still of obvious quality; as well as a smaller man with short dark hair seated between the two as they stood stoically as ever.

"Thank you, Vinny." I had given up trying to convince anyone in the family to use the full Vincent, but at least they didn't partake in the done to death 'My cousin' jokes. "Filled up and cleaned, of course." I placed the keys in his upturned hand as his expression grew slightly less frosty, never one for overt displays of emotion myself, I was pleasantly surprised when my then fiancé introduced the two of us that we got along so well.

Turning to leave, I finally realised that the smaller man was not doing so well, which was a polite way to say he looked like had gone a few rounds with Tyson in his prime. "Oh, what happened there, buddy?" The man flinched, mottled purples and yellow writhed across his face as he moved to speak, only to be cut off as my father in law spoke in his usual no-nonsense tone. "He made a mistake." The man gave a small, shaky nod but said nothing further. Shrugging internally, I tried to think of something appropriate to say.

"Well, they say the burned hand teaches best." And thanking the elder gent for his generosity I took my leave, greeting the two guards by name as I did so. The heavy wooden door closed securely, taking care not to slam or make unnecessary noise I slowed down inches before the latch made contact, just in time to hear him speak once more. "That was my son in law, Vinny. You could learn a lot from him."

What a guy, really knows how to make a man feel welcome.