It was all taken for granted. All the father could think about was the one who was absent. The one who had broken away. The one who had stood up to him. Everything I have is yours.
Relationships are such tricky things, especially within the family.
This family of the prodigal son lived together for all those years, yet there was never any real sense of community. The surface appeared calm enough, but there were all those strands of frustration and bitterness and resentment going on beneath the surface. And when one member of the family was eventually driven to break the surface, there was shock and horror and bewilderment all round. Fancy that boy going off like that, breaking his father's heart. A share in the farm, a nice house, he was set up for life.