Quote 1
"It was so complicated. So difficult. And I... I said she was in hospital. And I know it wasn't true. But once I'd said that... I couldn't... I couldn't change it. Do you understand... Christopher...? Christopher...?" (157.42)
This just reinforces the sinister nature of lying – that once you start lying, it's really difficult to back out. Christopher's father expects him, of all people, to understand. We'll also point out again how conflicted he is about just how he ended up telling his son this awful lie.
Quote 2
Then he said, "I did it for your good, Christopher. Honestly I did. I never meant to lie." (157.39)
Three very fraught sentences here. In the first, he claims that the lie was intentional, to protect Christopher from harm. In the third, he claims that the lie was <em>un</em>intentional. And nestled in between, the delightfully damaged word "Honestly" – as if anything this person says can be trusted now.
Quote 3
And Father said, "Christopher, do you understand that I love you?"
And I said, "Yes," because loving someone is helping them when they get into trouble, and looking after them, and telling them the truth [...]" (137.9-10)
Is this love? Yes, we know that's a Bob Marley song too, actually. But seriously, what is it? Is it these things? What else might it be? Doesn't it sound as if Christopher was once given a list of things that represent loving someone? Does that work, or is love something we have to just spontaneously know?