Quite the opposite. They were on terms too good with my father's side.

[ Then, by way of explanation: ]

My father and I had...a parting of the ways, of sorts, when I was but a lad. They'd have faced some censure from the old man and the whole clan if they'd given me succor. So there was no advantage in taking in the flotsam that showed up on their doorstep, so they didn't.