[ despite van zieks' gloom and doom attitude towards it, uta will move beyond her own hang-ups involving this thing or the other and truly focus on van zieks. with her understanding of the situation, it seems like a self-made problem with no trust that things could work in his favor.

clearly there must be a reason for it, but she imagines that some encouragement could both be effective and go a long way with him. ]

I have a feeling that it would not be a negative result. Fathers want the best for their daughters, don't they? [ now whether they succeed or not is another matter entirely. ] Plus you did mention how she invited you into her life.

I don't see how it would be anything but favorable.