At the beginning of the book, when Stephen introduces Keith´s family, it is clear that he regrets having been born a Wheatley and would have liked to be a Hayward instead. Keith´s parents have a glamour his own parents don't seem to have: “I think I feel a brief pang of admiring jealousy for yet another demonstration of his unending good fortune. A father in the Secret Service and a mother who´s a German spy- when the rest of us can´t muster even one parent of interest!” As for her own mother, Stephen believes “There's something so hopelessly ordinary about her that it's difficult to take account of her existence.” As regards his father, he considers Mr Wheatley´s job was “too dull to describe”, and that his father´s appearance is as “unsatisfactory” as his own. Besides, his father uses words which are “embarrassingly private” as nobody else in the Close uses them. Stephen seems to envy even the way in which Mr Hayward punishes Keith, as he comments about his own father: “ (...) the worst punishment he could contrive was a generalised swipe at their heads, which they effortlessly ducked.”
Stephen feels quite ashamed of his own family. The Wheatleys seem to be dull and unstylish, and keep a low profile. Besides, there are many aspects Stephen doesn't understand about his family: “ What I want to know, though, is why there´s something awkward about going out to play on Friday evenings. Why my father has never killed any Germans. Why no one in the whole of the family is in the R.A.F. Why we have an embarrassing name like Wheatley. Why we can't be called something more like Hayward. There's something sad about our life, and I can't quite put my finger on what it is.” To make matters worse, they are almost at the bottom of the social ladder of the Close.
Therefore, when, in chapter 4, Stephen claims his father is a German spy too, Keith´s lips “register a slight dismissive amusement”, and he ignores the evidence: “ He has secret meetings with people who come to the house. They talk in a foreign language together. It's German. I've heard them.” Stephen reflects: “Why shouldn't my father be a German spy if Keith´s mother´s one, when she doesn't even talk to people in foreign languages- when all she does is make stupid marks in her diary that don't mean anything?”
However, the irony is that the Wheatleys´ ordinary appearance hides an interesting reality. Stephen claims, which are so easily dismissed by Keith, turn out to be true. Mr Wheatley is the only real German spy of the Close but he is a German Jew and he is helping the British side with his knowledge of German optical industry: “(...) if it hadn´t been for the work of his department, the Germans would have been better supplied with gunsights.” He also helps other Jewish refugees, and that accounts for his meetings with “mysterious visitors” to whom he talks in a foreign language.
Moreover, at the end of the story, Stephen´s family proves to be much more loving and caring than the Haywards.In chapter 10, when Stephen goes home after Keith hurts his neck, he appreciates his family's attentions. All their actions are loving: “ My father puts his arms round me. My mother strokes my hair. ´Poor kid,´says Geoff.”
Mr Wheatley´s sympathetic behaviour stands in stark contrast to Mr Hayward's violence. Stephen describes his father´s actions in these terms: “(...) he washes the wound with a tenderness that I can´t remember in him before”. These words suggest Stephen is discovering his father´s tenderness for the first time. Evidently the despise he felt for his own family hasn't allowed him to perceive their positive aspects. Besides, Mr Wheatley is not a man of few words like Mr Hayward. On the contrary, he is very articulate and tries to convince Stephen to tell him the truth: “`Why can't you tell us what happened?´my father asks me, in his gentle, reasonable way.” “I am not going to be angry, Stephen” All in all, Stephen's family prove to be better than Keith´s.
To conclude, the Wheatleys appeared to be dull, but they were hiding an interesting secret about their origins and activities. Even though they didn't have the glamourous appearance of the Haywards, they proved to be much more supportive and affectionate. However, it takes Stephen the whole adventure to discover their worth.
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