"Thank God-" Ernest actually felt himself let go of some tension at that answer - especially the part about not physically hurting Jack. He might not have been dad of the year exactly, but he didn't hit his kids. He wasn't his father, no matter how much his mother tried to convince him otherwise.
"Abi... the island..." he mumbled, not quite getting it right. "I had a bit of a Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come experience," he explained, a little more himself about it.