The Road Back Read Free Page B

trundle up to Neverend and visit your grandmother then?’
    â€˜Yeah, that’d be pretty cool. I love visiting Bunny.’
    â€˜I’ll raise it with your mother, but I can’t see that a visit to your grandmother’s would be an issue.’
    â€˜It’s nice having you home, Dad,’ said Megan after a pause.
    Chris’s heart twisted. He was glad to be home and to spend time with his daughter and he was looking forward to visiting his mother in the house where he’d grown up. These were the two people he loved most. But he felt a twinge of guilt, because he knew that what he wanted more than anything was another overseas posting. His job as a foreign correspondent was busy, fascinating and stimulating. It was the job that he had always dreamed of doing. He reached over and touched Megan’s hand. ‘It’s nice to be with you, too,’ he said.
    *
    The next afternoon, Chris and Megan walked up to the bus stop so that she could get the bus back home to Newport.
    â€˜Sorry about not being able to drive you. Do you think that you could come here next weekend and the two of us could go car shopping? You could give me your input as to which you think would be suitable.’
    â€˜Really? That would be great. I promise I’ll get all my homework done before Saturday, so I can spend the whole weekend with you. See you, Dad.’ She hugged him and stepped onto the bus.
    As he waved to her and the bus moved along Military Road, Chris reflected on his weekend with Megan. It had been a lot of fun. He was interested in her thoughts, and he enjoyed the ease of her company. She wasn’t demanding because she constantly entertained herself with Snapchat and Instagram and whatever other apps she had on her beloved purple phone. He was touched that she was interested in and proud of what he did, but he could also see that Megan’s life had become difficult in his absence. Acquiring an instant family when she had been used to being an only child had not been easy for her, and Chris could empathise with her struggle to cope with these changes.
    Walking back to his apartment, he thought of the years since his divorce and how he had come to treasure his own space. He liked just pleasing himself and not having to fit in with anyone else. He looked forward to a quiet drink in the evening to digest the hurly-burly of the day and appreciated not having to socialise if he didn’t want to. He liked to return to the serenity of his apartment and listen to music, or watch his favourite TV programmes. He suspected he had a reputation as a bit of a loner, but that didn’t worry him. When he did seek company it was to feed his curiosity, to discuss current events, ideas and off-beat news, but generally he was content to be on his own. That said, next weekend he would enjoy taking Megan out to look for a new car. It would be fun to decide on one together.
    *
    A couple of days later, before he was due to report back to the office, Chris decided that he’d look up his old friend and mentor Sam McPhee, who had been his first news editor when he had started out. Even though he was now retired, Mac (as everyone called him) always knew what was going on in the newspaper business and it would be good to catch up.
    In a quiet corner of the Black Swan, known to the journos who frequented it as the Mucky Duck, Chris put a schooner of beer in front of Mac and a light lager on the table for himself.
    Mac lifted his glass. ‘Cheers, Chris. Good to see you.’
    â€˜Cheers, Mac. Good to be back, for a while at least.’
    The balding former news editor wiped his ginger moustache. ‘Have you been into the office yet?’ he asked.
    Chris settled back in his chair. ‘No. I’ve still got some leave and I wanted a little down time to get the feel of things again. I’ve spent a bit of one-on-one with my daughter. Do you remember Megan?’
    â€˜How old is she