Page 121 of The Side Road
Oliver nodded. He had heard the rumours; it was a volatile demographic. He would be on guard.
Ben tapped on the door. ‘Princess, it’s me. I need to talk to you.’
A brief pause, then a rustling sound. Slowly, Ben opened the door, and they stepped into his stepdaughter’s bedroom. Oliver took care not to glance around and kept his eyes focused on the girl. She was at her desk studying or pretending to study. Thirty seconds earlier she might have been smoking a meth pipe or filming pornography. He expected to find a teenage boy hiding under the bed.
When she swivelled her chair, turning to face him, Oliver realised he knew her. ‘Hello,’ he said. ‘I didn’t know you were Jack’s sister.’
In blue jeans and a sweatshirt, with her hair pulled back, she still reminded him of Tash. She was only four years older, but it felt like fourteen years. Oliver offered the best non-judgemental, passive, innocuous smile that he could, under the circumstances, muster.
Saige shifted her viper-like gaze to Ben. ‘They’re headed west,’ she said. ‘They got hold of some fake IDs, emptied their savings accounts, and hitched a ride with a trucker. His name was Slayer, or maybe it was Slash. I tried to stop them, but their heads were full of thatRomeo and Julietshit. There was nothing I could do. They’ve eloped.’ She gave Oliver a sorrowful, sympathetic look.
Alarmed, Oliver’s heart raced. ‘What the fuck?’
‘She’s kidding,’ Ben said.
Saige giggled. Oliver sighed with relief.
Looking at Saige, Ben suppressed a smile. ‘Come on, out with it, they’re twelve.’
‘I’ll need an incentive. What are you offering?’
‘It’s what I’m not offering,’ Ben said. ‘No internet for a week. No secret driving lessons in the supermarket car park. No mid-week lifts to footy training or to work – you catch the bus.’
She smiled sweetly and shook her head.
Ben scratched his chin, realising he needed to up the stakes. ‘No laundry for two weeks,’ Ben said. ‘No lunches – you make your own.’
‘Nice try.’ She smiled.
Ben shook his head. ‘Give me something. We’re worried, we need to know they’re safe. Did they take the bus or get a ride?’
She lifted her eyebrows.
After they left the room, Ben closed the door behind them. ‘I thought I had her with the laundry.’
‘Jesus, she’s smart…and principled,’ Oliver said.
‘Don’t start me. The good news is she knows where they are. Probably helped them plan the whole shebang. They took the bus.’
‘How could you tell?’
‘Years of careful observation; the way she twitched her eyebrows.’ Ben checked his watch. ‘It’s half-six. I imagine they’ll be back soon.’
Oliver went hometo wait it out. He sat on the front veranda and worked on his beanie. A blue and grey design in eight ply wool, it had a rough, chunky texture. Winter wasalmost over, but if he finished it soon, he could still wear it on his evening walks along the river.
As he looked up, his daughter came into view. She was skipping up the street, a bag over her shoulder. When she saw him, she lifted her arm and waved. She looked exhilarated. Not an ounce of remorse.
Climbing the steps to the veranda, her eyes gleamed. ‘I’ve been on an adventure,’ Tash said.
Oliver put down his knitting. ‘Why didn’t you tell someone? You can’t go missing for an entire day.’
‘Because then it wouldn’t be a surprise. It was the best thing I’ve ever done and I can’t wait to grow up.’ She opened her shoulder bag. Slowly, she pulled out an old exhaust.
For a long moment, Oliver stared at it.
‘It’s supposed to be an original,’ she said. ‘Not the same year, but the same model.’
Overwhelmed with emotion – what she had done, and what this meant – his eyes became glassy. He wiped his hands over his face.
