The Road Back (22 page)

‘I don't see why not.' Susan smiled warmly at her son.

*

Chris was immensely pleased when
they walked into the house. The outside lights had been turned on and Megan's music was cheerfully banging away, while a tantalising aroma wafted from the kitchen.

‘My goodness, what smells so good?' asked Chris.

‘I defrosted that chicken soup Bunny made last week. I'm hungry, though I suppose you had fantastic lunches?'

‘I did rather,' said Susan, sinking into her favourite chair and putting her feet up. ‘But soup and a bit of toast sounds perfect.'

‘Would you like a glass of wine, Mum?' asked Chris.

‘Yes, please.'

‘So? How was it?' Megan sat on the footrest and lifted Susan's feet into her lap. ‘Was it exciting? What were they like? Did they all say how fabulous you look?'

Chris set a glass of wine beside Susan as Biddi jumped into her lap. ‘Thanks, Chris. Yes, Megan, they were very nice to me. We all looked older, of course, but essentially no one was very different from how I remember them.'

‘And it turns out that Bunny's old friends are all quite important people,' added Chris.

‘Are they? Would I know them, Bunny?'

‘Maybe not. I'll tell you all about them later, if you want,' replied Susan.

‘How was your day, Dad?' Megan asked, solicitously.

‘Turns out that I had nothing to worry about regarding the flat, and I had lunch with Mac who gave me a good idea, and now, thanks to Bunny, I have a lead for a story I'm going to pursue. How was your day?'

‘School was the same old, same old. My new friend Jazzy and I hung out. After school I biked over to Mollie's. I'm getting on quite well with Squire the horse now. Mollie's Shetland pony is cute, too.'

‘Oh, that Gem is a naughty little pony. Do be careful of her. How are the baby goats?' asked Susan.

‘Gorgeous. Adorable. I might ask Mollie if Jazzy can come over with me on Saturday.'

‘Who's this Jazzy? Is she in your class?' asked Chris, pleased to hear that Megan had made a friend at last.

‘Yep. She started at the beginning of the year, so she's new too. Her parents live way out somewhere in the country, so Jazzy boards in town with a family they know.'

‘Oh, which family is that?' asked Susan.

‘Forgotten, but could she stay here Friday and Saturday night?'

‘Yes, of course,' said Susan, pleased, like Chris, that Megan had found a friend.

‘Oh, and Carla rang, said she'd be in town on Friday, too. She said she might stay for a few nights.'

‘Wonderful. We haven't seen her since Christmas,' said Susan. ‘Let's eat. Can you serve up the soup, please, Megan? Then I'm having an early night. It's been a very interesting day. Lots to think about. Megan, I'm impressed by the way you looked after things so well here. Thank you, darling.'

‘Any time, Bunny. I'm more grown up than you guys think.'

*

Late on Friday afternoon the guttural rumble of Carla's beloved motorbike announced her arrival. By the time Megan and her friend Jazzy arrived, Carla and Susan were busy cooking and chatting in the kitchen with Chris.

‘This is Jazzy,' Megan announced, and made all the introductions.

Jazzy had short braided hair, a small jewelled nose stud, and goth eye make-up, which Chris assumed had been added after school hours but which
in no way detracted from her stunning beauty. She gave everyone a big smile.

‘Hi, Susan, Carla. Hey, Chris. Man, that's a superior bike parked in your driveway. Is it yours?'

Susan winced at the overfamiliarity. ‘No, it belongs to Carla, who is also staying for the weekend. And why don't you call me Bunny, as Megan does. There's some tea and scones I made earlier, if you'd like.'

As Jazzy followed Megan down the hall, they all heard her whispering, ‘Tea and scones! What are they? The CWA? I thought you said they were cool.'

‘There's always juice in the fridge, if you want that,' said Megan.

Susan raised an eyebrow.

The girls kept to themselves in Megan's room, playing music, though it must have been Jazzy's selection as it was raucous and growling heavy metal Chris hadn't heard before.

After dinner that evening, the adults sat on the verandah while the girls stayed in Megan's room watching a DVD. Susan was the first to retire and Carla and Chris talked a while longer before Carla said her good nights and walked across the back patio to the guest cottage. Chris sat staring into the darkness, wondering if an article for a weekend magazine would really change his fortunes, before also turning out the lights and heading to bed.

He tapped on Megan's door on the way past. ‘Not too late, you two, you have to be out at Mollie's in the morning.'

‘Okay. G'night, Dad.'

‘Good night, Chris,' chorused Jazzy.

Both girls were still asleep the next morning when Carla came in to announce that she was heading off to see some of her friends in Coffs Harbour. Then she asked Chris if he could come and check something on her motorbike that was concerning her.

‘What's up? I'm not much of a mechanic. I'd have thought you'd know more than me,' Chris said as they made their way out to Carla's bike.

Carla began zipping up her jacket. ‘Chris, I wanted to speak to you on your own. Last night I read for a while and it was quite late when I turned out the light. Shortly
after that, I thought I heard someone in the garden.
I immediately thought about my bike parked in the driveway, so I stepped quietly outside to check on it and then I smelled something. When I looked around I saw young Jazzy standing beside the hedge and I realised she was smoking a joint.'

Chris was startled. ‘Oh, shit! Was Megan with her?'

‘I don't think so. But Megan does seem rather struck by this girl, Jazzy, so I thought I'd better let you know. Maybe you need to have a talk with your daughter.'

‘Jazzy is Megan's first real friend in Neverend, but maybe she's not the right sort of friend. This is awful. I'll speak to Mum; she's good with teenagers. She'll put a stop to her seeing Jazzy right away.'

Carla poked him in the chest. ‘No, Chris, you'll do no such thing. You have to speak to your daughter yourself. The buck stops with you. Leave your mother out of it. You sort this out with Megan.'

Carla buckled on her helmet and rode slowly down the driveway and out into the lane, leaving a stunned Chris behind.

A few moments later, his shock began to turn to anger and disappointment. Surely Megan could have made a better choice of friends. He went into the kitchen and poured himself a coffee, glad his mother was in the shower. He glanced down the hall at the closed door of the room where Jazzy was staying. He turned and knocked quietly on Megan's door and let himself in.

‘Are you awake? I need to speak with you.'

‘Sort of, come in.' When she saw her father's face, Megan sat up in bed and asked in alarm, ‘Dad, what's up?'

‘Megan, I have to talk to you about this Jazzy girl. Did you know she was smoking pot? And what about you? Are you smoking dope too? I need you to be truthful or things will get far worse.'

Megan looked stunned. ‘What? No, Dad. Never. How can you accuse me like this? What's happened? What did Jazzy do?'

‘It seems that your new friend Jazzy was having a quiet joint behind the hedge last night. She brought pot into your grandmother's home. God knows what sort of stash she has with her,' said Chris, his voice rising. ‘You simply can't mix with this girl. I forbid you to see her, and you are certainly never to bring her into this house again.'

‘What? You
forbid
me? She's my friend and I don't care what she does!'

‘Well, I care what
you
do. Just tell me if you are smoking pot or not.'

‘You obviously think I am!' Megan was close to tears. ‘I didn't know she'd brought pot into Bunny's place, but I can't believe that you assume that I knew or that I was smoking it. You're so unfair, Dad.' She jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom, as Susan appeared in the hallway wrapped in a bathrobe.

‘What on earth is going on? Why the shouting? I just saw Jazzy running down the driveway.'

Megan, her face streaked with tears, flung herself onto Susan. ‘Dad's accusing me of being a drug addict! He won't listen to me, he just assumed . . . it's not fair . . .' She broke into sobs again.

‘Chris! What on earth?' Susan put her arm around Megan and stared at Chris in shock.

‘Carla spotted Jazzy smoking pot last night,' he said.

‘And did she see Megan as well? I bet the answer's no. For goodness sake, calm down and stop shouting and carrying on like a pork chop! I will get dressed, Megan can shower, and then Megan, when you're ready, come and have your breakfast.'

Susan quietly shut the bathroom door behind Megan and hissed, ‘Chris. For goodness sake, let's talk about this.'

When she'd dressed, Susan and Chris sat together at the kitchen table. Chris rubbed his head miserably. ‘I never thought she'd be influenced like this. Is she that unhappy? I have to put my foot down, show her who's boss. I've been too soft.'

‘That's rubbish. You have to talk calmly to her and not go on the attack.'

‘I feel so guilty for failing her.'

Susan threw up her hands. ‘How do you know you've failed her? You haven't let her get a word in. You're handling this very badly. You've had no practice, but that's not an excuse. You need to shape up. This is called a reality check.'

‘I've got enough reality at the moment, thanks.'

‘I'm going to walk into town and get the newspaper, and see if I can find Jazzy. You handle Megan. Listen to her, for heaven's sake, and don't just jump to unwarranted conclusions.'

‘I don't want Jazzy around Megan. Her problems aren't ours.'

‘Chris, you can't be so judgemental. You should know better than to be
so biased. We don't know the girl at all. Hear what Megan has to say. Hear all sides of the story.'

‘All right,' said Chris, calming down.

After his mother had left, Chris sat looking at his cold toast and coffee, feeling overwhelmed. He wished that Susan could sort the issue out. She had years of experience with teenagers. But Susan and Carla were right. He did need to step up. Megan was his daughter and he had to handle the crisis himself. He had to try at least.

Chris heard Megan's chair scrape on the kitchen floor as she sat down at the far end of the table and poured herself a bowl of cornflakes. He lifted his head and gave her a weak smile, but she wouldn't meet his eye.

‘Megan, I apologise for shouting and jumping to conclusions. I love you and I do trust you. But I was frightened. Shocked. This is the sort of thing that happens to other people.'

‘Dad, I know Jazzy has problems, so I guess she escapes them by smoking the occasional joint. I don't think that's such a big deal. She's lonely and unhappy. And she's bored. But it hurt me that you'd think I'd do the same.'

‘I know. I was wrong. I shouldn't have accused you of doing such a thing. But I don't want you to be influenced by other people's habits, whatever their
reasons are for taking drugs.'

‘Carla said at Christmas time that she used to make pot cookies.'

‘That was years ago and I doubt she'd condone it now. Anyway, you can talk to her about it when she comes back. What I'm worried about is that you have a friend like Jazzy who could lead you astray. Does your pal Ruby do drugs?'

‘No way. But Dad, drugs are everywhere, at sports events, parties, even in some schools. There's always some new craze or some drug or pill floating around. It's all a bit hard to avoid. Dad, you have to trust me that I'm just not into that sort of thing. I think taking any sort of drug is stupid. You have to believe me.'

‘I'm glad that you're aware of it and know what to avoid. I just feel that you're far too young for us to be having this conversation.'

Megan rolled her eyes. ‘I'm fourteen, Dad. I'm not a child. They teach us all about it at school. I've talked about drugs with Mum, too.'

Chris felt suddenly inadequate. He realised that Megan was not only well aware of the problems associated with recreational drugs, but had discussed the issue maturely with her mother, while he had panicked, jumped to all the wrong conclusions and yelled at her when she hadn't done anything wrong. He'd bungled things badly. How would he earn her trust again? There seemed to be an ever deepening chasm in their relationship. Before he had a chance to say anything further, Susan walked back into the kitchen, put her handbag and the newspaper on the table, and felt the teapot.

‘Way too cold. I'll make another pot. Anyone joining me?' she asked, brightly.

The other two shook their heads.

‘Did you find Jazzy?' asked Megan.

‘Yes, I did,' she said as she refilled the kettle. ‘She heard the row between you and your father and she guessed that she was the cause. She told me that I used to teach her mother, Janelle Whittaker. Janelle was a few years younger than you, Chris. A lovely girl. Quiet, always well behaved, so I have to say I'm a bit surprised by Jazzy's conduct. But Jazzy apologised in a very pleasant way and seemed genuinely contrite. She wanted to go back to where she's been boarding. I don't think she wants to face you, Chris.'

‘I see,' said Chris. ‘I think I've stuffed up. I shouldn't have made such a fuss.'

‘Yes, you should have, but perhaps with a little more tact,' said Susan, ruefully.

‘You say that Jazzy's boarding. Whereabouts?' asked Chris.

‘That's what I was trying to tell you, Dad,' Megan interjected. ‘Jazzy's parents live right up on the plateau and so she has to board with a family in town. Sometimes her parents can get down and take her home on the weekends, and sometimes they can't.'