Bear by Kiri Lightfoot

Author:Kiri Lightfoot [Kiri Lightfoot]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Published: 2025-01-11T00:00:00+00:00

22.

Dad does arrive in the morning.

He looks like he’s just woken up, but he is here. The road trip is actually happening. He didn’t get a better offer today.

‘All right. Let’s go, boyo,’ he says as I open the door. ‘Grab your bags. We don’t want to hit bad traffic on the way north.’

‘The traffic is bound to be bad. This is Auckland.’

I tell him I’ve got to get my phone charger. Instead, I go back inside and hug my mother. ‘Love you,’ she says, sitting up and reading in bed. Manly Steve is on his phone and says a quick, ‘Bye.’

‘Why do you need a bloody phone?’ Dad says as I close the front door. ‘You’re only twelve.’

‘I’m nearly fourteen, Dad.’

As I walk down the front steps, I spot the yellow two-door hatchback in the driveway.

‘Jump in!’ says Dad, tapping the rooftop.

‘Whose is this?’ I ask as I hop in, throwing my bag into the back seat.

‘It belongs to my friend Trish; she’s lent it to me for the week.’ He walks around the back of the car, checking the car boot is closed.

‘It’s flash,’ I say. It’s not.

‘It will get us from A to B. That’s the main thing.’

‘And where is B?’

He doesn’t answer, just jumps in and starts the car.

Road trip Dad versus Jasper, destination unknown.

‘I’m dying for a coffee. Want one?’ Dad asks as the journey begins.

‘I don’t drink coffee.’ One minute I’m twelve. Next minute I’m drinking coffee.

‘Not a great habit to start at your age, but you’re going to love it! I suppose I can wait until we get there then.’

‘Where are we going?’ I ask, again.

‘Up north an hour or so. I have a friend Lizzie who lives by the sea. We could stay with her or go further if we want. You know I don’t like being tied down by plans.’

‘Yeah, I remember that from our other successful road trips.’

I watch him out of the side of my eye. He is looking older. He has grey hairs framing his face now and new lines across his forehead. Adults always go on about how you’re growing up, getting taller, but all of a sudden I’m noticing how my parents are changing too. I look around the car. I open the glove box. There is a pair of sunglasses in a case, a New Zealand map and a car manual for a Honda Civic 2009. The car is tidy and smells like perfume.

‘Nosy,’ says Dad.

I wonder what she is like, this woman, and why she is happy to lend my dad her car. Is she in love with him? Poor woman.

‘Who is Trish?’ I ask, as Dad turns onto the main road and drives towards the motorway. There is a queue on the on-ramp so we join the line of traffic.

‘Auckland traffic. Shocking! Trish is a friend. She lives in Wellington.’

‘Just a friend?’ I ask, trying on the sunglasses.

‘Well, you know, it’s complicated.’

‘Don’t want to know …’

We crawl along the on-ramp and slowly begin to gain speed.

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