Pieces of My Life by Rachel Dann

Author:Rachel Dann [Dann, Rachel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2017-05-16T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

The journey from the prison to Dad’s fancy hotel makes my hazardous trip to the embassy the other day seem like a gentle stroll in the countryside. I have to change buses in the bustling central terminal, fighting my way through noisy families, groups of tourists dragging heavy backpacks, and street vendors wielding piles of newspapers and bulging bags of fruit. A woman with a screaming child strapped to her back and a whole branch of fresh bananas in her arms plants herself firmly in my path, virtually ordering me to purchase one. Seeing my bus lumber to a stop just behind her, I dodge past her and make a run for it.

Heart pounding with adrenaline and nerves, I manage to climb aboard just as the bus lurches haphazardly out of the terminal and slots itself in among the oncoming traffic. There are no seats left so I’m crammed alongside six or seven other people in the tiny amount of standing room at the back, clinging on to the greasy handrail each time the bus grinds to a stop. Ignoring the elbows and handbags jabbing into my ribs, I press my nose to the window and stare out at the bustling city around us. The sky is cloudless and azure blue again as if the rainstorm had never happened, and I can virtually see the puddles on the pavement sizzling and drying up before my eyes in the humidity.

By the time I arrive at the Royal Colonial Suites hotel, my clothes are sticking to me and I’m panting from the midday heat and altitude. I stare up at the elaborate building in awe, wondering at my father, who appears to have spared no expense on his holiday with Dorice. An impeccably suited security guard opens the hotel’s outer door for me and I gaze around the spacious courtyard, taking in neatly laid breakfast tables with immaculate waiters dotting between them, interspersed with palm trees strung with coloured fairy lights ready to burst alight in the evening.

I spot my father sitting in the shade of one of the palm trees near the hotel entrance, engrossed in what could be a guidebook on the table in front of him. He looks like a typical middle-aged British holidaymaker – faded orange T-shirt mismatched with khaki combat shorts, unfashionable brown leather sandals fastened on the end of excruciatingly white legs. I feel a sudden, unexpected rush of affection for him, closely followed by a flash of nerves after his parting comments to me last night. Our first evening spent together in Quito could have got off to a better start…

‘Hi, Dad.’ I pull back the cushioned wicker chair opposite him and sit down. ‘I’m so sorry about the time – something came up last night, an emergency with a prisoner I’ve been helping, then I had to catch two buses…’

Dad is already waving away my rambling apology. ‘Don’t worry about it. I’ve been enjoying the sunshine and doing some research.’ He indicates the guidebook.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.