It went against all his instincts.
But, he realised, sometimes you had to rebel.
For the sake of your family.
He shrugged and said, ‘I could do that. Just for one night.’
‘We’ll be safe,’ she said. ‘I promise.’
The naivety of youth, he thought.
But he said, ‘I know.’
She excused herself to go to the bathroom, and Parker ushered Winston and Oscar over to the table in her absence.
4
It hadn’t been easy.
They’d debated, and debated, and debated, and finally Parker brought the hammer down.
He’d said, ‘Gentlemen — this job pays well, right?’
‘Yes,’ Winston said. ‘But, Aidan, you know it’s—’
‘I know,’ Parker hissed. ‘But humour me, will you? What if this is the last night I ever have with my daughter? I’m going to grant her this one wish. I don’t give a shit what rules I’m violating.’
‘But how are we supposed to—?’ Oscar started.
Parker held up a finger, silencing him. ‘If you still want your jobs when we get back, you’ll let this happen.’
‘It changes our plans.’
‘I know. But you’re going to do it regardless, because I want time with my daughter, and quite frankly she’s sick of the pair of you.’
Winston bristled, and Oscar didn’t visibly react.
Then Oscar leant forward and said, ‘We’re doing everything you wanted from us. We’re maintaining a respectable distance during the day. We’re not getting involved in conversation. We’re—’
‘I know,’ Parker said. ‘But you’re here. And that’s all that matters to her. Cut me some slack.’
‘You don’t get to do that,’ Oscar snapped. ‘Not with your position. Not with what you demand of us when—’
Parker held up a hand, cutting him off again. ‘I won’t hear another word. I’m not kidding. We’re in the middle of fucking nowhere. Both of you bunk down for the night in the same room and worry about what you need to worry about later. Not right now. Okay?’
Oscar glanced left, then glanced right, then opened his mouth to say something.
Parker just wordlessly shook his head.
The bodyguard threw his hands in the air in mock defeat. He slapped Winston on the back and shot out of his chair. ‘We’ll eat in our rooms.’
‘Do they allow that?’ Parker said.
‘Do I give a shit?’
Winston sheepishly followed his co-worker, and the pair disappeared from the dining room.
Raya returned moments later.
‘How’d that go?’ she said.
Parker shook his head. ‘You’re lucky I love you.’
She paused, and stared at him. ‘You don’t say that often.’
‘When I do, I mean it.’
A half-smile crossed her face. ‘Love you too, Dad.’
They ate steamed vegetable momos and sipped at mushroom soup and drank more masala tea. Then Sejun and his porter waved goodnight, leaving them alone in the dimly-lit teahouse.
Raya cradled her mug in her hands and said, ‘I’m really enjoying tonight.’
‘I think Oscar might be mad at me in the morning.’
‘Not Winston?’
‘He didn’t seem to take it so personally.’
‘Why do you think that is?’
Parker shrugged. ‘He can probably see the humanity in this.’
Raya half-scowled. ‘It’s a strange life, isn’t it? Having to fight to get a single moment that seems … I don’t know … normal.’
‘Comes with the territory.’
She paused to mull over her thoughts, and finally said, ‘Would you do it all over again?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘All of this. The constant protection and the fact that you’re never able to see your family. Is it worth it?’
‘I didn’t really choose this. It sort of fell into my lap. I’m good at it.’
‘Right.’
‘Yes,’ he said. ‘I’d do it again. But I’d compartmentalise better.’
‘You’d—?’
‘I’d forget about my job when I walked out those doors every evening.’
‘You don’t do that?’
‘It’s hard not to think about things.’
‘What do you do, exactly?’
A sad smile crept across Parker’s face. ‘Not tonight, Raya. One step at a time. There’s only so much I can tell you at once.’
‘Oh, well,’ she said. ‘At least we get to be alone like this.’
She looked over her shoulder, seemingly paranoid that one of the bodyguards would be watching. But there was no-one in sight. Just the cold wind trickling in through the open doorway.
She said, ‘You going to be okay for the rest of the trip?’
‘I’ll be fine. I can feel my body adapting.’
‘Can you?’
She smirked, and he did too.
‘I feel lighter,’ he said. ‘Trust me.’
‘Imagine the sort of shape you’ll be in by the end.’
There was Wi-Fi at the teahouse, so Raya pulled up pictures of Gokyo Ri through Google Images and flicked through them. There was a twinkle in her eye. Parker watched his daughter gaze with wonderment at the screen.
She looked up at him and smiled. ‘It’s really going to be something, isn’t it?’
He didn’t respond.
Just thought long and hard about the direction his life had taken.
Maybe I should have spent more time with her, he thought.
He shrugged it off. There’d be plenty of opportunities in the future. He wasn’t that old yet. If all went according to plan with his health, there’d be a few more decades to strengthen the bond. So he didn’t write it off as an abysmal failure yet.
He checked his watch and said, ‘Time for bed, I think.’
‘For you or for me?’
‘I’m going,’ he said. ‘It’s an early start tomorrow. You can make up your own mind. You’re not ten anymore, kid.’
She smiled. ‘Don’t worry. I’m coming.’
The room consisted of the same setup they’d seen half a dozen times so far along the trail. Single beds pushed to either wall, with a thin strip of stained carpet in between to rest their bags, their boots, and their trekking poles. Parker unfurled his sleeping bag and stripped off his salty hiking clothes. He changed into thermals, slipped into bed, and adjusted the hard thin pillow under his head.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Raya mirroring his actions.
She turned the light out, and all that was left was the steady mountain wind battering the building. The foundations were thin, so the structure shook slightly with each gale.
But it held.
In the darkness, Parker said, ‘You’re right.’
Raya’s voice floated across. ‘About what?’
‘Feels a whole lot better when it’s less … professional. I don’t like Oscar
