Page 21 of Darling

“Lewis.” I smile. “How’s it going?”

“Fucking hell, Chris, how did you do this? Can you come back, please? There’s a flight out of Washington in an hour, I checked.”

I laugh as I turn my phone face down on the table. “I think they changed the locks the moment I left.”

“Yeah, well, they’re fucking idiots for that. This entire place is a fucking circus, and not the good kind, the kind where all the animals are mistreated and everyone’s a clown.”

I give him a commiserative look and listen as he launches into everything that’s gone wrong since I landed in Washington five and a half months ago.

I’m leaving the office just after seven when my mobile rings.I look down to see Leo’s picture. It’s one of him in tennis gear, aged seventeen, before the injury. He’s holding a small silver trophy. I should get a new one.

I put my hand up to the driver, indicating I’ll be a minute.

“Hey, son,” I answer. “You okay?”

“Hi, Dad. Yeah, I’m okay,” he sighs, sounding tired. “You?”

“Winning, mainly. How’s Whitehall?”

“Same circus, different ringleader, you know?”

I laugh. “Lewis Bartlett was saying the very same thing earlier.”

“It’s a shitshow, truly. You got a job for me over there?”

“I do need someone to make tea, they’re bloody terrible at it here.”

“I’ll take it.”

“You want to talk about it?” Leo works in the parliamentary offices for the opposition, but there is very little difference in the designs and machinations going on behind the scenes.

“I don’t actually. I am going to the pub tonight to get drunk and forget all about it. But I just saw your text about the ambassador dinner, I’d love to come, yeah. Haven’t seen you for months.”

“Will you be able to get the time off?”

“Um, yeah. Yeah, that should be no problem.”

“Ah, great, I’ll let Micah and Sara know. And do you want to bring someone? Sabrina?”

“Shewon’tbe able to get the time off,” he says quickly. “But Cal talked about meeting up when I’m over there, and UVA is like a two-hour drive from DC, so I reckon he’d be up for it. I’ll ask him.”

“Okay, I can put him down as your guest, and you can let me know if anything changes. I have to give them everything, so if you could send me an address for him at college? They have todo these security clearances, you know the drill.”

“Yeah. No problem. I’ll get it from him and send it over.”

“Great. How is he doing? What’s his ranking now?” I ask tentatively.

“286. But he just got a wildcard into the Open, so that’ll go up.”

“The US Open? That’s incredible.”

“Yeah, I really think he’s got a shot at getting up there into the last sixteen, maybe.” He doesn’t sound anything but pleased for his friend, and my chest swells with pride. I know it isn’t easy for him, watching his friend have the career he wanted for himself, but he’s never once appeared bitter or resentful about watching Callan rise up through the rankings. “Look, I gotta go, Dad, but I’ll see you in a couple weeks, okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll look forward to it, cub.”

“Just…” He pauses. “Don’t work too hard, okay?”

“I’ll try.”