Without Looking Back Read Online Free Page B

middle.’
    ‘Why can’t you?’
    ‘Get
in
!’ Papa said, in a voice that left no room for argument.
    The driver was a man that Louis vaguely recognized – an old friend of Papa’s perhaps? But he didn’t introduce himself; in fact, he didn’t say anything much at allas they all squashed uncomfortably in the back seat, their rucksacks on their laps. He drove very fast and very badly, taking lots of little side roads, so that it wasn’t long before Millie started to complain about feeling sick. But to Louis’ surprise, Papa didn’t ask the man to pull over. He just stared ahead fixedly. And the hand that gripped the door handle was white.
    ‘I’m going to be sick,’ Millie declared miserably to no one in particular. ‘It’s going to go all over everyone and all over this man’s car and then everyone’s going to be mad at me.’
    ‘Try and think of something else,’ Louis suggested. ‘How about all the words you can think of that begin with
p
?’
    ‘Can’t think of any,’ she moaned.
    Max had his eyes closed and his head against the window, the music buzzing in his earphones. In the front, Papa and the man talked in hushed, low voices. Louis found himself hoping the trip would improve.
    It did improve once they got out of the car, because they found that they had arrived at Charles de Gaulle Airport, and the real excitement began to kick in.
    ‘Are we going to Cork?’ Millie squealed, bounding up and down at the end of Papa’s arm as they waited in thequeue for the check-in. ‘Are we going to visit Grandma and Granddad?’
    ‘It’s a surprise,’ Papa said firmly.
    When they reached the check-in counter, Louis saw that Papa was holding their passports. So Maman must have been in on this too! Maman wasn’t usually any good at keeping surprises but she had certainly succeeded this time! Perhaps she was beginning to forgive Papa after all?
    Louis could feel the butterflies start in his stomach as Papa’s eyes scoured the departure screen. Louis followed his gaze and saw that there were only two flights leaving the airport in the next hour – one for Stockholm and one for Amsterdam. Max had noticed too, and he shot Louis a delighted grin. They had never been to Sweden or Holland before.
    In the near-empty departure lounge, none of them could sit still. Millie danced from foot to foot at the window, watching a plane take off. Max dribbled an empty can of Coke across the shiny floor. Louis made the most of the slippery surface to practise his triple spin and earned himself some applause from a young couple sitting in a corner. Then Papa told them sharply to come and sit down. However, it wasn’t long before flight two-four-six to Amsterdam was called, and Papa jumped tohis feet and told them to hurry. Max spun round to grin at Louis and exclaim, ‘No way!’
    They proceeded quickly onto the plane. It felt strange boarding a plane so early in the morning and Louis felt his insides fizz with excitement as they stepped off the mobile corridor and into the loud humming mouth of the aircraft, even though Papa still hadn’t smiled since he’d woken them up.
    When they got to their seats, Millie bounced up and down. Louis was having a hard time containing his own excitement and kept glancing at Papa to try and glean some idea of what he had in store for them. But his expression was preoccupied, distant, and when Millie jiggled up and down in her seat singing, ‘We’re going to Amsterdam, we’re going to Amsterdam,’ he told her sharply to stop it. Once they were airborne, however, he seemed to relax slightly and ordered a black coffee from the stewardess, then glanced over at Max with a hopeful smile and said, ‘So, was this worth going to bed early for?’
    ‘Definitely!’ Max answered with a grin. ‘Wait till I tell the others on Monday!’ He stopped for a moment. ‘Hey, Sunday’s tomorrow. Are we just staying there one night?’
    ‘We’re staying for a week,’ Papa said. ‘I’ve booked