Beyond Life by Deb McEwan Read Free Book Online Page B

she’s going to react to anything these days.’
    ‘Fair enough. Let’s go and see Val and your mother and see how they’re getting on.’ Ron knew what Claire’s answer would be but thought he’d try and get his own way for once.
    ‘Sure, Ron.’
    The surprise showed in his face, but not for long.
    ‘After we’ve been to see how my father and Mel are getting on. This is going to amaze you, Ron.’
    Knowing the amount of energy it took to argue with her when she was determined to have her own way, Ron decided to cede to Claire’s wishes and prepared himself to be amazed.
    *****
    As it happened, he was amazed. ‘Who the hell is that?’ They were watching a man stretching in a gymnasium. Claire laughed as they looked around. Tony had given her the head’s up about her father’s new obsession. The gym was full of the usual torture equipment from treadmills, cross-trainers and all manner of weights, to complicated looking multi-gyms that Claire would never understand how to use or why anybody would want to. Her father had completed a number of stretches and looked as if he’d been running. He was a completely different man to the one that they had watched breakdown when his marriage and illicit relationship had imploded before his daughter had been kidnapped. Bulging with muscles and not an ounce of fat in sight, Claire was impressed with her father’s transformation although he had gone completely over the top. He approached a bar with weights on each side that Claire thought would take ten men to lift. He lifted the heavy bar above his head with ease and Claire and Ron watched as additional weights were added. They weren’t the only ones watching as other gym bunnies heard that Graham was in the building and stopped their workout to watch the locally famous strongman. He began to struggle as the pole became heavier and his muscles strained like those of the Incredible Hulk bursting out of his shirt. Satisfied with his workout, Graham eventually stopped and his audience applauded. He feigned embarrassment but was secretly delighted. He nodded in appreciation and saluted the crowd like a true champ. Claire cringed. Graham towelled the sweat from his face and the back of his neck while chatting to a few of his admirers about various techniques. When the crowd dissipated he took his mobile phone out of his rucksack and took it off do not disturb mode to check if he’d missed any calls. The Eye of the Tiger music rang out in the gym and Graham quickly answered the call. They listened to his side of the conversation as Graham said that he would come over for tea and would then take Mel to visit her friend Alice.
    Ron tried to work it all out. ‘First of all your father seems to have turned into Arnold Schwarzenegger and secondly, I think that was his ex Carol on the phone who last I heard didn’t want anything to do with him?’
    ‘Time’s a great healer, Ron as you well know. Now come on.’
    They followed Graham who arrived at Carol’s house a little later. His daughter gave him a hug and a kiss as a normal greeting Claire noticed, and not as if they hadn’t seen each other for a while. Graham pulled Carol into an embrace and kissed her on the cheek. Claire noticed the look between them and concluded that they were having a physical relationship.
    ‘I wonder why they’re hiding it?’ asked Ron and Claire assumed it was for Melanie’s sake.
    ‘Perhaps they want to take it slowly until they’re certain it’s what they both want. Mel’s had enough trauma and upset in her life and they’ll want to protect her feelings.’
    Ron couldn’t imagine how he would have felt had Libby been kidnapped and put through the terror that Mel had encountered. She’d also had to come to terms with the fact that her father had another family and both parents had kept this from her for most of her young life.
    ‘They seem to have forgiven your father and it all looks very cosy.’
    They watched as the family sat