Without Looking Back by Tabitha Suzuma Page A

lined up by the time they went back to Paris so that he could then say to Mum, ‘Look, I can take care of my own kids. Not only have I got a new house but I’m also in a job again.’ Louis didn’t say anything to the others, but he so hoped this was the case. If Dad managed to hold down a job, then there couldbe no doubt in anybody’s mind that he really was cured.
    But time was running away from them and soon they found themselves approaching the end of the week again. Louis turned his thoughts back to school, and the stories he would have to tell Pierre and Luc and the others, and even though he felt sad at the thought of leaving the farmhouse behind, he sensed that they would be back. He had a feeling that Dad was about to turn the corner – he couldn’t remember seeing him so relaxed and happy since the divorce. And surely Mum would give in and let them go and stay with Dad again, as soon as she got over her anger that they’d stayed on an extra week.
    ‘Who fancies going to the beach today?’ Dad asked one morning at breakfast.
    They all looked up at him in surprise. As usual, Millie was spreading Nutella thickly over her toast. Max wasdevouring a bowlful of chocolate-flavoured cereal. Louis was sticking to croissants.
    ‘Where?’ Millie asked, turning to look out of the window as if she expected a beach to suddenly appear in the garden.
    ‘Whitehaven,’ Dad replied. ‘Less than an hour’s drive. And just look at the weather today!’
    Outside, the sky was a brilliant blue. Golden sunshine splashed through the kitchen window, creating puddles of light on the breakfast table.
    ‘But it’s windy,’ Millie pointed out. ‘It’s not hot enough yet.’
    ‘I’m not suggesting we swim,’ Dad said. ‘Just that we go for a day trip. Have a walk on the beach. A picnic if it’s not too cold.’
    ‘Cool!’ Millie exclaimed. ‘Daddy, will you buy me a kite?’
    ‘Why not,’ Daddy said. ‘Max? Louis?’
    ‘Bags me sitting in the front,’ Max said quickly.
    Louis pulled a face at him.
    They set off after breakfast. Millie insisted on packing a rucksack full of dolls as well as a towel in case she felt brave enough to paddle. Dad and Louis made pâté sandwiches and they picked up some lemonade on their way through the village. They arrived in the bustling town ofWhitehaven at noon and Dad left them in a supermarket car park while he ran some errands at the bank, then Louis swapped places with Max and map-read until they reached the coast. They parked the car in a lay-by and climbed the steep sand dunes to survey an empty strip of sandy beach that stretched out in both directions for as far as the eye could see.
    Max gave a low whistle into the wind. ‘Wicked,’ he breathed.
    Millie had already spotted a beach shop, set back down by the winding road. ‘Daddy, Daddy, let’s buy a kite, and an ice cream, and buckets and spades!’ she cried.
    ‘All right, all right!’ Dad laughed. ‘And while we’re at it we can go and get the picnic bag from the car.’
    ‘I need to get my iPod,’ Max said. ‘I left it on the back seat.’
    They turned and started making their way back down the sand dune. Then Dad looked round and called, ‘Louis?’
    But Louis could already feel the heels of his feet rising off the rough grass as he tipped forward down the steep dune towards the vast stretch of beach ahead. The sand was soft and powdery and he half skidded, half tumbled to the bottom, pausing only to pull off histrainers and socks before breaking into a run. Almost immediately, the wind seemed to strengthen, whipping the hair back from his head, screaming in his ears and tearing at his eyes. He took in great lungfuls of the cold, salty air and felt the powdery sand firm up beneath his bare feet. It was an incredible feeling. All this beach, all this sea, all this sky, stretching out in every direction. He felt tiny and insignificant in all this vastness; even when he tried to shout, the sound was immediately