Naked Hero - The Journey Away

over ten thousand miles away from the place he once called home.



Chapter 2 2
    Jim Murdoch read the note for the second time, and then he tried to call Lewis on his mobile. He was told that the number was not available at present.
    “Shit,” he said.
    “What’s the matter?” asked Fiona.
    Jim looked round to see his wife who had just emerged from the bathroom towelling her wet hair. “Lewis has gone AWOL again,” he told her. “He was supposed to come back here after his run this morning and then we were all going off to the courts together. But he’s gone straight to Melbourne Park with Mike instead. This could end up really embarrassing. I needed to speak to him first.”
    Jim tried Mike’s number, but the same message was given to him.
    “I’m not following you, Jim. Has this got anything to do with last night and Lewis not coming back with you? You still haven’t told me what happened there.”
    Jim tried to shrug it off, but Fiona persisted and forced an answer out of him. “He was a bit upset with things. Well, you can imagine he would be after that fiasco yesterday. He let loose at me. I probably deserved some of it, but most was well out of order, and he knew it. I thought that he would have let it go by now, but apparently not.”
    “He can’t blame you for what happened, Jim. You warned him that it was coming. None of it was your fault. He must know that.”
    “Aye, he knows it. I should have done something, though... There’s a man involved now. He was there at the match - shouted out to Lewis when it was getting to him. It was him that sorted his mind out... I should have gone over to them... I should have said hello.”
    “You’re losing me again,” said Fiona as she put down her towel and came over to join her husband.
    “In the players’ lounge - after the match,” continued Jim, knowing that she’d have it out of him at some point or other. “I saw them there. I should have gone over, but I walked away. And Lewis sussed it out.”
    “Oh... Do you know who he is?” asked Fiona, having quickly appraised the situation. She understood exactly why Lewis would have been upset with her husband and had a good mind to box Jim’s ears for being so stupid, but doubted if that would help the situation.
    “His name’s Lee, apparently – an Englishman. That’s all I know. They met in Sydney at that party he went to.”
    “Well, I can understand that he would have been a bit touchy yesterday. And yes, perhaps it was a mistake not to have gone over to them, but it’s not something that Lewis is going to sulk about. I bet he just wanted to spend some time with Mike this morning, you know, somebody nearer his own age to have a chat with. Just leave it - he’ll be fine.”
    “Hopefully, but I still need to get down there before he gets to the court. I wouldn’t like him to bump into Scott Taylor before I get the chance to talk to him.”
    “And what has Scott Taylor got to do with things?”
    “He’s going to help out this morning, and hopefully for the rest of the tournament. I was going to tell Lewis about it yesterday but he never gave me the chance.”
    Fiona took a step closer to her husband and gave him half of what he deserved: she kissed him on the forehead as she cupped his ears. She would decide later, after a chat with Lewis, if they would still end up getting boxed. “You’d better go then,” she whispered, smiling contentedly to herself. Yes, she would probably box his ears later on, and then they could spend some time making up. Jim Murdoch might be in his early-fifties but he was still a fine looking man with a healthy libido, and Fiona had always enjoyed the making up.

Chapter 2 3
    Fiona had been right - Lewis wasn’t holding a grudge against Jim. He had felt embarrassed about his behaviour the previous evening and didn’t want to face the old boy first thing. But he did want to face Melbourne Park – he was here on a mission: to confront it on his own terms. That was one of the things he had decided whilst walking alone around the city streets – he needed to show more grit and steely resolve, fly in the face of all his detractors. ‘ I’m here and I’m queer, and you’d better get used to it, because I ain’t gonna go away!’ That on a tee-shirt might be an idea, with maybe a punchier slogan. Okay, so perhaps it was pushing it a little too far, but Lewis was determined to show face at least, with his head held high - not skulking around like Jim