Текст книги "Underwood"
Автор книги: Colin Griffiths
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The name may sound familiar to some people, indeed it was the place I grew up in and lived for forty years, a remarkable place with remarkable people,
The Underwood depicted in this story is not the underwood I grew up in, nor are the people, who are completely works of Fiction.
A place forever in my heart.
Written by Colin Griffiths 2015.
If you like this book, please review it.
Also by Colin Griffiths.
NEVER SAY GOODBYE
THERE WAS NO BODY.
Chapter 1
It looked like it was never going to stop, there was an eeriness about this particular storm, like the thunder gods were sending out a message to those that dare travel in it, the darkened summer skies were full of the wonders of nature, and the rain that kept thumping against the car had an spooky noise about it, so much so that it sounded like something demonic skittering against the roof, trying to get at the occupants of the car it preyed upon, the weather forecaster’s had reported heavy showers, nothing like the carnage that poured down from the skies, and the wind howled like an animal of the night as the storm brought chaos across the United Kingdom, most people never bothered to travel, those who did wished they stayed at home, some would take hours to reach their destination, well for some they would never reach it.
Not that anyone caught up in that storm were travelling very fast, for most of the time they were at a complete standstill as the cars jammed the motorway they were travelling on, bumper to bumper with nowhere to go as side roads were either blocked or flooded, it looked as if the road system in the UK had become a car park.
‘How could they have got it so wrong’ the driver thought as the heavens poured all that the storm gods could down onto them and the others that dare travel that fateful night.
It had taken them over four hours to get on the M5 motorway at Birmingham from their home in Sheffield, the unpredictability of the typical British summer seemed to be settling in well as the rain leashed down from the ever increasing clouds, the skies now just a sheet of darkness, as the clouds converged on each other and swirled as the thunder shook them, the wipers were on its highest speed, sweeping sheets of rain off at every pass, barely being able to provide the visibility they were designed for, such was the force of the rain that pounded the screen, they looked as if they would fly off the Avensis at any moment as they lashed to and fro over the windscreen, visibility was poor, the roads threatening, the skies eerily dark, all four occupants thought it was just as well they weren’t moving very fast as the fields and roads around them were taking on the look of a river.
Peter sucked on another Werthers original, rolling it around the inside of his mouth, making noises with the sweet against his teeth, he was wishing they had left earlier or even waited until the storm had past, the met office had forecast some rain, not the storm that powered itself above them, at one time he thought about stopping at the services, but there were so many queues along the slip roads leading into the services that he assumed that they would be bursting at the seams, it was a Hobsons choice, try to park up and see it through, or carry on hoping it would clear, he had decided he would rather plod along in the car than queue for hours at the services, although the KFC sign did have a certain allure to it, he imagined biting into a burger, something different from the sweet he was sucking on, he was thankful that Eileen had packed some food for the journey, she was the one with the common sense, but it was healthy food, he needed burgers and sausages, along with fries and lashings of tomato sauce, if it was left up to him all they would have had was his packet of Werthers, which were going down far too fast for his liking, he saw a sign that read ‘road works 3 miles’ it just fuelled more frustration inside of him, he crunched on his sweet and swallowed it, then put another in his mouth.
‘That’s all we bloody need’ he groaned almost choking on the sweet in his mouth, Eileen looked at him with a Smirk, she could see his patience wearing thin, not a particularly good trait of Peter’s, but for a lot of the time his impatience made her laugh through his witty sarcasm, one of the many things that drew her to him, she found his moaning funny, ‘never happy unless he’s moaning’ she knew he wouldn’t take much more of this before he went into a full blown tirade.
‘What does it matter, we’re hardly moving anyway’ she said as she stuck a Trebor in her mouth, relishing the hot minty taste on her tongue.
‘That’s not the point’ said Peter ‘even if we were moving we would be stuck in bloody road works, why can’t they leave the bloody roads alone’
Eileen didn’t answer, she could not see his logic and he was grumpy enough without her making it worse.
Eileen had only just turned forty, she had been in a relationship with her partner Peter for 18 Years, they only lived 2 miles apart at the time, they even went to the same school, though they both failed to recall one another, they met at a dance in Sheffield, where Peter had asked her for a dance, they both fell in love that night as they laughed and danced the night away, a 2nd date followed then a third and pretty soon they were inseparable, spending a lot of time camping in the Yorkshire Moors when the money was short, those were the days they both remembered most, but for one reason or another they had never married, not because they didn’t love each other for they did very much, they always said they would get round to it.
Very often they had sat in the evenings and planned it, looking on the internet for dresses and venues, discussing colour schemes and themes, picking best men and maids of honour promising to book it and make it happen, but they never did, not because they didn’t both want to, it just wasn’t all that important to them at the time, the discussing and planning was exciting, it was just the getting round to it and doing it that never seemed to happen, and then after Lily and Nathan was born, and that seemed to put any wedding plans further on the back burner.
The kids took Pete’s name, She remained a Ryall her kids and partner were Ford, she didn’t mind it that way, it was only a piece of paper she would say at the time, but deep down she still hoped for that glitzy wedding she had always dreamed about, maybe not the young beautiful bride that she always hoped, but a beautiful bride never the less, she would still plan it in her mind and secretly search for that special dress, but on occasions when Peter was working late and the kids tucked up in bed, she would stare at her daughter lying there asleep and sadly think that it would be her daughter’s wedding she would attend before she attended her own.
Today she wore her mousy hair short and it complimented her thin face and high cheekbones, that’s the way she mostly wore it, only letting her hair grow occasionally, but never too long, her father used to call her a tomboy, and she didn’t mind that tag at all, she thought it suited her, summed up her personality, but Eileen didn’t want her own daughter to be tagged the same, she wanted her to grow into a beautiful princess, and no matter how Eileen wore her hair she was always to be seen in Jeans and flat sandals, usually with a t-shirt, it was the only clothes she felt comfortable in, ‘Dresses are for special occasions’ she would tell herself, very often thinking of that wedding dress.
‘There’s got to be a better way than straight down the M5’ grumbled Pete, trying to get his words out around the sweet in his mouth, he shifted about in the driver’s seat, trying to get the circulation flowing in his legs as they had grown numb, he tapped the steering wheel with his fingers, Eileen hated it when he done that.
‘It’s the way you get to Cornwall’ Eileen answered mockingly, she grinned as it was the type of thing Peter would say. ‘Stop tapping’ she added,
Peter looked up at the skies that were just a mass of different shades of grey as the thunder roared once more,
‘Shit’ he shouted.
‘And stop the swearing’ she told him,
‘Bloody hell do you want me to get out and walk’ he said,
‘Probably be quicker’ mocked Eileen.
They had always spent their summer holiday’s on the east coast of England it wasn’t far to travel from their Sheffield home, the home they had shared together since setting up a life for themselves, Scarborough or Skegness was usually their preferred destination, once they went to a place called Filey, also on the East coast, but the kids didn’t like it much, truth be known neither did Peter or Eileen.
Whitby was a favourite of Eileen’s, with all the history of Count Dracula, it fascinated her and she really wanted to go on one of the many gothic weekends that were held there, but there really wasn’t all that much there for the kids, despite the beautiful scenery, this year, they felt like they wanted something different other than the east coast seaside that they went to every year, they would never go abroad, flying was a big no for Eileen, it terrified her, so after mulling it over for weeks and weeks, they had decided on going south England to Newquay in Cornwall, the journey would be longer, but the climate was a degree or two warmer, and it was a place they had never been to and Peter had heard so much about Bodmin Jail that it had been a no brainer, he was looking forward to Bodmin Jail more than anything, they still had the hanging pits there, and that had appealed to him, the history and the darkness of the place had a certain allure, it was the type of thing he liked, though with his personality that was mostly upbeat you would not have thought it, the kids and Eileen wanted to see the Eden Project that they had heard so much about from school, and when they googled it, Peter had to admit it looked pretty dam good, another world in a plastic dome, and then Peters face lit up when he found out you could get married in Bodmin jail, Eileen just hoped he wasn’t going to book her dream wedding in some jail full of ghosts, watched by all the people who had been hanged there, she had crazily imagined walking down the jail in her wedding dress, with a noose around her neck, being led by the hangman to take her vows, as much as she loved him, there would be no wedding in some haunted jail.
The sky was lit up by a flash of lightening followed shortly after by a clap of thunder that seemed to make the road beneath them shake, and for a moment all four of them sat opened mouthed as if they had never seen a storm before, certainly not one like the one they were experiencing now, it was making them nervous as the heavens poured once again bouncing off the road and clattering against the car, until Nathan spoke.
‘It’s four miles away’ said 12 year old Nathan who was sat in the back seat playing plants verses Zombies on his tablet, oblivious to any danger that the world outside of the car held, feeling safe with his family in the back seat of the car, he had been counting the timing between the lightening and the thunder, Peter smirked it was something his own father had instilled in him and he still done it until this day, he momentarily tried to recall the time he taught Nathan it, but he couldn’t, but he was sure it was him.
Nathan had dark brown hair just like his Father’s and wore it over his ears whenever he was allowed to, Eileen had tried to get him to have it cut before the holiday’s but this time Nathan had point blank refused saying the school holidays were the only chance he had to wear it long as the school would not allow boys to have long hair, Eileen had agreed but warned him he would have to have it cut before school starts again.
Nathan was a quiet child, often withdrawn and thoughtful, sometimes a loner, he was academically bright in his school, but sometimes found it difficult to mix with large groups, he was okay in two’s or three’s but seem to freeze in larger groups, the truth was Nathan liked his own company rather than the company of others.
‘Maybe it will pass over us soon’ Eileen told him, referring to the storm, she thought if the theory was true they would soon be at the centre of the storm, and hopefully it would pass them over.
‘Fifteen minutes to do one frigging mile’ said Peter, showing his frustration as he banged his hands on the steering wheel.
‘Not unless it’s following us’ he added referring to Eileen’s comment about the storm.
And still the rain poured down as if it was trying to drown all who stood beneath the storm, and still the wind howled like some wild animal as the skies again were lit up by an impressive sheet of lightening, that lit up the motorway and the cars that jammed it, and the swirling clouds appeared to form faces, laughing and taunting them.
Peter was desperate for a cigarette, his impatience again showing as his Werthers were getting low, soon he would have nothing left to try and take away the craving, smoking in the car was a definite no no, at one time when they were at a standstill, Peter had opened the window intending to stick his head out to have a fag, but within seconds the rain blew in soaking everyone, and amid protests he ditched that idea, he put yet another Werthers in, anything to take his mind off the craving, oh how he wished that he had taken his electronic cigarette, it didn’t completely take way his craving, but at this time it would have been better than nothing ‘just one cigarette’ he thought ‘I’d feel so much better’
He crunched on his Werthers as he gripped the wheel.
‘I need a wee’ said Lily crossing her legs and shifting about uncomfortably in the back seat, Peter tutted and ignored his daughter, though Eileen thought he would be doing a lot of that.
‘Keep still’ Nathan snapped at her, he nudged her, Lily gave him a stare, one which Nathan recognised as his first warning and not to nudge her anymore.
‘I told you to go before we left ‘scalded Eileen, as if Peter’s impatience had somehow instilled itself upon her.
‘Mum that was five hours ago ‘groaned Lily, Eileen looked at the clock on the dashboard, it was coming up to 5.30, it had been almost five hours ago and she could do with a wee herself, she felt guilty for chastising her daughter, she looked at Peter for answers’ why she didn’t know because he very rarely had those type of answers, this time he did.
‘I’ll have to pull up on the hard shoulder and wee behind the car as he set his indicators on.
‘I’m not doing that’ shouted Lily, determined not to be seen weeing in public, ‘could be perverts and all sorts about’ she told herself, she slumped in her seat with her hands folded but soon had to cross her legs again such was the need to wee.
‘You’ll have to wee yourself then ‘said her mother ‘because that’s what I’m going to do’
So that’s what they did, as did so many others stuck in that traffic amid the storm that rained upon them, and for the time it took them to take a wee, which because of the rain took no real time at all as they rushed as fast as they could, they were now both sat in the car drenched to the bone, but at least thankful that their bladders were now empty, the air was still humid and muggy, Peter pulled back onto the motorway, Eileen turned the blower on the car in the hope it would dry her clothes, the thunder clapped and the lightening flashed as if applauding them for completing the task.
‘That’s the wettest wee I’ve ever had’ said Lily and they all burst out laughing even Nathan, and for a moment, Lily wondered what they were all laughing at, until she realised what she said, then she joined in the laughter, and for a moment everything appeared okay again, Nathan went back to his tablet, all four looking forward to the holiday that lay ahead, if they ever get there.
It was only a storm, it would soon pass.
Ten minutes later the rain eased enough to allow the wipers to be switched to its normal setting, which was something as the noise of the wipers swishing at speed was beginning to annoy all who sat in the car, when they were stationary Peter had turned them off until he realised that he could not tell if the car in front had moved or not and not being able to see made it seem all the spookier, ahead of them the overhead gantry’s illuminated with the word ‘Accident’ and still they crawled along at a snail’s pace, 20 minutes later and still no real distance covered and with the growing anxiety and frustration beginning to show, and what appeared to be no let up in the storm as it did appear to be following them, Peter noticed another sign that said ‘M50 South Wales, exit 3 miles’ he had enough of theM5 now as the radio reports told him it was miles and miles of chaos and traffic jams and all the services were so crowded that they had to shut of the slip roads leading to them.
‘Get the map and have a look at that way see how much longer it is’ He told Eileen, with the enthusiasm of a child.
Eileen got the map from out of the glove apartment and studied it for a while before saying
‘it’s a bit longer, you head through Monmouth, then head for Newport, and if it’s clear we take the Severn Bridge and it brings you out by Bristol, but they say it always rains in Wales’.
Peter rolled his eyes, ‘that’ll do me’ he said, he rolled down the window and lit a cigarette amongst everybody’s objections ‘it had been 5 bloody hours’ he thought ‘they’ll just have to get wet’, just as the cigarette did as Peter held it out the window only for the rain to douse it.
‘Shit’ he said.
The M50 was very busy and took them 30 minutes to travel the three miles to the exit, it appeared obvious that a lot of other people may have had the same idea but eventually they were moving along at 20-30 miles an hour, and it felt like it was incredibly fast compared to what speed they had been travelling at, the rain had eased considerably, but the skies remained dark and threatening, the spray was a clear nuisance making the roads treacherous, though Peter never had much patience, as he had recently been demonstrating on this particular journey, he was a good driver and an even better one when his kids were in the car, always making sure they were belted up and comfortable before making any journey, and at 7.30 after making a little headway, they pulled off the M50 into a services, much to the gratitude to everyone, a sense of relief filling the claustrophobic air of the car they had been sat in, it was as if they had just pulled up at the holiday camp itself.
From the cafe they ordered hot sandwiches along with chips and hot drinks and they all scoffed them down as if they had just found out they were able to eat and this was their first meal, Eileen ignoring the healthy choices as she poured the ketchup over her chips, and Peter smoked three cigarettes in an outside smoking area one after another, enjoying the last one as much as the first, he licked his lips as if something tasty had been on his tongue, the café full but friendly as everyone discussed the awful weather, Peter was beginning to feel a bit more cheerful with a full belly and his nicotine addiction fixed, at least for the time being, he stuffed his pockets with sweets and chocolate bars for the rest of the journey as did the two children, there was no protests from Eileen.
Lily spent 20 minutes in the toilet after she had eaten brushing her long fair hair that she loved to keep in good condition and was forever brushing it or doing one thing or another with it , for fourteen years of age she was very pretty with a few freckles around her nose which complimented her, her big eyes were opened wide as she brushed her hair in the mirror, and as Eileen watched her brush her hair, she could see she was already growing into a woman, she would be no tom boy, she was no longer her baby girl and in some ways that saddened her, she wanted her to always be her little girl, Eileen wiped her eyes although there was no tears, it was because her children were growing up and that frightened her a little, ‘where did all those years go’ she asked herself.
Lily would easy pass for a girl 2 or 3 years older, she was very mature for her age and she reminded Eileen so much of herself when she was that age, though Eileen thought she wasn’t as developed as lily and Eileen also thought that she had never been as pretty as Lily, she chastised herself for thinking it, her thoughts made her feel as if she was jealous of her, whilst the truth was, she was so proud, Lily was confident, cheeky, articulate with a solid determination, she was every ones best friend at school, one of the most popular children in class with teachers and peers alike, everyone wanted to befriend her, she was as good if not better a scholar than Nathan, but the opposite in every other way and as she looked Eileen again realised how lucky she was to have a beautiful daughter.
‘My hairs ruined’ said Lily as she screwed up her nose in the mirror, Eileen laughed, took hold of the brush,
‘Let me’ she said.
Nathan and Peter were identical in looks but that’s where it ended,, Peter was s broad handsome looking man 43 years of age, with walnut brown hair that matched his rugged looks, a strong man and in his teens all the girls chased after him, but Eileen knew she was “the cat that got the cream” Nathan was so much like him in looks, Eileen imagined Nathan when he was 43 looking exactly like Peter did now. She had seen pictures of Peter at Nathans aged and they looked so much alike in looks alone, although Nathan was never going to be the size of his father, nor have the same confidence as his dad did, she suspected, there was a nervousness about Nathan, as if life was difficult for him, and every challenge that life threw at him at times appeared one challenge too many. Unlike his father who would relish every challenge that life through at him and relish it with a determination to succeed, he was once on the books for Sheffield United but never quite made the grade, it was then he decided to make a career in plumbing and excelled at his job as he worked his way up, he had never had any real weaknesses, well other than the three people sat in the car with him.
At just after 8.15 they left the services and travelled through Monmouth onto the A49, Passing a sign that said Welcome to Wales,
‘But I haven’t got my passport’ Nathan had said, and they all had a giggle over that, Nathan not getting the joke until Lily told him it was part of the United Kingdom and you didn’t need a passport, they were feeling much better with a full stomach, and nicotine cravings gone at least for the time being, however it still rained but the traffic was thinner now and thankfully moving along, and as they travelled Peter sung to the radio as he drove amid the protests of all who could hear, he was pleased with himself for taking this route, and he wanted to show it ,and he chuckled to himself when he thought of all those stuck on the M5, he munched on a peppermint aero and he just hoped by the time they joined up with M5 again it had been cleared or at least moving, though the radio stations at that time were still reporting long delays but it would still be sometime before they reached Bristol, and maybe it would have cleared a bit by then, at least Monmouth was a nice drive from what they could see of it, even though it was very wet, but they could just make out some mountains and trees and what appeared to be a river, and for a moment things were okay as they all seemed to be getting into the holiday mood once more,
‘Wales doesn’t seem a bad place after all’ Peter had said and at the time everyone had agreed.
Sometime later Nathan had dozed off, Lily was sat restless and moaning that she kept losing Facebook on her phone and how was she supposed to keep in contact with everyone without her Facebook, Eileen had never stopped smiling since she left the house, despite the awful journey they were still experiencing, and despite the occasional moan from her lover and grunts from her children, she loved their holidays with Peter and the kids, and she knew that sometime soon the kids would no longer want to go with them and that saddened her a little, but she was determined to make the most of the holidays they had left together, and unbeknown to Peter, she was planning on 2 holidays a year from now on in, however long from now on in would be, she was going to enjoy this holiday no matter what because she would never know when the last one together would be, she found it hard to imagine not going on holiday with the kids but knew she had to except that sometime soon they would no longer want to go with them, Lily was almost a young woman now, soon she would be holidaying without her parents, and as she travelled she thought of a great idea, she would take Lily’s friends with them, that would solve the problem for a year or two, though she had no intention of telling Peter just yet.
Their newly planned route was to follow the A49 to the Coldra roundabout just outside Newport, then join the M4 until it took you to The Severn bridge, and Peter had the biggest grin on his face when he found out that you only paid the toll one way, and their crossing of the bridge would be of no cost, not that he was tight with money, it just made his decision to do a detour even more satisfying, and for him it all seemed so easy, though the journey had been long and arduous, everyone was pleased with the detour they had taken, even if the roads had not been clear it had taken away the monotony of the M5and at least they had been travelling, though at times not very fast, soon they would be back on the M5 towards Cornwall, they had phoned the Holiday camp to tell them that they were running late, the receptionists indicated that so were many others, and regardless of the time they got there, someone would be able to check them into their caravan, ‘okay today had been a bit of a washout’ but the forecast was good for the rest of the week thought Peter, even the nicotine craving didn’t seem to bother him now as he drove along eating sweets and singing along to the radio.
‘Oh shit’ said Peter when they got to the Coldra roundabout, the signs were saying the M4 was closed due to an accident, he briefly wondered how many accidents there had already been that evening, it was nearly 9pm and the roads had gone extremely quiet as it seemed people would rather stay in their homes then travel in this awful weather, or they had stopped off somewhere and settled for the night until the storm was through.
He could see a colossal hotel called the Celtic Manor, up on top what seemed to be a hill, he recalled there was golf tournaments played there, he wasn’t sure if the British open had, and for one moment he was tempted to book in for the night and travel again in the morning, but it could still be 5 hours from here to their holiday destination, even on a good day, and he didn’t want to waste another day travelling, and who knows what the roads would be like in the morning, they could still be in utter chaos, at least they were quieter now, eerily quiet he had thought, so he decided against it, at least they would wake up in the morning in their holiday camp, all going well, a quick check of the map suggested that things were not too bad after all, if they took the Magor road the Severn Bridge was less than ten miles away, so that’s what they decided to do, they were on holiday and nothing was going to stop them getting there, they drove along the Langstone road which was where the map told them to go, Peter fiddled with the sat nav in his car but it didn’t want to work so he started looking for the sign to Magor, as they drove the heavens seemed to open again with a forceful downpour as the lightening lit up the skies once more and the thunder appeared to shake the road beneath them as they drove, the storm had come back with a vengeance, 2 miles down the road they took a right turn to Magor, Peter only just seeing the sign, they passed a hotel offering cheap rooms, but again Peter decided against it, if they were going to stop off somewhere for the night, he would prefer it closer to Cornwall.
Peter thought maybe once they were over the bridge they may have to stop off at a travel lodge for the night, visibility was only a couple of yards as Peter crawled along in the torrential rain, Nathan and Lily were growing very restless in the back now, and even the ever cheerful Eileen was getting cheesed off, wishing they had gone back to Scarborough after all,
‘Even Filey would have been better than this’ thought Eileen.
‘I don’t fucking believe it ‘said Peter as he stared at the sign placed on the side of the road which he had only seen at the last minute, he had stopped the car and put his head in his hands as if he had all the troubles in the world on his shoulders, all of a sudden wanting a cigarette more than ever, Eileen was beginning to get cheesed off with his dramatics and her patience was wearing thin, this was soon turning out to be a day she would rather forget,
‘Dad ‘Lily said chastising her father, she hated her father swearing, it just didn’t seem natural,
‘Road ahead closed, flooding’ the sign told them, Peter stopped the car and got out, immediately feeling his clothes wetting with the rain, he lit a cigarette and tried to keep it dry as he smoked it and looked around, this wasn’t really a road, it was a lane, and even though the night had drawn in he could see that all that surrounded him was fields and trees, and as he stared the wind seemed to pick up and it howled which made the woods more alive as the trees swayed and the wind howled, and Peter began to worry what his next move would be, should he turn around and try another direction, he knew they were so close to the M4 and the bridge that would lead them over the water and onto the M5, then he noticed a small sign on the side of the road, he walked over to it, it read Underwood next right’ he ditched his cigarette and sat in his car soaking wet looking at the map ‘can’t see Underwood on this map’ said Peter.
