Underwood

by Colin Griffiths

  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 ho
liday 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.

  Eileen took it off him, she studied it ‘nope nor me’ she said, she rammed the map into the glove compartment, thinking of Scarborough and all it had to offer,

  ‘Just go there dad, I need a wee and I gotta get out of this car’ Lily told him, they all pretty much thought the same, Peter shrugged his shoulders, he guessed he had no choice, there didn’t seem enough room to do a three point turn, maybe if he headed right he could turn around and head back to that cheap hotel he had seen, that seemed a good idea, so he took the sign that read Underwood.

  He put the car in gear and inched forward into the ever deepening water that seemed to be increasing as they drove along, he hurriedly took the right turn, they drove past a church and a graveyard and Peter just hoped his faithful Avensis would not fail him now because he really didn’t want to get out by that graveyard, it spooked him, and Nathan covered his eyes until they were past, Lily tried to look the other way but found her eyes drawn to the graveyard, Eileen was silently urging Peter on, they were driving up an incline now and the rain run down it like a river cascading through its rapids, and the hail pelted against the sign that said ‘Underwood’

  But all they could see was trees.

  A nervousness and fear came over Peter like never before, his instincts told him to turn around but the road was to narrow, he needed to get his family on dry land, somewhere safe until this rain stopped, he didn’t care where it was, anywhere would do, he wasn’t sure what had gone wrong or even how he put his family in this position, he tried to gather his thoughts, but the truth was he was nervous.

  ‘Have you gone the wrong way ‘asked Eileen? Her voice was anxious, she bit her bottom lip, she didn’t want to show her kids that she was scared, Peter could see it on her face, and his heart went out to her, he got them into this mess, it was up to him to get them out, he leaned over and grasped her hand trying to reassure her, their eyes met and Peter winked, it made Eileen feel just a little better, but still she trembled inside.

  ‘I don’t like it here dad’ said Nathan with a nervousness in his voice, and his father’s stomach dropped once more, the truth was Peter didn’t like it here either, he somehow felt that he had let his family down and that tore him up inside a little as his heart raced, he couldn’t see a thing behind him to reverse, there seemed nothing in front other than trees and something told him he should not have gone this way, and at that moment the sky seemed to explode with a sheet of lightening that lit up the trees that surrounded them, and in that split second of brightness the trees seemed to be beckoning them, Nathan shrieked while Lily screamed and then the skies were dark again, the howling of the wind through the trees only interrupted by a crack of thunder, to be replaced by the winds once more, then the rain poured bouncing off the trees as they swayed, hammering on the metal of the Avensis, thumping on the roof of the car, and soon the lane resembled a river, and panic started to set in, it was then that Peter realised what they had done and he cursed himself for it, his own stupidity, ‘no wonder it’s not on the fucking map’ he thought, for it was only then he realised that Underwood must be Just a wood.

  Chapter 2

  Lily and Nathan were huddled in the back with coats over them, not that it was cold as the night had been muggy but it had offered them some comfort, it had been a long time since they had done that, but the night called for it, fear can make you do strange things like cuddling up close to your little brother or big sister, it made them both seem safer against whatever gremlins were lurking in the woods, because during the night they both had thought there would be some gremlins or other kinds of monsters that would come and devour them whilst they slept, they had both fallen asleep not long after the rain and the winds stopped, finally giving in to exhaustion, the fear finally subsiding and everyone realising that they weren’t in fact going to be swept away and swallowed up by a river, no that was never going to happen, it was only the woods they had to worry about.

  Eileen had eventually fallen asleep in the passenger seat and was soon preceded by her usual snoring, which in a strange way, though her snoring annoyed him, it now gave Peter comfort, she had made sure the children were asleep or at least dozing before she tried to sleep herself, she could see that the awful journey and the fact that they were stranded had taken it out of them quite a bit, Lily tried not to show it, but the fear was etched on Nathan’s face, Peter himself tossed and turned unable to get really comfortable, not really knowing how he had been daft enough to allow himself and his family get in that situation, but he was now thankful that his family were now safe as he imagined the car and its occupants being swept away by the rain, he was the only one awake at the moment after a restless night, and in a way he was glad of that, he knew his family would be asking questions, which at that moment he had no real answers, his own carelessness had confused him and he shivered at the thought of what the cost could have been, he could just see the break of dawn coming and knew in 30 minutes or so, it would be light enough to see and get the hell out of the woods, still not comprehending how they actually got stuck in the woods in the first place, he was really thankful the rain had stopped when it did, for at one time he thought they were in deep trouble.

  Peter looked in the back seats, the kids were asleep and the noises coming from Eileen confirmed she was, and at that moment he felt the
luckiest man in the world, with the best wife and kids anyone could wish for but there was still a knot in his stomach from what he had put them through, he would never forget his own fear, he was proud of his family for dealing with it the way they had, it was then he swore he would never put them in that position again, he wound down the window a little, feeling the warm but fresh air hit his face, it had a dampness in it and it smelt of the woods, he lit up a cigarette and inhaled and exhaled deeply ‘what a night’ he thought’ as he did so, he took out his phone, tried to get the weather app on, but his phone was telling him he had no signal. ‘I bet you don’t get much of anything out here’ he told himself, swearing he would never visit Wales again, thinking the fathers who claim the land can keep it, he threw his cigarette stub out the window just as a beam of sunshine tried to break through the trees that made him jump a little, now with the skies looking brighter than they had been for the last 24 hours, he licked his lips,’ just one more cigarette’ he thought, ‘then I’ll wake them up.

  He was feeling better, he just hoped they could put this behind them and enjoy their holiday, he would make it up to them, make it special somehow he vowed to himself.