The Life of Riley

2. Field Liaison

Chapter 2 :: Field Liaison

When my parents said they thought it's best I stay at my uncle's for a while, I didn't know they meant for me to leave two days later. Nor did I know, 'a while' meant the entire summer. So here I am, en route to Dorchester, Dorset, the South West Coast of England. As we leave Manchester, the images of what a city looks like seems to become lost in the fields, valleys and more fields that we pass... The only good thing about the journey was that it reminded me of my old town Essex, where I grew up before we moved to Manchester three years ago - but Essex was on the East of England. Anyway, you don't need a Geography lesson.

To be honest, I was surprised to say the least when my parent's offered to drop me off to Uncle Jacks'. I thought they'd ship me on the train so they wouldn't have to endure my presence any longer, but they probably want to see with their own eyes that I actually have left. Sigh. Loving times(!)

Before I left, I rung what was left of my friends but only one, Gemma, who was the sweetest thing ever, bothered to show the slightest sign that she cared. We hugged and cried, she told me not to worry about anything, that Bradley was an idiot - I think she forgot it was my fault he was in hospital - and promised to keep in contact all summer. So she snottily waved an even snottier me into the distance, never to be seen again for two months...

'Quit being so dramatic, you'll see her soon,' said my unsympathetic mother when I was snivelling in the backseat of the car. Eyes watery, I looked up with her, holding back from blurting that I was also crying because she and dad hate me, and, upon seeing my face, her eyes watered too. 'Sorry, darling,' she said, stretching out a hand to give mine a squeeze, 'your dad and I hate to do this but maybe this is what you need. Some space.' I inhaled and glanced up at dad in the front seat who was nodding his head and glancing back at me through the rear view mirror. 'Maybe once you've had time to clear your head, you can start putting things right, and -' mum's voice grew louder, shriller, 'Bradley may even miss you while you're gone! After all, absence makes the heart grow fonder.'

It took a lot for me not to blurt, 'he doesn't give a shit about me!' so took the tissue she gave me, blew my nose and nodded.

'Okay, mum,' was all I could muster after that.

Five hours later, after a smooth traffic-free drive, we arrived in Dorchester, me clutching my belly because I so badly needed the toilet. I went when we stopped at Services but the two bottles of Mirinda Strawberry and Lucozade were causing my bladder a nuisance.

'Now, where to go from here...' mused dad, glancing at the SatNav.

The SatNav woman seemed to have landed us in a crossroad surrounded by a crop field in all directions, which oddly reminded me of those American movies where the characters get lost and then take a route to their chilling deaths. I shuddered. Then I remembered that this was not an American movie but my life - though considering what's been going on lately, it does feel like a movie. Anyhow.

Dad followed the route from the SatNav but, naturally, it took us to more dead ends which eventually caused dad to shout at it, follow it again, shout at it more whenwe ended up back in the same place and then shout at it again, till mum was forced to call Uncle Jack.

'Noo!' cried dad, grabbing her wrist as though she was about to gulp down a shot of poison. Realising his overly-dramatic/ borderline unnerving reaction, he released mum's wrist gently and tried to smile but it turned out to be a grimace. 'There's no need to bother Jack,' he chortled glancing at phone in mum's hand, 'I'm sure we'll find our way soon. Oh!' he pointed at a wooden signpost with a vine of leaves covering the stick, that said, "Dorchester county hospital, five miles" with an arrow pointed north. 'There's a sign! We should be there in about ten minutes!' He gave mum a happy grin - yes a real one this time. 'There's no need to call your brother.'