…Dan needed to hear Mary’s reassuring words, but those nagging doubts still clung deeply onto him. The banter from his colleagues at work eroded his confidence but Mary was right. She must be right. There was nothing to worry about….

 

Here is a sample of ‘Descent Into Darkness: A Novella’.

 

Part I

Dan was a driver and loved his job. His father had encouraged him to drive at an early age. On his seventeenth birthday his father took him out for his first drive in a manual car, a beaten up old car and even though it had covered a huge mileage the engine was still in good shape. Dan remembered what his dad said to him. That if he learned to drive he could always have a job. Lots of businesses and companies needed drivers. The better he was at driving and the more vehicles he could drive the better were his chances of being employed.

The driving lessons continued as Dan received training both from his father and a professional driver from one of the local driver training schools. The L plates soon came off to be replaced by Ps. Dan was as pleased as punch when he was able to drive a car by himself. He didn’t care how the old car looked. The thought that he could drive whenever he wanted and to where ever he wanted really excited him.

He soon started dating and his first girlfriend was a local called Sally. They knew each other from school and as Dan was one of the only boys Sally knew could drive a car she was happy to be his girl. However, the two did not have that much in common. Once Sally was bored with the experience of being driven about she ended the relationship.

Disappointed, but not really heartbroken, Dan decided to fill his time with learning how to drive other vehicles. After a year he could take the P plates off his car which he did straight away. He started working in a pizza delivery business and used the money from that to pay for truck driver lessons at the weekend. The lessons were expensive, but having that ticket would open up a whole avenue of jobs for him. That could take him further afield and earn him some big money. Having obtained his truck driving licence he moved on to other jobs but decided he liked where he lived. His family had stayed in the one place when he was young and he became comfortable with it.

Years later he had a wife and four kids but was still in the same place. He now had a car licence, truck licence, HR, MR, forklift driving licence and could practically drive anything with wheels on it. He worked for a local wholesale warehouse which delivered goods to surrounding shops and businesses. He was trusted for whatever deliveries he was given and never missed a drop-off. His timekeeping was excellent and he had received two increases in wages due to his ability at doing the job. The other truck drivers did not seem to have the same enthusiasm or industry as Dan. His desire to do well could have been for the provision of his wife and four children. However it also came from his love of driving. A love which had been instilled by his father so many years ago while he was only a boy. Sometimes on a Sunday he would go round to his father’s and take him for a drive. That was when he wasn’t doing anything with his family.

Despite being given two wage increases the work did not pay enough. It was good money for what he did but it was spent quickly over himself his wife and their four children. Over the years they had to economise to make ends meet but his wife was happy enough. As long as they were all together that was the main thing. They learned to do without many things and how to use things sparingly to make them last longer.

He worked Monday to Friday on nine hour shifts with a twenty minute break in the morning and a half hour lunch break. Saturday work was available also and this was on double time. This was shared between the truck drivers. The money came in in really handy for Dan and Mary when anything essential was needed at home. At peak delivery times, say before Christmas and when local businesses needed extra deliveries, bonuses would be handed out to all drivers. These were appreciated by the employees which did not go unnoticed by the warehouse management. It may not have been the highest earning job but to be fair to the management they always paid their workers on time and for the amount they were owed. No worker ever went without their wages which seemed to keep turnover low. When a worker came to the warehouse he seemed to stay there for a long time. Longer than a lot of other local businesses which often saw changes in faces. Dan had worked at the warehouse for many years and if the management continued to treat him well he would work there for many more years.

 

Dan’s wife was Mary, who in her younger years was pretty and popular at school both with the girls and boys. She was rumoured to have many boyfriends but the actual number was less than the one that most people spread and quite often maliciously. She always made friends first before she would get serious with anyone. With that special person the relationship was always something more than physical. However, even after the relationship ended she would for the majority of times remain friendly with the boy that she had been seeing. She preferred creating bonds like that. She had heard of many relationships in the school that had broken down and afterwards the couples that were once close could barely stand being in the same room as each other. It seemed a shame that this would happen and so she resolved that it would never happen to her. She would not wish any ill on old boyfriends and so remained friends. It was not surprising that her current boyfriends would be suspicious of this type of behaviour. They would question if she was actually seeing the old boyfriend, but she never was. There had been many rumours round the school that she was unfaithful, but while she was with a boy she would never cheat by going back to the old boyfriends. If her boyfriend spoke about infidelities she would truthfully but quickly deny any wrongdoing on her behalf. Sadly one or two boyfriends had broken up with her because of this.

Dan had broken up with Sally for about a month. He noticed Mary and had always been attracted to her, however at the time she was seeing another lad. Two months later when that relationship ended he took a chance and asked her out for a meal. He was quickly told of the rules and so took things easy and got to know her before their relationship got serious. Mary would always stop to chat with her old boyfriends which initially made Dan feel uneasy, as if he was being shaded out. He soon realised that Mary was faithful and there was nothing to be suspicious about. The relationship stayed its course and eventually Dan popped the question and Mary readily accepted. She had fallen in love with Dan quickly and realised that he would be a good responsible husband. They might not have all the money in the world but they would be happy.

The wedding was attended by the family of the happy couple and their friends which included Mary’s old boyfriends, but at this point Dan knew Mary a lot better and didn’t mind.

 

Two years later the couple decided that they wanted a family. Joanne came first and was a quick delivery. She was like a little ray of sunshine, with twinkling eyes and a smile that could break your heart. People remarked that she was the spitting image of her mother. From an early age she was inquisitive. Of the four children she learned to speak the quickest. It was evident that she was destined for an academic life as she was a voracious young reader and could absorb knowledge rapidly. Reading books, comics anything was her delight. At school she was a natural and always received high grades. It seemed that every year she was in the top 10% of the class. All teachers raved that she was an ideal pupil, she had a willingness to learn and that she should do very well in the future. Apart from reading she also took an interest in maths and demonstrated a flair for science. Her teachers thought she could do well in science or engineering.

Next came the twins almost seven years later, Ross and Keith. Ross was born two minutes before Keith and never let his twin brother forget that. The competitive streak was there from the beginning in both boys. Dan encouraged this by throwing mini rugby balls, soccer balls and tennis balls into the cot to watch them play. They were intelligent enough but it wouldn’t be their choice to pick up the books. They would rather be outside running about and playing some game. Dan was invigorated by their sporting nature and enrolled them in the local soccer club. There boys and girls from the age of about 5 to 16 would go twice a week to learn soccer. It was well attended with over 50 children going there every week. The class would be split up into age groups and be taught soccer skills. When not at the club the boys would be forever outside playing.

Kelly the youngest was born four years after the twins. She too looked like her mother but picked up the mannerisms of her father. She loved to play with dolls. Story book, picture books and alphabet books were placed in her cot only to be pushed aside so she could dress her dolls up. She was smart and intelligent enough. Kelly learned to speak and read quickly and looked up to Joanne dotingly who would sit her on her knee as they read over a fairy tale picture book. She was loved and protected by the entire family.

 

Many years later on one Friday evening the front doorbell rang. Dan answered to see his old mate Kevin standing at the doorway. The visit was quite unexpected as he hadn’t seen his friend for ages, not even as he had been making his deliveries about town. Normally he passed him at least once a week and gave him a wave and a holler but nothing for a while. Dan thought that maybe he had moved on to another town.

‘Hey Kev, how are you doing pal. I thought you had skipped town for pastures new. Please come in,’ said Dan shaking Kevin’s hand.

‘No I’ve not left. Well at least not to another town. However I do have another job at the mine sites,’ replied Kevin.

‘The what,’ spluttered Dan, ‘I never thought you were a miner. What do you know about all that digging?’ asked Dan.

‘No, you fool. I didn’t say I was a miner. I just work at the mine site camp as a plumber. I do my old job but for the mining company,’ replied Kevin.

‘How long have you been out there?’ asked Dan becoming curious.

‘Just over 6 weeks now. I do 2 weeks shifts at a time. So for two weeks I work at the mines and for the two weeks after that I’m back home,’ said Kevin…………………

 

 

 

‘Descent Into Darkness: A Novella’ is one of the three novellas in ‘Unsettling’ which is available in paperback and in eBook format.

‘Descent Into Darkness: A Novella’ is also available by itself in eBook format.

All books are available in the Amazon bookstore.

alanrove@hotmail.com

Kind Regards

Alan