Rough Road Ahead (In Progress)

Chapter 9

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            My eyes glanced over the mountain tops, watching as they became closer and closer. We were almost there, I realized. It seemed to have taken so long, and yet I knew it had only been a three-day drive. All that was left to do was to climb the beautiful mountain to the top, disassemble the house and bring it back down the mountain to our home town. Piece of cake, I thought sarcastically. This would surely be the longest seven days of my life.

            My father continued to drive the trailer forward, every once and a while stumbling on a rock or pot-hole. I wasn't feeling car sick anymore, even with the sudden increase in bumps. He was humming in the front seat, a cigarette in his mouth as he sang some song I had never heard before, "another hours drive up." He declared suddenly, the cigarette falling from his lips and onto his chest before bouncing off onto his leg. He didn't realize at first, and let it sit there, burning away at the tough denim until all that was left was skin.  He let an allusive scream pass his lips as he swerved slightly, hitting yet another bump on this rough and ragged road.

             "Watch it!" I heard Brad threaten from the living room, but I was too worn out to respond with something witty.

            It was another five minutes of staring at the long, bumpy road before my father spoke again, "guys, I think..." he hesitated, as if reevaluating his word choice, but not finding a less confining way to put it,  "we're lost."

            My mother started to scream and yell, her faux happy-go-lucky mood breaking under the stress that all of us had caused her, "what!?" She screamed, grabbing the paper map from my father, rolling it into a tight bat and whacking him up side the head, "I told you to listen to me, but oh no! You can't listen to your own wife; you have to take the short cut! News flash, it isn't shorter if you get us lost in the middle of nowhere!" She hit him on the head five more times, "stupid, stupid, stupid!" She screamed, sitting down with her arms over her chest.

            "I always listen to you, honey." My father said sweetly. "I love you."

            My mother didn't reply, she just sat there with her arms over her chest in a pout.

            "Wow!" I mouthed to Max who grinned at me, his blue eyes staring into mine. He put his green headphones in, turning the volume all the way up and winking.

            My father bit his lip, "it's not that bad." He announced his hands in defense position, "we just need to call CAA." He said, and then pulled his phone from his pocket. No service. He put it back in his pocket as Brad and Sam tried their phones, but they all threw them limply at their sides in defeat. I pulled mine out to the same effect. I even tapped Max on his shoulder, asking him to try his phone, but to no avail. He shook his head.

            "Well, we're screwed." My mother declared her hands in the air, "totally and utterly screwed!"

            My father hit his pocket with his left hand, pulling out a smaller map, "not entirely." He fumbled with it, spreading it over his knee. Then pointed at a small red triangle, "here." He said, a smile crossing his face, "there is a town a mile up the road, we can ask for directions."

            All of us looked at each other, shrugging. It was settled, onward we went.

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