were holding his glass of whisky on his big stomach. And he went over and touched my shoulder and he said Are you all right Philip?
And I said Yes.
And he said Its been a tough day for all of us.
I said Yes.
I just wanted him to stop touching my shoulder.
I could see Dads Ghost looking at him and he was looking at him in a way I had never seen him look at anyone before especially not his brother and I knew he didnt like him being in the office. So I said Ill go out in a minute Im just looking for something.
And Uncle Alan sighed and made the air smell of whisky and he was going to say something but he wasnt my Dad and so he went out again and shut the door.
Then I looked at Dads Ghost who was flickering and screaming but with the volume down and then he came back and he said I might not have long.
Then he faded out for about five seconds and came back.
He tried to speak and all I could hear was It wasnt
And then he tried again and again.
It wasnt
It
It was
It wasnt
It wasnt an axe
He disappeared and I said Dad Dad Dad! Come back! Come back!
But he didnt.
Then I heard a voice say Oh Philip and it was my Mums voice and I dont know how long she had been there and Uncle Alan was now behind her and touching her shoulder but she didnt feel the coldness down her back like I did.
The Bad News
Dad died because his car crashed into a bridge outside of Kelham which is a village near Newark. There was a picture of it on East Midlands Today and it showed the whole car hanging over the edge like it was going to fall into the River Trent. All the windows were smashed like spiders webs and the woman on the news was talking about the bridge having to be closed for two months as if the bridge was the important thing.
Before we saw the news there was a policeman who came to the back door and I knew the policeman because he had been into the Pub before talking to Dad. The policeman had a face like an empty plate and he opened and closed his mouth for a long time with nothing coming out but air.
I was watching from the top of the stairs and they couldnt see me and I couldnt hear them properly but I knew something was wrong from the way the policeman had his hat on his chest.
And then they went into the office and shut the door and I could hear nothing for ages and then I heard Mum. She was howling like a WOLF and the noise hurt my stomach and I closed my eyes to try and hear the policeman and all he was saying was Im sorry and he kept on saying it
Im sorry
Im sorry
Im sorry
and I knew that he hadnt done anything wrong because he was a policeman and policemen only say sorry if something very bad has happened. So I knew right then what the pain in my stomach was. And I saw the policeman leave and the hat was in his hand but not on his chest any more like the Bad News had been in there and set free. And I saw Mum and she saw me but didnt see me properly and she went to the corner of the hall by the radiator and sat down in a ball and cried and shook her head in her hands and said No no no no no and everywhere round us looked the same but bigger and I wanted to go and tell her it was OK but that would have been a lie and so I just sat there and did nothing.
The Terrors
Dads Ghost came back later on when everyone had left the Pub and I was in my bedroom.
Dads Ghost flickered on and at first he looked like he was in too much pain to speak but then he said Philip dont be scared of me.
I said Im not.
He said I have to tell you someth
He flickered out and then came back.
He said It wasnt an accident.
I said What?
He said It wasnt an accident son.
I said What do you mean?
He said Look out of the window.
I said What?
He said Look out of the window.
I got up out of the bed and I got inside the curtain and I looked out at the car park and the street light showed it was empty except for the Ka car.
He said Can you see them?
I said Who?
He said There by the Bottle Banks.
I looked at the three Bottle Banks that the Council made Dad put at the back of the car park.
I looked on the left side and there was a shopping trolley with a plastic bag trapped in one of the wheels and it was flapping in the wind like it wanted to escape.
He said To the right of them.
I looked on the other side of the Bottle Banks and I couldnt see anything just the wall with the concrete posts and the slab that was missing.
He said Theyre all there cant you see them?
I said Who?
He said The Club.
I said What Club?
He said The Dead Fathers Club.
I made my eyes hurt trying to see but it still looked like there was no one there.
I came out of the curtain and said Whats the Dead Fathers Club?
I asked the question too loud because I heard Mum roll over in the next room because she still wasnt sleeping and she said Philip?
I said Yes?
She said What are you doing?
I looked at Dads Ghost and he had his finger on his lips and he was shaking his head.
Dads Ghost said Mum cant know any of this.
I said nothing.
Mum said Try and get some sleep.
I said Yes.
And then Mum said Night.
And I said Night.
And I didnt say anything else I just listened to Dads Ghost tell me about the Dead Fathers Club.
The Dead Fathers Club
