The Dead Fathers Club (2 page)

You are meant to be frightened when you see a ghost but I was not frightened because it felt completely normal which is weird because I had never seen a ghost before. He was just standing there behind the smoke of Big Vics cigar and he was looking at me and not scared of my eyes like everyone else was.

Carla was next to him serving drinks but she didnt notice him and I looked round and no one noticed him apart from me. After she had served the drinks Carla walked through Dads Ghost to go and see herself in the mirror which says Castle and Falcon because that is the name of our Pub.

Dads Ghost was wearing the same clothes Dad was wearing the last time I saw him which was at breakfast on the day he died when I made him cross because I wanted the PlayStation. He was wearing his T shirt which said King of the Castle with the word CASTLE written in red capital letters like on the sign outside the Pub. But now all the colours were more faded because Dad was pale and see through like the ghosts at the Haunted Mansion in Disney World and he had blood running down from his hair.

Nan asked me Whats the matter pet?

She turned to see where I was looking but she couldnt see anything and Dads Ghost was now telling me to follow him with his hand.

I said to Nan I need the toilet.

I went past the bar and down the hall and into the back office where Dads Ghost walked through the door.

I checked to see if anyone was looking and they werent so I opened the door because I couldnt walk through it and Dads Ghost was standing in the corner by the desk and the computer was on which was weird.

He nodded to the door and so I shut it and then he said Dont be scared.

I said Im not.

His voice sounded the same but different like he was standing far away but I could hear him more clearly than ever. That doesnt make sense but that is how he sounded.

And the second thing he said was Im sorry.

I said For what?

He said For everything.

And when he said it I thought he was talking about the past when he was alive but now I am not sure.

I went across the room and I went to touch him and my hand went right through and I couldnt feel anything except a bit warmer but I might have just been thinking that.

I dont think Dads Ghost liked me doing it but he didnt say anything but I didnt do it again.

I said Are you a ghost?

It was a stupid question but I didnt know what to say.

He said Yes.

I said Where have you been?

He said I am not here all the time. I go on and off.

And I said Like a light bulb?

And he smiled but in a sad way and he said Yes like a light bulb. It is hard to control where I go but I am getting better.

And I said Have you been to the Pub before?

He nodded his head and said You were asleep.

Then I asked him if he sees other ghosts and he said There are lots of ghosts in Newark and they take some getting used to because they are all from different ages.

And I said It must be weird seeing all the ghosts.

He said It is.

Then he was quiet for a second and then he said Philip.

So I said What?

But really I didnt want to know because I could tell from his voice that he was going to say something bad like when Grandad died.

He said I have to tell you something.

And then he stopped for a minute and looked at the door and I wondered why he was looking at the door but then Uncle Alan walked in and he never walks into the office and Uncle Alan looked at the computer and he said Your mum sent me to look for you.

And he was smiling and his big hands 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.

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.

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 are ghosts of Dads in Newark who meet near the Pub because most of them went there because it is the oldest Pub in town.

They dont meet inside because ghosts flicker out more easily inside than outside and it makes no difference when you are a ghost because you dont feel the cold and your legs dont get tired from standing up.

I said in a whisper so Mum couldnt hear Are there any Romans in the Dead Fathers Club?

Dads Ghost said Romans?

I nodded my head and said Roman soldiers?

He said No but theres a Victorian.

I said Oh.

Victorians werent as good as Romans but Dads Ghost looked sad that I wasnt interested in the Victorian so I said Whats his name?

Dads Ghost said No one knows his name so they just call him the Victorian.

I said Why dont they ask his name?

Dads Ghost said He doesnt speak.

I got into bed and I said Did someone chop out his tongue?

He said No they didnt.

Dads Ghost didnt say anything for a bit he just stood there and I just watched him and I saw my fish tank inside his stomach.

Then Dads Ghost said The Terrors got to him.

I said The Terrors?

Dads Ghost said They get to every ghost in the end.

I pulled up my duvet and said What are the Terrors?

He then said what the Terrors were and when he told me I felt my blood go cold inside my body and after he told me Dads Ghost flickered out a bit and I saw his face screaming in the flicker but I couldnt hear the scream.

Then he said Most ghosts suffer on their own but its easier if you can talk to others.

I said Is that why theres the club?

And I think he said Yes but I dont know because he flickered out and went into the Terrors and I said Dad? Dad? Dad? but he didnt come back.

Mum said Philip?

I didnt say anything I just went under the duvet but I couldnt get to sleep.

It was early in the morning and I was thinking about what Dads Ghost meant when he said it wasnt an accident. I wanted him to come back and tell me but he didnt. I looked out of the window at the Bottle Banks but he wasnt there and so I just sat on the end of my bed looking at my tropical fish.

I was just thinking it must be weird living in a tank just swimming and waiting for food to drop down. I didnt know if it was nice or not nice being a fish in a tank doing nothing. I thought it must be nice because they dont fight each other they all get on. The Neons and the Guppies and the Mollies and the Angelfish. They never bite each other. I kept looking and I thought something was wrong something was weird and I counted the Guppies

and I kept looking for another big tail but it wasnt there so I lifted up the lid and felt the warmness of the water on my face. I saw the Guppy upside down on the water and it was white. That is what happens when Guppies die. The colour goes out of them so they are just bodies just white bodies. And the other fish were just swimming below not minding that they will one day be upside down and the colour all gone out of them and I asked in my head Where do the colours go? and I didnt know.

I got the net and fished out the Guppy and the net went in the water and the other fish were scared of the net and swam fast away from it and they had to turn round because the tank wasnt a river like the Amazon which is where they are from. I got the Guppy out and let the water drip down like rain like tears and I said Its OK the nets gone.

And all the other fish calmed down now the net was out and went back to normal.

I took the dripping net to the toilet and I pushed the Guppy out of it and flushed the chain and it was free out of its tank going to the river but not the Amazon and I put the net back next to the tank and I sniffed up all my snot and swallowed it. I heard Mum turn over in bed and then one minute later the phone rang and I ran downstairs to answer it in case Mum was asleep.

I picked up the phone and I said Hello.

The woman on the phone said Hello? Hello? Is that Philip?

I knew the voice because it felt like a feather on my neck. It was my History Teacher Mrs Fell.

I said Yes.

It was the first time I had talked to Mrs Fell since the lesson on Family Trees.

She said Hello Philip. Its Mrs Fell. I was just wondering how you are doing?

I lied and I said Im all right.

It felt weird talking to a Teacher on the phone. Even Mrs Fell. It was more weird than talking to Dads Ghost.

She said Everyones thinking of you at school.

And I thought What are they thinking? but I didnt say it and then Mrs Fell said We cant wait to see you.

I didnt know what to say and the only word I had in my head was Yes so I used it.

She said Is your mum there Philip?

I said Yes.

I wanted to say something about Romans but I didnt.

She said in a voice that sounded like it was on tip toes Would she be able to talk?

I said Yes Ill just get her.

Then I said Mum! Mum! Phone!

And Mum got out of bed and walked downstairs with sleepy hair and she said with her eyes Who is it?

I said School.

Mum got the phone and said in her sad voice Hello? Yes yes it is. Yes. No. It has but were getting there. No. It just doesnt seem. No. Yes. Oh yes I think he would. I think he wants to. I think it will do him good. Yes. Definitely. Thank you. Oh thats. Oh. Thank you. Bye.

Mum put the phone down and said out of a yawn She was just double checking that youre going on the Trip to Hadrians Wall. She thinks it will do you good. I told her you were still going.

I said But

But I couldnt think of anything.

When Mum was in the bathroom getting ready I sat and looked at the five Guppies and then I saw a reflection in the fish tank. It wasnt like a normal reflection it was like a reflection of a reflection and I turned round and it was Dads Ghost and I said Dad? in a loud voice.

He said Quiet.

He put his finger on his lips and then he finished telling me what he had to say.

He told me about a man in the Dead Fathers Club called Ray Goodwin.

Ray Goodwin is the ghost Dads Ghost saw first after he left the car and he is the one who told him about the Dead Fathers Club.

Ray Goodwin was a miner who lost his job and he was murdered 11 years ago the year before Dad bought the Pub and the year I was born.

I said How did he get murdered?

And Dads Ghost waited for a minute like he didnt know the answer and then he said I dont know. Ray talks about everything but not that.

I wondered why Dads Ghost was telling me about Ray Goodwin but then he said Ray Goodwin was the one who told him the truth about ghosts.