The Roadmap of Loss by Liam Murphy

Author:Liam Murphy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: fiction, fiction, Literary fiction, travelogue, road trip, coming of age, grief, death, family drama, abandonment, forgiveness, mental health, depression, alcoholism, letters, dark humour, America, Orlando, Grand Canyon, Charleston, Los Angeles, Jack Kerouac, On the Road, Wild, Cheryl Strayed
ISBN: 9781760688301
Publisher: Echo Publishing
Published: 2023-12-12T00:00:00+00:00

6.

My first day was a Wednesday. It was still dark when I closed the door of the apartment and walked down the stairs. I’d set the alarm for 5.40 a.m. and had, somewhat miraculously, woken up by myself a few minutes early. Hannah’s gentle snoring continued as I pulled pants on and closed the bedroom door as if defusing a bomb. I reached the end of the complex’s driveway, and joined Maybank Highway to a sea of head and tail lights in both directions. How was the entire county already awake?

Joining the flow of traffic, I followed country roads to Kiawah as the sun rose. I’d watched so many sunsets in this country and the south, but this was my first sunrise. I found the land maintenance base after a few wrong turns. It was a large compound with a courtyard in its centre, an office building shaped like a U, a shed to store equipment, another full of boats and trailers, an expanse with the fleet of trucks parked throughout, and a dilapidated greenhouse in the back corner.

I walked through the compound to the office. The receptionist was a stout, older woman named Betty. She had a smile that made you smile even if you didn’t want to, and the skin on the underside of her arms jiggled as she typed.

‘You’ll be just fine. The work can be pretty tough, but the guys are all great.’

‘I’ve had some pretty wicked hangovers. This should be a walk in the park.’

‘Oh, Pamela said you were funny!’

I wasn’t sure what she meant.

I was introduced to my boss, Dale, one of the only other white guys working in a labouring role, with skin that wore years of blistering days in the sun in a way that didn’t quite match the more youthful features of his face. He puffed his chest and raised his chin when speaking, seeming to hold the job and its variations in much higher esteem than anybody else there – especially more than the only other member of my new team, Benjamin.

‘Come on, work started two minutes ago,’ Dale yelled to Benjamin as he strode across the courtyard towards us, his hand slapping familiar greetings against the hands of all the other young Black workers he passed.

‘Fix that watch of yours, man. Thing runs fast every morning,’ Benjamin replied as he finally arrived. Dale shook his head, adjusted his hat, and continued gathering equipment.

The island, as far as land maintenance was concerned, was split into four zones, ascending as they moved away from base. Dale’s team was tasked with the fourth and farthest zone.

‘It’s the best zone because we get the least amount of people and it requires the most amount of work, so we get to show up all these lazy fuckers,’ Dale told me.

‘Nah, it’s the best zone because it’s far away and your ass can nap on the way,’ Benjamin chuckled, using all of his gangly frame to launch a leaf blower into our truck’s tray when Dale was out of earshot.

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