Road Traffic

Road traffic

Leaning against an orange cone with a drooping head and a overfilled
cup of soup, Joseph felt the familiar breeze of motorway traffic
speeding past, just a few inches from his side. In the distance the sky
was starting to tear burnt red, yet the strongest colour of the land
was still the tangerine peel lights flashing all around him. To his
back was a giant warning sign where hundreds of light bulbs came
together in one giant arrow, successfully herding the traffic around
him. Without his glasses on and with tired eyes, Joseph watched his
coworkers lethargically packing up in front of him, his blurred vision
casting them as giant Lego men, all wearing matching orange work
jackets. The continual orange on black of the night's work was as
familiar to Joseph as the relief he felt when he reached his bedspread
in the morning. The days work was almost over for Joseph, just as the
sun was attempting to rise.

Drop by drop the dew was blown from the grassy hard shoulder onto the
inside lane and as the Audi sped from the slip road onto the motorway,
there was a spongy feeling between the wheels and the tarmac. Her hands
gripped the cold steering wheel and it slowly froze her but her eyes
darted anxiously from road to clock and back to road. She was late and
she hated herself for it, for falling asleep there but constantly
tinged by the suppressed guilt that only infidelity could cause. She
had set the alarm and she knew not to lie in his arms but the warmth
had been too much for her, she felt drunk without having had a drink
and the only thing which stirred her was the droning, battered alarm
clock. He would soon return and her second life would be discovered.
She felt so cold.

Joseph finished his soup and was left looking into the bottom of the
cup, the stains reminding him that no one cleaned anything in this work
force, leaving him with the familiar regret at having eaten anything.
The men in front of him were collecting the tools and it was his turn
to collect the temporary signs. Trying to decide whether you ate or
drank soup, Joseph crossed the light traffic to the central
reservation, gathering the closure signs as he went.

For the third time she tried to turn the heating control up only to
remember it was as far around as possible. Fifteen more minutes and he
would be home, less if he was driving. Her heart rate was painfully
fast in her neck and she wondered why she did this to herself.

As she changed lanes her wet foot slipped off the accelerator and she
felt the back of the car skid out. A thick blockage stopped her lungs
and she couldn't breathe in panic. Keeping calm in the split second she
turned into the slight skid, luckily the ground wasn't slippery enough
to force the rear further out. She sighed a short relief. Joseph
grabbed the last road sign and turned quickly back to the others to see
them getting into the van. A large orange arrow blurred past the car
and Joseph caught a glimpse of the Audi.

There were small sounds as he felt impact. The absorbent tires squashed
into the ground and Joseph felt it in his legs. Then in his chest as
his stomach pushed up through to his neck. He felt a giant uppercut
rise from his ankles to his chin gutting him inside. Everything in the
car was silent and slow. She broke hard and felt what seemed like a
rolling log pass over the car as she plowed into the orange cones
coming to a stop. No pulse and no breath she quickly got out and in the
silence she could hear faint voices getting closer.

She stood over him and mouthed "Joseph". He looked at her with numbed
eyes and wondered why she wasn't at home in bed.