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The Allotment
- 6th August 2018
- Category : Uncategorised
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Our story of the week is a fatherhood story from the writer Lee Wright.
Lee writes fiction, non-fiction and reviews. He studied under Man Booker winner Alison Moore and is currently taking an MA in Creative Writing at the University of Leicester.
Lee began writing a weekly sports column for the Hinckley Times newspaper in 2008. He published one of his novellas, Forget What You’ve Heard, on Amazon Kindle. Lee’s short story, Seeking Lover, Lonely Mother, was also published by HeadStuff. He has book reviews and author interviews published online here.
In The Allotment, Lee explores the complexity of the father-son relationship.
Enjoy!
‘I have been sitting with the light out for the past hour. My television is on but the sound is down. The girl’s bedroom is opposite my own. Her blinds are not closed and everything is lit up. She is on the bed, watching TV and painting her toe nails, white cotton balls between each, lovely toe. Her mum is a wheelchair user. For two hours this afternoon the girl left her in the garden, with a tartan blanket over her knees.
Through the wall, cackling. I know that laugh. My dad is probably trying to have sex with mum again. I have one cigarette left at the bottom of the sock drawer. I keep a hand over the match and light up, leaning out of the window as I do so. If the girl spots me, I’ll pretend not to be looking.
As I take my second drag on the cigarette, dad bursts through the door; doesn’t give me time to throw it to the ground.
“Put that out before I smack you one.”
Dad was once a featherweight boxer. He retired when I was born, to box my ears instead.
He looks around my room, “Get your shoes,” he says. “I think tonight’s the night.”’ Read more…