It is a cold, cold morning in Cheltenham. People everywhere are calling in sick or telling their employers that they have no choice but to work from home.
One woman, in particular, is on the phone with her husband begging him not to drive in the weather. Julie is expecting and is at the stage of her pregnancy where she can no longer work. All she can do now is look after her body and do everything in her power to ensure the baby has a healthy last few weeks in the womb. She also has a significant amount of time on her hands to worry about her husband, who is well known for making dangerous decisions with no regard for his very fragile life.
While on the phone to her husband, she begged him to turn around. To come home. Not to visit the hardware store in the Cheltenham area, the one just off that busy main road. She told him it wasn’t worth it and that if she had to raise their baby without a father because he was too stubborn to admit this was dangerous driving weather, then she would be mad at him forever. Unsurprisingly, based on his actions throughout their entire relationship, her husband refused to turn around. He insisted that they were in absolutely desperate need of a new batch of timber supplies. Cheltenham shops were so close to their house that he wouldn’t be long at all, he tried to reassure her. It was clear by her tone of voice that she was not reassured, but he was a grown man and she couldn’t force him to drive home to her. She just had to sit and wait for him to hopefully arrive home safely and even though she was not a religious woman, she would pray for his safety too. Julie knew that you could never be too careful when there’s a baby on the way.