Part 11 – Sorting Things Out.
What with Norman leaving and Len having to share a bed with Grandad and having to spend the night in most of his clothes, Len didn’t think he would sleep very well, but he was wrong. They had walked a lot of miles that day, far more than he was used to, and he was tired out by the time they got back to the house.
Arthur showed him into a small room with a bed in it, and not a very big bed at that. He looked round for the bathroom, but there wasn’t one. No toilet either. Grandad took him on one side and showed him the chamber pot under the bed. He had to explain what it was for. LEN WAS APPALLED. No wonder Norman wanted to get back to civilisation. And no wonder it was such a smelly place.
“Where do they empty it all out?” he asked
“You don’t want to know. Just be grateful next time you use the bathroom at home.”
(What Len didn’t know was that things weren’t all that much better in Norman’s little cottage, at least as far as toilets were concerned.)
Finally, he snuggled down under the thick blankets and eiderdown and was asleep in no time at all. He didn’t even stir when Grandad came to bed and had to push him over to the other side so he could get in.
No shower the following morning, just a quick wash, what his Grandad called a “lick and a promise”. Breakfast was mainly yesterday’s cheese sandwiches that were going a bit stale and a couple of cups of really strong tea with no sugar in. Not everything about adventuring was great, he thought to himself. Arthur had gone off to work with a promise to try and finish early and come home to help, so Grandad and Len spread the diagrams and tools out and set to work.
By the time Arthur reappeared, having called at the pie shop on the way back, it was nearly done. The pies smelled wonderful and the three of them sat down with more tea and a pie each, thoroughly happy and with gravy dripping down their chins. Arthur told them about Mr Walker’s sister, Susannah, who was becoming a friend and for whom he clearly had a soft spot. They lived at Clifton House, up the hill on the other side of Wellgate, the street where they had first met Mr Gilbert, and were very wealthy and important people. The house was magnificent.
Len caught Grandad’s eye but didn’t say anything. They both knew that Clifton House was now a museum and its gardens were a public park. But that, of course, depended on just when NOW was.
By mid-afternoon the work was all done and Grandad was confident it would work, since he had added some improvements too. Arthur had been quite helpful and Grandad told him so. Arthur was rather surprised by the praise and appreciation and Len got the impression that not many people had been kind to him in the past.
Getting ready to go, they draped a cloth over the STITCH machine, so it didn’t look too out of place and set off back up the hill, Arthur and Grandad carrying it between them. When they got to where they had left Norman the night before, Len looked around. It was a lonely place and he was impressed again with how brave Norman had been up here in the dusk on his own. He resolved to tell him so the next time he saw him.
They put the machine down at the side of the road, near the big tree. It was just a lane really but quite busy, as it was one of the main roads into town, and they had to wait a few minutes until there was no-one about to see them go. Len expected Arthur to say goodbye at this point but instead, he took hold of one of the handles, as Grandad took the other.
“Come on, lad. Look sharp before a crowd gathers.” muttered Grandad. Len grinned, as there wasn’t anyone to be seen in any direction. He glanced at Arthur and then at Grandad.
“He’s coming with us on this one.”
Len shrugged and took hold of the handle, closed his eyes, waited for nothing to happen and opened them again. They were still at the side of a road, but it didn’t look like Norman’s time at all. The road was wider and had a tarmac surface, not just a dusty lane anymore and the huge old tree was a broken stump. Len was puzzled, was this really 1920 or had they accidentally arrived in a different time? Then a lorry went past, an army lorry and Len knew this wasn’t 1920. Without a word of explanation, Arthur and Grandad set off up the hill and, when they got to the top, Len could see the wall that surrounded the big house.
Standing leaning against the gate was a familiar figure, it looked like Eric, Norman’s big brother, waving a scrap of paper at them.
“Hello Len.” He said with a big grin, “Don’t you know me?”
And then Len gasped with shock. It was Norman, not Eric. They had come back to a time when Norman was a grown up. A grown up in a smart blue/grey uniform. Before Len could say anything, Norman turned to Arthur,
“Come along sir, I’ll take you in.” and with a brief smile and a wave at Len, he walked with Arthur up to the big house. Len turned to Grandad and put his hands on his hips.
“What’s going on? When is this? This is not when we were supposed to be coming to. Why did we come here? How are we getting back?“ He was actually quite angry, mainly at being kept in the dark. It wasn’t like Grandad to be secretive with him. Grandad sat on the wall and patted the place next to him. He sighed and started to explain.
“When I was talking to young Arthur about staying back then, you know, in 1820, I kept thinking about his poor old mum, waiting all those years and him never going home and her never seeing him again and I kept thinking how I would feel if I never saw you again. Well, “ he said, rubbing his hand across his eyes, “It didn’t seem right to me and I told him so.
So Arthur has agreed to come back just once to see her before she dies, which, by my guess, is quite soon. I couldn’t remember the exact date so I hope we haven’t missed her. (It’s a good job your Grandma did all that research or I wouldn’t have had a clue.) He insisted on coming back later rather than sooner, so that’s what I’ve done. I’ve set him up with a mini to get him back to 1820, and he has promised to destroy it as soon as he gets back. Then you and I are using this STITCH to get back to 1920, to see Neil, Norman and Grandma, with any luck, and then, my lad, we are going home to our NOW for a nice cup of tea and a bath.”
He sighed. “As for when this is, it’s 1940. Norman is a mechanic in the RAF on home leave before being posted abroad. “ He looked sheepishly at Len. “Do you remember when Neil brought the tape round to our house, we only listened to one but there were two tapes? Well, Grandma and I listened to the other tape that Norman made, so we had a bit of an idea about what was going to happen. That’s why I didn’t try too hard to get Arthur to come back to 1920 with us. “
They sat quietly thinking for a while and Len really did have quite a lot of thinking to do. Norman as a grownup had been quite a surprise. He was just about to ask Grandad if Norman would survive the war alright when he realised, yes, of course he did, or he wouldn’t have been able to leave the tape. This time travel was all very well but it led to some quite complicated thinking.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I don’t know. I think I just thought the fewer people, the better.”
Len nodded. He still felt a bit annoyed but he could see the point. Keeping track of who did what when wasn’t easy.
Possibly an hour had gone by and Len was starting to feel hungry yet again, when they heard quiet voices behind them. Norman and Arthur were walking back up the drive towards them. Arthur looked as if he might have been crying and was very subdued.
“I’ll get straight back, I think, if you don’t mind. There’s nothing for me here. ” he muttered. He turned to shake hands with Norman, then Len and, finally, with Grandad. “I owe you a lot. You helped me find my place in this world, even if you didn’t mean to, and you helped me make peace with my mother. I’m not sorry I stole your machine, although I do apologise for the trouble it has caused you. I won’t forget you.” and before anyone could answer, he turned away and walked quickly down the hill. As he drew level with the stump of the old tree, he put his hand in his pocket, straightened his shoulders and, without breaking step, disappeared forever.
Magratscraft 