Chapter 44
44
‘Here we are, Grandad,’ said Ethan, as he helped Eddie up the front path to the cottage.
Eddie nodded and smiled as he carefully stepped over the threshold into the small cottage that he shared with his son Bob. He looked around at the small front room before he went over to sit down in his high-back armchair with a satisfied nod.
‘Here you go, Dad,’ said Bob, coming out of the kitchen with a mug. ‘Thought you might need a cup of tea after all the excitement this morning.’
Eddie had been discharged from the hospital earlier that day and Ryan and Ethan had gone to pick him up. The good news was that he was mobile once more. Taking his time, he could dress himself slowly, as well as manage a little walk each day. However, the doctor had advised that he would continue to be very tired for some considerable time, but that was entirely normal.
Eddie looked at the cup of tea that had just been placed next to him and nodded. ‘It’s good to be home,’ he said.
‘Good to have you home,’ said Bob, sitting down on the other armchair. ‘And you’ll be glad to have some home cooking, I reckon. Maggie’s popped round with a delicious cake for later.’
‘And I’ve left a lasagne in the fridge for you both,’ added Ryan.
‘Thanks, lad,’ said Eddie, nodding.
‘You’ll be glad to know that I haven’t cooked anything for you,’ added Ethan, with a grin.
‘Which is another blessing for a speedy recovery,’ said Bob, with a wink.
‘But I’ve got some great plans for the Christmas train and the preparations are going well,’ said Ethan.
‘Good, good,’ murmured Eddie, in a sleepy tone.
Ethan could see that he was starting to fall asleep and so he and Ryan quietly left the room.
‘It’s to be expected,’ said Bob, giving them both a hug. ‘And now that he’s home, he’ll rest better. Nobody can sleep properly in a hospital with all those alarms going off at all hours.’
‘Of course,’ said Ethan.
He was disappointed not to have had the opportunity to show his grandad what they had planned for the Christmas train, but perhaps Eddie didn’t need to know everything down to the last detail. Ethan just needed to ensure that it was a great show and he felt the heavy weight of responsibility even more keenly.
‘And how’s our Christmas train coming along?’ asked Bob. ‘I’m afraid I’m going to have to keep an eye on your grandad for a while, so I won’t be able to help as much as I’d like.’
‘That’s more important than the train,’ said Ethan. ‘Anyway, it’s all in hand.’
‘I’ll text you later, Dad, to see how it’s gone with Grandad today,’ added Ryan. ‘And to let you know what time to put the lasagne on.’
Then they both left.
Ethan exchanged a look with his brother once the front door had closed behind them.
‘You heard what they said at the hospital,’ said Ryan, as they walked down Railway Lane towards the station. ‘He’ll pick up again energy-wise soon, I’m sure.’
Ethan nodded.
‘And is it all in hand?’ asked Ryan.
Ethan grimaced. ‘Just as soon as I find another six hours in the day, it’ll be fine,’ he told him.
It turned out that Joe’s drone shots worked really well once they were uploaded onto the new website.
‘Too well,’ said Ethan, with a grimace as he leant against the doorframe of the kitchen in Platform 1 a while later, with a much-needed coffee in his hand.
‘How can generating publicity be a bad thing?’ asked Ryan, stirring the tomato sauce base for his pizzas on the hob.
‘Because we’re getting plenty of bookings,’ Ethan told him.
Ryan looked confused. ‘Yeah, I’m still not with you, bro,’ he replied. ‘Don’t you need passengers to make it a success?’
‘Yes, but it just adds to the pressure for it to be perfect,’ Ethan told him. ‘Let’s not forget the disaster of the Halloween train.’
Ryan blew out a sigh. ‘Not sure any of us will ever forget that train. Talk about giving us nightmares.’ He looked at Ethan. ‘Listen, don’t put yourself under too much pressure.’
‘Too late for that,’ said Ethan, still looking at the steam engine website. The bookings were clocking up by the hour, it felt.
Not only was the website showing off the train to its best advantage, his dad had gone to the Cranbridge News office and all the local news and radio was flooded with excitement regarding the Christmas train. There was no going back now.
Ryan was still watching him with concern. ‘What’s going on inside that tiny brain of yours?’ he asked.
Ethan blew out a sigh. ‘I just don’t want to let anyone down,’ he told him.
‘Grandad’s home and on the mend,’ replied Ryan. ‘I think the thought of the Christmas train is getting him through each day, to be honest.’
That didn’t help Ethan’s nerves. But it wasn’t just his grandad that concerned him. ‘I don’t want to let dad down again either,’ he finally blurted out.
‘Again?’ asked Ryan, looking non-plussed.
Ethan hesitated. They never spoke about things like this. Anything serious, certainly not their parents’ fake marriage. But being at home in Cranfield for all this time had brought everything to the forefront of his mind.
‘I’ve just always felt like I let him down by not telling him about Mum,’ muttered Ethan.
Ryan switched off the hob and wiped his hands on a nearby dishcloth. ‘Yeah. I know,’ he finally said, blowing out a long sigh.
‘So what if I stuff up another train run?’ carried on Ethan. ‘I can’t break his heart all over again.’
‘You won’t!’ said Ryan, running a hand through his hair. ‘After all, you’re the one who’s keeping his dream alive. Me?’ He shrugged his shoulders. ‘I just spruced up the station a bit.’
‘You did more than that,’ Ethan told him. ‘It’s a great business and means that the station didn’t have to be sold. It’s a family home forever now.’
‘Yeah, yeah.’ Ryan sighed again. ‘But the trains? That was always your thing with Dad and Grandad.’
‘Only because I’m rubbish at cooking.’
They both exchanged a small smile.
‘Listen,’ began Ryan. ‘We both felt as if we needed to make amends for what happened in our childhood. We were young and stupid back then. We didn’t know better.’
‘You were more stupid,’ said Ethan, with a small smile before he saw the look in his brother’s eyes. ‘Sorry. Serious tone. Got it.’
‘You’re punishing yourself for something that wasn’t our fault,’ carried on Ryan. ‘You’re being too hard on yourself. You need to forgive yourself and move on. They were the grown-ups, not us. But all the guilt somehow fell on our shoulders and that wasn’t right.’ He hesitated before carrying on. ‘I’ve talked to Katy a lot about this.’
For a moment, Ethan wished that he too had someone that he could share that kind of thing with and realised that he did with Libby.
Ryan carried on. ‘But Mum and Dad are both happy now. Be thankful for that. And maybe you’ll start to be happy too. If I can move on, and Mum, and Dad too, then surely you can as well?’
Ethan knew that his brother was right.
‘I’ll try my best.’ Ethan took a moment before carrying on. ‘And in that spirit, I’m going to need some kind of snacks to serve on the train or beforehand. And I was thinking of course that you would be the perfect person. Superb chef. Gifted. Flavours of food like you wouldn’t believe…’
‘Listen, I’d love to help you out, bro, for Dad and Grandad as well as you,’ said Ryan. ‘But I’m swamped here. You know, with my full-time coffee shop and pizzeria. Now Katy’s got a grand new idea for Christmas dinners too.’
‘I know, but we need this to make it the best Christmas train ever,’ Ethan told him, before pulling out the ultimate guilt card. ‘And Grandad needs this.’
‘That’s pure bribery,’ said Ryan, before his shoulders sagged. ‘Fine. I’ll see what I can do.’
‘See? This is why you’re my favourite brother,’ said Ethan.
‘If I wasn’t your only brother, I’d be more flattered,’ muttered Ryan. ‘Get out of here.’
Ethan just managed to duck out of the doorway before the tea towel whistled past his head.