35
A few months later …
A couple of doors along, Harriet and Rocky are just closing up for the day.
Harriet is wiping the countertops and Rocky is turning chairs upside down on top of the tables in their shop so he can sweep the floors underneath.
Harriet is also a lot happier and more relaxed since she told us she wasn’t going back, as though a worry she’s been carrying with her for so long has finally been erased, and she can fully relax and enjoy her life here in the twenty-first century.
Across from me, I can see just Orla is in her shop, sitting behind the till and reading a book – I still haven’t let her read my tarot cards, but Orla doesn’t ask as much any more – she said she was happy that I was on the right path now.
Next door to her is what used to be Ben’s old shop.
I still can’t quite get used to the fact he isn’t there now when I look out onto Clockmaker Court.
Instead I jolt just a tad when I see the unfamiliar shop front of Barney’s new comic-book store.
Barney gave up both his job at the university and working alongside me, and now runs his shop full-time, and I’ve never seen him happier.
He called his shop the Geek Retreat and alongside the many vintage comic books he sells, he’s filled his shop with an eclectic mix of other superhero merchandise that seems to attract quite the mix of new clientele to the court.
Which in turn helps boost the sales of all the other shops alongside his.
Adam and I eventually took the difficult decision of telling Barney where he originally came from.
But much to our surprise, Barney said he already knew, thanks to Ben telling him everything before his departure into the past. Barney, to my enormous relief, decided he was much better staying here, and I wondered if Ben’s gift to Barney of his shop was a shrewd move on his part to encourage Barney to stay in the twenty-first century.
And that left Adam and me.
Adam was finally able to open his bookshop, and for a while, everything in the court, and our lives, calmed down and began to run a little more normally. Throughout the summer, both our shops were busy and profitable, and all the shops in Clockmaker Court began to flourish once more.
The shops weren’t the only thing flourishing.
My relationship with Adam went from strength to strength through the summer too.
We were both busy with our shops, but made sure we always had time for each other, whether that was grabbing a quick lunch together under the oak tree or going on a proper date in the evenings somewhere, usually a pub for a drink or meal.
Everything about being with Adam is relaxed and chilled, and I can’t remember the last time I’ve felt this happy.
There is one thing that I sometimes allow myself to think about, even worry about occasionally, but I try very hard to put it firmly to the back of my mind.
The last thing I want to do is rock the proverbial boat that is sailing so smoothly right now through the waves of my life.
But today, those thoughts that I can usually nip in the bud before they turn to worry are particularly poignant and hard to control.
‘Penny for them?’ A voice makes me jump. And I realise that Adam has left his shop and is standing outside mine watching me.
‘Not worth a penny,’ I say, smiling at him.
‘I’m sure they are,’ Adam says, coming towards me and immediately pulling me into his arms. He tucks a piece of stray hair that’s come loose from my ponytail behind my ear. ‘Fancy telling me about them tonight over dinner?’
‘Let’s skip dinner and go back to mine.’
‘How very forward of you, Miss Sinclair,’ he says, raising his eyebrows. ‘But I won’t say no!’
‘I actually meant let’s get a takeaway and go back to mine. But there might just be time for the other thing afterwards if you play your cards right.’
Adam grins. ‘I’ve already shut up my shop for the day. It’s gone dead quiet since four o’clock. How about you do the same and we’ll head off now.’
‘Yeah, it has. Good idea.’ I give Adam a quick kiss, then pull away from him to begin the process of cashing up for the day.
‘Are you sure you’re all right?’ he asks.
‘Yes, why?’
‘Nothing, you’ve just seemed a bit preoccupied today, that’s all.’
‘I’m fine.’
‘No, you’re not.’ Adam follows me to the shop counter. ‘What’s up?’
I sigh. I struggle to hide anything from Adam, as he does from me.
‘It would have been Ben’s birthday today,’ I say. ‘I miss him most days, but today in particular I’ve found myself thinking about him a lot.’
Adam nods. ‘That’s understandable. We always think about loved ones that little bit more on special days.’
‘Yes.’ I open my till and begin counting the cash. ‘We do.’
‘It’s not just that, is it?’ Adam asks perceptively. ‘There’s something else other than it being his birthday?’
It’s no good. I’ll have to tell him. I put the notes I’m currently counting down on the shop counter. ‘I just find myself wondering what happened to him, that’s all. We never heard anything from him. Anything could have happened when he went back.’
Adam frowns. ‘Were you expecting to hear something from him, then?’
I shrug. ‘Maybe.’ Damn, I’ve lost count now. I’ll have to start again. I pick up the notes.
‘How?’
‘I hoped he might send me a letter or something.’
‘OK … You’re going to have to fill me in a bit more, I’m afraid. How was Ben supposed to send you a letter from 1904, but it not arrive until 2024?’
I swallow hard. It was going to sound silly now.
‘Remember the movie Back to the Future – actually, it was the second film in the trilogy.’
‘Er, yes, vaguely.’
‘Do you remember the part when Doc sent Marty a letter from where he was in the past, and it was delivered many years later?’
‘Yes …’
‘Like that.’
‘You asked Ben to write you a letter to let you know he was OK. Then he was to arrange for it to be kept for nearly a hundred and twenty years, and delivered in 2024?’
‘Yes.’
‘And he hasn’t?’
‘No.’
‘Does it surprise you? Even if Ben did manage to do that, the chances of someone actually keeping that letter for all those years, or for the company he left it with to still be in existence, is incredibly low.’
‘I know it is. But if I had got a letter, at least I would know whether he was all right when he went back. I try not to, but I worry about him, Adam. I wonder what happened to both him and to Dotty. I worry about her too. It feels like we just got to know her a little better and then suddenly she was also gone. Now we don’t talk about her any more. ’
Adam sighs and joins me behind the shop counter. ‘I’d love to say something reassuring to you, to let you know that they were both OK,’ he says, taking my hand. ‘But I’m afraid I can’t. There’s just no way of ever truly knowing what happened, to either of them.’
‘That’s not exactly true …’ I reply coyly.
‘No,’ he says, shaking his head. ‘No way!’
‘You don’t know what I’m going to say!’
‘Oh, I do. You’re going to suggest you use the portal to travel back and check on them – Ben, at the very least. You’re going to say something like, “I won’t stay long. I’ll just pop back, find out what happened, then come straight back again.’”
It is infuriating when Adam does this. But he is spot on.
‘I could do, though, couldn’t I?’ I ask brightly. ‘Just set the portal to a few days after when Ben returned, find him, check he’s all right, then come back.’
‘And there’s no part of you that thinks that could be a tad dangerous?’
‘I’ve done it before and I was fine.’
‘You went back a few months to a date when we both knew what had happened that day. It’s hardly the same as going back to the Victorian era!’
‘Edwardian,’ I say. ‘Have you any better ideas?’
‘Yes, leave the portal well alone. We’ve discussed this before.’
There’s no point in arguing with him. So I begin counting my notes again.
‘Eve? You won’t do anything silly, will you?’
‘No,’ I say, innocently blinking at him. ‘Of course I won’t.’
‘Promise me?’
‘OK. I promise I won’t do anything silly .’
Going back in time is never silly. It is only ever going to be deadly serious.