Chapter 22
22
Ethan had woken up feeling uncomfortable but happier than the first time in ages.
For a brief second, as he had realised where he was, he had relished having Libby in his arms. But then the train had begun moving and reality had brought them both down to earth with a large bump.
She was completely stressed about being stuck on there, but there was nothing he could do or say to calm her down.
Except for a brief moment, sitting together on the long seat, when the familiarity between them had returned. He had been unable to stop himself reaching out to take her hand in his. As always, the pain that she suffered was his to share. They had been through so much together when they had been growing up. It was only when they had become adults with real grown-up feelings that the problems had begun, he realised.
Finally, the train stopped at Cranley junction so that they could turn around and Ethan took the opportunity to leap out of the carriage and rush along the track to see who was there.
He was concerned about his dad and grandad taking the train out by themselves as it was quite a responsibility to ensure the safety of the train and the surrounding area near the tracks.
Bob was just climbing down from the driver’s cab to change the points so that the train could return to the station when he looked up with a start. ‘What are you doing here?’ he asked, looking around his son, seemingly to see if there were another train somewhere on the track.
‘We hitched a ride unexpectedly,’ Ethan told him.
‘ We ?’ asked Bob, his grey eyebrows rising up in amazement.
Ethan moved out of the way so Bob could see Libby climbing down from the carriage to carefully make her way along the tracks.
Dodgy Del poked his head out of the driver’s cab and grinned down at his cousin. ‘Good morning,’ he said, as if there were nothing wrong with suddenly seeing Ethan standing in the middle of the railway line.
‘Del! I might have known,’ said Ethan, with a heavy sigh. ‘What on earth are you doing up there?’
‘Driving the train,’ said Del. ‘Uncle Bob here promised me that I could have a go.’
Ethan was horrified and stared at his dad.
‘Your grandad’s having a lie-in and I couldn’t get hold of you on your mobile,’ added Bob in a pointed tone. ‘So I figured you’d overslept.’
‘We did, sort of,’ said Ethan, flicking a glance at Libby.
‘Good morning, Bob,’ she said, with a soft smile. ‘We accidentally hitched a ride in one of the carriages.’
‘What were you doing in there then?’ asked Del.
‘We wanted to see how smooth your handling of the train was,’ replied Ethan, looking at his dad. ‘Please tell me he didn’t go anywhere near the gauges or actually anything that works.’
Bob shook his head. ‘He just shovelled the coal,’ he replied.
‘Would have preferred doing the steering, to be honest,’ said Del, who was looking a bit grimy and sweaty.
‘And I’d have preferred you well away from our train,’ Ethan told him.
‘I didn’t touch nuffink,’ said Del quickly.
Ethan narrowed his eyes in response to his cousin’s guilty tone of voice.
‘Well, maybe just the whistle,’ carried on Del. ‘Anyway, what were you two doing back there?’ he asked with a cheeky grin. ‘Having a bit of alone time, were you?’
His lips curled into a leer, which made Libby give an exaggerated shudder.
‘Just leave it, Del,’ she snapped. ‘The last thing I need this morning is your innuendo.’
‘My what?’ asked Del. ‘Is that the new slang or summink?’
Libby rolled her eyes. ‘How about we get back to Cranfield?’ she asked. ‘I’ve got a lot on my to-do list this morning.’
So Ethan helped with changing the points on the track before they all clambered into the driver’s cab and began the journey back to the station.
Libby shivered with the cold early-morning air and Ethan offered her his coat to wear, which she took from him gratefully.
Ethan let Dodgy Del shovel the coal whilst he stood next to the open door with Libby. As the pace of the train increased, so did the noise in the cab. They almost had to shout to be heard above the din. The faster it went, the more coal needed shovelling. Which left Ethan and Libby on one side.
‘It feels as if we’re flying,’ she said, her eyes sparkling with wonder as they sped along the tracks.
She looked relaxed for the first time that morning.
He smiled down at her, close enough to see the thickness of her eyelashes against her blue eyes.
She gave a start as they went past an old abandoned station. ‘What’s that?’ she shouted.
‘The old station at the far end of Cranley,’ he told her loudly.
‘It shut down the same time as our one in Cranfield,’ added Bob.
‘So why does it look in worse condition?’ asked Libby, with a frown. The tiny station office was looking very dilapidated and uncared for.
‘Because there wasn’t a family like ours living in it,’ said Ethan without thinking.
He gave a start. It was true, he realised. The station in Cranfield had been a warm and loving family home. There had been happy times, he reminded himself. If he searched long enough, he could recall opening his Christmas stocking with Ryan. Big family dinners, full of loved ones long since gone. But those happy memories were few and far between and the usual rows and arguments overcrowded them until he could barely remember anything but the daily arguments and tension.
He took a deep breath to rid himself of the past, but it was hard when Libby was standing so close to him. The sweet memory of holding her in the darkness the previous evening lingered in his consciousness, a strand of her pale long blonde hair on his jacket. He stood close to her all the way back, not really noticing the glorious views or even what Dodgy Del was saying in his excitement about the train.
All too soon, Bob slowed the train down until they were crawling past the old school and then along the platform, past the back gardens of the cottages.
With a hiss of steam and water, the steam engine finally ground to a halt.
‘That was amazing,’ said Del, the whites of his eyes gleaming in his pink, soot-covered face.
Ethan looked down at Libby, who was still standing close to him. He raised his eyebrows in question at her.
‘It was okay,’ she said, before breaking into a grin as she looked at Bob. ‘Better than okay, actually. It was wonderful.’
‘Thought you’d enjoy it, love,’ said Bob, smiling back at her.
They all clambered down onto the platform, a few interested people had come out of Platform 1 to view the vast steam engine as it had pulled up outside the coffee shop.
Along with them was Katy, holding a handbag and coat.
‘Good morning,’ she said to them all. ‘Libby, I believe these are yours.’
‘Thanks,’ muttered Libby, blushing.
‘Do you want a coffee and to tell me all about it?’ asked Katy in a pointed tone, flicking her eyes between Ethan and Libby.
‘Later,’ Libby told her. ‘Can I use your bathroom? I’ve got soot in my eyes.’
With that, she rushed off, leaving the rest of them on the platform.
Whilst Bob answered a few questions from the customers and Dodgy Del declared himself the deputy driver, eager to take all the credit, Katy wandered over to Ethan.
‘So, how did Libby end up on the train this morning? And why was her handbag and coat still abandoned on the platform?’ she asked.
‘I never kiss and tell,’ Ethan replied her, with a winning grin.
She shook her head, but he could tell she was smiling as she walked away.
He too was smiling. Were he and Libby closer after their unexpected trip along the railway tracks? Maybe, just maybe, he decided.
And that hope that they might become friends again was even more precious than the successful first run of the steam engine with the railway carriages.