Chapter 39
39
After they had all enjoyed one of Ryan’s delicious dinners in the apartment above the station, Ethan called everyone to gather on the sofas and chairs around the fireplace. Paddington the dog settled down in front of the hearth whilst everyone made themselves comfortable.
Ethan had been somewhat surprised when Bob had brought Maggie with him that evening. She too was included as part of the family, showing just how close they had become over the past few months. He was pleased for his dad that he appeared to have found happiness at last.
‘Thank you for a lovely dinner, son,’ said Bob, with a smile, rubbing his full stomach.
‘Remind me to bill my brother for the cost later,’ said Ryan, shooting him a grin. ‘People pay a lot of money for my food.’
‘Only people who don’t share our surname,’ replied Ethan.
‘Well, I enjoyed it too,’ said Libby.
‘It would make it more believable if you didn’t get mates’ rates,’ Ryan told her.
Libby smiled and, for a second, all Ethan could think about was how he had been so close to kissing her in the kitchen before his dad had texted him.
‘So how about we start this meeting,’ said Ryan.
‘Hang on,’ Ethan told them. ‘I’m just about to bring in our star guest.’ He dialled on his phone and, a short while later, Eddie was waving at them all from his hospital bed.
After a few minutes of greetings and blown kisses, Ethan wrangled the meeting back under control.
‘Right,’ he began. ‘We’ve got less than a month to get the Christmas train up and running and I’m going to need all your help and input to get it ready.’
‘When’s the first run?’ asked Katy.
‘The first of December,’ replied Ethan. ‘As it falls on a Saturday.’
‘And what’s the theme?’ asked Ryan. ‘Father Christmas?’
Ethan hesitated. ‘I’m not so sure about that,’ he said. ‘I mean, I know the children will love it, but we want to appeal to everyone.’ He leant back in his chair. ‘So what other Christmassy themes can we think of?’
There was a long silence as everyone thought hard.
‘Any ideas, Grandad?’ asked Ethan, but Eddie merely shook his head in reply.
After another long pause, it was Libby who spoke in a dreamy voice. ‘I always enjoyed The Nutcracker at Christmastime.’
Katy turned to look at her. ‘Isn’t that a ballet?’ she asked.
‘It’s wonderful,’ said Maggie. ‘Really enchanting.’
Libby nodded. ‘Mum took me every Christmas to the theatre in Aldwych.’
‘I never saw it,’ said Katy.
‘It’s Tchaikovsky,’ said Bob in a knowing voice. ‘But I don’t really know the story.’
‘Oh, it’s lovely,’ said Libby, smiling. ‘It’s about Clara whose favourite toy, a nutcracker, comes to life on Christmas Eve.’
‘Thanks to her magician godfather,’ added Maggie. ‘Clara and the nutcracker head off to where there’s a battle against the evil Mouse King. Which they win, of course.’
‘And then they go through the Land of Snow to the Kingdom of Sweets, where there’s lots of celebrations,’ continued Libby. ‘It’s very Christmassy there, with an enormous tree and lots of sparkle and sweets.’
‘Then she wakes up back at home and it was all a dream,’ said Maggie with a dreamy sigh.
‘Except her godfather’s nephew looks just like the nutcracker!’ finished Libby.
‘It’s a very traditional story actually,’ said Maggie. ‘You know, according to German legend, nutcrackers bring good luck and protection to a family and its home.’
Ethan’s immediate thought was that luck and protection was exactly what his family needed at that moment.
‘Then that’s our theme,’ announced Eddie, with a nod.
Ethan looked at him on the camera and smiled. ‘Okay, Grandad. It’s your show.’
Paddington the dog thumped his tail on the floorboards as if he too was confirming his agreement for theme and everyone laughed.
‘So it’s going to be The Nutcracker story?’ asked Ryan, who was frowning. ‘How are you going to fit all that on the train?’
Ethan shook his head. ‘It doesn’t go inside the train, dummy,’ he told him. ‘We can decorate the banks either side of the tracks and light them up into individual scenes.’ There was a gasp of surprise around the table, to which Ethan rolled his eyes. ‘I’m a lighting specialist,’ he reminded them.
‘Oh!’ cooed Libby, her eyes lighting up. ‘So there’ll be a show outside of the train that everyone in the carriages can look at?’
Ethan nodded. ‘That’s the idea.’
Libby screwed her face up in thought. ‘But what about the Kingdom of the Sweets?’ she asked. ‘That’s quite a big bit to fit alongside the railway tracks.’
There was a brief pause where Ethan began to doubt himself. Perhaps it wasn’t right after all. But the talk of protecting one’s family and bringing good luck had struck home with him.
‘The old abandoned station,’ said Eddie, into the short silence.
‘At Cranley? Oh, that’s a great idea, Dad!’ beamed Bob, nodding enthusiastically at the phone.
‘Oh, that would look so pretty all done up!’ said Katy, clapping her hands.
But Libby was frowning. ‘But how are we going to decorate all of this?’ she asked.
‘Mainly with miles of lights but also many assorted decorations. Plus a lot of elbow grease,’ Ethan told her. ‘I need someone to explain to me the various stages of the story so we can plan what it can look like. In a simplified version, of course. Libby? Can I count on you for that?’
‘Yes, sir!’ she said, with a mock salute.
A smile twitched on his lips before he carried on. ‘Someone else needs to check out that old station to see if it’s safe.’
‘We can do that,’ said Bob, looking at Maggie, who was nodding her head in agreement.
‘I’m still not sure what the story entails,’ said Ethan. ‘Not being a great lover of the ballet, that is.’
‘Me neither,’ said Ryan, frowning. ‘So how will any passengers understand what’s going on if they don’t know the story either?’
‘A handout with a description?’ suggested Bob.
‘How will they read it in the semi-darkness?’ replied Libby. She suddenly gave a small gasp. ‘There are speakers in the carriages, aren’t there?’
Ethan nodded. ‘Yup. Why?’
Libby broke into a smile. ‘Then how about we get someone to read out a simplified version of the story over the speakers as the train moves along? It can be pre-recorded so it tallies up with whatever’s outside of the window at the time.’
‘With some of the music playing as well!’ added Maggie, to more murmured agreement.
‘That’s a great idea!’ said Katy. ‘Who’s going to read the story?’
Libby gave them a sheepish smile. ‘Actually, I was wondering if you’d mind if my dad gave it a trial run? He was always good at reading aloud.’
‘That’s a grand idea,’ said Eddie. ‘He was always the narrator at our school concerts. He’s got a smashing voice for that kind of thing.’
Libby looked at Ethan, who nodded his agreement.
‘Then I’ll ask him later,’ she told him.
Ethan was pleased. ‘It sounds as if it’s going to be a bit of a village effort to get this thing ready in time,’ he said.
‘Well, the clue was always in the name,’ said Eddie. ‘After all, it’s the Cranfield Christmas train, isn’t it?’
‘Yes. It is, Grandad.’
Ethan was warmed by his grandfather’s words, as well as the thought of the steam train being a community effort. Not only would it need everyone’s help to get it ready in time for December, in a way, he could see how much it meant to everyone sitting around the table that evening.
He finally understood the legacy that the trains had within his family. He felt it deep inside, woven into his very blood. He couldn’t let anyone down. Not now. Not ever.
And then he had to admit that it meant something to him too. That being born and bred in Cranfield still meant something to him. That not all of the times he spent there were bad. And perhaps there were future happy memories just around the corner as well, he thought as he looked across at Libby and found her smiling back at him.