Page 102 of Right Place, Right Time
‘I will,’ I tell him.
‘It’s true, though – you must not treat this responsibility lightly. You must treat it with the respect it deserves. If you do that, you will never go far wrong.’
The sun moves onto the outside of the building.
‘It’s almost time,’ I say. ‘Are you ready?’
Ben nods and we stand in silence for the next few moments as we watch the sun move to the centre of the building. I hold the brass calendar up so the shade from the tree passes over the Roman numerals set to the exact date in 1904 that Ben has requested to return to.
‘It’s time,’ I tell him.
Ben nods at me, then he turns and gives one final wave to the others behind us, before we both enter the shop together.
The hands on the grandfather clock are spinning backwards as we pass, just like they did before. We go through the door and down the stairs to the office where Adam and Barney are waiting for us.
‘Did it work?’ Adam asks as we enter the office.
I nod silently. The emotion of this moment has suddenly got to me and I know if I don’t hold it together, I’m going to burst into tears.
‘Adam.’ Ben shakes his hand. ‘Your grandfather would be very proud of you. I’m very proud of you too. Look after yourself and Eve, won’t you?’
‘I will,’ Adam says stoutly, but I can hear the emotion in his voice as he speaks. ‘Good luck, Ben.’ They embrace briefly, patting each other’s back.
‘Barney,’ Ben says, reaching into his jacket pocket to pull out an envelope. ‘These are the deeds to my shop. It’s yours if you’d like it.’
‘Really?’ Barney says, looking shocked as he takes the envelope from Ben. ‘Are you sure?’
Ben nods. ‘Perfectly. Do what you want with it. But, if you’d like to open a shop that sells comics, that would make me very happy. And I think possibly you too?’
Barney grins. ‘Oh, yes. That would be amazing. Thank you so much.’
Ben bends down and hugs him. ‘You’ve grown into a fine young man. Clockmaker Court will continue to look after you, if you look after it in return.’
Barney nods. ‘I will, Ben. I promise I will.’
‘Eve,’ Ben says, turning to me.
‘Oh, Ben, I will miss you,’ I say as tears begin to pour down my face as we embrace. ‘You’ve been such a help to me since I came to Clockmaker Court, and not just recently, but all those years before, when I was simply trying to keep the shop going. I don’t know if I could have done it without you.’
‘You would have done,’ he whispers, his voice breaking a little. ‘You’re a true Sinclair, Eve. You don’t give upeasily. Your grandparents were so proud of you. Dotty would have been proud of you too. Never doubt yourself. You are more than up to the challenge that lies ahead. Now, I must go,’ he says, pulling away from me. He ducks his head to go through the wooden doors already open for him, using his cane to support him. Then he turns as he stands up fully in the space on the other side. ‘I bid you all farewell, my friends. It’s been an honour and a pleasure knowing you, and your families. I have a feeling we’ll all meet again one day.’
With one final salute, Ben turns and walks away from us down the tunnel, carrying his top hat in one hand, and his suitcase and cane in the other, and he looks younger and more alive than I think I’ve ever seen him as he disappears into the darkness.
Once he’s out of sight, Adam moves forward and silently closes the doors behind him. Then we wait.
After a moment or two, Barney asks, ‘How long before we see if he’s gone?’
‘I don’t want to look,’ I say, turning away. ‘I want it to have succeeded, of course I do. But I don’t want to think he’s gone for ever.’
Adam waits another minute, then opens the doors once more and calls into the darkness, ‘Ben? Ben, are you still there?’
Silence fills the tunnel. Slowly it filters through to the office.
‘I think he’s gone,’ he says, turning back to us. ‘Back to his right place and his right time.’
35
A few months later …
