Page 104 of Right Place, Right Time
‘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 movieBack 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.’
