Page 96 of Right Place, Right Time
I quickly put the newspaper back on the shelf and follow myself to the door.Little do you know how much your life is about to change.I pause to watch my past self cross through the market. ‘Good Luck …’ I whisper out loud as my past self disappears from view. ‘You’re gonna need it!’
I sigh.Time to go back.
I head back across the market and I’m about to turn into the alleyway, with the intention of returning down the tunnel to Adam, when I pause. I suddenly feel a very strong inclination to go and see what happened in Clockmaker Court that day …
Without thinking about it any further, I quickly head around to the entrance of the courtyard. I lean stealthily up against one of the walls, where I hope I won’t be seen by any of the other shopkeepers, but where, if I peek around the edge, I can still see what’s happening within the court.
I look over to Rainy Day Antiques, with itsClosedsign hanging in the window, just as I left it. Then across to the café – where I can see Rocky wiping down a couple of tables inside. Harriet appears from the café door, so I immediately retract my head as she passes by the entrance. When I take another peek again, I see she has walked across to Luca’s shop, which is quite near to where I am,and they are both standing outside having a conversation. I listen hard to try to pick up what they’re saying.
‘You know where Eve has gone today, don’t you?’ Harriet says after they’ve exchanged pleasantries. ‘To the grandfather’s.’
‘Is that today?’ Luca asks, sounding shocked. ‘I can’t believe it’s finally happening, after all these years of waiting.’
‘If I’m honest, I wish it wasn’t. I have no desire to go back, even if they really do figure this thing out.’
‘What do you think the chances are of that?’ Luca asks, sounding worried. ‘I know that’s what the predictions said. But it’s been so long, Harriet. I quite like living here now.’
‘Well, no one is forcingmeto go back down that tunnel,’ Harriet says stoutly. ‘There is no way I’m leaving my Rocky.’
‘We can’t be forced to do it,’ Luca says. ‘I was under the impression it was always optional whether we wanted to return or not.’
‘Ben wants to go back,’ Harriet says. ‘You know that, don’t you. He’s always been keen. Too keen for my liking. Why would you want to go back to Victorian times when you can live here with hot running water and central heating!’
‘It was Edwardian by then, wasn’t it, where he came from – 1904?’
‘It’s still not 2024, though, is it? It would feel primitive going back to those times again after you’d got used to living here now.’
‘He wants to see if his mother was all right after he left,’ Luca says. ‘I can understand that. I left my friends just before Hitler invaded France in 1940. I have no ideawhat happened to some of them. Or some of my family in Italy. It is very tempting.’
‘At least we know the truth,’ Harriet says. ‘We can make our choiceifthe portal ever begins working again andifthey can control it. What about those who don’t know where they came from?’
Luca pauses before answering and I can only assume he’s nodding since I can’t see him. ‘Do you think they’ll ever tell him?’ he asks.
‘No idea. But I wouldn’t want to go back if I was him. It must be bad enough being in a wheelchair now, let alone back then. Probably best if he never knows. What you don’t know can’t harm you – that’s what they say. And in Barney’s case, I’d say they were right.’
My heart stops beating for a moment, like it had in WHSmith, and again I gasp.Barney is from the past too? He can’t be … can he?
I try to think quickly.Harriet said he didn’t know he was. If so, why doesn’t he? He must have come through the portal when he was very young and he can’t remember? That would fit with what Barney told us about him not remembering his real family, only his adoptive parents. Was he placed with a family when he came through the tunnel by someone?
My mind is racing so much that I don’t realise Luca and Harriet have stopped talking and have retreated back to the warmth of their shops. I shiver – from the cold or from the newfound knowledge I now have, I’m not sure. But I’m suddenly desperate to get back to May 2024 and to Adam.
But as I turn, about to rush back to the alleyway, I almost bump into Ben.
‘Eve,’ he says, smiling at me. ‘What are you doing hanging around here in the cold?’
I can do nothing but stare at him.
‘Are you all right?’ he asks. ‘You must be freezing out here dressed like that. Where’s the lovely green coat you often wear? In fact, didn’t I just see you wearing it a few minutes ago as you crossed the market square?’
‘I …’ I’m lost for words. Partly at this sudden encounter with Ben and partly still at what I’ve just heard.
Ben narrows his eyes. Then, like a lightbulb going off, I see his expression change as his eyes light up.
‘Don’t worry,’ he says, tapping the side of his nose. ‘I get it. I can’t believe it’s going to happen at last, but you’ve obviously made it work. Now go. And I’ll pretend this meeting never happened. OK?’
I nod hurriedly. Then I dash off towards the alleyway.
To my enormous relief, the pallets are still where I left them and the door is still wedged open. I clear the entrance, step back inside the tunnel and pull the two exterior doors closed behind me, replacing the wooden planks across them. Then I step quickly, but cautiously, down the tunnel and knock on the doors at the other end.
