Page 9 of Autumn in Sycamore Park
‘This was the old square before the newer one over by the theatre,’ Angela said. ‘As you can see, it’s now great fun for kids, a nightmare for joggers. A hundred years or so ago when the park was built, these trees would have been a lot smaller.’ She spread her arms. ‘And this one over here is Big Gerry, the biggest of them all.’
In one corner of the old square, one sycamore tree dwarfed all the others. Three main limbs spread out from a single thick trunk, its circumference greater than half a dozen people holding hands. Its central limb rose skyward, its leaves so high Jennifer couldn’t see the top through the canopy. The right-hand limb extended behind it over the grassy area in the park’s corner, stretching out into a tree-climber’s paradise of snaking branches. The left-hand limb extended out over the corner of the courtyard, but was angling slightly downwards, its droop caused by a crack near to its join with the main trunk.
Angela was beaming. ‘The fourth oldest sycamore in England,’ she said, her voice thick with pride. ‘For all of us Sycamore Park regulars, he’s a kind of god.’
‘What happened to that damaged branch?’
Angela’s smile dropped. ‘A council crane reversed into it back in the spring when they were fixing a telephone cable. ‘And now, with winter on the way, they’re holding a vote on what to do with it. Apparently, erecting a support for the limb is too expensive, and the fear is that the tree is so old other bits might start to fall off.’ Angela scoffed. ‘Bah. As though that could happen. It’s a tree, not a silly building.’
‘So what are they going to do?’
Angela sighed. ‘At the end of October they’re going to cut down the whole thing.’
5
Bad News
‘Hey,how was your day? Tired enough that you’d be interested in a recovery drink tonight at a cocktail bar in town? A few of us are going.’
Jennifer stared at Rick until his smug grin finally dropped. ‘Um, first, my day was fine, apart from Ben Jenner fainting in P.E. and then Gavin Gordon throwing a bowl of custard at Rachel Low at lunchtime. Otherwise, it was pretty good.’
Rick shrugged. ‘Par for the course. So, about that drink? I know a cozy little place just off the high street, candles, jazz music, all that….’
‘I thought a few of you were going?’
Rick shrugged. ‘Well, I mentioned I might be going out to Old Don—’
‘The guy in the tweed jacket and with the comb-over? I’m sure you’ll have a lovely time.’
‘Well, I doubt he’d actually show up—’
Jennifer lifted an eyebrow. ‘So, who else have you asked?’
‘So far, just you.’ Rick lifted a suggestive eyebrow that made him look like something out of a men’s shampoo advert. ‘I like to keep things … close.’
Behind Jennifer, Amy made a throwing up noise. She smiled. ‘Well, I’m kind of busy tonight, but maybe, we’ll see. How about you go and wait there, and maybe I’ll come later. Sound good?’
Rick gave what Jennifer could only describe as a shunned pout. ‘Don’t be late,’ he said. ‘If I wear my Burberry, the seat opposite won’t stay vacant for long.’
‘Not if Don shows up.’
Amy sniggered. Rick looked about to retort, when Greg clapped his hands at the front of the room.
‘Right, everyone, please sit down. Thanks for showing up and not crying off with some doctors’ appointment or other rubbish. I wanted to talk about the harvest festival, due to be held on October 16th. You’ve all been preparing your classes for it, I assume?’
‘Planted pumpkins back in May,’ Rick muttered under his breath. ‘Still waiting for the buggers to fruit.’
‘Well, I’m afraid there’s some bad news. Unless you like a challenge and a bit of adversity, in which case it’s good news.’
‘The postal service finally agreed to take you back?’ grunted Don from near the front. ‘Leaving our ship rudderless?’
Greg rolled his eyes, trying to ignore the sniggers. ‘The school board has decided to resurface the playground this school year, and the only time the contractors are available is from mid-September through October. So unfortunately we can’t use the playground. And the dining hall is out, because preparations would leave us without space for P.E. or assemblies for a couple of weeks. As a result, I’ve spoken to the council, and they’ve suggested we use the community centre on Porter Street.’
‘It’s a caravan!’ Rick shouted. ‘You couldn’t fit one class in that.’
‘It’s a temporary structure, I’m aware,’ Greg said. ‘The old one was unfortunately torn down last year due to damp issues in the walls. However, I’m sure you’re all resourceful enough to pull through.’
Amy sniffed into a handkerchief. ‘My kids have worked so hard,’ she said. ‘They’ve made these lovely little posters, and they were going to do a dance—’
