by Jason Ayres
“There you go, I knew it!” exclaimed Andy. “First-name terms! I knew there was something going on between you two!”
He turned to the bar, seeking confirmation from the landlord, who had just appeared, called downstairs by one of the stressed barmaids to help man the pumps. “Didn’t I say so, Craig?”
“Did you?” said Craig. “I don’t remember that. But then, quite honestly, most of what you say goes in one ear and out the other these days. It kind of gets a bit repetitive after a while.”
“I bet you a tenner they were having an affair,” replied Andy. “Come on, pay up.”
“I don’t remember that,” said Craig.
“You must do,” protested Andy. “Nobby was here when we made the bet, he’ll back me up.”
“Well, he’s not here, now, is he?” replied Craig.
“He’s gone to Towcester Dogs, tonight,” said Andy. “He’s got a dead cert running there. Apparently he got it off that bloke who sells those dodgy TV boxes at Finmere market.”
“Who? Nobby or the dodgy TV box guy?” replied Craig.
As they continued their argument, Andy’s attention was drawn away from Kay and Kent, who hadn’t said anything for the past couple of minutes. He was just standing there with a resigned look on his face, shaking his head slightly at the usual pointless banter going on all around him.
Kay glanced towards the front window of the pub where there was a small table with two chairs free. Two teenage girls were getting up from the table, draining the last of their drinks and putting on their coats. The table wouldn’t last long, not on a Saturday. She needed to make a beeline for it before anyone else grabbed it.
“Just ignore them,” said Kay. “Come on, Richard, come over here for a minute. I want to ask your advice on something.”
She saw him looking at her and hoped that he would take her seriously. She wasn’t drunk yet, after all, and hadn’t acted like the desperate, middle-aged tart she had probably come across as in the recent past.
“Come on, then,” he agreed. “I could do with a break from this idiot.”
They managed to get away from Andy unnoticed, as he was still trying to wheedle money out of Craig. Their getaway was timely, as the punky barmaid had decided enough was enough and had intervened between Craig and Andy, desperate to try and get Craig to serve some customers. Kay had noticed that the landlord didn’t seem to be that bothered with doing much in the way of work recently. His heart really didn’t seem to be in the place anymore.
They made it to the table, just before a couple of fat blokes in Oxford United shirts bagged it and sat down.
“What’s all this about, Kay?” asked Kent, looking a little wary. “I don’t want those two up there gossiping about us. If it gets back to Debs it’ll be my chestnuts roasting on an open fire this Christmas.”
“Relax,” replied Kay. “I’m not after your body. Well, not in this universe anyway.”
Kent noticeably perked up at this. “What do you mean by that?” he asked. She had clearly caught his attention.
“Well, the thing is,” she began. “I’ve been thinking about that conversation we had a few weeks ago about the end-of-term ball. Do you remember? When I told you how Glen tricked me into letting him take me to the ball instead of you?”
“Yes,” replied Kent, leaning forward intently. “Go on.”
“Well, I know it was all a long time ago,” she said. “But you must remember that night.”
“As it happens, I remember it better than you can possibly imagine,” said Kent. “But perhaps not in the same way that you do,” he added cryptically.
Now it was Kay’s interest that was piqued. What did he mean by that? she wondered. It was an odd remark, but she decided to put it to one side for the moment and press on with what she wanted to say.
“Well, have you ever considered how different our lives might have been if things had taken another path?” she asked. “What would have happened if you had taken me to the ball instead of Glen?”
Now he was looking extremely interested. He looked her intently in the eye and paused to consider his words before he spoke again.
“I have thought about it a great deal, as it happens,” he replied. “More than you can possibly know. But what I’m more interested in right now is your sudden interest in the subject – in particular, why?”
She hadn’t expected him to show this much interest. Encouraged by it, she continued on, eager to see what his response would be to her next question.
“Well, let’s just say, for argument’s sake, that I could go back in time to that day, ditch Glen and go to the ball with you instead. Do you think we would have got it together? I don’t just mean on that night, but afterwards, too. Like boyfriend and girlfriend? I know if you had wanted to, I wouldn’t have said no.”
“I can’t believe you’re asking me this,” said Kent, the look on his face now bordering on the incredulous. “It’s just too big a coincidence.”
“What is?” asked Kay.
“What you are talking about doing – going back in time. What put that thought in your head? Or should I perhaps say who? Someone who may have offered you a chance to go back? Someone like a friendly angel, perhaps?”
Kay couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“How could you possibly know that?” she asked.
“Because I’ve met him, too,” replied Kent.
Chapter Eight
December 2018
“Him?” asked Kay. “Don’t you mean her?”
“Of course,” said Kent. “He would be a she in your case. If it’s anything like what happened to me, he, or rather she, will appear as a younger version of you.”
“Yes,” said Kay, overjoyed to hear that she wasn’t the only one. “That’s exactly what happened. I have met her and she looks like I was when I was about nineteen. She’s offered me the chance to go back in time and relive some past days. I’ve been back once already.”
Over the next few minutes, Kay excitedly poured out everything that had happened so far. When she had finished, Kent confirmed that he, too, had met the angel, been given the same offer, and already completed his six trips back through time. He was just as excited as she was to find another time traveller and was now eager to share some of his experiences with her.
“I’m so glad to find out I’m not alone with all of this anymore,” he said. “I didn’t feel able to speak to anyone else about this, either when it was happening, or since. How could I have done? People would have thought I was going mad.”
“That’s what I thought, too. But it’s alright now,” said Kay. “We can talk to each other. You must tell me all about it. How long ago did it happen?”
“It was only about a month ago,” said Kent. “It started the day I lost my job. I was feeling pretty suicidal at the time and couldn’t see the point of carrying on. I was up on the roof of Sainsbury’s car park and thinking about jumping off. Then the angel just appeared out of nowhere. I didn’t even recognise myself at first. Funny, isn’t it? You don’t notice your body changing from day to day, but when you look at yourself twenty-five years ago it’s quite a shock to see how much age has taken its toll.”
“Tell me about it,” said Kay, understanding exactly what he meant after comparing the vision of loveliness that was her earlier self with her ragged current appearance. “So let’s hear some more about your trips. How did you decide what days to go back to? I’m still trying to figure out what to do with mine.”
Kent related a few tales from his trips back through time, making Kay chuckle with the story of how he had stuck the head of a large, plastic dinosaur up his evil boss’s arse.
“I would have loved to have seen that,” she said, thoughts of Alan and McVie suddenly springing to mind. “I can think of one or two people I wouldn’t mind doing something similar to myself.”
Her mind was opening up to all manner of possibilities. Discovering that she had a kindred spirit in Kent had been a welcome and
unexpected development. The yearning she felt towards him was stronger than ever, but it was more than that now. There was a new and unique bond between them. He was her co-conspirator, and her partner in time. She intended to make the most of it.
Kay decided it was time she brought the subject back around to the day of the ball, since that was what she had originally come to talk to him about.
“So, in terms of which days to choose, I’m seriously considering going back to live the day of the ball over again. The reason I want to ask you about this is that it directly concerns you. I want to see if I can change things on the day so that it is you who takes me to the ball rather than Glen. How would you feel about that?”
Kent paused, clearly deep in thought about how he should respond.
“OK, I’ll be honest with you,” he said. “I’ve already been there. Just like you, I wondered how that day might have turned out differently, so it was one of the days I chose.”
“What happened?” asked Kay, eager to hear more.
“I’m not sure I should say,” he said. “I don’t think I ought to influence what you do when you go back there. You should follow your own path.”
“But you already know how it all turned out,” she said. “At least you can tell me if it’s worth my while going back there. If you don’t want to take me to the ball, or you didn’t want to back then, then I’d be wasting my time.”
“I did want to take you to the ball,” replied Kent. “That’s not exactly what I meant, though. You see, I know how it turned out for me when I went back. But remember, you’ll be going back to a completely new version of that day, not the one that I went back to.”
Kay nodded, remembering what the angel had said. “I see what you mean,” she said. “The angel creates a copy each time she sends us back. In effect, this will be a third version of the day, different both from the original and from the one you experienced on your trip.”
“That’s exactly right,” said Kent. “As soon as you get there, things will start to deviate from what happened on my visit because it will be you changing things this time, rather than me.”
“It’s very complicated, all of this,” replied Kay. “So, just to clarify, I will be starting the day with a clean sheet of paper. That means it doesn’t matter if you tell me what you did on your trip because it won’t be that version of you that I encounter.”
“You’re right, it won’t be that version,” said Kent. “At no point are we going to meet up in the past both remembering all of this. When you get there, you will meet my blissfully unaware seventeen-year-old self who will know nothing about any of this. That gives you a significant advantage over me, and everyone else, come to that.”
“It’s not like you didn’t have that advantage when you went back, though, was it?” asked Kay. “And knowing how I felt about you…how I still feel about you, it wouldn’t have been difficult for you to take advantage of me. Not that I would have minded, obviously.”
“I hardly think I was taking advantage of you,” said Kent. “From what I recall it was you coming on to me.”
“So something did happen then?” exclaimed Kay, enthusiastically.
“Look, you’ve wheedled enough information out of me already,” said Kent. “We probably shouldn’t even be having this conversation – it might contravene the angel’s rules, not that he’s particularly forthcoming on that front. All I’m willing to say at this stage is that I went back there to fix things so that I would be your ball date, rather than Glen. What happened after that I want to keep to myself, at least until you return. Just follow your feelings, enjoy the moment and let things happen naturally.”
“That’s good enough for me,” she said. “By the way, how did you get rid of Glen?”
“Let’s just say he was indisposed and leave it at that,” replied Kent. “Don’t worry: I didn’t bump him off or anything.”
“I’ll need to get rid of him as well,” said Kay. “Any suggestions?”
“I’m sure you’ll think of something,” replied Kent. “He’s not as clever as he thinks he is, and you’ve got all that life experience that he won’t have back then.”
“You’re right, he was all brawn and no brains,” said Kay. “I’ll get him out of the picture, no problem.”
“Right, that’s all I’m telling you – for now, at least,” said Kent. “We’ll compare notes when you come back.”
“Thank you,” replied Kay, gratefully. “Will you be in here again tomorrow night? I’m meeting the angel again in the morning, and that’s when I’m planning to make the trip.”
“I wasn’t planning on coming down here tomorrow,” replied Kent. “Debs doesn’t like me going out on Sunday nights. But I am keen to hear how you got on, so I shall try and find a reason to pop down for a bit. And now we really should be getting back to the bar before Andy tells the whole pub we are having an affair.”
He drained the last of his pint and got up from the chair, eager to replenish his glass.
“I’ve often imagined what it would be like if we were,” said Kay, instantly regretting it when she saw the irritated look that crossed Kent’s face.
“Look, Kay, we need to get one thing clear. Whatever might happen in the trip you are about to take to the past, it’s not going to change anything here. I’m happy to be your friend, especially now we’ve discovered what we have in common, but you must stop thinking we might get together in the future.”
“I know,” she said. “I’m sorry. I just keep thinking about how different our lives might have been if it hadn’t been for Glen wrecking our chance all those years ago.”
“Look, just go to the day of the ball and enjoy whatever happens. That’s all you can do. Seize the moment.”
Kay agreed and the two of them returned to the bar. They had nothing to worry about where Andy was concerned. He was still perched on his stool, now boring a couple of young women who were waiting to get served with his usual fabricated tales about his non-existent rockstar past.
Kay didn’t linger in the pub for once, wanting to get a decent night’s sleep. She also didn’t feel like getting out of her skull to drown her sorrows, as for once she didn’t have any. Instead of needing to blot out the misery of her seemingly futile existence, there was suddenly plenty to feel enthusiastic about. She was going on a series of adventures through her own past and life seemed full of possibilities again.
She still felt sad that her crush on Kent seemed destined to remain unrequited, but she had to be realistic and do the right thing. She had vowed she wouldn’t mess around with married men: his wife didn’t deserve it, and neither did his kids. It was time to accept that they had no future together.
But she had a chance to get this particular monkey off her back in the past. He had more or less given her the green light to go ahead and make the most of the opportunity, and she planned to wring every drop of enjoyment from it that she could.
She was relieved on returning to the chip shop to see there was no sign of the dreaded McVie. She was still hungry so she got herself a bag of chips. She fancied some fish, too, but didn’t have enough money for cod. A fresh batch of fish cakes had just been put out, so she ordered one of those instead, before going up to her room to think about the day ahead.
After she had eaten her supper she got into bed and wrapped the duvet around herself. It was still desperately cold in the room.
She flicked on the TV to see if there was anything interesting on, but there was only Match of the Day on BBC1. She wasn’t interested in football, so flicked across to BBC2 which was showing a rerun of an old panel game. She watched that for a while but it wasn’t long before she fell asleep, the TV still playing in the background.
In the morning, she woke refreshed, and even more excited than she had been the night before. She practically bounded out of bed, so keen was she to get started. It was nearly nine o’clock and when she headed into the bathroom, the angel was already waiting for her in the mirror.
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��Morning!” said Kay, full of the joys of spring despite the fact that her feet were like blocks of ice and the mirror had steamed up as soon as she breathed on it. “And what a fantastic one it’s going to be.”
The angel’s face was a little blurred through the mist, but she could still make out that it had a disapproving look.
“Yes, well, before we get started, we need to get something clear.”
“What’s that?” asked Kay.
“Confidentiality,” replied the angel. “When I gave you this opportunity, I hadn’t expected you to go straight down to the pub and start blabbing about it to all and sundry.”
“It was hardly all and sundry,” protested Kay. “I only told one person and as it turns out, he knows all about you already.”
“I know,” said the angel. “But I would prefer it if you didn’t tell anyone else about any of this. I offer these trips only to a very few selected individuals in the strictest confidence. If everyone started going around telling people about it, where would we be? There would be busloads of time travel tourists, ghost hunters and all sorts of other weirdos turning up here. I’d be bracketed with the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot. Everyone would be trying to get a glimpse of me.”
“I can’t believe you are worried about something like that, what with all the powers you claim to have,” replied Kay. “What are they going to do, throw a net over the mirror? Anyway, you never said anything about not telling anyone.”
“No, I didn’t. Perhaps I should have done,” said the angel. “I think it’s about time I started issuing a list of terms and conditions to people before I let them loose in the past. Something to make sure they are crystal-clear on the rules before we start.”
“Maybe you should,” said Kay. “So you don’t have to tick me off again, is there anything else I should or shouldn’t be doing before we carry on?”
“Just don’t tell anyone else,” said the angel. “And we will see how we get on.”