by Judi Curtin
‘Beth and I haven’t exactly figured it out yet,’ I said. ‘We’re kind of afraid to ask Rico any hard questions – but it’s always sort of turned out right for us.’
‘Yeah,’ said Beth. ‘How about you just think really hard about Orchard House and Jeanie, and hopefully we’ll get back to where we need to be.’
‘This is all quite …’ began Graham, but I couldn’t hear any more as we stumbled forwards into the darkness.
* * *
We were on a bridge – a very big bridge over a very wide river in the middle of a city. The three of us stood on the footpath as old-fashioned bikes and cars and big, ugly buses streamed past us. Instead of traffic lights, there was a policeman standing on a platform in the middle of the road, using a white stick to direct the traffic.
‘Where are we?’ said Beth. ‘This isn’t our town or our river or our bridge. This isn’t where we’re meant to be. Where’s Orchard Road, and Orchard House? Where’s Jeanie? Maybe we should go back inside and ask Rico if …?’
As she said the words, I turned around but there was no sign of the door to Rico’s place.
‘This makes no sense,’ said Graham. ‘No sense at all. What just happened, can’t have happened. It’s impossible.’
‘Don’t worry,’ said Beth. ‘The first journey through time is always the hardest.’
‘Hey, Graham,’ I said. ‘Those weird cars are telling me that we’ve gone back to the past, but do you have any idea where we are?’
‘I think we might be in … Dublin,’ said Graham. ‘We’re standing on O’Connell Bridge. This is really quite amazing. I don’t know how you managed it girls, but you’ve made something very strange happen.’
‘But this can’t be Dublin,’ I said. ‘Where’s The Spire and the lovely restaurant mum brought us to for a treat last year? That should be just over—’
‘I’m guessing The Spire isn’t even built yet,’ said Beth. ‘And maybe the owner of that lovely restaurant hasn’t been born.’
Graham was turning slowly around staring closely at everything. ‘I often visited Dublin during the 1960’s,’ he said. ‘Maybe the young me will come strolling along – I wouldn’t mind seeing him again. There’s a few things I’d like to say to him.’
‘No,’ I said. ‘That so is a bad idea, Graham. Please don’t make that happen.’
‘I remember those buses,’ he said, not really listening to me. ‘And those cars – my dad had a maroon Anglia exactly like that one.’
‘What’s an Anglia?’ I said.
‘What’s maroon?’ said Beth.
Graham didn’t answer either of us.
‘But how can this possibly be …?’ he started to say.
Just then a woman ran past us, leaving a trail of sweet orangey perfume in the air behind her.
‘Aqua Manda,’ sighed Graham. ‘My sister’s favourite perfume. I’d recognise it anywhere. She and her friends sprayed it on when they were going dancing – but that was all so long ago …’
Graham had a dreamy look on his face, like he was half-asleep. I smiled to myself. Any other adult would be asking all kinds of hard questions by now, but Graham seemed to be accepting the impossible truth.
I pulled Beth’s arm and we stepped a bit away from him.
‘I know Graham looks kind of happy and everything,’ I said. ‘But what happens next? We’ve proved that we can go back in time, so maybe now Graham will believe us that Jeanie’s mum told us she didn’t blame him for the accident.’
‘So you’re saying we should go back home?’
‘I don’t think that’s what I’m saying. Maybe we’ve managed to get back to the time before Jeanie’s accident? Maybe we should do what Graham wants, and find Jeanie before we leave? He so badly wants to spend a day with her – and maybe he can.’
‘I’d so love to make that work for him.’
‘Only problem is – we’re in Dublin – miles away from home, and we still don’t even know if we’re in the right time. We could be years and years away from when we are meant to be.’
‘I know this sounds kind of weird,’ she said. ‘But maybe we should trust Rico.’
‘How do you mean?’
‘Well, remember when we went back in time to look for my mum? Remember we decided it was like a quest, and we had to make a journey to prove we were worthy of getting what we wanted?’
‘Yeah, but …’
‘Maybe we’re meant to jump on one of these ugly old buses and find our way to Orchard House?’
I thought back to our trip to 1984. I remembered how badly Beth had wanted to see her mum. I also remembered how lonely, and hungry and afraid I’d been.
‘A lot of that journey so wasn’t fun,’ I said.
‘But it’ll be different this time. Graham is with us, and he’s travelled all over the world on his own. He’s even been to the 1960s before. He’ll take care of us. Come on, Molly, it’ll be fun.’
‘It will?’
Just then Graham came over to us.
‘I don’t suppose you can figure out what year it is?’ I asked him.
He shook his head. ‘That’s such a bizarre question. I know what year it was when I woke up this morning, but now – now everything’s topsy-turvy – and I’m not sure what to believe.’
‘Look at the cars – and the clothes,’ said Beth. ‘Doesn’t that give you a clue? Or maybe some of the buildings?’
‘Of course,’ he said, pointing to the air where the Spire should be. ‘Why didn’t I think of it before?’
‘What?’ I asked.
‘Look over there, what do you see?’ he asked.
‘Nothing,’ I said. ‘There’s nothing there.’
‘Exactly. For many years there used to be a monument to Nelson there, but it was totally destroyed in an explosion.’
‘When did that happen?’ I asked.
‘In 1966,’ he said slowly. ‘It happened in 1966.’
‘So we’re some time after 1966,’ said Beth. ‘I’m so sorry, Graham. We did our best but it looks like we didn’t get here on time for you to meet Jeanie the way you remember her. That lovely summer you had with her had to be at least six years ago.’
‘Maybe dreams aren’t meant to come true,’ said Graham sadly. ‘I shouldn’t have hoped for the impossible.’
A man was walking past with a newspaper under his arm. ‘Could I see the front of that for one sec, please?’ I asked.
Instead of answering, the man unfolded the paper and held it out for me to see.
‘Nine years,’ I said, reading the date. ‘It’s 1969 and we’re nine years too late.’
Chapter Fourteen
We found a quiet bench in a park and we sat there for ages.
‘I’m sorry Graham,’ said Beth. ‘We trusted Rico and his stupid door. We really thought this would work. We really thought you’d get to spend some time with Jeanie.’
‘And if that didn’t work,’ I said. ‘If we arrived just after the accident, like Beth and I did earlier, we thought you could visit Jeanie in the hospital.’
‘That would have been nice,’ said Graham.
‘And maybe seeing her and talking to her would have made you feel better,’ I said. ‘But now …’
‘Hey, Graham,’ said Beth. ‘I’ve had an idea. How old did you say Jeanie was when you last saw her?’
‘She’d just had her thirteenth birthday.’
‘And that was nine years ago – so she’s twenty-two now – she’s all grown up,’ I said.
‘But you can still find her,’ said Beth.
‘But she won’t be …’ began Graham.
I looked at his sad face, and for a second I could understand what was going on in his head.
‘I know you wanted to relive the wonderful days you had with Jeanie when you were thirteen,’ I said. ‘And it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen now – but maybe …’
‘… maybe this is the way things are meant to be,’ said Beth. ‘No offence, Graham, but
if … er … old you showed up and tried to race around the fields with Jeanie, that might be a bit … weird?’
‘I suppose you’re right,’ said Graham. ‘I doubt I’d be able to keep up with her – and that would be hard to take. Maybe this way is best. This way we can find grown-up Jeanie and I can apol—’
‘Graham!’ said Beth.
‘I know you keep saying I’m not guilty of anything,’ said Graham. ‘But I’d still like to tell Jeanie that I’m sorry for what happened to her – and for any part of it that might have been my fault. And I’d like to see if she’s OK – if her life isn’t too … grim.’
‘That sounds fair enough,’ I said. ‘But how do we find her? You said her family moved away from Orchard House?’
‘That’s right,’ said Graham. ‘They moved a few months after Jeanie’s accident.’
‘Do you have any clue where they went – or where Jeanie lived when she was twenty-two?’ asked Beth.
‘I’m guessing it must have been around here somewhere?’ I said. ‘Otherwise, Rico wouldn’t have sent us here.’
‘Jeanie might well have been in Dublin in 1969,’ said Graham. ‘But I have no way of knowing for sure. Maybe your phones that know everything can help?’
I took out my phone and looked at the screen. ‘Sorry, Graham,’ I said. ‘Molly and I have been time-travelling for a while now. We’re getting quite good, but our phones haven’t got the hang of it yet.’
‘How did you find out stuff in the olden days, Graham?’ asked Beth.
‘The library,’ said Graham. ‘The source of all knowledge in 1969.’
* * *
Graham led the way into a big grey room.
‘This is a bit …’ began Beth.
‘Shhhhhh!’ said a very cross-looking librarian who was wearing a blue mini-skirt, white-eyeshadow and huuuuuge false eyelashes. ‘Silence in the library.’
Graham went up to the counter and whispered loads of questions.
‘Give me a few minutes,’ whispered the librarian, smiling sweetly at him. I smiled too – even cross people can’t be cross for long when Graham’s around.
Ten minutes later the librarian came back with a big stack of books.
‘I think you’ll find everything you need here,’ she whispered.
Beth and I followed Graham to a corner far away from everyone else, where it was safe to talk in quiet voices.
Graham opened the first book. ‘What’s that?’ I asked, leaning over his shoulder. ‘All I can see is a list of names and numbers – it has to be the most boring book in the world.’
‘You girls!’ said Graham. ‘This is called a phone book – it’s how we looked up peoples’ phone numbers in the olden days.’
‘Cool,’ said Beth. ‘How does it work?’
Graham gave a big sigh, and then he started to flip through the pages.
‘It’s alphabetical,’ he said. ‘Maybe we’ll get lucky and find a number for Jeanie or her parents.’
He ran his finger down the lists of numbers and then closed the book. ‘No luck here,’ he said. ‘There isn’t a single entry for anyone called Cottrell or Cottrell-Herbert.’
‘So what does that mean?’ I asked.
‘Jeanie’s parents had many relatives in England, and I always suspected that they went to live there when they left Orchard House. The absence of a number for them seems to indicate that I was right.’
‘But what about Jeanie?’ I said. ‘Does that mean she’s not here either?’
‘Not necessarily,’ said Graham. ‘She could be living here, but not have a phone. Her parents were wealthy so they always had one, but in 1969 that wasn’t the norm. Most people managed to live perfectly happy lives without phones – hard for you two to believe, I know.’
‘Wow!’ said Beth. ‘Unreal.’
‘Anyway,’ said Graham. ‘Let’s not give up just yet. Jeanie could very well still be in the country.’
‘But how are we going to find her?’ I asked. ‘They so need Google around here.’
Graham patted the books and a cloud of dusk flew up into the warm air. ‘I’m sure the information we need is in here,’ he said. ‘All we have to do is find it. Settle down girls, this might take a while.’
* * *
Graham slowly worked his way through all kinds of books – and finally he gave a little shout of joy. The cross librarian looked up from her desk with an evil look on her face, but when she saw Graham, she did a weird fluttery thing with her long eyelashes, and then went back to her work.
‘What is it, Graham?’ I asked. ‘What did you find?’
‘Look,’ he said holding the book in front of me. ‘It’s a list of boarding schools for the handicapped in 1969.’
‘You know you’re not supposed to say “handicapped”, don’t you?’ said Beth.
‘Of course I do,’ said Graham. ‘And I would never hurt anyone’s feelings by using a term they didn’t like, but in 1969 that was the only term we knew; I could go through these books till the cows come home and I’d never find a list of schools for visually-impaired children or children with special educational needs.’
‘I guess,’ said Beth. ‘How many schools for blind kids are there anyway?’
‘Just two in the whole country,’ said Graham. ‘So it shouldn’t be hard to figure out which one Jeanie went to.’
‘OMG, Beth,’ I said. ‘Remember what Jeanie’s mum said about the school?’
‘Yes,’ said Beth. ‘She said Jeanie was being sent to a private school – the best one in the country. Can you tell if one of those schools is a fancy private one, Graham?’
‘You clever girls,’ said Graham. ‘One of the schools looks like it’s state-run and the other one is called ‘Green Oaks Private School for Blind Girls’. I think we might have found Jeanie’s school.’
‘But I don’t get how that’s going to help us,’ I said. ‘Jeanie’s twenty-two now. She couldn’t still be in boarding school? Or could she?’
I had a sudden horrible picture of Jeanie growing older and older in the school, but never being allowed to leave. Were they going to keep her there, weaving baskets and crocheting shawls forever?
‘I sincerely hope Jeanie left school a long time ago,’ said Graham. ‘But this is the best lead we’ve got.’
‘How exactly?’ asked Beth.
‘Perhaps the school keeps track of their former pupils. There’s a phone number here and if we ring them they might be able to tell us where Jeanie is now.’
‘But our phones don’t work,’ said Beth. ‘I keep checking mine, and it’s totally useless.’
‘Young people,’ said Graham. ‘So unimaginative. Now pass me that notepad and pencil please, Molly, and then we can go.’
Graham wrote down the phone number and we all went back to the library desk. He winked at the librarian as he handed the books over and she blushed all the way from her pointy forehead down to the high collar of her silky blouse. Then Beth, Graham and I set out into 1969.
Chapter Fifteen
‘You’re sure all these people aren’t on their way to fancy-dress parties?’ said Beth when we got out onto the street.
I giggled. ‘I know you lived through this time, Graham,’ I said. ‘And no offence or anything, but everyone looks really, really weird.’
‘I was just starting to be a hippy in 1969,’ sighed Graham.
‘I’ve got news for you,’ I said, I looking at his long hair and denim jeans. ‘I’m not sure your hippy days are totally over.’
‘Ah, if only you could have seen me then,’ he said. ‘Once I tie-dyed every one of my shirts and t-shirts. They were all …’
‘All what?’ asked Beth.
‘They were all a sludgy green colour. I could only afford one packet of dye, and I fear it wasn’t a great success.’
We walked past a huge ad for tennis racquets made of wood and then Graham stopped at a phone-box.
‘I remember now,’ said Beth. ‘When Molly and I were in the 1980’s …
’
‘You know how bizarre that sounds coming from a girl who was born in the twenty-first century, who’s currently hanging out in 1969?’ said Graham.
‘Yeah,’ said Beth. ‘It’s weird all right! But anyway, when we were in the 80’s we found money in a phone box and it pretty much saved our lives.’
I opened the door of the phone box and checked.
‘No luck this time,’ I said. ‘I wish we’d saved some of that 1984 money.’
‘That wouldn’t help us anyway,’ said Graham. ‘In 1969 we had pounds and shillings and pence.’
‘Never even heard of them,’ said Beth.
‘I remember it well, though,’ said Graham ‘There were twelve pennies in a shilling and twenty shillings in a pound. We had threepenny coins and sixpenny coins and even halfpennies.’
‘Maths must have been soooo hard back in the day,’ I said.
‘Enough about money already,’ said Beth. ‘All we need to know is that none of us has any – and we need to make a phone call. Anyone got any bright ideas?’
‘When I was a boy I had a friend who knew how to make free calls by tapping on the receiver cradle,’ said Graham.
‘Don’t look at me,’ said Beth. ‘I have no idea what a receiver cradle is.’
Graham looked up and down the street. ‘And since my friend doesn’t appear to be passing by right now, I think we’d better scratch that idea too. Looks like we’ll have to move on to Plan C.’
‘Which is?’ asked Beth.
‘Just watch,’ said Graham. ‘I hope I haven’t lost my touch.’
For a minute we stood there watching all the freaky people walking by. Then we saw a woman wearing a pale pink minidress with a matching pink coat and pink gloves and a pink hat that looked like she’d borrowed it from a jockey. Her lipstick was pale pink too – like she’d just been eating candyfloss and she’d forgotten to wipe her face.
As the woman came close, Graham stepped forwards.
‘Please excuse me, madam,’ he said. ‘Perhaps you can help me and my young friends.’
For a second it looked like she was going to keep walking, but then Graham gave her one of his dazzling smiles, and she stopped.