by Judi Curtin
‘Yesss!’ said Beth and I together. Graham didn’t say anything, but the look on his face made me think he was happy about it too.
Jeanie went inside, and a minute later, the sound of music came drifting out through the open door.
‘Come on,’ said Jeanie as Blackie led her onto the grass next to the patio. ‘Let’s do “The Twist”.’
Graham jumped up and followed her and he and Jeanie started to dance. I’ve seen a lot of weird stuff in my day, but I’ve got to say that “The Twist” went straight into my top ten of weird. The music got going properly and Jeanie and Graham stood a bit apart and did the craziest dance I’ve ever, ever seen.
They wiggled their hips and their knees, and every now and then they wiggled almost down to the ground and back up again.
‘Come on, girls,’ said Graham. ‘Join in.’
Beth and I looked at each other.
‘I guess,’ said Beth in the end. ‘No one we know’s going to be born for years and years, so we’ll probably get away with it.’
‘And I’m guessing no one’s going to film it and put it on YouTube either,’ I said as I kicked off my shoes.
So Beth danced and I danced, and Graham danced and Jeanie danced and Blackie jumped up and down and barked like a crazy thing. And the song played over and over again, and after a bit, Graham moved over and held Jeanie’s hand, and even though he’s old and wrinkly and she was young and pretty, for those minutes it just seemed right.
Finally Graham went inside and turned off the music, and when he came back we all threw ourselves onto the grass and tried to catch our breath.
‘OMG,’ said Beth. ‘You must have been really fit back in the olden— I mean now.’
Then Jeanie felt her watch and jumped up again. ‘I am so sorry, everyone,’ she said. ‘This has been a very special afternoon – though I’m not sure why. But now I really must go take care of the tea. Come, Blackie – time to go inside.’
Graham looked really really sad, but he stood up anyway.
Beth grabbed my arm. ‘Let’s go, Moll,’ she said. ‘Why don’t we wait for Graham over by those trees?’
So Beth and I thanked Jeanie for the lemonade and the biscuits and the music.
‘You’re welcome,’ said Jeanie. ‘It was my pleasure. Why don’t you drop in again – I’m off work every Thursday?’
But I didn’t want to think of Jeanie half-listening out for us every Thursday for the rest of her life.
‘That would be totally great and everything,’ I said. ‘But we live kind of far from here, so even though we’d love to see you …’
‘I understand,’ said Jeanie. ‘Goodbye – and thank you.’
* * *
‘OMG!’ said Beth when we were safely over by the trees. ‘I can’t believe what just happened. Jeanie’s blindness was nothing to do with Graham. She was going blind even if she never went anywhere near the stupid tree. Who’d ever have seen that one coming?’
‘Not me, anyway! But don’t you think this whole thing is a bit weird?’
‘What’s weird about time travelling?’ she asked, laughing.
‘Well of course time travelling’s weird, but it’s not just that.’
‘So what are you saying?’
‘Well, we really wanted to go back to the days before Jeanie’s accident – but we ended up here – where we thought we didn’t want to be.’
‘But still it all worked out,’ said Beth. ‘We got to see that Jeanie’s happy – and now Graham doesn’t have to feel guilty any more. It’s almost like Rico knew exactly where to send us – like he had a plan – a much better plan than we had ourselves.’
‘It’s actually kind of cool,’ I said. ‘A bit scary, but very cool.’
I turned around and looked back towards Graham and Jeanie. They were standing by the cottage door, talking.
‘I hope they’re not too sad,’ I said.
Then we heard Jeanie’s beautiful laugh, and we both smiled.
A second later, Graham patted Blackie, gave Jeanie a quick hug, and walked towards us.
When he came close we could see tears in his eyes. That so wasn’t part of the plan.
‘Graham,’ I said. ‘I’m so sorry. Was this all a mistake? Maybe we shouldn’t have… Maybe all this is too …’
‘Don’t be silly,’ he said. ‘Was this afternoon difficult? Yes. Was it one of the best afternoons of my entire life? Also, yes. You two girls gave me a most precious opportunity, and I am more grateful than you could ever know.’
‘So you’re not sorry we came here?’ asked Beth.
‘Absolutely not,’ said Graham. ‘I always feared that I had ruined Jeanie’s life forever – but today I have learned two things.’
‘What are they?’ I asked.
‘I know that Jeanie’s blindness wasn’t my fault, and more importantly, I now know that her life is very far from ruined. That beautiful girl is happy – and that’s all I need to know. Now can anyone remember where the bus stop is?’
* * *
It was dark when we got back to Dublin, and finally found the emergency entrance to Rico’s Store.
‘Here we are,’ I said. ‘Let’s go through quickly, before it vanishes again.’
‘Get ready to say goodbye to 1969, Graham,’ said Beth.
‘Actually I’ve been thinking,’ said Graham. ‘I always loved the 1960’s. I loved the music and the clothes, and––’
‘Don’t forget the love beads,’ said Beth.
‘And the love beads,’ said Graham, smiling. ‘I loved everything. In 1969 I was …’ I had a horrible feeling I knew where this conversation was going. ‘If I stayed here, Kevin would give me a job,’ he continued. ‘He wouldn’t care that I’m not a youngster any more. And I could keep an eye on Jeanie – make sure she’s OK – help her out with the things she can’t do for herself any more. I could—’
Beth started to cry. ‘That’s such a crazy idea, Graham,’ she sobbed. ‘You can’t stay here. Molly and I would miss you too much. Dad would miss you too – and so would all of your friends. What about Charlie and Chang and … everyone?’
Now I wanted to cry too. ‘Please don’t stay here, Graham,’ I said.
‘But—’ he began.
‘And we don’t even know what would happen if you did stay,’ I said. ‘Would you just get older and older so that by the time you caught up with us you’d be … like a hundred and twenty or something? How’s that supposed to work?’
‘When Molly and I go back to the present, no time has passed,’ said Beth. ‘But if we go back, and you don’t … we have no clue how that would turn out. It could be the biggest disaster ever.’
‘And Rico mightn’t let us back without you,’ I said. ‘And, no offence, Graham, but I so don’t want to live in these crazy times. How would I even survive without my phone and my tablet … and my mum and dad?’
‘Kids are supposed to love crazy ideas,’ said Graham with a big sigh. ‘Why do you two have to be so sensible?’
‘Someone has to be sensible around here,’ said Beth primly.
‘I suppose you’re right,’ said Graham. ‘I can’t simply turn my back on the life I have, while trying to chase the dream of a life that was never meant to be.’
‘I’m sorry, Graham,’ I said. ‘I wish things could have been different for you and Jeanie.’
He smiled at me. ‘Thank you, Molly. Now are we going through that door, or are we hanging around here all night?’
Chapter Twenty-Three
‘Graham’s going to get such a great surprise,’ said Beth. ‘He’s going to totally love his present.’
‘You’re right,’ I said. ‘I think it might actually be the best present in the history of the world.’
It was a few days later, and Beth and I were on our way to Graham’s place with Jim and my mum. Mum was carrying a huge chocolate cake, Jim had a plate of chicken wraps, I had a bottle of lemonade and Beth was carrying the best present ever – the drawing of Grah
am that Jeanie had given us, now looking all fancy in a cool wooden frame.
‘That’s a great present, girls’ said Jim. ‘But you haven’t forgotten Graham’s little … oddity, have you?’
‘Graham’s odd in lots of ways,’ said Beth. ‘That’s why we love him so much.’
‘True,’ said Jim. ‘But I’m just trying to prepare you for the fact that he probably won’t hang that picture on his wall – and I wouldn’t like you to be disappointed, after all your trouble.’
‘Beth and I thought about that,’ I said. ‘But something makes us think that Graham will really, really like this present – and if he doesn’t want to hang it up on the wall, that’s OK too. The frame has a stand, so he can keep it on the table instead.’
‘That drawing is so lovely,’ said Mum. ‘And it’s exactly like the old photographs I’ve seen of Graham when he was little. But where exactly did you girls get it?’
‘Oh,’ I said. ‘We—’
‘We found it folded up in the pages of an ancient old book,’ said Beth, smiling her best smile at Mum – the smile that always makes Mum forget to ask any more awkward questions.
‘Well I have to say it’s very thoughtful of you both,’ said Mum. ‘I’m sure Graham will love it. Now let’s walk a bit faster, I think this chocolate might be melting.’
* * *
Graham’s house isn’t all that big, and it seemed like there were a million people packed inside. There were people in the kitchen and the living room and the hall. There were people sitting on the stairs, and even a few in the front garden. There were old people and young people and in-between people. I could hear about ten different languages. Some of Graham’s guests looked like they were dressed up for the fanciest party ever, but others looked like they were headed to the beach. At the top of the stairs a man in a turban was playing a tune on what looked like a snake-charmer’s pipe.
Mum and Jim took the food and lemonade into the kitchen. I could hear people admiring the chocolate cake, and Mum did that thing she always does – ‘Oh, it’s nothing special,’ she said. ‘I just threw it together – and now I’m embarrassed I even brought it.’
Beth and I rolled our eyes and went into the living room.
‘OMG!’ said Beth. ‘Just OMG!’
‘I know,’ I said. ‘There’s so many people here – but you’re not surprised, are you? Graham’s such a—’
‘I’m not talking about the people,’ she said. ‘Look!’
And that’s when I noticed. The walls of Graham’s living room were covered with all kinds of weird and wonderful pictures. There were photographs from his albums, brightly-coloured abstract paintings that looked like things a toddler could draw, and posters of rock bands I’d never even heard of. Graham had gone from having no pictures at all – to having so many it looked like there had been an explosion in an art shop.
‘OMG!’ I said. ‘What’s happened here? It’s like … I don’t even know what it’s like.’
‘We’ve got to find Graham,’ said Beth. ‘We need to know what’s going on here.’
I knew what she was thinking. We all love Graham for his eccentric ways, but now … had he actually gone and lost it completely?
Was this all our fault?
Beth and I had only been trying to help our friend, but maybe the whole trip to 1969 was a huge big mistake?
* * *
In the end we found Graham in the back garden, just finishing a chat with two women from the refugee support centre. They were talking about stuff that sounded really important, which was also really boring. Beth and I smiled and nodded for a bit, until the women decided to go back inside. ‘I heard there’s a wonderful chocolate cake,’ we heard one of them saying as they got to the kitchen door.
Beth and I hugged Graham. ‘Happy birthday,’ we said together.
‘I guess you’re twenty-one again,’ I said. ‘Like every single grown-up we know.’
‘Not at all,’ said Graham. ‘I’m seventy years old and proud of it. It took a lot of hard work to get where I am, and I’m definitely not going to lie about it now that I’ve made it this far.’
I knew we might only have a few minutes of Graham to ourselves, so I got straight to the point.
‘Can we ask you something, Graham?’ I said.
‘Of course you can. I am always ready to answer your questions,’ he said, making me wonder if he was really a proper, paid-up member of the grown-ups club. Wasn’t he supposed to make excuses and promise to talk to us later?
‘Well, Beth and I … we’ve always wondered why you never had any pictures on your walls,’ I said.
‘And now that we’ve seen your walls today,’ said Beth. ‘Molly and I are wondering what’s suddenly changed? How did you go from no pictures to a million pictures overnight?’
‘That’s actually two questions,’ said Graham, smiling. ‘But it’s my birthday today, and I’m in a good mood – so I’m going to answer both of them.’
‘You’re always in a good mood,’ I said. ‘Well, nearly always, anyway. Will you answer my question first?’
‘Well,’ said Graham. ‘Firstly, I’m surprised you actually noticed the lack of wall decorations in my home.’
I giggled. ‘Everyone noticed – but I guess we were all too polite to say anything.’
‘Hmmm,’ said Graham. ‘Sometimes I wonder if people can be too polite. Anyway, in answer to your question, the reason for my picture-free state is Jeanie.’
‘Jeanie?’ Beth and I said the word together.
‘Yes,’ said Graham. ‘You see, as you both know, I’ve spent most of my life filled with guilt because of Jeanie’s blindness – and what I thought was my part in causing it. That has affected me in many, many ways. So whenever I found a beautiful picture, my first thought was that Jeanie would never be able to see or to enjoy it.’
‘That’s so sweet,’ said Beth. ‘And so sad.’
‘Maybe part of me even dreamed that one day Jeanie would visit my home,’ said Graham. ‘And if she did, I wanted to know that she would be able to enjoy it as much as I did. I made sure that all the nice things in my home could be experienced by touch or smell or sound or taste.’
‘And that’s why you never hung up any pictures,’ I said. ‘Even though you have heaps of ornaments – that Jeanie could feel with her hands.’
‘Exactly,’ said Graham.
‘And now everything’s changed,’ said Beth. ‘Now you know that Jeanie’s blindness isn’t your fault – you’ve turned your walls into, er … very colourful surfaces.’
‘Well,’ said Graham. ‘You’re half right. But there’s more to it than what you say. You see, after meeting Jeanie, I realised that even if I were guilty of hurting her, even then she wouldn’t have wanted me to change my life because of that. She would have wanted me to enjoy everything – even things she could never experience again. Now I remember exactly how warm and generous that girl was – and I understand that I’ve been rather foolish.’
‘You’re so not a fool, said Beth, hugging him.
‘Thank you, Beth,’ said Graham. ‘It might not surprise you girls to hear that I’ve been thinking a lot about Jeanie over the past few days – and I’ve come to understand a few things.’
‘Like what?’ I asked.
‘Well,’ said Graham. ‘I wish I’d never lost her, but it’s too late to change that now. Regret is useless. So I’ve been thinking more about the ways in which Jeanie changed my life. Losing her was hard, but it showed me how fleeting happiness can be. It showed me that I should grab life with both hands, and enjoy every single second of it. Thanks to Jeanie, I’ve had some wonderful experiences – and I like to think I’ve got a few adventures left in me too.’
‘Yay!’ I said. ‘We need you to go back to China to pick up some more of that blooming tea – I so want more of that totally delicious vanilla and lemon one.’
‘And there’s something else too,’ said Graham. ‘I think that knowing Jeanie has made me more ac
cepting of others.’
‘How do you mean?’ asked Beth.
‘Well, Jeanie came from a very strict, narrow-minded family. When she was very young, she believed her parents’ prejudiced views of other people, but as she grew towards her teens, she pulled away from that kind of thinking. She had a wonderful, refreshing openness to people. I like to think that …’
‘Judging by your party guests, I think Jeanie might have passed that on to you all right,’ I said, as I looked back to the house, where a homeless man, two kids, and the manager of the local bank were starting a conga line.
‘Oh,’ said Beth. ‘Speaking of parties, we nearly forgot to give you your present.’
‘You know your presence is present enough for me,’ said Graham. ‘But since you seem to have something wrapped up in that divine green and pink paper …?’
We handed over the parcel and Graham ripped the paper off like an excited little kid. Then he held the picture and looked at it for a very long time. A few tears appeared at the corner of his eyes, and I hoped they were happy tears. Finally he wiped his eyes and gave us a huge smile.
‘You wonderful, wonderful girls,’ he said. ‘I’m presuming you got this from Jeanie, and I’m not sure I even want to know what kind of story you told her first.’
‘Oh,’ said Beth. ‘We just told her the truth. We said we knew someone who’d be very happy to see it – and I think maybe we were right.’
‘You were so very right,’ said Graham. ‘I’ll find a space on my wall and I’m going to hang this where I can see it every single day.’
‘So it doesn’t make you sad?’ I asked.
‘Absolutely not,’ said Graham. ‘I know I’ll never see Jeanie again, but I’m a lucky man that I knew her once – and she will always be part of my life. Now why don’t we go inside? I think it’s time we showed those young people how to do The Twist.’
* * *
That evening, Mum and Jim said Beth and I could go out for an hour before bed.