Ctrl-Z

by Andrew Norriss

  ‘Again?’ said Alex. ‘You mean you’ve done the lunch already?’

  ‘Twice,’ said Godfather John. He held up his palmtop. ‘And the food is wonderful. Though you might want to steer clear of the galabki. Lot of cabbage involved in that one.’

  ‘Oh,’ said Alex. ‘Right.’

  ‘And after lunch you and Callum and Mishka – that’s Mr Kowalski’s granddaughter, you like her a lot – have a really great afternoon. Apart from when Callum smashes his hand on a brick, but you can sort that one out, can’t you? With the laptop?’

  It was odd, Alex thought, to be with someone who had already done most of your day and knew what was going to happen. It made him realize how strange the past few weeks must have been for Callum, but it was also reassuring to be told that everything was going to turn out all right.

  ‘Your parents get back about half three, but don’t expect to see too much of them until this evening.’ Godfather John was still talking. ‘Your father will be going over the account books from the garage, working out some sort of deal so your mother can take over properly. You’ll find they’re both very excited about it. And so they should be, of course!’

  ‘Are they really going to be all right now?’ asked Alex. ‘Mum and Dad, I mean? Are they going to be happy?’

  ‘Very happy, I’d say!’ Godfather John nodded vigorously. ‘People usually are when they’re doing what they want to do.’

  ‘And there won’t be any more arguments?’

  ‘Definitely no more arguments!’ said Godfather John. ‘Until they make their next mistake…’

  ‘Oh…’ Alex felt a twinge of disappointment. ‘You think they’ll make another one?’

  ‘Bound to, I’m afraid,’ said his godfather sympathetically. ‘We all do, remember? All of us. All the time.’

  ‘Even you?’

  ‘Oh yes. Every day.’ Godfather John leant back in his seat. ‘But like I said, it’s not something to get too upset about. Because making mistakes is what we’re supposed to do.’ He put a hand on Alex’s shoulder. ‘Your parents will make more mistakes, so will you, so will I, but we don’t need to worry because –’

  ‘Because making mistakes is how we learn,’ Alex finished for him.

  ‘Exactly!’ Godfather John smiled, and then reached down to press the button beside him that opened the car windows.

  ‘Guess what!’ Callum was standing on the pavement, bending down to speak to Alex. ‘Go on, guess! You’ll never guess!’ He looked and sounded much more cheerful than when Alex had seen him that morning.

  ‘You’ve heard that Lilly’s coming home this afternoon and Mr Kowalski has invited us to lunch,’ said Alex.

  ‘How… how did you know that?’ Callum frowned. ‘Have you done today already?’

  ‘I haven’t,’ said Alex, ‘but my godfather has.’

  ‘Oh!’ Callum grinned happily at Godfather John. ‘Hi!’ He turned back to Alex. ‘Mr Kowalski’s got his granddaughter here and you know she can break bricks with one hand? She’s this amazing karate expert. You have to come and see!’

  ‘I will in a second,’ said Alex. ‘I just have to say goodbye.’

  ‘Well, I think I’ve told you everything,’ said Godfather John, as Callum walked back to the house. ‘Your parents get back at three thirty, don’t eat the galabki, look after your friend when he tries to do the brick thing…’ He turned to Alex. ‘Anything else we need to go over?’

  ‘I don’t think so,’ said Alex, ‘except… thank you. For everything. Sorting out Mum and Dad. Me and Mr Kowalski. Telling me what to do. Everything, really. It was amazing!’

  ‘Oh, it was nothing!’ said Godfather John, but he looked rather pleased.

  ‘And thank you for the laptop as well,’ Alex went on. ‘It was a brilliant present. Really. The best ever.’

  ‘Aha! You wait till you see what I’ve got for your next birthday!’ Godfather John gave a little chuckle. ‘You’re not frightened of heights, I hope, because that’ll be another one to keep quiet from your parents!’ He turned the key in the ignition. ‘Now, if there’s nothing else, I really will –’

  ‘There was one thing,’ said Alex.

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘You remember you said, when I tried to win the lottery, that it wouldn’t work, but there were twenty‐seven other ways I could use Ctrl‐Z to make a lot of money if I wanted?’

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘Well, I wondered if you could tell me what some of them are?’

  Godfather John considered this, then reached into his jacket pocket for a paper and pen.

  ‘I’ll give you the first three,’ he said. ‘But you’ll have to work out the others on your own.’

  Standing on the pavement, Alex read what his godfather had written. The first idea was so simple, he was amazed he hadn’t thought of it himself, and the second one was… was clever. He’d need someone like Callum to help him do it, but even so it shouldn’t be too difficult.

  A toot of the horn made him look up. Godfather John was moving away, waving with one hand out of the window as he left. And as he disappeared off down the road, Alex could hear him saying something. The words were almost drowned in the noise of the engine, but Alex could just make them out.

  ‘Have fun,’ his godfather was calling. ‘And make lots of mistakes!’

  And that is exactly what Alex has been doing ever since.