by JRP Taylor
“I’m so sick of chicken,” said Ryan, dropping his third clean fork to the floor as he struggled to eat and play Dragon Raid at the same time.
“You’ll get fat!” shouted his mum, Tanya, from the kitchen as she mopped the floor. The new puppy, Thumper, had given the family yet another free gift, a small wet patch on the linoleum covering, to say thank you for its new home.
“Will you take Thumper out for a walk for me?” she asked. “I just haven’t had five minutes to turn around today,” she said. Muttering under his breath, Ryan reluctantly agreed.
Copper’s End was a lovely quiet, rural village, and nothing much ever happened. Last week Ryan had seen a fox, and that was about it. They hadn’t long lived in the countryside but it was something they had long dreamed about.
Ryan lost his father, Norman, many years ago and Copper’s End would be a fresh start for them both, his mother hoped.
Norman was a soldier, a member of the Queen's Royal Lancers and he had given his life in service at the Battle of Telic, following the 2003 invasion of Iraq in the Middle East.
Ryan often thought of his dad. He was thirteen years old now and very happy to finally be a teenager at last, but being a teenager meant that he had now lived for thirteen years without ever meeting his father.
Naturally this saddened Ryan a great deal. What saddened him even more was that now they had moved from the city to Copper’s End, he could only visit his father’s grave following trips back to see his grandparents in Warwick every four weeks or so.
The family had not coped well with the tragedy of Norman’s loss. Initially it was very difficult and painful, but as time passed, and with only happy memories to talk of, they eventually decided they had to move away and make a fresh start for themselves.
Thirteen years in mourning had now proved to be enough. The wider family; aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents were happy for them too. Granddad said to Ryan; “Your mother has always wanted to live in the country. I think this new beginning will be great for you both.”
Norman had always dreamed of buying a house in the country for them all, after Ryan was born, but sadly it would never happen. Tanya had always dreamed of owning her own horse.
As Ryan walked Thumper in the woods, continually fetching her ball back and forth as Ryan would throw it, and occasionally chasing the odd wood pidgeon or two that, startled, would now take to flight, he wondered what life would be like if his dad were still alive today.
“What would having a father be like?” he thought to himself. He thought too about what he would actually do if “this stupid dog ever managed to actually catch one of the pigeons it so eagerly chased.” Though this was most unlikely to ever happen.
After finishing the dog walk he went promptly back home. It was almost five thirty on a Friday afternoon and this meant that later on that evening mother and son would enjoy a fish and chip supper together.
“I’ve only got five pounds and twenty pence in my purse,” Tanya said. “I’ll tell you what: we either have chips and make a chip butty each, there’ll be enough for that, and some mushy peas too, or we can wait until tomorrow for a change and I’ll treat you to supper out at that new restaurant in town.”
Ryan had tried to remind his mum to take some money out of the ATM during their last shopping outing but, as usual, her mind had been miles away.
Living out in the country miles from a bank meant that the normal things they would take for granted, such as access to cash machines, needed more planning.
“Okay Mum, that’s great,” he said. “Let’s wait until tomorrow then.” He was of course a little disappointed. He loved his special treat, his weekly chip supper, but he would never want to upset his mother over such small things. Being brought up without his father had made him value the good things in life, his family and friends, and never to take anything else, no matter how small, for granted.
Ryan’s mobile rang. “It’s Asan,” said the caller. “We’re all going to watch a new DVD tonight, and my dad said you can come over too, do you want to?”
Ryan paused, turned to his mum and asked, “Can I Mum, please?”
Asan’s dad was called Iqbal and he was a teacher at the local school. Both Ryan and Asan studied there together and were the greatest of friends.
Tanya knew that Asan’s family had taken pity on her son, and that Iqbal had tried to be a father figure as well as a teacher to the boy. She did appreciate the family’s kindness.
When the family had first moved into the village six months earlier, it was he who had taken the time to stop by and introduce the locals; this by means of countless never-ending stories that caused much folly and laughter.
Iqbal was a good, honest man. “Go and have a great time Ryan,” she said, and “I’ll pick you up around 10.”
After Ryan had ran through the village and, as arranged, waited to meet Asan outside Rayner’s, the local grocery shop to buy crisps and pop for the evening’s viewing, something caught his eye.
As he had sat waiting on the wall opposite the shop he noticed a twenty pound note on the ground below him. He had to look several times before he realised it really was a twenty pound note and not just a figment of his own, over-excited imagination.
He jumped down and picked it up. “Who could it belong to?” he thought.
He told Asan of his find and decided it was best to hand it in to the shopkeeper. After all, it must have belonged to somebody who had been shopping earlier that day, mustn’t it?
He explained to Mrs Rayner what had happened. “You two must be the most honest boys in this village, that’s for sure,” she said.
Ryan explained that he had not kept the money as he knew many people in the village were very old and relied only on their pensions from the government, and this was not a lot of money to live on, this his mother had told him.
Mrs Rayner shouted for her husband, Bill. “Come downstairs. The young ones have found some money outside. Do you know anything about it?” She most loudly called up to him as he was somewhat a little deaf these days after years of working down the West Midland pits.
Arriving promptly out of curiosity, Bill said, “Nobody’s been in asking about a twenty, that I’m sure of Mrs Rayner.”
“Then here’s what we’ll do with it,” she said in reply. “I’m going to give you this note to keep. You deserve it for your honesty and there’s not a cat in hell’s chance of anybody coming back for that now. Lord knows who it belongs to, and if I give it to the local policeman, he’ll not be happy about all the paperwork, of that I’m sure.”
She continued: “I’ll tell him what I’ve done and if anyone by an angel’s miracle does come looking for it, I’ll give it back out of my own pocket. That’s the deal son.”
Mrs Rayner was also all too aware of how difficult life must be for Tanya, the boy’s mother, struggling to cope alone on her war widow’s pension from the army, but she did not embarrass Ryan by adding such a comment to the conversation.
“I’ll tell you what,” Bill uttered, certain that his wife was correct and that nobody would ever come back to claim the money. “I second that Make that ten pounds from each of us if they do. It’ll be a blinking miracle if anybody comes in for it, for sure.”
THE GOLD STAR KID
Decisions, Decisions