by RD Le Coeur
CHAPTER NINE
Sunny met Jen as usual in the allotted meeting point on the beach. Sunny looked a little down at heart. Jen asked what the matter was and was disappointed to learn that he had to help his Mother today. She had forgotten to remind him yesterday. He had tried to get out of it but it was
an annual trek and he had to help her. The next set of clues for the treasure would have to wait and frankly after last nights experiences at Wood Henge he was not up to solving riddles today.
Last night's eerie apparition had unsettled him and he needed time to think about it.
Jen offered to help, but Sunny then explained what was supposed to happen today with Moonbeam, and she agreed it was not a good idea.
Sunny helped his Mother every season do the rounds of the caravan sites selling candles and natural herb potions. Sunny helped carry all the items that were for sale. It usually went quite well and she always managed to come home with little or no stock left. It would only cause embarrassment if he called at Jen's and the weirdos realised that he and Jen were mates. Sunny had brought the pendant they had unearthed, as Jen had promised to clean it up using her dads car rust treatment fluid and see if there were any more clues as to its history or possible purpose.
Sunny had placed it in the white hanky that Jen had laid out on the ground last night. He passed it to Jen and thanked her in advance for the cleaning service. All being well he could meet up with her again later say, fourish and he could tell her of his day's activities and she could bring the pendant back for closer examination. He enquired as to how she got on with her parents on her return last night, and was pleased to discover that it had all gone to plan.
Sunny returned to Home Meadow to load up all the goods on an old butchers bicycle with a large basket on the front which would take the bulk of the stock. Moonbeam had her best wicker basket out with the display stock ready for showing the customers.
She had pulled her long hair back from her face and had tied the long locks with a scrunchy which sat half way down her back. She wore the shortest shorts on god's earth, which had once been a pair of jeans whose holes had become irreparable, so she had cut the legs off. She wore a tight whitish tee shirt with a batiked motif, her favourite home-made shell necklace and flip flop sandals. His Mother had a good figure and was always well tanned, but he always felt a trifle uncomfortable when she decided to dress in such a revealing way. She was his Mother after all and not some holiday bimbo. She would never listen to reason and always accused Geronimo and him of being prudes. They set off on the journey and hoped to be well in pocket and home mid afternoon with no stock left.
Jen had walked back to the caravan. It was going to be a long day without Sunny and there were still clues to be solved and treasure to be found. Still she had gone off on her own for a day with her Mother before, so she really could not say too much. And then here were the peculiar incidents of last night to consider. She opened the hanky to reveal the pendant in the bright daylight. It was manky to say the least and she was not sure if her fathers rust remover would get it all clean as Sunny and she had hoped.
Her Dad was still cleaning car parts when she returned and her Mother was sat in a deckchair reading a paper.
"What have you got there young lady?" asked her Dad.
"Just something Sonia and I found in a rock pool. It's all rusty and I was wondering if I could borrow some of your rust cleaner to clean it up?"
Her Mother lowered the newspaper to see what was going on.
Jen offered the once white hanky to her dad for inspection.
"I hope that's not one of the best white hankies I gave you to come away with is it?" asked her Mother in a sharp tone.
"Sorry, Mum it'll wash out."
"I sincerely hope so, young lady. New linen handkerchiefs do not grow on trees you know."
Jen hated this tone. Of course she knew they didn't grow on trees. They grew on snot bushes, everyone knew that, she thought petulantly.
Jen's Dad slowly unwrapped the hanky and revealed the rusty object. He hummed a bit to himself and took it over to his small tin bath that was filled with his special cleaning fluid and dropped the whole thing in. It made a tiny splosh and caused the toothbrush cleaner fall into the bath.
Dad pulled it clear again and tutted.
"Give it half an hour to loosen the rust and then we will be able to see what's underneath. Do not put your bare hands into the solution, it's slightly corrosive and you could burn your delicate skin." He handed the orange stained hanky back to Jen who immediately tried to conceal it from her Mum.