I’m not sure who had the wildest night, but Harry’s account of barely escaping with his life, following a quick visit to the girls to check that everything was working OK, had us all in stitches.
As Allan had done me the great honour of asking me to be his best man, I took my duties seriously and ensured that his memory of most of the night was hazy but happy.
Formalities were observed, and Michelle and Allan spent the night before the wedding apart.
As he was unable to sleep because of nerves, I spent most of the night sitting with him in our favourite planning spot, the hut on the main barricade, drinking coffee and chatting. As the sun rose at about 5.30 in the morning, we gave up on the possibility of sleep, and carrying a weapon each, spent the next few hours walking the perimeter until it was time for us to get ready.
I had been looking after Allan’s police ceremonial uniform, which had been delivered from the base.
Michelle was expecting to see him in a standard suit, so seeing him resplendent in his uniform was going to be just one of the surprises planned for the day.
A large marquee had been erected for the ceremony, on the main road in Moseley village. At the allotted hour, we all began to gather. Becky was with Michelle, so I tried in vain to keep Stanley and Daisy from running around with their friends and ruining their immaculate clothes. Other parents were attempting to do the same, with varying degrees of success.
Everyone had made an effort and dressed in their finest clothes. Most of us were delighted at the opportunity to get dressed up, something we all thought we wouldn’t be doing again.
The soldiers looked fantastic in their dress uniforms. As a member of the royal household, Harry’s was particularly impressive. Kim was breathtakingly pretty in a dress she’d found from somewhere.
Paul Berry stood proudly next to Mel. After a very gentle courtship, they were now very much in love and had continued to look after Penny whom they loved like a daughter.
Everyone was smiling and enjoying the occasion. Chris Garland stood laughing with Pete and the others. He had met a woman recently, while running a survival course at another community. He had invited her along to the wedding and we all had hopes that the relationship would develop.
Well known political figures, including the prime minister and his family, were milling around and exchanging pleasantries with everyone, and enjoying the sunshine. The wide gulf that had previously existed between high profile politicians and personalities, and the general public, had long since disappeared.
I spotted Harry walking over to Allan with a serious expression on his face. I knew what it was about, so I quickly put on my game face.
“We have a problem. The registrar has fallen ill. I’ve just been to check on her, and there’s no way she’s going to be able to perform the ceremony,” he said frowning.
Allan went slightly pale, pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his forehead.
“Can we delay it?” he stammered, “what am I going to tell Michelle? I knew it was all going too well ...”
He stopped when he noticed that Harry was trying, and failing, to suppress a smile.
“What’s so funny?” Allan snapped.
“Oh, nothing dear chap,” Harry replied, trying and failing to look serious.
Allan glared at him.
“I know you, posh boy! You only act like that when you’re up to something. Tell me! I’m on edge enough as it is. Today is not the day to wind me up.”
Harry checked his watch and cocked his ear, as if listening for something.
“Allan, my good friend. Trust me, there is no way I’d really wind you up on a day like today. It’s just that some surprises are just that. Surprises.”
I could now hear the faint whump of a helicopter approaching.
The noise gradually grew louder, until two helicopters appeared overhead and circled the compound slowly.
“What’s going on? Who’s coming now?” Allan shouted above the increasing din, as they slowly began to settle and prepare for landing.
I was smiling now too, as I’d been let in on the secret only a few hours before. Harry hadn’t wanted the downwash from the helicopter to ruin Michelle’s carefully coiffured hair, so he’d told us both what he had planned and asked Becky to keep Michelle inside until after the helicopters’ arrival.
A curious crowd gathered around the two helicopters, as their rotor blades slowly stopped spinning. The side door on the first helicopter opened and a soldier ran forward and placed some steps up to the door.
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II appeared in the doorway and took Harry’s proffered hand for support, as she stepped from the helicopter followed by Prince Phillip.
The crowd broke into spontaneous applause, which increased in volume as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge stepped from the other helicopter.
Allan turned to me and saw the smile on my face.
“You knew?”
I nodded.
“Only for a few hours, my friend. Harry told us what was happening this morning.”
He frowned.
“But there can’t be a wedding. We don’t have a registrar.”
I laughed.
“There never was a registrar. The person you met yesterday was an aide to one of the ministers pretending she knew what she was talking about.”
“Well how the hell are we going to get marr………”
A look of panic came over his face, as it occurred to him that the Head of the Church of England, the Defender of the Faith, had just stepped from the helicopter. I watched as his brain kept suggesting and then dismissing the possibility that the Queen might be performing the marriage ceremony.
I slapped him on the back.
“Yes, mate, she is! Harry put the idea to her a few weeks ago, and she agreed that it was an unusual but wonderful proposal. No one could confirm if she could legally perform the ceremony, so I believe she used her royal prerogative to decree that she can.”
He was lost for words. He looked at me and his eyes filled with tears.
“I can’t believe it. I just wanted a quiet wedding to confirm my love for the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. There I was moaning about what a circus it was becoming, but I take it all back. Michelle’s going to get the wedding of her dreams. I can’t thank you all enough!”
A look of trepidation settled on his face, as he saw Harry leading the Queen directly towards him.
I whispered theatrically, “Keep calm and remember your manners.”
He had no time to respond, but my remark seemed to have the desired effect because he began to look calmer.
Harry made the formal introductions.
The ceremony, which was delayed for a few hours due to the Queen’s arrival and the need to make a few changes in the marquee, couldn’t have gone better.
Michelle looked truly beautiful in her dress, and radiated happiness. The look on her face when she saw Allan in his uniform was everything we had hoped for.
The Queen, looking magnificent in a fur gown and the crown jewels, performed the ceremony with great dignity, and there wasn’t a dry eye in sight.
The day meant so much to us all. It wasn’t just a celebration of a wedding; it was setting the scene for the future.
After the wedding breakfast the Queen gave a rousing speech thanking everyone present for the contribution they had made to the recovery of the UK. It was through all our efforts, she stressed, that the country had not only picked itself up after the event, but was beginning to prosper again. Her speech concluded, she set off back to the base.
Much later, I sat with a drink in my hand, grateful for the opportunity to have a few moments to myself. The evening was warm and balmy and seemed to last for ever.
I looked round the marquee at all the people who were important to me: my family and my friends, particularly my former neighbours. We had all put so much work into the community we had created and into this place we called home.
Not really knowing w
hy, I walked out of the marquee and down the road.
The security cordon provided by the base for our protection had been widened to include the temporary accommodation, so the gates to the compound were sitting open and unmanned.
I found myself sitting in my usual lookout post on the wall. I found its familiarity comforting. As I sat enjoying the peace, my mind began to wander. We had achieved so much already, what would the future hold?
I leaned back and closed my eyes.
Ten Years in the Future
I sat watching the traditional summer solstice celebrations.
Allan came up and handed me a bottle of homemade wine.
“We’re getting better at this wine making. This year’s vintage is the best yet; remember our early efforts? It tasted like paint stripper, but it was all we had.”
I grimaced and made choking sounds at the memory.
We were interrupted by Allan’s son, Billy running up and jumping on to his lap. He was eight and full of energy.
After a couple of minutes of tickling and hugging, he ran off to rejoin his friends, who were making the most of being allowed to stay up late.
He called after him, “Don’t forget to include your sister. She may be younger than you but she loves playing with you.”
Billy turned and shouted, “No, Dad! Katie’s OK, look she’s over there playing with her friends.”
Before Allan could respond, he was out of sight.
I topped both our glasses up and we clinked them together.
“Happy anniversary, mate,” I said.
“I know. Ten years! Who would have thought it? And where has the time gone?”
“Some would say it’s been non-stop hard work. But not me!” I replied, grinning.
I twisted in my seat to look around.
The many windows of the large country house we now lived in were brightly lit with lamps and candles.
In the fading light, I could still see the acres of crops and fields full of livestock we tended and nurtured to feed our community.
“Well, at least we know now that it was the right decision to leave the city. It was crumbling around us. We’re much better off out here. This one building, although it might be old and cold in the winter, is so much easier to maintain than all the houses we used to live in. The fields are easier to tend and the surrounding properties still give us room to expand.”
He nudged me in the ribs and my eyes were drawn to Stan, who stood there laughing with his arm around his partner, Grace. Grace was heavily pregnant.
“Yes, yes thanks for reminding me I’m going to be a grandad,” I murmured with a smile on my face.
Stan had grown into a man to be proud of. Handsome and strong, he was also a valuable member of the community. He’d met Grace during a visit to a neighbouring community.
After a long-distance courtship, he’d eventually persuaded her to come and live with him.
And as marriages had created alliances between kingdoms in the past, so the joining of two young members from separate communities created bonds that strengthened the relationships between them.
“What time are you off in the morning, Tom?”
“Oh, not too early,” I replied, raising my glass. “It’ll take two days to get to the base on horseback. I’m going to pick up some of the other council members on the way so that we can travel together.”
A few years before, I had been asked to join a new initiative. The old politicians and leaders of the past had conceded that their skills and experience were no longer relevant in the world we occupied now.
Instead it was agreed that each area of communities would be represented by one council member, and these council members would come together periodically to discuss any matters raised.
Some of the issues could be agreed over the radio, but it was always best to meet face to face to get the more serious matters agreed.
Although all the communities could stay in contact with each other via radio, the crumbling roads had made travel by anything but horseback an arduous task and therefore visiting anybody but your nearest neighbour was difficult. For this reason, all the members for the entire country would get together at one large meeting and these were held every six months or so.
The dates varied depending on the time of year, and the workloads of the communities, but as it took most of the council members several days to reach the base in Herefordshire (which was still the country’s “seat of power”), the meetings usually lasted at least a couple of days so that all the matters could be covered in that time.
I had been persuaded to accept the role.
“It’s going to be a good get together,” I remarked, “the trade routes are working really well now. And there’ll be enough surplus this year to enable more coal mines to open.
They’re also hoping to get more steam trains running soon, which will make it much easier to move the supplies around the country to where they’re needed.”
Alan laughed.
“It’s great, isn’t it? If I had told anyone before this happened that steam trains and horse-drawn canal barges were going to be the only economical and feasible way to deliver goods around the country, I’d have been locked up.”
“Yes, but the good thing is, apart from critical goods such as coal and salt, not much else needs to be delivered. We’ve all learned to live on what we can produce locally,” I pointed out.
“So, that bottle of brandy we shared the other day was what?” he said, filling up my wine glass again, and smiling.
“That was a gesture of goodwill from our friends across the Channel. The sailing boats that regularly cross the Channel don’t just carry people. Trade between countries is important,” I replied, trying to look important and indignant at the same time.
“That bottle was sent to me personally by the President of France. She sent a gift to each council member. You should feel honoured I’ve even shared it with you!”
“I dare you to send her a bottle of our home-made plonk to show her the best the UK has to offer.”
I laughed, almost spitting out a mouthful of wine.
“No way! Wars have been started for less. No, seriously though, the main agenda items are about trying to work out how big our food surplus will be this year.
That way, we can work out how many extra people we can feed and allocate to all the others jobs that need doing. I’ve mentioned coal mining and salt production, but we plan to expand the regional hospital programme too.
Those buildings need to be staffed and maintained, and the roads leading to them need to be kept in good repair.
When I took the job as council member on, I didn’t realise the half of it. Everything we improve creates more problems that then need to be looked at.”
Alan slapped me on the back.
“Rather you than me. I’m happy here with Michelle and the children. Security hasn’t been an issue for years and I can’t remember the last time I was called out to resolve anything more than bickering neighbours who just needed their heads knocking together to see sense. The first couple of years were a bit more interesting until those few rotten apples were removed from the barrel.”
Alan had been made Chief of Regional Police, a job he had done single-handedly, looking after security and policing matters for our own and other neighbouring communities.
As most communities had their own internal policing policies, it was rarely necessary for Allan to intervene. And we all still possessed weapons, although every community stored these in their own armoury, to be removed only when needed.
In the meantime, monthly training days kept us all prepared and competent, just in case.
As a precaution, I always carried my personal weapons when travelling across country to the base. Robberies occasionally happened on remote routes, but these were becoming very rare, as anyone who committed such acts found themselves vigorously pursued by groups of well-trained, heavily armed and angry volunteer community members.
“Is Da
isy excited about coming along with you?” Allan asked.
“Yes, of course she is. Although I think she’s more excited about seeing that young lad who visited last year. I don’t know how they managed it, but he’s accompanying the South Wales council member to the base.”
I gave him a severe look.
“If I didn’t know any better I’d suspect that some unauthorised radio use has been allowed. But as that’s your department, I can’t possibly imagine that you’d let that happen. After all, a good friend wouldn’t let my precious daughter go behind my back and make all these arrangements, would he?”
He winked. “No way I’d allow that, my friend. But to be fair, sometimes it’s seemed as if forces that were beyond my control have been causing me to leave the radio room unattended. I’m not blaming your wife or my wife, but I think we may have been duped! Sorry.”
I sighed. “Oh well, I can always fall back on the traditional ‘scare the hell out your daughter’s boyfriend’ routine. It’s so much easier now we have guns.”
I half laughed, not even sure myself if I was serious or not. “I know I can trust you and Harry to look after things in my absence.”
I looked up at the sound of laughter. Harry, and Kim, who was also pregnant again, had joined Stanley’s group of friends.
As I looked at them, I couldn’t help thinking now that some of us were getting older, that the group I was looking at included the most likely candidates to be taking over the country’s leadership in the coming years. I looked round at the groups of people gathering around the large fire, and saw the faces of some of the original inhabitants of the community we had created, all those years ago.
Pete: the backbone of the community, despite his advancing years. He was still working alongside Michelle day after day, producing the lists and rotas that kept everyone working collectively and efficiently.
Mary: who still ran the community’s school.
Jerry and Fiona: without my chance meeting with him in a cash and carry warehouse at the very beginning, I doubt if we would have survived six months. They still worked as doctor and dentist for our community and those around us.
UK Dark Trilogy Page 53