Narrow Minds (27 page)

I had another moment of déjà vu, here we were stuck across a river again. Our nose wedged firmly into the gap between lock gate and wall and our backside stuck in the reeds. I sighed and killed the engine.

Charlie ran back over the lock gates and stared in consternation at the drop into the pound. ‘What are we going to do?' She nervously rubbed her hands together. ‘What if the lock gates give way and we fall into the water, over the drop?'

I wasn't really listening; I was trying to work out how the hell I was going to get out of this mess.

We stood there for about fifteen minutes, trying desperately to move and failing every time. Finally Sam appeared.

‘What's going on?' He stuck his head out of the side doors. ‘Can I have a sandwich? I'm hungry.'

Irritated that he had interrupted my chain of thoughts (admittedly they were thoughts that were going round and round in circles), I snapped at him. ‘Not now, Sam, can't you see we have a little problem here?'

Sam climbed out of the boat and following Charlie's route leapt on to the concrete. He stood for a moment working out all that was going on. Then he shrugged and sitting on a bollard began to play on his DS.

‘So what are we going to do?' Charlie asked for the fifth time. ‘Those gates keep creaking, the boat's going to fall in, I know it is.'

Sam looked up at her and frowned. ‘What's the matter, Charlie?'

‘Oh for goodness' sake, Sam, just stay out of the way.' Charlie, worried beyond coherence, snapped at him, ‘You can see what's going on, what if those gates give way and we fall into the lock, it's a long way down, we'll sink the boat.'

Worry, and especially nonsensical worry, is obviously catching. Finally she convinced me that the gates were going to give way and I decided that as
Minerva
was locked solid across the river it was safe to get off and have a look at those gates, just to make sure they weren't going to give way. We had been at a complete stop for nearly an hour at this point.

Charlie and I leaned cautiously over the lock and peered into the water. Sam shrugged again and sat back on his bollard. ‘So can I have that sandwich?' he repeated.

I grabbed Charlie as she headed toward him, furious beyond words.

‘Not yet, Sam, let's see if we can get out of this mess, then I'll get you something to eat.' I stared back at the boat wishing that Geoff were there, not that he'd be able to do anything, it's just that misery loves company.

Sam sighed and stood up. ‘It's cold.' He wandered over toward the lock; I put a hand out to stop him falling over the edge. He looked at the lock, then back at the boat. ‘Is the lock broken then?'

‘No, love, We're just stuck, what about if we get that rope back and all three of us pull the back end round?'

Sam looked at me and frowned. ‘Wouldn't it be easier to fill the lock up, open these gates and then pull the boat in?'

Silence, broken only by the sounds of wind and water fell over our little group. Charlie and I looked at each other then down at the lock.

Without a word spoken I climbed on the back of the boat, Charlie took her key and began to lower the bottom gate.

We'd had to back
Minerva
off a little to open the top gates, but after that she'd gone in easily enough, we'd dropped gently down to the next level and were soon on our way again.

At the bottom moorings I pulled her in with no difficulty at all.

Putting the kettle on, Charlie and I refused to look at each other and Sam was confused by the silence.

I put a tuna and cucumber sandwich in front of him and gave him a kiss. ‘Well done you.'

‘Eh?' he queried around a big mouthful, ‘Wha' for?'

‘For keeping your head when all about you are losing theirs.' I gave him a hug. ‘When you're around it's like having a little one of your father in the boat.

Sam really had no idea what he'd done that had been so right, but he was happy with the praise so he beamed at me.

Charlie sniffed. ‘I hate it when he does that.' She took a mouthful of sandwich. ‘You know he's going to grow up to be a lawyer or something that needs lateral thinking and maths, don't you?'

‘No I'm not.' Sam frowned. ‘I'm going to be an accountant.'

Charlie and I grinned. ‘Good for you, Sam.' I gave him another hug. ‘That will be lovely.'

Boat, containing tired, slightly frazzled family, and car, containing a worried Geoff, arrived at Fotheringay within a very short time of each other. He surveyed the damage and in his usual organised and quietly efficient style he set to, straightening the aerial and putting wood up at the doors.

As we were sitting down to a rather wonderful meal of fish and chips, Amelia phoned.

I spent a happy hour talking to her about the wonderful Chris and how college was due to start in a week's time. She had slipped back into her old ways of talking at a hundred miles an hour, changing subjects at the speed of light so that when she asked how we were doing, it took me somewhat by surprise.

‘Well, we've had a bit of a time of it really, Lu died, Charlie tried to put the body in the river but it wouldn't sink and she waved at us as she went past the windows, that was yesterday. Today Sam punched Charlie in the face, and we smashed the windows in the boat and totalled the aerial by running it into a lock gate and I lost most of the skin on my palm to rope burn, then we got stuck across the river and Charlie and I became stupid and thought the boat was going to fall into the pound but Sam sorted it out.' I blurted out.

There was silence on the end of the phone. ‘Hello? Amelia are you still there?'

‘I don't really know what to say to all that,' she said, ‘Lu's dead …' she paused obviously trying to get all the information into a straight line, ‘hang on, Sam punched Charlie … really?'

I laughed, trust Amelia to go straight to the unexpected, obviously pets dying was just sad and us running into things was now commonplace in her view.

‘Yep, she wound him up so much he gave her a good smack right in the kisser.' I waited for the inevitable.

‘Sam?' Amelia sounded confused. ‘Our Sam?

‘Yes, he actually does have a breaking point,' I said, laughing, ‘I was beginning to think he didn't have one at all.'

‘Hmm.' Amelia was silent for another moment while she obviously, like me, adjusted her mental image of her youngest sibling. ‘Anyway, I'd better go, I'm working tonight, then after work, Chris and I are going out with friends so I'm glad you're all still alive. '

‘Sounds great, so when are we going to meet Chris?' I laughed as there was a sort of glurkling sound down the phone.

‘I don't know,' Amelia said, coughing, ‘but he keeps asking to meet you lot as well, so I think I've said too much to both of you.'

‘Good, well the sooner you bring him over the better, then you'll get both of us off your back.' I waited for the usual excuses.

‘Right, I will.' She laughed. ‘This will be make or break for this relationship. As soon as you get to Cambridge we'll be down, when are you likely to be home?'

‘As long as we manage to get through Denver, we should be home in three days, four at the most, maybe five.' I winced, well that didn't sound vague at all.

‘Good, we'll see you then.' Amelia completely ignored the range of numbers I had given her and there was silence for a moment. ‘Mum?'

‘Yes?'

‘I really like this one.' Another short pause. ‘Could you please TRY and be a little normal.'

I laughed. ‘Nope, if you've told him all about us, then it would just confuse him if we suddenly become two-up two-down suburbans, don't you think?

There was a huff. ‘I suppose so,' she sighed, obviously this was really worrying her. ‘See you soon … and Mum?'

‘Yes?'

‘Erm could you please stop trying to kill yourself and the kids, if you actually managed it I'd be sad.' There was a click and she was gone.

I slipped my phone back into my pocket as Geoff wandered up the boat.

‘Two things.' He poked me gently in the shoulder.

‘Yes?' I put the kettle on.

‘One, all you have to do is drive the boat, please stop breaking it.' He poked me gently with each word then he gently lifted my bandaged hand. ‘And stop breaking yourself, this could have been really nasty, you should see the dent across the front, you must have hit that gate really hard.'

I grinned at him. ‘I didn't really have any choice. She was going and we were going with her whether we liked it or not.'

‘And two,' he continued, ‘I have an interview for a proper job with a maintenance company in Cambridge, same sort of thing as my job in Durham, comes with a van and all those sort of benefits.' He gave me a big grin. ‘Fingers crossed, eh?'

‘Hello in there,' an unknown voice called in through the bow doors, interrupting us before I could start asking questions.

‘Hello?' Geoff and I turned as one.

A bearded grinning man stuck his head in our doors. ‘I don't suppose I could borrow you for a moment, could I?' He indicated with a thumb over his shoulder. ‘We've just parked up next door and our collie pup has run off with your staffy. They're having a great time, but I think it's going to take more than me and your son to round them up again.'

Two hours later there was blessed silence, both kids and dogs had collapsed after an hour of chasing each other about the large field below Fotheringay castle. After the first half an hour, as the dogs didn't seem inclined to actually run away, they just wanted to chase each other about, occasionally buzzing their owners as they hurtled past us, the adults had given up, Geoff had made tea and we had all sat down to watch kids and dogs miss each other by inches. Sarah, Lawrence's wife, had made scones and, pausing only to call the kids over for one, we had sat, drinking tea, and eating scones and watching the game (I think the score ended up dogs 3 kids 1) and moaning about Titchmarsh lock.

Their boat,
Butterfly
, was only fifty foot so hadn't had the traumas in the lock that we'd experienced, but even so Sarah said she wouldn't want to attempt it again, she had also phoned the Environment Agency, a course of action I hadn't even considered, to tell them that it was dangerous.

After kids and dogs were asleep I came out with tea for Geoff and Sarah and, accepting a glass of wine from Mike, settled myself down we prepared to watch the sun go down and the lights in the church come on. It was a very peaceful scene, the wind had dropped with the setting sun and sitting huddled inside a big coat I was warm and happy.

‘I can't believe you'd do this on your own.' Sarah shook her head. ‘I wouldn't dare, we've had this boat four months now and I'm still running into things and panicking. You must be really brave.'

I sighed. ‘Not really, we just don't have a choice, with Geoff working now we absolutely have to be in Cambridge as soon as possible, just to get the kids to school.' I shook my head with a grin. ‘Believe me, I wouldn't do it if I could possibly avoid it.'

Sarah shook her head firmly. ‘No, I just wouldn't do it; we'd have to find some other way, just travel at weekends or something.' She looked worriedly at her husband. ‘This is Lawrence's boat, and if he wasn't there to drive it, I don't know what I'd do.'

Obviously this wasn't an argument I was going to win so I just nodded and gently changed the subject on to her cooking skills and what sort of equipment they had on their boat.

Later, lying in bed I went over the comments again. How on earth could you live this life if you weren't both committed to it? ‘This is Lawrence's boat.' It echoed around and around in my head. I couldn't imagine being able to get away with being fragile or girly in this environment, today had proved that. You have to have a slight amount of insanity and a certain ability to turn a blind eye to the possible dangers, my throbbing hand reminded me that those dangers can be very real and a situation can go from being safe to downright dangerous in the blink of an eye.

Four years, on and off, we've been puttering up and down this same stretch of canal and river. The three trips have all been very different. My hand throbbed again and I could feel the itching where the liquid that was still seeping out of the wound trickled into my palm. I stared out of the window, I was forty-five years old, was that too old to be taking on another great big project?

I rolled over on to my stomach, careful not to wake Geoff, and stared down the length of the boat. For another single moment I missed our house then, even more strongly and for the first time in four years I longed for our old life, a life that was easy, a big house, with enough money to live on, my lovely warm Aga, the huge bath, the big garden.

I sat up and climbed out of bed, moving quietly to put the kettle on. Why did I want this life? My hand throbbed and I winced as I quickly put the kettle down so that I could pick it up again with my uninjured one. What the hell was I doing? I turned the gas on and moved quietly down the boat to look at the kids, they both lay in their usual tumbled positions, what I was doing to them and how would all this effect them later? I swallowed against a sudden lump in my throat. It wasn't worth it, I was only doing this because I hated the bills and the postman? Suddenly all my reasons for wanting this life back seemed banal and stupid, unreasonable and selfish, Sarah was wrong, I was wrong, I wasn't brave at all and quite frankly I didn't want to play any more.

Geoff's hand on my shoulder almost gave me a heart attack. ‘What's up?' he whispered loudly.

I sniffed as the tears began and he got the whole sorry tale in one big blurt.

Depositing me with a pile of tissues on the bed he went to make tea.

Ignoring all my sniffling and snorting he sat down beside me and started moaning that he didn't have any clean socks.