Chapter 10: Cat's Out of the Bag
Spring was moving fast, and as the days became longer and warmer, the engines grew used to having the little brown engine around. Calling upon her for many jobs, from moving steel freight, to pushing coaches. She worked just as hard as any of the native engines to keep the railway running. Thomas only wished Edward could see. He would be proud.
But just as Sir Topham Hatt warned, this arrangement wasn't permanent. Unavoidably, just when things were beginning to feel normal, Mira's contract on Sodor expired, and the day arrived for her to return to the ship.
The huge steamer lay by the docks, towering above their heads. It's grand size and the fact that it, too, ran on coal and steam made all of the engines feel puny. Even Gordon, though he was too proud to admit it.
A quiet evening, the fat controller let the engines off of work early, so that they could gather at Brandom Bay to see Mira off. Her driver collected her few belongings from the shed she'd shared with Thomas for most of her stay, including her precious radio, and carried it aboard.
"Avast! All aboard!" the crewmen on the ship called. The time had arrived.
Mira was strapped to a huge, reinforced wooden board, connected to a dozen strong cables and steel rods. There was a hook at the top that would be snatched by Cranky, who would lift her high into the air and deposit her onto the ship's deck. The steam team thought the prospect of dangling so high over the docks and the sea, even for a few moments, was terrifying. But Mira seemed used to this—which was a heartbreaking prospect, Thomas felt. How many times had she'd been through this that it became boring?
But he refused to look sad in her presence. Especially when this was the last time he was going to see her.
"I'm going to miss you," Mira said to them all. "Every last one of you. You all made me feel so welcome here."
But when her eyes flickered near Gordon, her gaze turned to the ground. And Gordon, feeling rather silly, did the same. "Ahem. I can't apologize enough for treating you the way I did. It wasn't the right thing for a proper engine to do. You may be different—maybe even a little insubordinate, for my taste. But you're not bad."
Mira's face was washed with surprise. "Why… thank you, Gordon."
"And we'll miss you, too," Thomas told her. So much more than you know.
"Will you continue traveling, and seeing all parts of the world?" asked Percy.
"For as long as the ship will have me," Mira confirmed.
"Don't you ever get to go home?" asked Emily, sadly. "Settle down, with friends?"
"Honestly, I've never had a home. But of all the places I've been, this is what I'll picture when I think of where I would love to settle down. The beautiful blue waters, green forests, and colorful engines. It may be premature to say, but I do believe my heart belongs to Sodor."
The horn on the massive ship bellowed, and a shower of steam came down on the bay so great that, even together, the engines couldn't recreate it. When it cleared, Thomas thought Mira's eyes were on him. But it may have just been wishful thinking.
After a tisk and a sigh, and a rude comment or two about the engines keeping him from working with their frilly goodbyes, Cranky got to work, and Mira was lifted onto the ship.
"Stay out of trouble!" said Emily affectionately.
"But if you ever come back, bring us back some more wild stories!" called Henry.
"I will!" Mira called back, hovering high in the air over their heads, like a little brown bird.
"Or maybe just embrace your imagination," Thomas suggested.
The engines whistled and cheered her name until she was on the deck, and out of sight. All except Thomas. He was too busy taking in her unconventional beauty, etching every detail of her sunset-colored face into his heart.
When the commotion died down a little, Percy spoke to him. "Will you be okay?"
Thomas thought for a moment before answering. "You know, I think I will be, after all," he responded, bravely.
"Atta boy," his driver praised. "Alright, it's getting dark, we better be getting home."
When they returned to the sheds, Sir Topham Hatt surprised the engines with an unannounced visit. He'd been waiting patiently for them to return from the bay, with good news, dancing on the tip of his tongue. "The men at the works contracted to fix Edward have finally all returned. He should be home by tomorrow. And they tell me with the repairs he's received, that he's good to serve us for years to come."
"Wonderful!" said Henry.
"Finally," Emily sighed happily.
"It'll be nice to have Gray Wheels back," James said. "But do you still think we'll be shorthanded, sir?"
Sir Topham Hatt nodded. "For a little while, we're all going to have to work just a little harder." He turned to Percy. "Which is why I've decided to offer Percy a promotion."
"M-Me?!" Percy asked, his eyes spinning.
"I've seen the way you've juggled different tasks this week, and I'm extremely pleased with you. Would you like your very own branch line?"
"M-my-my-my own?!" Percy exclaimed. "Would I ever! Ahem! S-sir!" He grinned. "But… who will deliver the mail?"
At last, Thomas spoke up. "I'll help you with the mail. When you can't, I'll do it. It's what friends are for."
"Geez, thanks!" Percy grinned at him.
"Now that's what I call 'teamwork,'" Sir Topham Hatt praised. "You two make me proud."
"It's a shame we couldn't keep Mira, though," Toby pointed out. "She was a lot of help."
Thomas felt a flicker in his firebox, just at the mention of her name.
"Now, now," Sir Topham Hatt said. "We're all going to miss our guest. Some of us, more than others."
To Thomas's horror, his eyes slowly shifted to him. Gordon, James and Henry began to snicker. And every last engine in the sheds was now staring at him knowingly.
Thomas groaned. "Oh no. Not you, too!"
The old controller muffled a laugh in his hand. "Yes, Thomas, I'm afraid the cat's out of the bag."
"Cat?" Percy piped up, his eyes darting left and right. "I don't see a cat anywhere. Who's looking for it?"
The tender engines let out a long, collective groan. "Percy!"
"Oh, bully, it's an expression again, isn't it?" the tank engine sighed.
Sir Topham Hatt chuckled. "Don't fret, Percy. And the same to you, Thomas," he said, putting on his most fatherly voice. "You've just experienced a natural part of life. I completely understand why you wanted to keep it private. But all the same, I wish you would've behaved a bit more wisely."
Thomas felt humiliated. "How in the world did you all find—?" But he spoke no further, as his eyes came to rest on the single possibility: A tender female engine to his right. She began whistling a tune, and trying to look nonchalant. "Emily! You jerk! How could you?"
"I didn't say anything," Emily defended herself with a smirk. "It just sort off… came out."
Thomas had no fight left to start an argument. But now that the secret was out, he didn't feel ashamed to ask this one, last question: "You don't suppose that she'll ever come back to Sodor, do you, sir?"
"It's unlikely, I'm afraid," Sir Topham Hatt told him. "It makes more sense to hire engines for my railway that I believe I might keep permanently, when I can. And Mira's master on the ship is very pleased with her, traveling to and fro, adapting where she is needed."
"I'm happy that she gets to see the world," Thomas said. "Truly I am. I suppose I'm just selfish for wanting her to stay."
"Don't be so blue. You did a good thing and made a visitor feel at home, and stood up for her when her character was being challenged. Which reminds me." He turned to the tender engines with a disapproving look. "I've heard some rather rude talk floating about our guest. While I agree that she and her driver had some… rather peculiar ways of doing things, it did not make her any less of a help. We would never have handled this season's task load so well without her—let alone save our dear Gordon from disaster—and I hope everybody realizes that."
The tender engines became awkwardly quiet, shifting their gazes to the stone around their tracks.
Sir Topham Hatt turned back to Thomas. "You made a friend in her, and it is your maturity that makes you one of my most useful engines—even if you don't always exercise it. And it will lend to her memory of you."
"Thank you, sir," Thomas replied, giving a weak, faltering smile. "I just really, really hope you're right."
"If you have any faith in my wisdom, then trust me." And with that, the fat controller hopped into his car and set off for home.
By the time the buggy was out of eyeshot, a new figure appeared on the horizon. And it was accompanied by an all too familiar, middle-toned whistle. Not too bright, and not too deep.
"It's Edward!" Percy cried out. "He's home early!"
"Yes, early to be late," Toby teased.
True to Percy's word, the friendly blue engine whistled excitedly to alert the other engines of his arrival. He chugged passed the signal tower brandishing the Tidmouth sheds name, and up to his friends, who ushered him in with a chorus of whistles in return.
Edward was a sight to behold. On top of his fixed fenders, he had received a beautiful touch up to his paint since he'd been away. It seemed like his blue had never been bluer.
"If it isn't Old Iron!" James called, whistling the loudest.
"If it isn't Young Ego," Edward replied, rolling his eyes.
Coming from Edward, this did not offend James. He and Edward had become as tight as Thomas was to Percy, and Gordon was to Henry. Though his pride kept him from showing it outwardly, of all the engines, he genuinely missed Edward's company. As such, his grouchiness from the past few weeks fizzled out with the steam through his whistle.
"It's good to see you again," said Henry. In truth, all of the Steam Team had missed Edward, one of the kindest engines on Sodor and nearly always in good spirits.
"Oh, it's good to be home," Edward sighed. "Driver says I'm good to start working first thing in the morning. And the twins will be coming back tomorrow."
"And aren't we glad for it," James said.
"My my, Edward, the works have been good to you," Emily noticed, her eyelids fluttering as her voice became tender.
"Oh, no," Thomas whispered to himself. These last few weeks had made him wiser. He understood what that look in her face when she looked Edward's way meant now. But all the same, he had to smile. Apparently, spring fever was contagious.
"But… what's happened to your face?" Emily asked.
Edward knew what she was talking about. Along his left cheek was a long, shallow scar that he had picked up in the accident. "Oh, the gash! Well, it seems the workmen couldn't buff it out, so I guess it'll just have to stay there."
"I rather like it," Gordon commented proudly. "It gives you character, Edward."
"It makes you look tough," Percy said, admiringly.
Little Edward, the most humble engine, became overwhelmed by the attention. "Oh, I don't know about that…" he grinned.
James simpered. "With a mark like that, at least nobody will get you mixed up with Thomas again."
Edward frowned. "Come again?" Seeing he was left out of an in-joke, Edward looked at every engine, and when he didn't get an explanation, he asked for one. "Good grief. What on Earth did I miss?"
"It's a loong story," Thomas told him.
Percy piped up, excitedly. "Oh yes! A new engine visited to help, and she had a lady driver, and Gordon says that's not normal. And Thomas got an in-fec-tuation, and we listened to ka-ka-phony on the radio. And then Thomas became a pulley and he and Emily saved Gordon from sliding into the ocean!"
Edward only looked more confused. "Uh, okay…?"
When he pulled into his shed, Thomas whispered to him. "I'll explain everything later. When we're alone."
"Are you going to tell Edward about a little log engine that you bunked a shed with?" snickered James.
Thomas let off steam.
And just like that, the history books were opened.
"How about I remind Edward about the usefulness of boot laces?" asked Thomas.
"Hey! Just because you saved Gordon's sorry backside doesn't mean you can throw dirt on me!" James argued. "You do that well enough with coal, soot monster!"
"Leave little Thomas alone," Gordon butt in. "He's been through enough already!"
"I don't need your help, Gordon," Thomas said, annoyed. "It's the least you could do as a favor back for almost dying for you."
"You told me it makes us even for the mine incident!" Gordon exploded.
"Oh, you mean that and the ditch incident?" Henry teased.
"Hey, hey, don't act like you're on the moral high ground here Henry," James fired back. "You were willingly stuck under a tunnel for weeks!"
And as the boys bickered into the night, Emily saw her way out of Tidmouth sheds by the light of the stars. "Men," she sighed. "Do they ever change?"