Chapter Three.
Julian gets ready to go to the wedding.
"Want to take teddy too!" Two year old James insisted.
"There's not enough room for every toy you own." Julian replied exasperated, knowing it was useless to try to reason with a child that young.
"TEDDY!" James said, screwing his face up.
"Oh for heaven's sake.Take what you want!" Julian said tiredly, turning to leave the room. His wife, Anita, was leaning against the door, a smile on her face.
"Now you know what I put up with every day." She said.
"And I don't envy you one bit!" Julian assured her. "Dick was telling me at James' birthday party the other month that he wanted to have children soon- do you think we could give him this one?"
His wife laughed, and hit him. "Lucky I know you're just kidding. Anyway, I happen to know that you were exactly the same as a child! Your mother and I were talking!"
Julian rolled his eyes. "I can't win, can I?"
"I don't know; I'd guess you've gotten pretty lucky in life." Anita replied, with a smile.
Julian kissed her on the forehead. "You'd be right there."
"I can't imagine George in a dress, can you?" Anita asked.
"Not really, she was such a tomboy wasn't she?" Anita replied. When she and Julian had first started going out they were only fifteen, so she'd known George in her tomboy phase.
"Yeah, she sure was. She could swim better, row better, climb better-she made a better boy than we did sometimes. And she was as plucky as a boy too!" Julian agreed. "I remember the time her father put a tower up on her island to do an experiment. She was furious of course! I thought she'd explode when we went over there for a picnic. Her father had found a hiding place we didn't know, and she was so annoyed. It was her island and he knew something she didn't! And then when he thought that there was someone on the island trying to steal his secrets and George had to leave Timmy there to protect him. It killed her, but she did it because she has a good heart George. But she actually made her father promise to take Timmy into the tower with him when he signaled every morning and night-which he had to do because Aunt Fanny was nervous about leaving him over there alone since he was so absent minded. And then one night Timmy wasn't there. George was more than prepared to go right over in her boat to see whether or not her beloved Timmy was all right. It turned out, though, that there was a passage under the sea from the island to the quarry, and Timmy came through it, and arrived back at Kirren cottage. He lead us through the passage to save Uncle Quentin, who was actually a prisoner on the island, with men trying to steal his secrets!"
Anita smiled. "I could see George just jumping in the boat in the middle of the night and going over there to see whether Timmy was fine!"
"There was another time she decided to go over to the island in the middle of the night!" Julian remembered. "Her mother was ill and taken to hospital, and we were stuck with the Sticks! A horrid family, but they were there to help Aunt Fanny. After she got taken to the hospital we asked Uncle Quentin whether they could go and we could be left by ourselves, but he wouldn't hear of it. Life with the Sticks was anything less than nice and it got worse and worse. And George kept telling us to go home, that she would be fine. We should have guessed she was up to something, but we didn't. And one night I heard noises, and it turned out George was on her way down to the beach. I followed her only to find she was on her way over to the island to stay with Timmy since she couldn't stand being in the house without her mother and with the Sticks. I convinced her it would be a lot nicer if we all went to the island. So we did, and then lo and behold who should turn up on the island but the Sticks themselves? We were shocked at this, and hid from them, wondering what on earth they would be doing over there. It turned out they were taking delivery of something- a young girl named Jane I think?- who had been kidnapped as her father was very rich. Well we rescued her, and locked up the Sticks son Edgar in the dungeons as an exchange. And then we went back to the mainland to let the police know about all the goings on!"
"Mummy, can Teddy come?" James said, interrupting.
"If we can fit him in sweetie." Anita replied.
She went to help him with his packing, whilst Julian made a phone call to his brother to check that he and his wife would be ready when they arrived to pick them up.
"We're all packed and ready!" Dick confirmed. "Or should I say Jess is all packed? She's done most of it, but you know what I'm like when it comes to packing!"
"Yeah, only too well!" Julian replied. "Won't it be great to see George again? And Anne? She didn't come home last Uni hols because of the part- time job she got!"
"Yeah, it's going to be great!" Dick said.
"Anita and I were just talking about George, and the times she acted like a boy, like going off in the middle of the night when the Sticks were there!" Julian said with a laugh. "It's almost hard to imagine the same girl getting married!"
Dick laughed too. "I know!" He said. "What about the times poor George got kidnapped?"
"When that mad man, Red Towers, organised to have George kidnapped, and Aunt Fanny and Uncle Quentin were away?" Julian asked.
"Yeah, and that was when we met Ragamuffin Jo. She turned out to be a good kid though we wouldn't have thought that when we first met her on the beach." Dick said.
"And she sent you flying?" Julian added.
"That too." Dick said. "And then after George got kidnapped and we were told to put the notebook out, and I hid to see who it was who was getting it, and it turned out to be Jo? And then she told us that she would take us to George, but she got dragged away. And we got lost in those woods, but Jo found us. And we found her father's caravan, but George was gone, leaving only a note on the wall saying Red Towers as a clue. Jo knew who he was though, and he scared her, but she still took us to his place, and we got caught up with the madman. And Jo actually rescued George, even though the two of them never, ever got along!"
"And it wasn't the only time Jo helped rescue George? There was the time she got kidnapped again, and got taken to the fair, and Jo helped again and- "
"Are you on the phone gossiping? We're ready to go!" Anita interrupted, and Julian turned around to see his wife and his son, with their bags ready.
"I better go Dick, we're ready to come and get you now!" Julian said.
Julian gets ready to go to the wedding.
"Want to take teddy too!" Two year old James insisted.
"There's not enough room for every toy you own." Julian replied exasperated, knowing it was useless to try to reason with a child that young.
"TEDDY!" James said, screwing his face up.
"Oh for heaven's sake.Take what you want!" Julian said tiredly, turning to leave the room. His wife, Anita, was leaning against the door, a smile on her face.
"Now you know what I put up with every day." She said.
"And I don't envy you one bit!" Julian assured her. "Dick was telling me at James' birthday party the other month that he wanted to have children soon- do you think we could give him this one?"
His wife laughed, and hit him. "Lucky I know you're just kidding. Anyway, I happen to know that you were exactly the same as a child! Your mother and I were talking!"
Julian rolled his eyes. "I can't win, can I?"
"I don't know; I'd guess you've gotten pretty lucky in life." Anita replied, with a smile.
Julian kissed her on the forehead. "You'd be right there."
"I can't imagine George in a dress, can you?" Anita asked.
"Not really, she was such a tomboy wasn't she?" Anita replied. When she and Julian had first started going out they were only fifteen, so she'd known George in her tomboy phase.
"Yeah, she sure was. She could swim better, row better, climb better-she made a better boy than we did sometimes. And she was as plucky as a boy too!" Julian agreed. "I remember the time her father put a tower up on her island to do an experiment. She was furious of course! I thought she'd explode when we went over there for a picnic. Her father had found a hiding place we didn't know, and she was so annoyed. It was her island and he knew something she didn't! And then when he thought that there was someone on the island trying to steal his secrets and George had to leave Timmy there to protect him. It killed her, but she did it because she has a good heart George. But she actually made her father promise to take Timmy into the tower with him when he signaled every morning and night-which he had to do because Aunt Fanny was nervous about leaving him over there alone since he was so absent minded. And then one night Timmy wasn't there. George was more than prepared to go right over in her boat to see whether or not her beloved Timmy was all right. It turned out, though, that there was a passage under the sea from the island to the quarry, and Timmy came through it, and arrived back at Kirren cottage. He lead us through the passage to save Uncle Quentin, who was actually a prisoner on the island, with men trying to steal his secrets!"
Anita smiled. "I could see George just jumping in the boat in the middle of the night and going over there to see whether Timmy was fine!"
"There was another time she decided to go over to the island in the middle of the night!" Julian remembered. "Her mother was ill and taken to hospital, and we were stuck with the Sticks! A horrid family, but they were there to help Aunt Fanny. After she got taken to the hospital we asked Uncle Quentin whether they could go and we could be left by ourselves, but he wouldn't hear of it. Life with the Sticks was anything less than nice and it got worse and worse. And George kept telling us to go home, that she would be fine. We should have guessed she was up to something, but we didn't. And one night I heard noises, and it turned out George was on her way down to the beach. I followed her only to find she was on her way over to the island to stay with Timmy since she couldn't stand being in the house without her mother and with the Sticks. I convinced her it would be a lot nicer if we all went to the island. So we did, and then lo and behold who should turn up on the island but the Sticks themselves? We were shocked at this, and hid from them, wondering what on earth they would be doing over there. It turned out they were taking delivery of something- a young girl named Jane I think?- who had been kidnapped as her father was very rich. Well we rescued her, and locked up the Sticks son Edgar in the dungeons as an exchange. And then we went back to the mainland to let the police know about all the goings on!"
"Mummy, can Teddy come?" James said, interrupting.
"If we can fit him in sweetie." Anita replied.
She went to help him with his packing, whilst Julian made a phone call to his brother to check that he and his wife would be ready when they arrived to pick them up.
"We're all packed and ready!" Dick confirmed. "Or should I say Jess is all packed? She's done most of it, but you know what I'm like when it comes to packing!"
"Yeah, only too well!" Julian replied. "Won't it be great to see George again? And Anne? She didn't come home last Uni hols because of the part- time job she got!"
"Yeah, it's going to be great!" Dick said.
"Anita and I were just talking about George, and the times she acted like a boy, like going off in the middle of the night when the Sticks were there!" Julian said with a laugh. "It's almost hard to imagine the same girl getting married!"
Dick laughed too. "I know!" He said. "What about the times poor George got kidnapped?"
"When that mad man, Red Towers, organised to have George kidnapped, and Aunt Fanny and Uncle Quentin were away?" Julian asked.
"Yeah, and that was when we met Ragamuffin Jo. She turned out to be a good kid though we wouldn't have thought that when we first met her on the beach." Dick said.
"And she sent you flying?" Julian added.
"That too." Dick said. "And then after George got kidnapped and we were told to put the notebook out, and I hid to see who it was who was getting it, and it turned out to be Jo? And then she told us that she would take us to George, but she got dragged away. And we got lost in those woods, but Jo found us. And we found her father's caravan, but George was gone, leaving only a note on the wall saying Red Towers as a clue. Jo knew who he was though, and he scared her, but she still took us to his place, and we got caught up with the madman. And Jo actually rescued George, even though the two of them never, ever got along!"
"And it wasn't the only time Jo helped rescue George? There was the time she got kidnapped again, and got taken to the fair, and Jo helped again and- "
"Are you on the phone gossiping? We're ready to go!" Anita interrupted, and Julian turned around to see his wife and his son, with their bags ready.
"I better go Dick, we're ready to come and get you now!" Julian said.