[A/N. This is a pretty small chapter, but there wasn't a lot that I needed
to put in this one which is why it's so small.]
London, England, April 1958.
"Shouldn't we be on our way Edward?" Eliza asked. "You know what they're like about having your luggage put on board a few hours before we depart. Lady Monksfield was telling me about a nice little shop near the docks where we can have tea and scones whilst we wait to board."
After Margaret and Richard had left for their honeymoon Edward and Eliza had basically packed their things and made their way back to London, where they were now. It was only when they were on the train that Eliza told Edward of Lady Monksfield's concerns that her beloved son wasn't marrying into a good family because she had an inkling that Eliza hadn't been born with a silver spoon in her mouth. Eliza told Edward what she'd responded and he smiled slightly. "For what it counts I don't think whether people were born rich or poor makes an ounce of difference about what kind of person they are. I'm tempted to cable them when we get to London and tell them we lost our entire fortune whilst we were away and tell them we're now dirt poor." Edward had responded. Eliza had laughed and instantly felt better.
Now Edward glanced over at his wife. They were sitting in a coffee shop at Victoria Station where Edward had bought a paper to read the business news. "No rush dear." He assured her.
Eliza frowned slightly. That was unlike Edward- he was usually so punctual he was early. She sighed and looked around the bustling station. A bunch of young girls came rushing past, all dressed in pants and shirts and Eliza raised an eyebrow. Even though she knew it was perfectly all right for females to wear slacks now it still seemed wrong to her. And another thing she'd noticed was that not only were women wearing slacks, but they were also wearing skirts which were getting shorter and some barely touched a woman's knee. It was funny, Eliza had to admit, that sometimes she'd act like she was perfectly with the times and tease Edward or whoever for being old-fashioned, but nonetheless she couldn't bring herself to wear a skirt any shorter than halfway down her ankles. Margaret had teased her saying that one day women would be wearing skirts shorter than anyone could imagine, but Eliza had shook her head. There were still some morals about.
Eventually Edward folded up his paper. "We better get going Eliza." He said.
Eliza got up and they gathered up their things, except for the larger luggage which Edward had arranged to be sent on ahead a few days before. "It's going to feel weird getting on that ship and leaving England." Eliza said slowly.
"That's the thing Eliza, we're not going by ship." Edward said.
Eliza's eyes widened. "We're not? How exactly are we getting there then?" She demanded.
"We're flying. Turns out a friend of mine is over here on business and he owns a airplane so we're getting a lift home with him so to speak." Edward explained.
Eliza bit her lip looking apprehensive. "I don't know about that Edward.." She said. "People have died on planes."
"Years ago my dear." Edward replied. "I'll tell you a little secret- Albert Tucker is on the board of Pan American World Airways and they're about to launch a New York to Paris flight soon. Why in a few years time nobody is going to be going anywhere by sea- they're all going to be flying."
Eliza was only slightly mollified by this. "Is it a big plane?" She asked.
"Pretty big yes." Edward said. "It's even got a bedroom so if you're feeling tired or sick you can lie down and have a rest."
"And it will be a lot quicker than going by ship?" Eliza asked, beginning to warm even more to the idea.
"A lot quicker." Edward confirmed. "We'll be in New York before you know it. I bet we could surprise Ben too since he wasn't expecting us for awhile."
"That would be nice." Eliza said. She took a deep breath. "Alright, we'll fly."
Edward smiled. "Thata' girl. You're not going to regret this. In fact, I'm pretty sure you're going to love going on a plane, and think when they start commercial flights how much easier it's going to be to go and see Margaret and Richard. The world is going to be so much closer."
"It's a nice idea." Eliza agreed. "Just nipping over to England instead of it taking so long on a ship."
*****
"See, it's not so bad really is it?" Edward asked a few hours later as they were seated in the plane flying over the ocean.
Eliza glanced out of the window. "Hmmm.." She said.
"Do you know in about twenty years time they say nobody is going to drive anymore? Everyone is going to have planes instead." Edward said. "In fact by 2000 we'll all live up in space and drive planes."
Eliza raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
"Sure." Edward replied. "That's what they're thinking now anyway."
"Strange." Eliza said. "I remember when people began to drive automobiles for heavens sake. We used to all get so excited if we saw one in the street- especially as we couldn't afford one ourselves."
"The times, they are a'changing." Edward replied, and he went back to the papers he was reading.
Eliza sighed and looked out the window again. She wasn't sure she liked the idea of times changing so radically. After all at her age she was pretty set in her ideas. But at the same time you couldn't halt progress, so rather than complaining you had to go with the flow. She glanced at her watch. Ben was going to be so surprised to see them get there early. She wondered whether he had missed them when they were away.
London, England, April 1958.
"Shouldn't we be on our way Edward?" Eliza asked. "You know what they're like about having your luggage put on board a few hours before we depart. Lady Monksfield was telling me about a nice little shop near the docks where we can have tea and scones whilst we wait to board."
After Margaret and Richard had left for their honeymoon Edward and Eliza had basically packed their things and made their way back to London, where they were now. It was only when they were on the train that Eliza told Edward of Lady Monksfield's concerns that her beloved son wasn't marrying into a good family because she had an inkling that Eliza hadn't been born with a silver spoon in her mouth. Eliza told Edward what she'd responded and he smiled slightly. "For what it counts I don't think whether people were born rich or poor makes an ounce of difference about what kind of person they are. I'm tempted to cable them when we get to London and tell them we lost our entire fortune whilst we were away and tell them we're now dirt poor." Edward had responded. Eliza had laughed and instantly felt better.
Now Edward glanced over at his wife. They were sitting in a coffee shop at Victoria Station where Edward had bought a paper to read the business news. "No rush dear." He assured her.
Eliza frowned slightly. That was unlike Edward- he was usually so punctual he was early. She sighed and looked around the bustling station. A bunch of young girls came rushing past, all dressed in pants and shirts and Eliza raised an eyebrow. Even though she knew it was perfectly all right for females to wear slacks now it still seemed wrong to her. And another thing she'd noticed was that not only were women wearing slacks, but they were also wearing skirts which were getting shorter and some barely touched a woman's knee. It was funny, Eliza had to admit, that sometimes she'd act like she was perfectly with the times and tease Edward or whoever for being old-fashioned, but nonetheless she couldn't bring herself to wear a skirt any shorter than halfway down her ankles. Margaret had teased her saying that one day women would be wearing skirts shorter than anyone could imagine, but Eliza had shook her head. There were still some morals about.
Eventually Edward folded up his paper. "We better get going Eliza." He said.
Eliza got up and they gathered up their things, except for the larger luggage which Edward had arranged to be sent on ahead a few days before. "It's going to feel weird getting on that ship and leaving England." Eliza said slowly.
"That's the thing Eliza, we're not going by ship." Edward said.
Eliza's eyes widened. "We're not? How exactly are we getting there then?" She demanded.
"We're flying. Turns out a friend of mine is over here on business and he owns a airplane so we're getting a lift home with him so to speak." Edward explained.
Eliza bit her lip looking apprehensive. "I don't know about that Edward.." She said. "People have died on planes."
"Years ago my dear." Edward replied. "I'll tell you a little secret- Albert Tucker is on the board of Pan American World Airways and they're about to launch a New York to Paris flight soon. Why in a few years time nobody is going to be going anywhere by sea- they're all going to be flying."
Eliza was only slightly mollified by this. "Is it a big plane?" She asked.
"Pretty big yes." Edward said. "It's even got a bedroom so if you're feeling tired or sick you can lie down and have a rest."
"And it will be a lot quicker than going by ship?" Eliza asked, beginning to warm even more to the idea.
"A lot quicker." Edward confirmed. "We'll be in New York before you know it. I bet we could surprise Ben too since he wasn't expecting us for awhile."
"That would be nice." Eliza said. She took a deep breath. "Alright, we'll fly."
Edward smiled. "Thata' girl. You're not going to regret this. In fact, I'm pretty sure you're going to love going on a plane, and think when they start commercial flights how much easier it's going to be to go and see Margaret and Richard. The world is going to be so much closer."
"It's a nice idea." Eliza agreed. "Just nipping over to England instead of it taking so long on a ship."
*****
"See, it's not so bad really is it?" Edward asked a few hours later as they were seated in the plane flying over the ocean.
Eliza glanced out of the window. "Hmmm.." She said.
"Do you know in about twenty years time they say nobody is going to drive anymore? Everyone is going to have planes instead." Edward said. "In fact by 2000 we'll all live up in space and drive planes."
Eliza raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
"Sure." Edward replied. "That's what they're thinking now anyway."
"Strange." Eliza said. "I remember when people began to drive automobiles for heavens sake. We used to all get so excited if we saw one in the street- especially as we couldn't afford one ourselves."
"The times, they are a'changing." Edward replied, and he went back to the papers he was reading.
Eliza sighed and looked out the window again. She wasn't sure she liked the idea of times changing so radically. After all at her age she was pretty set in her ideas. But at the same time you couldn't halt progress, so rather than complaining you had to go with the flow. She glanced at her watch. Ben was going to be so surprised to see them get there early. She wondered whether he had missed them when they were away.