by Anna Cuffaro
“So, you travel lot?”
“Well, I do my fair share”, answered Gatwick, trying not to show off too much.
“I beened in prison, too, you know”, admitted Dazbog.
“Really?”
“Yes, when I did something for big white polar bear. Have you ever meeted big white polar bear?”
“Yes, I have. At Gatwick Airport”.
“Have you ever meeted big white polar bear with big white tie?”
“Yes, I have. He gave me some money. I know all about his activities”.
“Can you remember what company he work for?”
“North Pole Iced Solutions”.
“That’s right!”
“Yes, his name is Arnold White, but I know he also calls himself ‘Anton Weiss’”.
“Arnold White? You say he has two different names?”
“I don’t see anything wrong with that. For example, my father had two identities, he was a vicious killer to some, and was loveable to others. He was known as Gilbert Brown to some, as the Brown Bear to others, and simply as Bertie to his family”.
It suddenly dawned on Dazbog that Gatwick’s situation was much more complex than had seemed. Not only was he a great spy, but his father had been one too. Gatwick had been in prison, for shady reasons, while his father had been a killer. Dangerous, a very dangerous family. Not only. Anton Weiss was a double agent working for the Eagles under another name: he was double dealing, selling arms and ammunition to both the Eagles and the Vultures. Now, how could anyone know which side he was really on? Would he blow up the Kremlin? Probably, because he just wanted to sell as many bombs as he could.
Dazbog flew up to his room, phoned the General at their Headquarters, on their hotline, and told him about his findings. “You never going to believe this...”, he began, “but I just founded out most incredible information. Anton Weiss double-dealing us...” and so Dazbog told the General the whole story.
Then, Dazbog said: “Gatwick was only one who knowed this. He knowed very mich. And, we niever knowed this terrible truth till now. Gatwick on our side or he wouldn’t tell me information”.
After the General had listened, with a lot of interest, he decided that the only way out of this mess was to give Gatwick a big reward in money, for two reasons. The first, for telling them this vital secret information and, the second, to keep him quiet. Of course, someone as clever as Gatwick would understand. “Give him back his big box on wheels, tieded with red rope, and fill with mich money. If you not enough money there, I send you mich money”.
The next day, early in the morning, the courier arrived with packets and packets of money. Dazbog packed the imitation big box on wheels and tied it up with red rope. As soon as he’d finished, he went to Gatwick’s suite and rang the bell. Jet was already out looking for worms. Gatwick was still dreaming about chocolate. He thought he heard the bell, but didn’t know if it was in his dreams or for real. That happened to him every now and then. Sometimes, when he was thirsty at night, he dreamt that he was drinking water, and it really quenched his thirst. Strange!
Anyway, after he’d tried opening the door in his dreams, the bell still kept ringing. So, he had to get up to answer it. Well, of course, Gatwick was especially mega-ruffled first thing in the morning. He stumbled to the door, and found Dazbog standing behind it.
“Hello, there. How come you’re up and about, at this time of day?” asked Gatwick.
“It 10.30, you know”.
“Exactly, how come you’re already up?”
“I bringed you your big box on wheels, tieded with red rope. You know, I finded it”.
“Thanks, so much, Dazbog. Just put it down there, please. I’m still a bit dazed, I think I’m seeing double. Are there two boxes right there?”
“Yes, two box there. Well, I go now. Comrade want to see me. Bye, and good flight home”.
Dazbog left and Gatwick went straight back to bed. And, dreamt some more about chocolate. He slept until he had slept out all the sleep in him.
Mama and Little Sister had already packed. And were ready to leave. Where was Gatwick? They went to his suite and rang the bell again and again: ‘ding, dong, ding dong, ding, ding’.
“Come on, Gatwick, let’s go”, Little Sister shouted behind the door.
Gatwick opened the door and let them in. He showed them the two identical big boxes on wheels, both tied up with red rope. He asked them if he was seeing double. “No”, they assured him, “there are two”. That’s what Dazbog had said, too. So, without any idea why this was so, they set off for the airport, each trundling a piece of luggage. Before they checked their luggage in, they sat on a bench in departures and took the two remaining boxes of chocolates out. They ate one box between them and put the other box back saving it for their flight home.
Handing luggage over to airlines can be risky. Suitcases do not always end up where they should. Gatwick hadn’t realised that all the suitcases he’d climbed up at North Terminal had been lost by someone some passengers never saw their suitcases again. Especially those whose suitcases had finished at the bottom of the pile or in the middle.
When they arrived at Gatwick Airport, they waited and waited for their luggage, but... it didn’t appear on the conveyor belt. Maybe the bears had gone to the wrong baggage reclaim! No, they couldn’t see their luggage anywhere. So all three of them went to the Lost Luggage Desk.
The lady behind the counter looked at her computer. “We’re very sorry”, the lady apologised, “we don’t know where your luggage is. Let me just make a phone call. Excuse me, please...”
She spoke on the phone for quite a while.
“Look, we’re so sorry, your cases seem to have gone to Lisbon. The baggage handlers thought the cases were going to Lisbon and not London, they misread the destination. I’m sure they’ll arrive tomorrow”, she assured them.
“Don’t worry about it, we can come back tomorrow, we live here”, Gatwick replied.
They were glad to be home. Gatwick was so proud of his home. He led Mama and Little Sister to his broom cupboard. And that’s where they slept that night under the mops.
36 Eat and Be Happy
In the morning, Gatwick showed Mama and Little Sister around Gatwick Airport. First, they went to look for leftover muffins and half finished cups of coffee. Gatwick had looked everywhere for his muffin map, but he couldn’t find it: ‘someone must have thrown it away’, he thought. Then, he took them to the pizza hut. But, it was empty; it had closed down. Where would they go for food? They were going to find it hard to get enough to eat in future.
Then, Gatwick wanted to show his family the airport entrance, and the area outside, where the buses stopped. Gatwick told them which buses went where. He also showed them the bus shelter where he had slept, and got his fur drenched, that night when Miss Acid had thrown him out. And, all of a sudden Jet came flying by.
“Hi Jet; when did you get back?” Gatwick asked.
“Late last night”, he answered. “Did you know that Miss Acid has left? She’s now head of security at JFK Airport in New York”.
“Yippee!” That was one change that Gatwick welcomed very much indeed. No longer would he have to spend sleepless nights on a cold and wet bench. Gatwick told Jet about the closure of the pizza hut. Jet was shocked, he used to get a good crust or two from there. What now?
“Do you think we should move to another airport?” asked Jet.
“No”, replied Gatwick, “this is my home”.
“Let’s go and look at the notice in the restaurant window, let’s see if it’s going to open again. Maybe they’re on holiday”, said Jet.
“I don’t think so, it was completely empty”, Mama Bear said sadly.
“Let’s go anyway”, Little Sister said.
So, off they went to the empty restaurant. The notice read:
RESTAURANT TO RENT
DEAL ALSO INCLUDES 4 ROOMS AND 2 BATHROOMS
ALL NEWLY-REFURBISHED
EXCEL
LENT OPPORTUNITY
Then followed all the contact details, which they didn’t bother reading.
“What does ‘rent’ mean?”, Gatwick asked.
Mama and Little Sister said that they’d never ever been there, so they didn’t know where rent was either. Jet knew what it meant. Some of his friends had rented a chest of drawers to nest in, somewhere on the outskirts of London.
“What you do”, Jet explained, “is to give someone money to let you use something that’s theirs”. Now that he had explained it, it sounded complicated to him: “You can have the restaurant for as long as you give them money every month”. The bears understood now.
“Let’s go and see if our luggage has arrived. I’m a little worried about my dinner set”, said Mama.
So, they all headed for baggage reclaim. The lady saw them coming and recognised them at once.
“Oh”, she said, “I was just thinking of you. Your luggage is here”. And, there they all were piled up against the wall. Little Sister was so chuffed to see her pink suitcase again that she danced a light jig. They trundled their luggage to the broom cupboard.
“Why don’t we rent the restaurant?”, Mama said.
Gatwick thought they ought to sit down and think. He placed his finger on his chin and asked Little Sister what she thought: “I think it’s the greatest idea ever”.
“OK, let’s phone them”. They all went to look at the number on the notice, then waddled off to the nearest phone box.
“Hello!” Gatwick said.“I’d like to rent the restaurant at Gatwick Airport. Have I got the right number?”
“You certainly have”, answered the agent.
They decided that the viewing would take place that afternoon. The agent told them that if they signed the contract and paid the first three months’ rent in advance, they could have it straight away. The bears loved the idea. When Mama saw the kitchen, she couldn’t believe her eyes she didn’t know that such well-equipped kitchens existed. She put her apron on there and then. The living quarter round the back was spacious and had big windows. Seeing their excitement, the agent whipped out the contract and showed Gatwick where the dotted line was. Gatwick drew a muffin on it, paid the man and the deal was done. A quick hand-paw shake, and Gatwick was given the keys.
The agent gave them the phone number of interior designers for restaurants, and for the living quarters, John Lewis had everything they needed. Gatwick phoned them as soon as he could find the right coins. They didn’t waste time in coming round and measuring the place up. Soon the whole lot was newly-furnished it looked as good as the Grand Hotel they’d stayed at.
The bears invited Jet to live with them, but he said he preferred the outdoor life. He would come and give them a helping wing during the busy periods. Flying is very handy, if you’re a waiter. Of course, Jet would have all the free food and drinks he wanted.
The bears took down the notice from the shop window and replaced it with a new one:
COME IN !
GREAT MENU ONLY £10
For that you get:
spaghetti
ice-cream
fizzy drink
*
LOOK AT ALL THE SPAGHETTI WE’VE GOT:
spaghetti with hamburgers
spaghetti with fat chips
spaghetti with smoky bacon
spaghetti with fish fingers
spaghetti with salt and vinegar
spaghetti with steak pie
spaghetti with crinkled chips
spaghetti with sausages
spaghetti with tuna sandwich
spaghetti with potato wedges
spaghetti with baked beans
spaghetti with curly wurlies
spaghetti with chicken nuggets
spaghetti with cheeseburger
spaghetti with thin chips
spaghetti with crisps
spaghetti with yorkshire pudding
spaghetti with shepherd’s pie
spaghetti with egg and bacon
*
AND LOOK AT ALL THE DELICIOUS ICE-CREAM WE’VE GOT:
Italian ice-cream made by Mama: 50 different flavours
*
FIZZY DRINKS
Any colour you like
*
MUFFINS
A free chocolate muffin for every customer
*
With Mama as cook and the little bears and Jet as waiters, the place became an enormous success. People from miles around came to eat at the restaurant, even if they weren’t catching planes. Passengers started flying from Gatwick Airport rather than Heathrow, and to make sure they got a table the smart ones booked their table over the internet soon after they’d booked their flight. Some passengers missed their planes, for second helpings. Eagles, vultures, ravens, hawks, rooks, roosters, sparrows, and other birds the bears didn’t recognise, all went to eat delicious ‘worms’ there. It was a place where you could dine with celebrities and where spaghetti was free for the homeless.
After closing time, the bears got down on their paws and furry knees and cleaned and polished the whole restaurant until it was spick and span. Their hard work and friendly service resulted in their getting: The Best Restaurant of the Year Award.
Every hour, on the hour, Mama would come out of the kitchen and join Gatwick and Little Sister in the aisles, between the tables, where they danced to the tune of Knees Up Mother Brown for two minutes and a half. Even Jet took part when he was there.
For the dancing, Gatwick wore his smart red waistcoat on top of his blue one... Some of the more outgoing customers joined in dancing with the bears. The name of this awesome restaurant was:
THE END
Sparkling Books
Young adult fiction
Cheryl Bentley, Petronella & The Trogot
Brian Conaghan, The Boy Who Made it Rain
Luke Hollands, Peregrine Harker and the Black Death
Crime: mystery, thriller, horror fiction
Thomas Brown, Lynnwood
David Stuart Davies, A Taste for Blood
Nikki Dudley, Ellipsis
Sally Spedding, Cold Remains
Sally Spedding, Malediction
Other fiction
Amanda Sington-Williams, The Eloquence of Desire
Non-fiction
Daniele Cuffaro, American Myths in Post-9/11 Music
David Kauders, The Greatest Crash: How contradictory policies are sinking the global economy
Revivals
Carlo Goldoni, Il vero amico / The True Friend
Gustave Le Bon, Psychology of Crowds
