“Shut up about Percy!” screamed Miss Grimsludge. “I don’t care about Percy! He’s only a boy! What about my car?”
“Percy!” called the blue-hatted woman. “Are you in there somewhere?” Percy started down the stairs.
“You’re a witness!” announced Miss Grimsludge, grabbing the burly policeman who had come to see what all the fuss was. “She’s crashed into my car!”
“Can’t see any damage,” said the policeman, inspecting it. “ I wouldn’t worry about it if I were you.” He turned to the lady in the blue hat: “Might you be Percy’s Aunt Lucy?”
“That’s right,” said the blue-hatted lady calmly taking off her woolly gloves. His mother wrote to me. Any opportunity to rescue him from awful Edwin, I thought, so I came straight here.”
“Ah,” said the policeman. “She didn’t by any chance say where they were going?”
“Well,” said Aunt Lucy, “- she said they were going to see Edwin’s Uncle Gordon in Scotland because he was dying, but I expect that’s just what Edwin told her. I’m afraid my sister is a very silly woman. The Edwin I knew didn’t do sick visiting. -I suppose it’s fraud again is it? “ The policeman nodded. Aunt Lucy, unperturbed, smiled at Percy who was now standing at the bottom of the stairs. “Hello, Percy!” she said, inspecting him speculatively. “At least you don’t look like your father, so that’s one blessing. You must have been wondering what was going to happen next?”
“A bit,” said Percy, shyly, deciding that this new aunt looked a whole lot better than Miss Grimsludge.
“Right,” announced Aunt Lucy. “Well, it’s been a long journey from Wales so I’m going to put the kettle on. Have you got any biscuits. Percy?
“There’s two in the tin. I accidentally dropped them on the floor last night so they might be a bit fluffy and one broke, but I don’t think Wesley nibbled them much,” replied Percy.
“Never mind,” said Aunt Lucy. “I didn’t know what I was going to find here and so I came prepared with a few presents for Maria in case, but as she’s left, we may as well enjoy them. Here, Percy – there’s a box in my car boot. Can you carry it in for me?” She tossed him a set of keys, and went into the kitchen.
By the time Percy had struggled back in with the large cardboard box, all five policemen were sitting cheerfully round the table with mugs of hot tea. He looked around nervously to see where Miss Grimsludge was.
“She’s gone,” stated Aunt Lucy briskly. “She said she didn’t drink tea so I told her she’d better go and buy whatever she does drink at the Red Lion. I don’t think she’ll be back. Now let’s see..” she delved into the box. “- Yes, I thought I’d put some in. Have a welsh cake. They’re better warm with a little butter and sugar, but this will do for now.”
*****
“Well, remarked Aunt Lucy when the policemen had gone back to their search, “I had a feeling that you didn’t want to go with Miss Grimsludge, so would you like to come and live with me and your Uncle Gethin and Jack until your mother gets back? Jack is the same age as you and I think you’ll get on with each other. He’d like some company. He’d have come with me today only Bess, our sheepdog, was having puppies so he thought he’d better stay with her. You’ll have to change schools, though,” she warned.
“Oh, I don’t mind that!” said Percy quickly. “I’d like to see the puppies!” he added.
“Well that’s settled then,” said Aunt Lucy. She smiled: “-we have hens too, and another sheepdog called Dai and a cat called George, and lots of sheep.”
“Can I bring Wesley?” asked Percy. “He’s my tortoise.”
“Of course you can,” beamed Aunt Lucy, looking for a moment rather like his mother used to look in the days before she started having to hunt for toads and mash lumpy grey potatoes. “I expect you’ll want to bring a few treasures with you. Have you got a box for Wesley? I’ll unpack this one and then you can use that.”
After Percy had carefully packed the Christmas parcels hidden in his wardrobe he thought about what else to put in. He deliberated a while and then added a spare pair of pants and socks just in case he should need to change them in the next week or two. He had just put in a jumper in case it was very cold, when he suddenly recalled the lucky five pence under his pillow, so he wrapped it up in the spare socks for safety. The case still didn’t look very full, so he packed an interesting stone that he’d found in the yard and his toothpaste. It took him a while to find his toothbrush, until he remembered that he’d used it to scrub the mud from the interesting stone to see if there were any fossils on it last Monday. Then he added two useful thick red rubber bands that he’d rescued when the postman dropped them on the pavement; the spring from a dead ball point pen that his father had thrown away which he’d been keeping because you never knew when it might come in handy, and an old magnet that still worked a bit. Then he closed the case and went downstairs.
It seemed hard to believe, but there was a smell of chips! Percy decided that Aunt Lucy must definitely be the surprise the CFC had referred too. She was certainly a surprise anyway!
“Lay the table, will you, Percy dear,” she said as he opened the door, “- and call those policemen to come and sit down.”
The contents of Aunt Lucy’s box had now been marvellously transformed into seven steaming plates of ham, egg and chips. Furthermore there were mince pies and – joy of joys – custard to follow! It was like having Mrs Doggett back.
*****
The journey to Wales in Aunt Lucy’s little red car took a long time, but Percy missed most of it. He was fast asleep. It had been an unusually busy couple of days. He woke up as the car began its slow ascent up the bumpy mountain track to Aunt Lucy and Uncle Gethin’s farm. By then it was dark, so he couldn’t see out much.
“We’re nearly there,” Aunt Lucy told him. “Jack will be looking forward to meeting you.” She sounded quite confident about this, but Percy suddenly felt anxious.
“He won’t mind, will he?” he asked. “I mean, he doesn’t know me. –We might not like each other,” he blurted out. Lucy glanced at him and smiled:
“He’ll be pleased as Punch!” she said. “He’s always wanted someone else to play with in the holidays. We’re a bit far away from the village up here, so his friends don’t pop round all that often. I think you’re quite alike really.”
“I never knew I had a cousin before,” remarked Percy, curiously.
“You did meet once when you were both babies. Then Edwin, your father, had a bit of a row with Gethin. After that Maria stopped replying to letters. I suppose Edwin wouldn’t let her. – But it’s all in the past. Look, there’s Jack waiting for us – I think Bess must have had her litter!” She pointed to a figure caught in the headlights, weaving frantically.
“She’s had six pups, Mum! Come and see! Come on Percy!”
By the time Percy had scrambled out of the car and stretched the sleepiness from his legs, Jack had vanished into the barn.
Inside between the bales of hay, a beautiful black and white collie lay on her side on an old blanket. Six tiny naked newborn puppies were tumbling over one another as she gently licked them. Percy knelt down, entranced, and watched.
Jack looked at Aunt Lucy:
“Mum, I know we can’t keep them all, but could Percy and I keep one each? – Please!”
Aunt Lucy smiled “I think we might manage that,” she said cheerfully, “-but don’t disturb Bess for now. She needs some peace. Come inside and get washed and show Percy his room while I get dinner.”
Inside, shining glossy holly decorated the big fireplace and a Christmas tree sparkled as warm light from the flames bounced off silver and gold baubles and flickered on the wall. There was a lovely smell of pine needles and a pile of excitingly mysterious presents piled on the floor.
“You’ve got the room next to mine,” said Jack, heading up the stairs and flinging open two doors. “Only you’ll have to kick Ge
orge off the bed because he thinks it’s his.” Percy looked at the large black cat curled up in the centre of the duvet. “– You’re not allergic, or anything are you?” Jack added hastily. Percy, remembering Grumbo and Miss MacGrammar, began to laugh:
“No, I’m not allergic,” he spluttered, shaking with laughter. Jack looked at him curiously. “Sorry! It’s rather a long story, and you’ll never believe it” he gasped apologetically.
“That’s OK. It’ll be ages before dinner,” said Jack cheerfully sitting on the bed. So Percy began, and the odd thing was that Jack did believe it.
*****
It wasn’t long before Percy felt as if he’d lived at the farm all his life. He had a fantastic Christmas – probably, he thought, the best ever. Even Wesley was good tempered on the few occasions when he was awake as Aunt Lucy always seemed to be able to find some titbit that would appeal to his rather finicky appetite. On Christmas morning Percy had woken to the sound of Jack hammering on the door shouting to him to get up. The mountain was freshly carpeted with snow and a lumpy stocking lay on the end of his bed. Downstairs Uncle Gethin was singing Christmas carols in a vigorous baritone as he fetched in logs for the fire and smell of bacon and eggs scented the air. As they ate, Jack and Percy eyed two particularly large oddly shaped parcels that had appeared beneath the tree overnight.
“You might want to open those first,” suggested Uncle Gethin. “Before the sun gets up,” he added, grinning.
“Not until they’ve finished breakfast and washed up,” said Aunt Lucy firmly. Percy and Jack had never cleared dishes so quickly!
“It’s a-,” said Jack, tearing off wrapping paper.
“-Sledge!” completed Percy, joyfully yanking away the last strip of sticky tape.
They looked at one another.
“Two sledges,” corrected Jack, a grin spreading from ear to ear “-Come on!” With one accord they both disappeared through the door into the blanket of white.
“Peace!” said Uncle Gethin.
“Peace,” agreed Aunt Lucy, smiling.
“All the same,” remarked Uncle Gethin, moving to look out of the window, “I wish I was their age!”
Sledging
Percy had saved until last the parcels he’d brought with him, and he and Jack opened them together that evening sitting on his bed, eating Smithers’ toffees and feeding bits of lettuce to Wesley. There was a ‘Make Your Own Robot kit’ from Rhodri, a wind up Father Christmas with its own chimney to climb from Father Edmund, and a copy of ‘The Easy Guide to Spelling’ by Mary-Anne MacGrammar inscribed in copperplate handwriting: “to Percival from M. MacGrammar, in the hope that it may prove of some small assistance”. Nanny had provided enough socks to keep him going for a year, two pairs of woolly mittens and a jumper, which fortunately, was plain red, apart from one band of grey near the bottom. The box of jokes and tricks from Tingle he shared with Jack so that they could try them out on one another. It was a day Percy would never forget.
Even school turned out to be better than Percy could have hoped. No-one in Wales seemed to think his name was odd. They knew all the English were peculiar anyway and couldn’t sing properly, nor read words with two ‘L’s and ‘W’s’ in the middle like Pwllelli, so neither Percy’s name nor his clothes or his accent came as any surprise to them. Besides, he was Jack’s cousin, and everyone liked Jack, so that was OK, especially as Percy turned out to be good fun too, once he’d got over being a bit shy on the first day.
After a while a postcard arrived from Percy’s mother. It said:
“Dear Percy,
We decided not to go to Scotland after all as Uncle Gordon is always grumpy. It’s very hot here but they have a lot of taxis. Your father has bought a hat as a llama ate his wig. I hope you are remembering to change your socks.
Love and kisses,
Mummy xxxxxxxxxxx”
“Ughh Yuk!” said Jack when he read it
“The postmark says ‘Lima’. -That’s in Peru, in South America, I think,” said Uncle Gethin, thoughtfully.
Aunt Lucy just lifted her eyebrows and put the kettle on.
Percy put the card away in his case with the spring and the interesting stone. After all, she was his mother.
In time, Percy began to wonder if Grumbo, Rudolph and the trip to the Father Christmas Training School had all been a dream.
That is, until one day……but that’s another story!
The End
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The Wrong Night Page 12
