The Stone Read online

  Brian, the agent for the property, was the first outsider to visit Edmund. He told him that he had found someone interested in the cottage and would like to negotiate with him personally. He asked Edmund what he thought of that.

  ‘What’s his name Brian?’

  ‘Ian Burrows’, Brian answered.

  Edmund thought for a minute. ‘Ian Burrows, where does he come from?’

  ‘I think its somewhere in Kent. Deal, I think.’ Brian answered.

  ‘I definitely want to see him, when can it be arranged Brian?’

  ‘Well, I think he is renting a bedsit in Boscombe. He works for the power company but I don’t know what he does.’

  ‘Get hold of him Brian, and tell him to come to see me tonight at seven. Also tell him we are expecting him for dinner. Is that OK, Ellie?’ Her dad asked her.

  ‘Why are you inviting someone you’ve never met to dinner, dad?’

  ‘You’ll see, Ellie, you’ll see.’ Edmund wistfully smiled.

  Ellie asked Brian if anything could be done to the lift operation. ‘Is there a fault on it?’ he asked her.

  ‘Not exactly, but you know where you turn the key to get to the third floor, I want that to be normal access now.’ Ellie explained.

  ‘If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you what to do.’ She pressed the button to get down to the ground floor. Brian asked her for the key, put it in the slot and turned it anti clockwise one whole turn. ‘There you are Ellie, simple as that!’

  ‘You’re the best there is Brian’, and gave him a peck on his cheek. Brian looked at her with mock surprise and laughed.

  29: How will it End?

  Clive had given up his job at Vizards in London, and Brian had helped him sell his little maisonette in Hammersmith and then found him some large premises in Southbourne. It used to be a dental practice, and on the first floor, there was a huge self-contained flat. This was to be his new lawyers practice, and once he got settled, Brian promised him that he would find plenty of work in the area.

  Clive had done sterling work representing Ellie in her divorce. He had sensed correctly that Gary did not want to prolong proceedings, so with Ellie’s agreement, he offered Gary’s brief a cash settlement of twenty five thousand pounds that he related to the equity value of their house in Oxford. If Gary had baulked at the offer, Clive was going to hit him very hard with a huge damages claim, which would have bankrupted him.

  Her divorce was finalised in three months, and as soon as Gary had signed over the deeds for their house to her, she paid off the mortgage and handed it over to Brian to sell it. As usual, with some incentive, on advice from her dad, Brian had sold it for the asking price, and Ellie used the funds to help with Clive’s business premises.

  Clive was living at his mother’s whilst the move was being completed. He thought that it was right to let Ellie spend as much time as she wanted with her dad.

  One morning in the Breakwaters, Ellie was cooking a special breakfast for her dad, when he called her from the lounge.

  ‘Ellie, I’ve just remembered that I have got something here to show you. I found it in the top pocket of this old sports jacket. Some people from a town called Samarkand to give it to me, over ten years ago.’ Edmund passed her a small piece of folded paper, written on both sides. As she opened she saw there was a short handwritten note in fading black ink.

  ‘I’ve seen this language before dad. When I was in Bath with Rowena, we went into a shop which had a sign above it in this Cyrillic script.’ She turned the paper over, ‘is this the translation?’ She asked, Edmund nodded and smiled at her.

  Ellie read the message out loud. ‘Abdul says that one day someone that you love will save your life.’

  ‘And that’s just what you did!’ Edmund smiled at her with tears in his eyes.

  Last week, Clive had taken Ellie to visit his mum, and because she had a dog, her dad agreed for her to take Zowie to meet the Golden Labrador. After lunch, they all went a walk in the nearby woods. It must have taken Zowie back to the times in the New Forest as she had a whale of a time with her newfound friend!

  Seven o’clock soon came, and Edmund didn’t know who was the more nervous: Ellie, fussing in the kitchen, or the young man coming for the dinner. Clive was also invited, and he was currently lying on the couch, with Zowie lying on top of him. The bell buzzed and Ellie pressed the intercom. ‘Is that Ian?’ he confirmed and she automatically opened the main door for him. ‘The lift door is opposite you and just press three and you’ll find us from there.’

  Ian gulped for a minute. ‘What a place, it’s a palace, what sort of people live here,’ he thought to himself.

  Edmund came to the door and let him in. Zowie jumped off Clive and ran to Ian. He got down on his haunches and she licked his face. The ice was broken.

  ‘I noticed that there was only one door on this floor, is this the only apartment? I hope you don’t mind me asking.’ Ian asked meekly.

  Clive came over and shook the young man’s hand. Ian was about twenty with a stubble beard, definitely not used to wearing a tie. He had blonde hair that looked like it could need a combing, and an engaging smile.

  ‘Let me introduce you to Ellie, she’s your cook for the night. She not only owns the flat, but the whole building as well!’ Ian’s mouth was open as he shook her hand perhaps a little too hard. ‘And this is the man you have come to see.’ Clive stood back smiling. Edmund stepped forward and shook Ian’s hand. Ian noticed that the older man’s face was brown with outdoor weathering, but he looked like he had not been outside for a while.

  ‘Pleased to meet you sir, Brian has told me a little about you, but can I ask you a question?’ Edmund nodded. ‘I don’t understand why I’m invited to dinner when you have never met me before.’

  Edmund waved for him to sit at one of the easy chairs, he was surprised that Zowie had stayed with Ian instead of anyone else, and she sat so close to him, it was amazing.

  ‘Well now Ian, I invited you because of your name, and where you come from.’

  ‘But I’m certain that I’ve never met you sir, I would have known that, this is definitely the first time!’ Ian looked at Edmund totally puzzled.

  ‘Let me put you, Clive and Ellie out of your misery. It was your father that I knew; I worked with him in Deal, at the shoe factory.’

  ‘Whippseys! Yes, now I know who you are. My dad talks of you all the time. He told me that you gave him his break in life. It’s an honour to meet you sir, I can’t wait until I talk to my dad about this. He’ll be over the moon!’

  ‘Ian, I have had a signal from my daughter that dinner is ready so shall we go into the dining room? We’ll talk business after, OK?’

  Ian talked at length about his job during dinner. He worked for a power company, spending much of his time checking out new ecological sources of energy. He talked a lot about the misuse of fossil fuels. Edmund was most interested in that area himself, having spent such a time at the cottage without basic utilities.

  ‘Ian you are aware that there is no mains connection, no water no gas and no electricity at the cottage, aren’t you?’ Edmund asked.

  ‘Yes sir, I am aware of that. As it happens it fits my needs perfectly for my job. I will be able to showcase my green ideas as well.’ Ian explained.

  After dinner, Clive and Ellie decided to take Zowie for a walk, so that her dad and Ian could talk business. Zowie didn’t want to leave Ian at first, she wanted to stay with him, and it was most surprising that he had hit it off with her so quickly. They had only walked on the cliff top and as they approached the car park, Ian was coming out smiling. Clive stopped him for a minute.

  ‘You haven’t closed the deal already have you?’ He nodded and started to walk home after a quick pat of Zowie’s head. ‘Do you want a lift home Ian?’ Clive shouted after him.

  ‘No thanks, Clive. By the way, your dad is a great man Ellie. Thanks for dinner. Tell him I’ll see Brian tomorrow.’ He started to run home and jumped in the air. Ellie ch
uckled at Clive.

  A year has passed since Ellie found her dad. Clive has grown a thriving business in Southbourne. They have made a beautiful home above the office, and Ellie has been given the best gift of all from Clive, a beautiful son! They’ve called him Edwin, after his great grandfather.

  There were times of course, when Ellie spent time with Edmund, talking over his past. Inevitably the subject of the stone came up.

  ‘How did you know when to pass it on to me dad?’ Ellie asked.

  ‘After your mother had died, I knew then that it was time to pass it on, and now I realise it was the perfect time for all of us.’ Edmund explained and smiled warmly to her.

  ‘But dad, what about Edwin, when will I know if it’s the right time for him?’ Ellie asked her father.

  Edmund smiled at Ellie. ‘You’ll know when the time comes my darling.’’

  Sometime later, Ellie had a call from her dad. He wanted her and Edwin to call at the apartment as he’d got something to show them. As she walked with the buggy, she wondered what surprise he’d got in store this time. Ian had bought the cottage, and asked her dad if Zowie could join him. He wouldn’t think of it at first, but Ian worked on him and he finally relented. He really missed her but the apartment wasn’t the right place for a collie. So he let her go, only on the condition that Ian brought her down to the beach now and then. Edmund had also given Ian the pickup truck for free, and had just held on to the little Morgan.

  They had reached the block and Ellie rang the bell. She waited, and rang again. ‘Hello?’ a woman’s voice answered.

  The voice played tricks with her mind. The door unlocked and she pushed the buggy into the lift, and in a moment was standing at the door, just about to knock, it flew open.

  ‘Mum, what are you doing here?’

  ‘And who is this little chap?’ Her stepmother asked, as they walked into the lounge.

  Edmund was smiling behind her. ‘Your stepdad has passed away Ellie, and I was all alone in Johannesburg, and your dad invited me here. I’d got no one, Ellie!’ She stepped backwards and held Edmund’s hand. They looked at each other eye to eye, then back to Ellie. She ran to both of them.

  ‘Now you are my real mum as well. You know, dad, there has been so much happened to you, you could write a book.’

  And I did. And you’ve just read it. I hope you enjoyed it, dear reader!