The Second Homecoming

Chapter Seven

SEVEN

 “Come along Anna and Caroline!” The Doctor called over his shoulder as he made his way towards the entrance with my dad in tow, walking straight passed the patient crowds as I later discovered quite a few of them had travelled from all over the U.K even tourists from abroad had been caught up in the mania for all things Anglo-Saxon. There were so many people, the city of Birmingham was vibrant and so full of life…I turned round but there was still no sign of a stalker but I could have sworn someone or something was watching us…

 “Is the Doctor always this bossy and annoyingly forthright Anna?”

 I turned back round to face my mum and smiled.

 “Only if I let him…”

 “What’s the matter?” My mum frowned puzzled at me.

 “Nothing. I just thought…” Those words my mum had said earlier still hung in the air between us but for the time being I decided to shrug them off. My parents were still the same and yet they were future versions who knew things about me which I had yet to discover. It was an uncomfortable and strange position to find yourself in. “There aren’t any other family members lurking around the city centre today is there?” I laughed, remembering the last time I returned home.

 “Come here sweetheart…” My mum, smiling with delight placed her arm around me, I could get used to this new version of mum. We caught up with the Doctor and  dad at the entrance steps. “You do realize there’s a queue waiting to see the exhibition?” Mum tapped the Doctor on the shoulder.

 “Really Caroline?” The Doctor widened his eyes with mock surprise as though he’d just noticed the crowds. He reached inside his jacket pocket and produced a wallet containing, you guessed it his trusty psychic paper. “Oh but I’m a busy man, especially when there are infinite places and times to go, lots of new friends and foes to meet…” The Doctor grinned. “Just speeding the process up a bit, getting to the main event.”

 “I’m hardly surprised, didn’t think you’d be the queuing kind Doctor.” Mum scoffed.

 “Mum, just watch the Doctor in action. Dad you’re going to love this.” The Doctor showed security his paper and we were straight through without any preamble or bother as we breezed past the queue on the marble stairs.

The Doctor bounded upstairs with my dad who just about managed to keep up with him, my mum doggedly hung back as I fell into step with her.

“You’re as bad as him, your dad and I haven’t bought you up to jump queues. And why do I want to see the same exhibition again? We’ve only just been.” Mymum’s moans were falling on deaf ears as she glanced tentatively at me and spoke barely above a whisper. “I can scarcely believe this is happening. You should have said you were turning up here today Anna…”

 “It doesn’t work like that mum. I’m sure I have my reasons…” I wanted to ask after the rest of the family but then decided that wouldn’t be such a good idea as I shut my mouth and gazed off into the middle distance. We had reached the top of the stairs, we walked through a foyer and found ourselves in the round room gallery, I stared up at the glass doom ceiling. The bright, blue sky through the glass reminded me of the TARDIS ceiling. The gallery was packed to the rafters and the little gift shop was doing a booming trade. When I was a kid I  used to love coming here on a Saturday afternoon, sometimes with Jasmine and we used to spend at least a couple of hours in the gallery, our favourite part was the Pre-Raphaelite collection.

 “You used to come here all the time. Do you remember? It was Pre-Raphaelite this…and Pre-Raphaelite that.” Mum interrupted my thoughts, it was uncanny how her thoughts were usually in tune with mine.

 “You know mum, dad, only the other day the Doctor and I were chasing a  shape shifter convict through the Royal Academy and I just happened to bump into Dante Gabriel Rossetti…” I interrupted casually, though I have to admit with my “historical celebrity” name dropping I was showing off a bit.

 My parents stared at me and were suitably impressed.

 “Sweetheart you get around a bit! I don’t remember you mentioning that one.” My dad chuckled at me.

 “But was it when Mr Dante Gabriel Rossetti was young and handsome?” Mum enquired with a surprising coquettish smile and a twinkle in her eyes.

 I nodded.

 “Oh yes he was…” I breathed in slowly at the recollection of the bohemian, dark and ruggedly handsome Italian painter and felt my heart beat a little faster. “Rossetti asked me to sit for him in one of his paintings…”

 My precious memory was interrupted by the Doctor who had been in a world of his own up to that point as he cleared his throat loudly and with an incredulous roll of his eyes said flatly and incisively.

 “Paint you? Well quite possibly…But that’s not all he wanted to do…”

 “Yes. Thank you Doctor!” I glared back at him as I simultaneously cringed with embarrassment at my parents. “But obviously we didn’t have time for such things… Anyway moving on.” My voice trailed off as I wondered how close I had come to be immortalized…

 “But in the future when you come home you will tell us so many stories about your time with the Doctor.” Mum continued enthusiastically, unperturbed by the Doctor’s annoying interruption. “All the amazing times and places you have visited. Just out of interest Anna, where are you up to… Have you done Brighton yet?”

 Brighton, we most certainly haven’t been to that seaside town yet. I stared across at my mum irritably, she had put her foot in it again. Even though there was a tiny, infallible human part of me that wanted to know what was to come. The Doctor turned round abruptly, raising an eyebrow furiously and miming the zipping action across his mouth. To be fair the Doctor was just as bad, at times he was the most indiscreet being in the Universe, dropping hints into a room the size of elephants. But I guess being a Time Lord, the Doctor knew what he was doing and always knew how far to go…Most of the time. I thought they were going to start arguing again but mum simply blushed and for the second time that day said a reluctant. “Sorry.”

 “Let’s go to the hoard.” My dad, the unwitting diplomat between Time Lord and Human Mum interrupted. “Walk this way…” Dad, in some misguided attempt to lighten the atmosphere began to do a jaunty little walk and skip, he always thought of himself as a bit of a comedian. Mum and I exchanged a weary glance as the Doctor joined in with him. Passing out of the round room gallery, I glanced up at the ceiling and noticed the sky darkening, when it had been a summer’s day only moments ago. The weather could be so changeable, I clearly remember dismissing the distant rumble of thunder as a figment of my imagination as I buttoned up my jacket to keep the sudden sensation of chilliness out.

 When I look back, it would have been quite handy to have broken the laws of time and left myself a little note on the events of the day. ( Note to self- send my parents’ home.)