Ellen Blake Destined To Return

32 - The new agreement

Billy and Marianne sat for a few minutes in silence, lost in their dark thoughts and playing out terrible futures for themselves and their family. Eventually Billy came to the decision that they should break the agreement or at least bend it a little.

'We've got to ask them,' he said. 'Even if it is only a couple of questions. Questions that give us some hope again. That way we won't have fully disobeyed Mum.'

The pair spent several minutes discussing what to ask and finally agreed on the two questions they needed to feel reassured by. They walked back to where Ellen and Aaron were seated, nervous about how to raise the topic and worried about the answers they would hear.

'Hey,' said Ellen. 'That was a little longer than a minute. Are you two all right? Have you been crying?'

Marianne sat down and wiped her eye with the end of her finger trying to not smudge her make-up.

'I have. We're all right. Well sort of. We need to be honest with you and ... oh I don't know how to ask this.'

Ellen looked a little worried. After all it had been her and Aaron who had been the outsiders in this crazy 1941 world they now found themselves in. She couldn't image what Marianne and Billy could say that needed a whispered debate in the vestibule and now would be difficult for them to explain.

'You might have noticed,' said Marianne, 'that we have not asked you anything about the future or more specifically the future of this war. Admittedly you've told us lots about other stuff. But we've not really discussed what happens in this war. I'm guessing you know because what you've said suggests to us that it is over and it possibly finished a long time ago, for you.'

'Oh! I wondered if this would happen,' said Ellen, looking at Aaron.

Aaron seemed quite surprised that he hadn't once considered it.

'Yes ... well the reason we haven't asked is because Mum made us swear not to. She wasn't too worried about us knowing other things that happen way off in the future. But she was adamant that we shouldn't know about the war and up until now we thought it best not to, as well.'

'Until now,' asked Ellen. 'So what has changed to make you feel you need to know now?'

Marianne looked up and down the carriage to see if anyone would be able to overhear what was about to be said, then lowered her voice further.

'There have been a number of things that you've both said that have concerned us. Well, worried us a lot.'

Billy was sitting opposite. Leaning in to the huddle and nodding his head violently.

'But more specifically it was something you, Ellen, said just before we reached the Trip pub,' said Marianne.

Trying to relive flashbacks of the event, Ellen could not recall what she had said or what could have been so concerning.

'I don't remember saying anything about the war. To be honest I've been feeling the same way about not discussing it. I was trying to be so careful. What did I say?'

'Between what you and the Mayor said we have been able to piece together a possible date for when the war ended. Will end. And it scares the living daylights out of us.'

'I'm lost,' said Aaron.

Ellen was still confused by what she said earlier, so Marianne elaborated further.

'You said that you'd been to the golden anniversary of the bronze statue and the Mayor said that it would not be replaced until after the war. We've been doing some sums in our heads and we think that means the war could have finished anywhere between 1950 and the mid-1960s. Either way it is awful.'