Ellen Blake Destined To Return

46 - That perpetual emotion

The clock chimes rang a quarter to ten as they crossed Parliament Street and walked the last few hundred metres to the train station.

'Do you mind if I have a few moments?' asked Ellen, as they reached the Church of the Holy Trinity.

'We can't miss this train,' stated a determined Aaron.

'I know but I just want to take this in ... the church ... and the station. I just want to have a few minutes to see them. If this works, boy do I want this to work, and we get home, then I won't see these buildings ever again.'

'Ellen, we've got to go.'

'Give her a moment,' suggested Brook. 'Aaron, why don't you, Marianne and Billy go onto the platform and see if the train is here. Find an empty compartment in one of the carriages and wait for us. I'll make sure we get there on time.'

Begrudgingly Aaron did as Brook suggested looking back a couple of times as the three of them continued towards the station.

'You know there are prettier looking churches than this? Have you seen La Sagrada Família?' commented Brook, as she stood beside Ellen and looked in the same direction.

'I know, but that's not the point. It is kind of interesting in its design, but more importantly it's here which won't be the case when I get home to my time. Don't get me wrong, I so badly want to leave this craziness and feel safe in 2014 again, but there are a few things -'

'You don't want to leave?' cut in Brook.

'Dear God no. I have to get home. It is strange though. It's only been a few days and yet it feels like a month or more. In a short time I feel I've built such a relationship with those two, especially Marianne, which has taken years to get to with my real friends. I don't know how easy it will be to say goodbye when the time comes. Admittedly there have been a few really annoying things she's said that's wound me up, but as you say that's just the 1941 in her speaking. But I'm really going to miss her.'

They walked up to the station and Ellen had a minute to look it over and take mental photographs.

'You should really see what this becomes,' she said to Brook.

'Really?'

'No!'

~

'We're down here,' called Billy, leaning out of a compartment at the far end of one of the carriages.

'Nice one,' said Brook, as they joined them and sat down. 'It's not as busy as I expected. There are at least two other compartments in this carriage that are empty. Hopefully that means we won't get -'

Just as she was about to say "disturbed" the door opened and a thin woman in her early sixties and in a blue woollen coat, that was far too warm for a summer's day, walked in and sat at the end of the bench.

'Good morning,' she said, in a relatively posh accent.

Whilst the teenagers exchanged polite pleasantries with her, Brook adopted a rather slouched posture and tipped her head to obscure her face.

'Arrrgh!' she growled back at the woman.

All four children were surprised and looked at Brook to see what had come over her to behave in such a way.

The woman, slightly taken aback by the response, tried to diffuse her discomfort and made banal observations about the weather. To which Brook, still coming across as a slumped older man, took on a rather vulgar stance and made inappropriate comments with frequent profanities.