Sixteen.  Nick.

By the time they reached Elly’s house Nick’s hand was throbbing and slightly swollen; “Let me see,” said Elly taking his hand in hers. “Some of Nan’s ointment will sort that out, come on in.”
He shook his head; “There’s no need, really I’m fine.”
“It’s not a problem, it will stop the swelling, why are boys always so difficult?”
“All right, I give in,” he said.

Elly let them into the house and he followed her through to the kitchen, it was smaller and messier than the one in his house, but it felt homely and lived in. Cookery books were stacked haphazardly in one corner, jars and bottles containing various pickles and chutneys lined the shelves and the small, round table was covered in a red and white checked table-cloth.

“Sit down,” said Elly, “I’ll get you something to drink.” She opened a cupboard and took out two glasses which she placed on the table. From the fridge she took a large jug of cloudy drink which she poured into the glasses. Nick picked his up and took a sip, it was ice-cold and delicious; thirstily he swallowed the rest. Elly grinned and re-filled his glass,
“Nan’s lemonade, she uses her own secret recipe”
“I’ve never tasted anything like it,” he said.

“I’ll be back in a minute, I need to get the stuff for your hand, it’s in the bathroom.”

Nick sat at the table sipping his lemonade, his hand was hurting quite a lot now but he didn’t care, it had been worth it just to wipe the smug smirk off of Baz’s face.

“Oh, hello. Who are you?” Elly’s mum had walked into the kitchen and was looking at him.
He stood up, putting his injured hand behind his back. “Nick, my names Nick, I’m a…a friend of Elly.”
“You’re the one who brought her home last night?”
“Yes.”
“Well, let me give you a hug then,” she said and before he could say anything he found himself wrapped in a warm embrace. He couldn’t remember anyone hugging him before and he was embarrassed to find that tears were pricking his eyes. What was it about this family? They managed to get under his guard every time; if he wasn’t blushing he was on the verge of crying like a baby. He was very relieved when she let him go and he turned away slightly so she couldn’t see his face.

“I’m sorry Nick, I’ve embarrassed you. I forget that some families aren’t as touchy-feely as ours, I’m just so grateful to you for what you did.”
“No Mrs Barrett, it’s fine…” he struggled to find the right words.
Mrs Barrett interrupted, “Please, call me Rita.”
Nick nodded, feeling even more uncomfortable but thankfully Elly came back carrying a jar of green ointment and some cotton-wool.

“Mum, you’re awake. Feeling better?”
“Yes thanks, I can’t believe how long I was asleep, I’ve only just woken up. How are you feeling? How’s your face? Is it still sore, is that why you’ve got the ointment?”
“No Mum, I’m fine, this is for Nick.”
“Nick? Have you hurt yourself?”

Nick reluctantly showed her his hand; would she be so warm towards him once she knew he had punched someone?
“Nick hit Baz right on the nose,” said Elly; “Baz is the one who pushed me over last night.”
“Right, well I can’t say I approve of hitting people Nick; but there are always exceptions. I hope you hit him hard?”
“Mum!”

“I can think of someone I wouldn’t mind punching in the face myself,” continued Rita, “but I doubt I’ll ever get the chance, mores the pity.”
“Talking about Clifford,” said Elly, “have you heard what’s happened?”
Rita shook her head, “No, I’ve only just got up. What’s happened?”
Elly smiled broadly, “All of his machinery and tools have disappeared; he can’t do anything until he’s replaced the lot. He’s not very happy about it either.”
“Well, that’s a bit of good news for a change. I bet he’s furious, how wonderful; I wish I could have been there to see his face.”

“Mum, you haven’t heard about Suzanne either have you? She had the baby last night, a boy. Dad came over while you were asleep, he was in a bit of a state, there’s a chance the baby might….”
“If he’s anything like his big sister I reckon he’ll be all right, too stubborn to give up without a hell of a fight.”
“You really think so Mum?”
“Yes, I’ll give your dad a ring later and see how they’re doing, try not to worry too much Elly. Now, are you going to sort out poor Nick’s hand? He must think he’s walked into a mad-house!”

Elly took some cotton-wool and dipped it into the ointment; it looked remarkably similar to the poultice Tink had made. She rubbed it gently over his hand, almost instantly the throbbing started to ease. Nick opened and closed his hand into a fist a few times.
“That feels so much better, what’s in that stuff?”
“Just herbs and other natural ingredients,” said Elly.

“I hope you’re not giving all my secrets away,” said Nan bustling into the kitchen, a wicker shopping basket on her arm. She put it on the table, where to Nick’s surprise it started moving from side to side and a weird noise was coming from it.
Nan smiled and looking very pleased with herself she reached into the bag and pulled out a scrawny black kitten, it didn’t seem to like being taken out of the bag and it started hissing and lashing out with its tiny front paws.

“Mum, what are you doing with that,” asked Rita, “I haven’t got time to look after a cat.”
“It’s not for you, it’s for Elly,” said Nan, dropping the kitten into Elly’s arms. It immediately stopped hissing and started rubbing its little head under her chin. “There, you see, it likes you.” She looked over at Rita, “If I hadn’t taken him they were going to drown the poor thing, runt of the litter they said. I couldn’t have had that on my conscience Rita, don’t worry, you won’t even notice he’s here, will she Elly?”

Elly nodded and placed the now purring kitten onto the floor. It looked around, its tail twitching, before winding itself around Nick’s ankles.
“Always a good sign if a cat likes someone,” said Nan, “they’re a better judge of character than most people.”

Nick put out his left hand and the kitten began jumping up and rubbing its head against it.
“He is quite cute,” said Nick, “what are you going to call him?”
 “Merlin,” said Elly, “Dad’s mad about King Arthur, he’s read all the books about him. We used to visit Tintagel every summer when I was little, remember Mum?”
“Yes, I do. I’m surprised you can though, you were very little, can’t have been much more than three or four. Have you been to Tintagel Nick?”
“No, my family don’t really do holidays; my father’s too busy with the Council to take much time off.”
“Oh, that’s a shame; but then we haven’t been away ourselves for a long time.”

Nick couldn’t recall his own family ever sitting in the kitchen and just talking about stuff, it felt nice to be included, he wished he could stay here for longer but he knew his father would notice he was missing soon. He liked to be in control of everything, including knowing what Nick was doing.

Merlin had jumped up onto his lap and Nick carefully picked up the kitten and placed him back on the floor, Merlin’s tail swished to show his displeasure at losing his comfy position and he stared up at Nick with his big, unblinking green eyes. It made him feel slightly uncomfortable; it was almost as if Merlin knew what he was thinking.

“Elly, I’d better be going; thanks for patching me up.”
“No problem, I’ll see you to the door.”
Rita and Nan both said goodbye and he and Elly went into the hallway.
“Are you busy tomorrow?” asked Elly.
“No, why?”
“I thought we could take the bus to County Hall and check the place out, see if we can get near the Planning Department.”
“I was hoping you’d forgotten about that, it’s pretty risky.”
“We’re only going to have a look, it’s a Public building; we won’t get in trouble just for going in and looking around are we?”

Nick looked at Elly’s eager face, he supposed there was no harm in visiting County Hall, as long as they were careful and had a story ready if anyone challenged them.
“All right, we’ll have a look. But we’re not going to take any chances, if it seems too risky we leave straight away, OK?”
“Yes, of course.”
“I’ll call for you in the morning?”
“No, meet me at the bus stop near the Leisure Centre at ten o’clock, it’ll be less suspicious.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow then, bye.”
“Bye Nick.”

Elly closed the front door and Nick set off for home, he walked slowly, the air was thick and sultry again as if another storm was brewing. He could still taste the tartness of the lemonade on his lips and he realised he was looking forward to tomorrow, perhaps they would find the answers at the Council offices; but they would have to be so careful. He hoped Elly realised the risk they would be taking.
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