The Old Phone Box

I've moved this piece from my other blog, originally published 22 August 2014. About 2 dozen views.

The old man smiled sadly as he remembered their visits to Covent Garden. Impulsively, he swung the opera cape round his shoulders for one last time. Shoulders that slumped a little as he admitted to himself that he was too old for that sort of thing now - and it would be no fun without Janet anyway.  His daughter was right. He should declutter, stop clinging to old memories and act his age.

Excited voices interrupted the silence. “Doctor! We need you! The Daleks are coming!

The years fell away as he bounded to the door.

 
Arthur gasped and Susan’s eyes bulged. Mum and Dad were right when they said he wasn’t like other grandfathers. Today he was wearing what looked like Count Dracula’s cape. Everyone else's granddads wore normal clothes, or maybe a suit for Sunday best - and - none of them could travel through time.

Don knew what was expected of him. He grabbed two small hands and yelled “Run!” The Doctor and his companions raced to the old phone box by the village pub. As the children squeezed through the narrow door, they wondered what adventures were in store today. Don repeated the well-worn phrase “All of time and space; everywhere and anywhere; every star that ever was. Where do you want to start?”

Arthur almost shrieked: “The old days! When you were young!”

Don decided to let that pass.

Susan, almost pleading, “Can we go somewhere romantic this time?”

Arthur groaned “Nooo! We had soppy stuff last time.”

Don said, rather dryly, “Nelson’s victory at Waterloo was hardly soppy.”

Arthur’s said “There was kissing. Yuk. I want to see soldiers. I’m going to be a soldier when I grow up.”

Susan added “I’m going to be an Opera singer like gran.”

Don asked “Who said you can’t have romance and soldiers? … and Opera singing too?”  His hands moved deftly across the powerful objects in front of them. There was a wheezing, groaning sound as they were transported to 1981. It was the day when Lady Di, as she was known then, married Prince Charles.

 
The time machine had taken them to the heart of the action. As the procession wound its way round London, Arthur marvelled at the soldiers with gleaming medals and shiny boots. He was thrilled to see glossy horses pulling carriages.  Susan stood on tip-toe and craned her neck trying to catch sight of the princess-to-be, crammed in a coach with her bridesmaids and an implausible amount of creamy silk. 

“Why’s her dress so creased? It’s not as nice as Kate’s.”

The bride walked down the aisle, almost holding up her frail father. As the couple exchanged vows and muddled their names, Don glanced at Arthur wondering if he was getting bored.  The boy was absorbed in the scene – a spectacular birds-eye view of the couple on the red carpet surrounded by the black and white tiled floor. “That’s awesome. I’m going to build cathedrals when I grow up.” Susan hung onto every moment as the soprano sang her aria.

Then they were swept along with huge crowds in the Mall until they were right in from of the palace.  Arthur rolled his eyes as the couple kissed. And then …

A tap on the phone box door. “We need to go …” said Don. “… and let someone else choose a book.”

Inspirations:

 

The phone box by the pub gave me the idea for this story.

 

• The old red phone box, now a library, by The Foresters Arms pub in Fairwarp
• Bob’s sheet of paper that could transport people
• Trying to storyboard a first draft to show not tell
• … and, of course, a Sci-Fi series I have enjoyed since I was a child.