They kept Alice in the hospital in Taunton for two days while they ran tests and David almost went stir crazy. Luckily his wallet had been in his jeans pocket and he had enough money on him to get back to Glastonbury. Each day he spent with Alice at the hospital and he pumped her about her relatives in Australia.
He was worried Megan would think he’d let her down. He was sure Megan would be gone when he got back—if he got back. He’d promised her he’d be back that night, and he knew exactly what she’d think. The debauched rock star act he’d put on when he’d met her would help convince her he was unreliable and had just been using her.
Christ, what bad timing.
But there was no way he was letting her go.
“My niece, Joanna, lives in Sydney and I left the cottage to her.” Alice was looking better this morning and her cheeks were back to their pink rosy hue. “She had a couple of small children before I stumbled on the time slip and lost touch, so I guess the friend your lady talked about must be my great niece.”
“But do you know her surname? It wouldn’t be McLaren would it?” David persisted. He was determined to get every scrap of information he could—just in case he needed it to find Megan.
“Yes, it is.” Alice tugged on the old fashioned strap hanging in front of her and pulled herself up higher on the pillow. “She’s a bit of a radical like I was in my own time. She kept her own name after she married. I think her children took her name as well, because she divorced soon after she moved to Australia.”
The door opened and the doctor came in carrying a clipboard. “Good news, Miss McLaren. You’re right to go home. All your tests are clear and we can discharge you. It was only a bit of over excitement that caused you to faint. You are in remarkably good health for a woman your age.”
Alice winked at David and had her feet on the floor slipping on her shoes before the doctor had finished speaking. “Wonderful. Just get me my red dress out of the cupboard there, David, and we’ll be on our way.”
After she disappeared down the hallway to the bathroom, the doctor turned to David. “Do you have far to travel?”
David cleared his throat and looked away. “Ah. Yes you could say that.”
##
Getting Alice back to the village of Glastonbury was problematic and it was late afternoon before they stepped off the bus from Taunton. The bus stop was at the end of the lane leading to the cottages.
“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” David hated the thought of leaving Alice and going back through the time slip and not knowing what would happen to her.
“You heard the doctor. Just a bit of overexcitement.” She shoved him gently towards the door after he saw her into Violet Cottage. “Now you get back to your time and find that young lady of yours. Don’t you go worrying about me.”
“Can I use your phone before I go? I need to call the—“
“Sorry, dear. I don’t have a telephone. You’ll have to use the phone box in the village.”
David reached out and took the elderly lady in his arms. “You take care, Alice.” Her cheek was soft beneath his and she reached up and held his face between her hands.
“I was meant to meet you at the festival last year.” She stared at him intently. “It all happens for a reason you, know. I am sure the only reason you met me was so you could find your young woman when the time came. Now you go and find your Megan.”
With a last wave to Alice, David walked back along the road to the village and stopped at the red phone box outside the post office. He pulled Bear’s phone number from his wallet and dialed, smiling as he tried to fit his fingers in the circular numbers to turn the old fashioned dial mechanism.
The phone picked up on the first ring and Bear’s sleepy voice came over the line. “Hello?”
“Bear, it’s Davy.”
“Hey, man. How’s the old lady?”
“She’s fine. Everything’s good.” David stared out over the village as the sun dropped towards the hills and golden clouds streaked the pink sky to the west. “How did you go with Rothman?”
“We celebrated most of the night.” The guitarist’s voice was excited. “You did it, man. Your singing clinched the deal. That performance was unreal. Mick’s drawing up the contracts now and wants us in the studio in London as soon as the festival is over. We’ll start recording our next album. Mick wants the first single released before the end of summer.”
David let go of the breath he’d been holding. The first single of the Davy Morgan Band, which was their first big hit, had been released in the middle of July 1971.
It seemed everything was on track. As long as they recorded the single, it would all be okay. All he had to do was turn up to the studio. At least he knew he could get to Taunton in 1971. What he wasn’t quite so sure about was if he could go back through the ley lines now. It was the longest he’d ever stayed away without going through the stones. His future and his income for the next forty years were secure. And then he could go back to 2011 and the island. But first, he needed to say good-bye to Megan and let her go.
“Okay, I’ll make sure I’m back here by then.”
After making arrangements to meet Bear at the Glastonbury pub next week, David placed the solid black receiver into the cradle and stepped out of the small red phone box.
Then he had to find Megan. David stepped outside and looked at the sky. Not long to go. Now he had to get to the stones and hope like hell Megan was still at the cottage. He had to cut ties with her for good—in both times.
Taking a shortcut through the back of the village, he followed the same path he had taken with her only yesterday. It seemed as if years had passed. The sun was bright and the cows looked at him curiously as they munched on the grass while he strode past, his guitar slung over his shoulder. The sun reached its zenith and he stepped to the back of the middle stone and placed his hand on the surface, still warm from the sun.