A Home Away From Home and Other Stories by Lynne Roberts
garden centre. Rows of potted pansies nodded cheerfully next to a grouping of weeping maples while a large wooden tub of water lilies was surrounded by a group of smiling concrete frogs.
'Where am I? How did I get here?' stammered Jasper.
'The question is not so much how you got here, but how I am to get you back,' mused the large man standing in front of Jasper. He wore a large green apron with pockets around it and the name Garret's Garden Centre in large yellow letters on the top. 'You came through a time gate,' he explained. 'In fact, you've done a lot of meddling with time, young man. '
'My parents made me do it,' protested Jasper. 'But what's that got to do with you? Who are you?'
'You can call me Mr Garret,' the man said grimly. 'I’m the Gatekeeper and it's my job to keep the time continuums flowing smoothly. Not that this is easy when characters like you are doing their level best to upset it.'
'But I don't even know what a time thingummy is,' said Jasper tearfully. 'I want to go home.'
'It’s not quite that easy,' sighed Mr Garret. 'Unfortunately what you have done is to upset the fabric of Time and that has a ripple effect.' He reached into a large shed beside him and pulled out a yellow towel. 'Dry yourself off a bit, lad,' he said.
'Can’t I go home if I promise not to change time anymore?' sniffed Jasper. 'But you'd have to tell my parents,' he added hastily, 'because they wouldn't get any more gold coins.'
Mr Garret swore under his breath. 'You won't be able to change time when I send you back,' he grunted. 'Things will be changed quite a bit. But don't look so worried,' he added. 'You won't notice the difference as it will become your new reality. But first I have to check a few things out so I will leave you in the hands of my nursery manager. '
Jasper was more and more confused but he trotted along beside Mr Garret who led the way though the garden centre.
‘Ah, Des, here you are,’ said Mr Garrret as they approached a large pile of compost.
An elderly man carrying a shovel looked up. Jasper went pale as he saw this was the tractor driver he had seen earlier.
‘This is Jasper,’ said Mr Garret cheerfully. ‘I need to fix a few time glitches before I can send him back so I thought you could find him something to do.’
‘Oh, I can do that all right,’ the man said grimly.
Jasper shuddered. Des didn’t look nearly as old and decrepit as he had appeared on the tractor. His hands were large and callused and looked as if they were itching to give Jaspar a richly deserved spanking. He regarded Jasper for a while without speaking.
‘I need a hand with this compost,’ he said finally. ‘Take this shovel and start filling the bags.’ He gestured to a pile of sacks beside the compost heap.
Jasper gulped but took the spade in silence and began to shovel the compost into the bags. He was dripping with sweat and had at least three blisters on his fingers when he finished the last bag. He collapsed onto a wooden bench in relief. Des walked up frowning, and pointed at the compost pile.
‘Fill the bags,’ he said tersely.
Jasper looked at the pile of compost in horror. It was even bigger than before and the pile of bags was even higher. He picked up the shovel and kept working.
Three more times he finished the job and three more times Des made it larger again. By the time he had finished the last bag Jasper was so tired could hardly stand.
‘I reckon you won’t be in a hurry to be doing any time changing from now on, now that you’ve seen the effects of it,’ Des grunted.
Jasper nodded in agreement and stumbled behind the nurseryman as he led the way to a
small metal shed at the end of a row of espaliered apple trees where Mr Garret was waiting. Mr Garret took a small silver tube from one of his pockets and pointed it at the shed door. There was a click and the door opened. Inside all Jasper could see was a faint blue light and lots of shadowy shapes.
'Go through without stopping,' Mr Garret advised Jasper as he shook his hand, ‘and good luck with your new life.’
Jasper took a deep breath and walked quickly through the darkness of the shed. He heard soft scratching noises and ominous creaking noises behind him and was almost sure he felt slithering fingers trying to grab his shirt. He shuddered and walked faster. A door creaked open in the far wall and Jasper raced through it as it slammed neatly shut behind him.
'Ah, there you are, Jasper,' boomed his father. 'So will there be room for it, do you think?'
'Room for what?' a bewildered Jasper asked.
'Your new motorbike, you dork,' said Drake as he came through the garage door. You've been asking for one for your birthday for ages but as Dad says, you need somewhere safe to store it at night.'
'Yeah, and I'm going to give you riding lessons,' Gilbert added as he threw a friendly arm around his little brother’s shoulders. 'In a couple of weeks you'll be able to go on road trips with the rest of us.'
‘Sounds great,' stammered Jasper. 'But are you sure we can afford it?'
His father laughed. ‘My new job is going pretty well so we can afford a bike, but you’ll have to pay for any fuel that you use. You’re too young to get part time jobs like your brothers but you can work around the house for us and we’ll give you pocket money for that. In fact you can start this weekend.’
‘What sort of work do you want me to do?’ Jasper asked suspiciously.
‘Well,’ said his father, ‘You can choose. You can either help me with shovelling compost for the new vegetable garden or help your mother to wallpaper the house.’
‘I’ll help with the wallpapering,’ Jasper said firmly. ‘In fact, I think I might be really good at it, particularly the bedrooms.’
Mr Greenaway roared with laughter.
‘Nothing like the optimism of youth,’ he said. ‘Come on son. Let’s get to the motorbike shop before closing time.’
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'Where am I? How did I get here?' stammered Jasper.
'The question is not so much how you got here, but how I am to get you back,' mused the large man standing in front of Jasper. He wore a large green apron with pockets around it and the name Garret's Garden Centre in large yellow letters on the top. 'You came through a time gate,' he explained. 'In fact, you've done a lot of meddling with time, young man. '
'My parents made me do it,' protested Jasper. 'But what's that got to do with you? Who are you?'
'You can call me Mr Garret,' the man said grimly. 'I’m the Gatekeeper and it's my job to keep the time continuums flowing smoothly. Not that this is easy when characters like you are doing their level best to upset it.'
'But I don't even know what a time thingummy is,' said Jasper tearfully. 'I want to go home.'
'It’s not quite that easy,' sighed Mr Garret. 'Unfortunately what you have done is to upset the fabric of Time and that has a ripple effect.' He reached into a large shed beside him and pulled out a yellow towel. 'Dry yourself off a bit, lad,' he said.
'Can’t I go home if I promise not to change time anymore?' sniffed Jasper. 'But you'd have to tell my parents,' he added hastily, 'because they wouldn't get any more gold coins.'
Mr Garret swore under his breath. 'You won't be able to change time when I send you back,' he grunted. 'Things will be changed quite a bit. But don't look so worried,' he added. 'You won't notice the difference as it will become your new reality. But first I have to check a few things out so I will leave you in the hands of my nursery manager. '
Jasper was more and more confused but he trotted along beside Mr Garret who led the way though the garden centre.
‘Ah, Des, here you are,’ said Mr Garrret as they approached a large pile of compost.
An elderly man carrying a shovel looked up. Jasper went pale as he saw this was the tractor driver he had seen earlier.
‘This is Jasper,’ said Mr Garret cheerfully. ‘I need to fix a few time glitches before I can send him back so I thought you could find him something to do.’
‘Oh, I can do that all right,’ the man said grimly.
Jasper shuddered. Des didn’t look nearly as old and decrepit as he had appeared on the tractor. His hands were large and callused and looked as if they were itching to give Jaspar a richly deserved spanking. He regarded Jasper for a while without speaking.
‘I need a hand with this compost,’ he said finally. ‘Take this shovel and start filling the bags.’ He gestured to a pile of sacks beside the compost heap.
Jasper gulped but took the spade in silence and began to shovel the compost into the bags. He was dripping with sweat and had at least three blisters on his fingers when he finished the last bag. He collapsed onto a wooden bench in relief. Des walked up frowning, and pointed at the compost pile.
‘Fill the bags,’ he said tersely.
Jasper looked at the pile of compost in horror. It was even bigger than before and the pile of bags was even higher. He picked up the shovel and kept working.
Three more times he finished the job and three more times Des made it larger again. By the time he had finished the last bag Jasper was so tired could hardly stand.
‘I reckon you won’t be in a hurry to be doing any time changing from now on, now that you’ve seen the effects of it,’ Des grunted.
Jasper nodded in agreement and stumbled behind the nurseryman as he led the way to a
small metal shed at the end of a row of espaliered apple trees where Mr Garret was waiting. Mr Garret took a small silver tube from one of his pockets and pointed it at the shed door. There was a click and the door opened. Inside all Jasper could see was a faint blue light and lots of shadowy shapes.
'Go through without stopping,' Mr Garret advised Jasper as he shook his hand, ‘and good luck with your new life.’
Jasper took a deep breath and walked quickly through the darkness of the shed. He heard soft scratching noises and ominous creaking noises behind him and was almost sure he felt slithering fingers trying to grab his shirt. He shuddered and walked faster. A door creaked open in the far wall and Jasper raced through it as it slammed neatly shut behind him.
'Ah, there you are, Jasper,' boomed his father. 'So will there be room for it, do you think?'
'Room for what?' a bewildered Jasper asked.
'Your new motorbike, you dork,' said Drake as he came through the garage door. You've been asking for one for your birthday for ages but as Dad says, you need somewhere safe to store it at night.'
'Yeah, and I'm going to give you riding lessons,' Gilbert added as he threw a friendly arm around his little brother’s shoulders. 'In a couple of weeks you'll be able to go on road trips with the rest of us.'
‘Sounds great,' stammered Jasper. 'But are you sure we can afford it?'
His father laughed. ‘My new job is going pretty well so we can afford a bike, but you’ll have to pay for any fuel that you use. You’re too young to get part time jobs like your brothers but you can work around the house for us and we’ll give you pocket money for that. In fact you can start this weekend.’
‘What sort of work do you want me to do?’ Jasper asked suspiciously.
‘Well,’ said his father, ‘You can choose. You can either help me with shovelling compost for the new vegetable garden or help your mother to wallpaper the house.’
‘I’ll help with the wallpapering,’ Jasper said firmly. ‘In fact, I think I might be really good at it, particularly the bedrooms.’
Mr Greenaway roared with laughter.
‘Nothing like the optimism of youth,’ he said. ‘Come on son. Let’s get to the motorbike shop before closing time.’