enough. ‘Each piece is specially marked!’
‘Alright!’ I called back. ‘We’ve only moved a few!’
They dashed up and began manhandling the pile until it was more or less back to how it had been before. Meanwhile, Simon stood and watched them in stunned silence.
‘ This and this are right,’ said Steve as he attended to the last pieces. ‘But that has to be put on top of there.’ He and Philip heaved a long section of tin onto the pile, then turned and looked at Simon with an air of satisfaction.
‘Righto,’ announced Steve. ‘You’re all ready to get moving.’
‘Moving where?’ Simon asked.
‘Towards Michael Hawkins’s, of course.’
‘You mean move my house there?’
‘Yes.’
‘Oh … I see.’
Simon’s reaction was interesting, because instead of exploding with rage at Steve and Philip’s audacity, he just stood there blinking as the idea sunk in.
‘Is this the “encouragement” you were talking about the other day?’ I asked. ‘A “bit of a push”?’
‘Yep,’ said Steve.
‘And you never thought to consult Simon first?’
‘Nope.’
1 suppose we should have really,’ remarked Philip. ‘When you come to think about it.’
‘No, it’s alright,’ said Simon, suddenly breaking his silence. ‘It’s a marvellous thing you’ve done, setting me on a path I should have taken a long while ago. Thank you both! Yes, I will move. I’ll build my house within a mile of Michael.’
At this moment I thought it wise not to set forth my own opinion on the matter. Nonetheless, I was surprised at the ease with which Simon accepted his new circumstances. Here he was being practically evicted by a pair of well-meaning neighbours, yet he talked as if it was part of his destiny. I’d already noticed how he adopted a very solemn tone of voice whenever he spoke of Michael Hawkins. Now, it seemed, he was prepared to stake everything on their friendship.
‘How are you going to get it all budged?’ I asked.
‘Simple,’ replied Steve. ‘We’ll take it one piece at a time.’
Apparently he and Philip had been planning all this for a good while. They’d known in advance that Simon would be away for a couple of days, and as soon as he’d departed they’d come over. Then the pair of them had gone all round the house, marking each section with chalk before dismantling it, so it would be easy to assemble again. This had been a two-day job. Having finished the work late on the previous evening, they’d popped over to Philip’s for supper and bed, planning to return in the morning and surprise Simon. As it was, he’d decided to travel overnight and had got back sooner than expected, which is why he’d wound up in a distraught state at my place.
‘All the chalk marks correspond,’ explained Steve. ‘So as long as we keep the pieces in order, we’ll have the whole outfit back together in no time.’
‘When shall we start?’ asked an eager Simon.
‘Soon as you like.’
While the three of them stood planning the expedition, I went and had a quiet look at the chalk markings. Sure enough, each part of the house bore an inscription, such as TRH, LHT or FRS. I couldn’t make head or tail of any of it, but I guessed that Steve had the method of assembly all worked out, and therefore I enquired no further.
By this time they’d agreed to set off immediately with the first few pieces. Simon had now thought of a possible site to establish his new home, and he estimated that it would take about five hours to get there.
‘We can stay at Michael’s tonight,’ he said. ‘Then come back for some more bits tomorrow.’
‘If we go via my place we can stop for a meal on the way,’ suggested Steve. Then he looked at me. ‘Unless, of course, you’d prefer your own cuisine?’
‘How do you mean?’ I asked.
‘Well, if you want to nip home first we’ll wait for you.’
I gathered from this remark that they assumed I was going with them, which, of course, I wasn’t. In my
‘Alright!’ I called back. ‘We’ve only moved a few!’
They dashed up and began manhandling the pile until it was more or less back to how it had been before. Meanwhile, Simon stood and watched them in stunned silence.
‘ This and this are right,’ said Steve as he attended to the last pieces. ‘But that has to be put on top of there.’ He and Philip heaved a long section of tin onto the pile, then turned and looked at Simon with an air of satisfaction.
‘Righto,’ announced Steve. ‘You’re all ready to get moving.’
‘Moving where?’ Simon asked.
‘Towards Michael Hawkins’s, of course.’
‘You mean move my house there?’
‘Yes.’
‘Oh … I see.’
Simon’s reaction was interesting, because instead of exploding with rage at Steve and Philip’s audacity, he just stood there blinking as the idea sunk in.
‘Is this the “encouragement” you were talking about the other day?’ I asked. ‘A “bit of a push”?’
‘Yep,’ said Steve.
‘And you never thought to consult Simon first?’
‘Nope.’
1 suppose we should have really,’ remarked Philip. ‘When you come to think about it.’
‘No, it’s alright,’ said Simon, suddenly breaking his silence. ‘It’s a marvellous thing you’ve done, setting me on a path I should have taken a long while ago. Thank you both! Yes, I will move. I’ll build my house within a mile of Michael.’
At this moment I thought it wise not to set forth my own opinion on the matter. Nonetheless, I was surprised at the ease with which Simon accepted his new circumstances. Here he was being practically evicted by a pair of well-meaning neighbours, yet he talked as if it was part of his destiny. I’d already noticed how he adopted a very solemn tone of voice whenever he spoke of Michael Hawkins. Now, it seemed, he was prepared to stake everything on their friendship.
‘How are you going to get it all budged?’ I asked.
‘Simple,’ replied Steve. ‘We’ll take it one piece at a time.’
Apparently he and Philip had been planning all this for a good while. They’d known in advance that Simon would be away for a couple of days, and as soon as he’d departed they’d come over. Then the pair of them had gone all round the house, marking each section with chalk before dismantling it, so it would be easy to assemble again. This had been a two-day job. Having finished the work late on the previous evening, they’d popped over to Philip’s for supper and bed, planning to return in the morning and surprise Simon. As it was, he’d decided to travel overnight and had got back sooner than expected, which is why he’d wound up in a distraught state at my place.
‘All the chalk marks correspond,’ explained Steve. ‘So as long as we keep the pieces in order, we’ll have the whole outfit back together in no time.’
‘When shall we start?’ asked an eager Simon.
‘Soon as you like.’
While the three of them stood planning the expedition, I went and had a quiet look at the chalk markings. Sure enough, each part of the house bore an inscription, such as TRH, LHT or FRS. I couldn’t make head or tail of any of it, but I guessed that Steve had the method of assembly all worked out, and therefore I enquired no further.
By this time they’d agreed to set off immediately with the first few pieces. Simon had now thought of a possible site to establish his new home, and he estimated that it would take about five hours to get there.
‘We can stay at Michael’s tonight,’ he said. ‘Then come back for some more bits tomorrow.’
‘If we go via my place we can stop for a meal on the way,’ suggested Steve. Then he looked at me. ‘Unless, of course, you’d prefer your own cuisine?’
‘How do you mean?’ I asked.
‘Well, if you want to nip home first we’ll wait for you.’
I gathered from this remark that they assumed I was going with them, which, of course, I wasn’t. In my
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