Reaching For The Stars
Chapter 10

As she spoke another girl appeared carrying a silver tray upon which were five goblets and an ice bucket containing a magnum of vintage champagne. They all thoroughly enjoyed themselves in the cosy little dining room and it made a very welcome change from the hustle and bustle of London. Maureen had spent most of her life in London and hadn’t seen much of the countryside until she’d met Peter a little over two years ago and he’d started taking her around to different places. Her family had moved out of London to a small farm in Norfolk eleven years ago, but Maureen didn`t know much about the place as she had only been there once, spending practically all her time in London. Throughout the evening Chris and Fiona had been getting on very well together and Peter, Maureen and Bill all noticed and smiled to each other. As they went outside feeling contented and well fed, Chris slipped his arm around Fiona’s shoulders.

“Would you like me to drive, Peter”? Bill asked.

“Yes if you like. Go down through the forest and then back via Southampton”.

“That’s a good idea, Bill; it’ll take longer that way”. Fiona put in.

Bill got into the driver`s seat, Maureen and Peter got into the middle and Fiona and Chris in the back. As Bill started the engine the cars lights came on automatically. There were no switches for the driver to control things like lights, screen wipers and air conditioning all these support functions being fully automatic. All the driver had to do on these modern cars was steer and regulate the speed, although in big cities like London even this was automated with each vehicle maintaining a safe distance from the one in front and adjusting speed accordingly. There was a manual override for this system which emergency vehicles had fitted to enable them to get through traffic. As Peter’s car was used on official business it had the system fitted. As Bill swung the car out onto the road, Maureen snuggled down against Peter’s shoulder. He bent forward and kissed her and they exchanged smiles in the darkness, knowing that Fiona would probably make the most of the journey home, in the back with Chris. As they crested a small hill, Bill glanced in his mirror as he was intending to point out some horses to Maureen, which were silhouetted against the skyline of a distant rise, by the now quite bright moonlight. On seeing that both couples were busy kissing, he grinned to himself and turned his attention back to driving the car. The vehicle sped silently along and within the hour they were once again approaching the outskirts of London.

“Bill, if you drop Fiona and Chris where they want to go, then go to your house, I’ll take over again there.”

“Okay, no problem. Who’s first for dropping off?”

“Chris, would you like to come back to my place for a nightcap?”

“Yes, that would be nice. Thanks.”

“Great. First drop is Southgate then, Bill.”

“Right. Can I ask, what sort of nightcap is Chris going to get?”

“Don’t be so cheeky, you’re almost as bad as my horrible brother.” Fiona replied, with a blush, amid hoots of laughter from Peter and Maureen.

“Sorry, I couldn’t resist that. Whereabouts do you want in Southgate?”

“If you drop us opposite Arnos Grove tube station all we’ve got to do is cross the road as my flat is right opposite, above the station.”

Bill drove quickly and easily through the centre of London and before very long drew up outside the tube station by a large block of flats, one of which Fiona occupied.

“That’s great, Bill. I wasn’t expecting you to come the way you did hence the reason for saying drop us opposite the tube. What`s happening tomorrow, big brother?”

“I thought we might go over to the Pathreplaceer and have a look round it, so if you like I’ll pick you up here about nine.”

“Okay, goodnight all.”

Fiona and Chris walked arm in arm into the block and disappeared from sight.

“Okay, Bill. Your place now.”

Bill set the car in motion again and headed back across London towards his parent`s house in Richmond where he still lived. The journey back only took about a quarter of an hour as Bill, having spent all his life in London, knew it so well he was able to take many shortcuts to avoid the main routes and traffic.

Peter and Maureen got back in to the front seats when Bill got out.

“Do you want a lift in, in the morning as well?”

“No, its okay thanks. I’ll use my bike.”

“Okay, see you in the morning, goodnight.”

Bill left them and went indoors while Peter headed the car back towards his own apartment where Maureen had already agreed to spend the night. The following day would be quite busy, even though they were officially off duty, as they wanted to have a good look round their Pathreplaceer and carry out an inspection of all its equipment.

“You know love; it might be an idea if we could get up to Lincoln tomorrow and meet this bunch of students we’re taking, if you can get your inspections done in time.” Maureen suggested.

They were scheduled for departure on Monday morning and as arrangements stood at the moment, the students were coming down to London on Sunday morning in a couple of large transport vehicles.

“That’s a good idea, love. If we can get everything loaded at Lincoln tomorrow, it’ll save a lot of time and hassle. We’ll just have to hope there’s no problem with the inspection, and then if everything is okay we’ll go for it.”

On reaching Peter’s apartment, Maureen made them some hot chocolate before they retired to bed.

The following morning, Peter was awoken by Maureen shaking his shoulder.

“Wakey, Wakey, breakfast is ready.”

As he opened his eyes he saw Maureen standing beside the bed wearing a loose fitting housecoat. Her legs showed invitingly beneath the garment. Peter pulled her down onto the bed and they kissed passionately. Maureen playfully tickled his chest and then got quickly of the bed. Peter lunged forward trying to catch her and ended up half in and half out of bed. Maureen disappeared into the kitchen.

“C’mon lazy bones, breakfast is getting cold.”

“I’m still half asleep, give me a break.”

“You shouldn’t have worked so hard last night!” Maureen called back.

They had breakfast and showered and got dressed in civilian clothes. Maureen had a flat of her own but only spent about one night a week there on average, and she had almost as much stuff at Peter’s place as she had at her own. They went down in the elevator to the basement garage and got into the car. As they moved up the ramp onto the road, Maureen picked up the videophone unit and pressed the quick dial button to Fiona. After a short pause a tousle headed Fiona appeared on the screen.

“Morning, Fiona, we’re on our way.”

“Thanks, Mo. We’ll be ready.”

The screen went blank as Fiona hung up.

“That’s a point, love, she said `we’ll be ready`”

“Good point that darling. Probably Chris’s nightcap went on a bit.”

“More than a bit, if I know Fiona.” Maureen giggled.

Even though it was Saturday morning, the early morning traffic was quite heavy. Peter decided to go Southgate via Piccadilly and the West End as he thought it would be quicker, rather than head out to the motorway and then back in again. Up near the circus they were bought to a standstill in a queue of stationery buses and taxis. Looking over towards Soho an advertising poster caught Maureen’s eye. It was advertising a sex film about a man who made love to his girlfriend four times in an hour. She grinned wickedly and drew Peter’s attention to the poster.

“That chaps got nothing on you, love.”

Peter blushed and Maureen laughed at his discomfort.

Central London had changed very little in appearance since the old days, with many of the famous buildings and landmarks still there, however, many buildings and shops had very high tech security systems nowadays, to prevent and deter criminals. The one striking difference about London, even in busy periods, was the total lack of traffic noise and fumes from exhausts. Suddenly the quiet was shattered by the wailing of a siren on an emergency vehicle. Peter pulled the car in towards the side of the road and seconds later a police traffic vehicle came screaming through the gap, closely followed by an ambulance. From his position in the driver`s seat, Peter saw the vehicles come to a stop about two hundred yards ahead.

“What`s going on, love?” Maureen asked.

“Traffic accident, I think.” Peter replied.