Read A Window into Time (Novella) for Free Online Page B

others,” Uncle Gordon said. “That way you’ll get the mortgage paid off, and Jules will have a house when he’s twenty.”
    “Really?” I asked.
    Dad gave Uncle Gordon a curt glance. “I paid for this house,” he said. “You have no idea how hard I had to work to keep those payments going after we separated. It’s been really tough.”
    “It has,” Rachel chimed in, nodding approvingly as she leaned against him.
    “Once this place is sold along with the flat, we can move into something better in London,” Dad said.
    “Well, that’s all you’re getting,” Uncle Gordon said. “I’m the executor, right? Jules is named as the sole beneficiary in her will, and I’ll make damn sure he gets everything he’s entitled to.”
    “That money could help him a lot right now,” Dad said.
    “Help you out, you mean,” Uncle Gordon replied quickly.
    “What money?” I asked.
    “Your mum had life insurance, Jules.”
    “I paid the premiums,” Dad said.
    “The court had to order you to,” Uncle Gordon said. “It was for your wife and son, man. Why did they have to order that, hey?”
    “You have no idea what divorce lawyers are like. They put both of us through hell.”
    “I certainly know what yours did.”
    I’d never seen Uncle Gordon angry before. It was quite impressive—in a scary way. Maybe I should tell him where Kenan Abbot lived, after all.
    A van’s horn sounded outside. It was the auction house people. Dad and Uncle Gordon stopped glaring at each other. Rachel took Dad’s arm, and they went outside to speak to the van driver and his mate.
    “Your dad’s a good man, Jules,” Uncle Gordon said. “Don’t ever think different. We’re all still shook up over your mum. And this day is right emotional for everyone.”
    “I know.”
    “Come on, let’s go up to your room. You need to pack all your stuff to take down to London.”
    I was surprised when I went back up to my old bedroom. Physically it hadn’t changed, of course. But now it looked drab somehow. I didn’t want to take the clothes that were still in the drawers. They’d all been tight on me when I left for London. First pair of trousers I tried on were five centimeters short above the ankle.
    “Growth spurt, huh?” Uncle Gordon said sympathetically.
    “I suppose.” The same went for everything else. Old toys that were for kids a lot younger. My books were mostly YA, too, and I’d stopped reading that stuff ages ago.
    In the end I only carried one box out to the car, and that was barely half full. The men from the auction house were loading furniture into the van. I thought it might bother me, seeing my old home broken up like this, but it didn’t. That part of my life was over. Most of the time all I could think about now were Michael’s memories, and how that was going to change everything.
    I watched Uncle Gordon load a box of food from the freezer into the boot of his car.
    “How much is the life insurance?” I asked him.
    He produced a mild frown. “Not like you to talk about money, Jules.”
    “I know. But how much?”
    “I think the policy is for a hundred thousand.”
    “What?” A
hundred thousand
pounds! I was so shocked I could only grunt.
    “It’s a logical amount. It’s supposed to take care of you until you’re old enough to start earning the readies for yourself. Don’t worry; I’ll make sure you get it properly. Pay your tuition fees when it’s time for you to go to university, and all that nonsense. Mind, you’ll be surprised how depressingly fast it’ll go.”
    “Is that much enough to buy a high-energy physics lab?”
    “Er, I don’t think so, nah.”
    “But I could maybe rent one?” I asked urgently.
    “I guess. Yeah, sure. Why not.”
    “That’s brilliant.”
    “Okay, I’m biting. Why?”
    I shrugged, trying to appear all nonchalant. “It’s what I want to do. Invent something that’ll help the whole world.”
    “Good for you, Jules. Good for you.”
    I was so happy. I’d