‘Grandad?’

‘Yes?’ said his grandfather, who was watching Cobbers.

‘You know the war—’

‘Yes?’

‘You know you said that before you went in the army you were a sort of aircraft spotter—’

‘Got a medal for it,’ said his grandfather. He picked up the remote control and switched off the set, which never usually happened. ‘Showed it you, didn’t I? Must’ve done.’

‘Don’t think so,’ said Johnny, as diplomatically as possible. Before, his grandfather had always told him not to go on about things.

His grandfather reached down beside his chair. There was an old wickerwork sewing box there, which had belonged to Johnny’s grandmother. It hadn’t been used for cotton and needles for a long time, though. It was full of old newspaper cuttings, keys that didn’t fit any door in the house, stamps for one half-penny in old money, and all the other stuff that accumulates in odd corners of a house that has been lived in for a long time. Finally, after much grunting, he produced a small wooden box and opened it.

‘They said they never knew how I done it,’ he said proudly. ‘But Mr Hodder and Captain Harris spoke up for me. Oh, yes. Had to be possible, they said, otherwise I couldn’t’ve done it, could I? The phones’d got hit by lightning and the bike wouldn’t start no matter what he yelled so I had to run all the way down into the town. So they had to give it to me ’cos they spoke up.’

Johnny turned the silver medal over in his hands. There was a yellowing bit of paper with it, badly typed by someone who hadn’t changed the ribbon on his typewriter for years.

‘“Gallant action …”’ he read, ‘“… ensuring the safety of the people of Blackbury …”’

‘Some men from the Olympics came to see me after the war,’ said his grandfather. ‘But I told them I didn’t want any.’

‘How did you do it?’ said Johnny.

‘They said someone’s watch must’ve been wrong,’ said Grandad. ‘I don’t know about that. I just ran for it. ‘S’all a bit of a blur now, tell you the truth …’

He put the medal back in the box. Beside it, held together with an elastic band, was a grubby pack of cards.

Johnny took them out and removed the band.

They had aircraft on them.

Johnny reached into his pocket and took out the five of clubs. It was a lot less worn, but there was no doubt that it was part of the pack. He slipped it under the band and put the pack back in the box.

Grandad and Johnny sat and looked at one another for a moment. There was no sound but the rain and the ticking of the mantelpiece clock.

Johnny felt the time drip around them, thick as amber …

Then Grandad blinked, picked up the remote control, and aimed it at the TV.

‘Anyway, we’ve all passed a lot of water under the bridge since those days,’ he said, and that was that.