“I am indeed.”
The lady walks over and wraps him in a warm embrace. “Thanks so much for everything you’ve done for Maeve. I don’t know what we would have done without you!”
“There is no need to thank me. I would do anything for her.”
The lady takes a step back, looking into his eyes. He can see her wrinkled, weather-battered face now. Still, there is a beauty there, mixed with determination. “You can call me Jessica.”
She waves her hand for Derek and Maeve to follow her. Derek’s wheelchair bobbles up and down on the uneven, pebble-filled surface. It bothers him, not.
Jessica points at one of the few buildings. An unappealing, simple building that is somewhat derelict. “That was once the most northerly post office in the UK.”
Derek and Maeve look at each other in confusion.
“Oh lord,” Jessica says in exasperation, “doesn’t anyone teach you young people history anymore? The UK, or the United Kingdom, once had an empire so large that the sun never set. And now, it might as well have never existed. I guess that the northerly part is lost on you two, you being from space and all.”
Jessica continues muttering to herself as they start to make their way up a road.
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