A Place Called Perfect (11 page)

CHAPTER 23

Welcome to Adequate

“I see you found my den,”

William Archer peered down from the trap door.

“Yes,” Violet replied, “It’s amazing.”

“Oh it was all a long time ago,” William said, brushing off the compliment, “Now come on you better get out of here. It took a lot of persuading to get rid of those Watchers and I am sure they’ll be back.”

Violet and Boy did what they were told and climbed out of the basement.

“How did you get rid of them?” Violet asked, when she was back in the room.

“Oh years of compliance,” William smiled half-heartedly; “If it had happened ten years ago they would never have believed me.”

“Why?”

“Well I didn’t exactly tow the line when I first came here as you can see from my experiments,” he laughed remembering, “but I’ve been a good boy since. You might even call me perfect.”

“Why did you stop?” Violet asked.

Boy gave her a warning look.

“There was no reason left to fight,” William replied, closing the trap door and replacing the carpet. “Now you two better go. I don’t want to get into any trouble.”

“But please,” Violet said, “you could help. I saw the “Reimaginator”. We could fix Perfect.”

“Violet,” Boy warned.

“Please,” Violet said again, “Please Mr. Archer, I know we could do it. Now that we know about the tea and we have your invention and all your research. I know we could save Perfect. We could save my family.”

“Violet let’s go,” Boy said, pulling her away.

“Please Mr. Archer?”

“Enough Violet!” William snapped, “Perfect is fine as it is. I gave all that up long ago and I’m happier for it. I am sorry about your father but I am afraid I can’t help. You will have to suffer the faith of the rest of us and get used to No Mans Land. The quicker you do that, the better for you.”

“But you can help I know you can. I know you’re not happy.”

“Violet. You’ve gone too far now. You don’t know me. Now please both of you leave. I have helped you enough.”

He herded the pair across his shop and out the door leaving them alone in the laneway. Violet was devastated. William Archer was meant to be nice, he was meant to be different.

It was now late morning and though they were both tired they had to spend the rest of the day hiding from the Watchers in No Mans Land. Boy knew a lot of secret places and they avoided danger sometimes only by the narrowest of margins. As darkness set in, both exhausted, Boy led the way in silence through the streets coming to a stop outside a stark grey building.

“We’re here,” he said, “you can stay for the night and tomorrow we’ll figure out what to do.”

“Where are we?” Violet asked.

“My home,” Boy smiled, “It’s the orphanage. I’ll sneak you in and you can sleep in the playroom. It’s better we don’t tell anyone yet just in case the Watchers are still looking for you. After a few days, when it’s all blown over, I’ll tell the nurses. They’re used to kids turning up from Perfect so I’m sure they’ll give you a bed.”

“But I don’t want to live here Boy,” Violet panicked, “I live with my parents. I want to go home!”

“Ssh Violet please,” Boy said, hugging his friend, “we’ll figure something out. Tonight anyway you’ll stay here.”

He led her in through gigantic wrought iron gates that dwarfed the pair. There were grand carved double doors round the side of the imposing building and Boy gently pushed them open. Checking the coast was clear; he tiptoed down the enormous hallway through another set of double doors.

“In here,” he whispered, his voice echoed in the space.

Violet followed. The room on the other side was sparse and cold, the ceiling stretched right to the sky. The walls were covered in plain white wallpaper, which was torn away in places revealing years of chipped paint. A rickety bookcase holding a tiny collection of aging books and a small box of broken and tattered toys rested in one corner. Violet was overwhelmed, the room was huge and lonely not like her home where she was safe and loved.

Boy left to get some blankets. Seeking out a small space Violet crouched onto her honkers and nestled down deep into the far corner of the room. She was wrong. She wasn’t safe at home anymore. She wasn’t loved either. Tears watered her vision and Boy was a blur as he tiptoed back into the room.

“Violet,” he whispered.

“Over here Boy.”

“What are you doing here?” he laughed, finding her curled up in the corner.

“I don’t know,” she half smiled, “it felt safer.”

“Don’t worry. They don’t let us play in here much, so you won’t be disturbed. I’ll come down early in the morning to get you up. Take these.”

He handed her a worn old duvet and pillow. He also had a cup of hot water and an apple in his hand and he left them on the floor beside her.

“Are these yours?” she asked.

“I’ll be fine,” he replied, “I never get cold anyway.”

“No, I can’t,” Violet insisted, handing back the blankets.

“I’m a boy,” he laughed, running over to the door, “unlike girls I’m tough, I can take the cold.”

Violet smiled as her friend snuck quietly out of the room. Even though she pretended she didn’t; she secretly liked his teasing.

Spreading the duvet out on the floor she lay on top, grabbed the corner and rolled, wrapping it tight around her narrow figure. Making sure there were no air holes, she pulled the pillow into place and fell asleep exhausted.

The morning sun warmed her cheek pulling Violet from a restful sleep. There wasn’t a sound in the huge house so it must have been early. She lay listening to the dawn chorus as her breath formed circles in the space above her head. Bored she scanned the room.

There was a small bookshelf in the corner. On the count of three she raced across the freezing tiles, grabbed a book and sprinted back to the warmth of her blankets. The book was old and worn, tattered round the edges. A History of Adequate it was called and a picture of what looked like the main street in Perfect sat on the cover. Biting into her apple, Violet opened the book.

Welcome to Adequate, our perfect little town.

She flicked through the pages. Adequate was definitely Perfect. The streets, the shops even some the faces were the same except for one thing. Nothing looked perfect in Adequate. Adequate wasn’t glossy, it was nice, even lovely but some of the flowerpots were cracked, paint was chipped here and there and the people looked normal, good normal, not shiny at all.

She flicked onto a picture and her heart stopped. It was a wedding scene. A beautiful couple stood centre, behind them was the square in Perfect and either side their families. The caption read “Macula Lashes and William Archer, son of Iris and the late Arnold Archer residents of Adequate, surrounded by family on their wedding day.”

“Boo!”

Violet leapt from her bed.

“It’s only me Violet,” Boy laughed, “can’t believe I scared ya. Hey, I didn’t know you could read!?”

“Boy,” Violet snapped, catching her breath, “what if I’d screamed or something.”

“Your face was hilarious,” Boy laughed.

Violet forced a smile and sat back down on the duvet.

“You have to see this,” she said, “I think I know how we’ll get William to help us.”

“No Violet,” Boy said, quickly becoming serious, “he doesn’t want to. You can’t force him. We’ll find another way.”

“But I know he’ll want to Boy. I’m telling you,” Violet said, pushing the book under his nose.

“Oh, it’s him, William,” Boy said, rubbing the picture, “He’s getting married? He looks much younger. And there’s George and Edward, they don’t look too happy.”

“Where? I didn’t see them. Anyway, it’s not them I’m on about, it’s her,” Violet said, pointing to William’s bride.

“What about her?”

“Well I met her.”

“What do you mean you met her?”

“When you were in the house and I rescued you…”

“I rescued you too you know.”

“It’s not a competition Boy. Anyway when I rescued you, she was the woman in the room across the hall.”

“Really? You sure? What would she be doing there if she’s William’s wife?”

“Well how do I know but it was definitely her. Maybe the Archers kidnapped her. William said they took everything from him and that’s why he won’t fight. Maybe she’s everything they took.”

“That still doesn’t mean he’ll help us.”

“Well he’ll have to ‘cause I’m sure he wants to rescue her and we’re the only people who know where she is.”

“Violet that’s blackmail,” Boy whispered, “you can’t do that.”

“I know,” she smiled, “I wouldn’t anyway, but I have a feeling he’ll help us. I think he really wants to. He just needs a little push to get brave again.”

“’Get brave again?” Boy laughed, “That’s a great way of putting it. I think you need to get a little unbrave again. Where’s the crying Violet gone, the girly girl one?”

Violet elbowed Boy sharply in the ribs then climbed up from the floor.

“Come on Boy. Let’s get William brave again!”

CHAPTER 24

The Persuasion

“Not you two again,” William Archer sighed, as he opened his door a crack.

“Please Mr. Archer can we come in?” Violet asked, “I have something I need to tell you.”

“Violet I told you yesterday I am not interested in helping you. Now please leave me a…”

“It’s about Macula.”

William’s face changed. He glanced down the street in both directions then quickly ushered the pair inside. Closing the door, he paused against the wood then turned to face them.

“What do you know about Macula?” he asked, his tone firm, “this better be good children because you have worn my patience thin.”

Violet looked at Boy then pulled the book from under her jumper.

“I found this,” she said, handing it over, “I’ve marked the page.”

William took the book, walked to the table and sat down. His body slackened as he opened it at the mark. Unconsciously, he thumbed the paper.

“You looked beautiful that day,” he whispered.

Violet walked over to the table and sat down. Boy followed her lead.

“I found it in the orphanage,” she said “is Adequate now Perfect?”

William nodded.

“When did it change?” Boy asked.

“A long time ago,” William sighed, lifting his head from the page for the first time, “You see Adequate was a lovely town. It had its good and bad points but on the whole it was a happy place. Balanced.”

“So what happened to it?” Violet asked.

“My brothers,” William replied, his anger visible, “they were always too big for their boots you see. They were perfect in school and perfect at home but they didn’t get the praise they thought they deserved. I wasn’t perfect, I was a bit of a joker but I was popular. I had loads of friends. I was also my mother’s pet.”

“Iris?” Violet interrupted.

William nodded “I wasn’t perfect and still you see I was popular. That killed my brothers. It ate away at their perfect theories. They hated me. It hurt for a while but I got used to it, that was until the day Macula arrived.”

“She was beautiful,” Violet said, looking at the picture.

“She turned up in our town like an exotic bird. We fell for her immediately. All of us did. Every young man in Adequate was in love with Macula Lashes. My brothers tried everything possible to win her heart. George sent her flowers, Edward wrote her poems but nothing worked. I did nothing. I was too shy and never thought she’d like me. The strange thing was doing nothing seemed to work. That’s women for you,” William smiled at Boy who blushed.

“We fell in love and it broke my brothers’ hearts’. From that moment on they plotted ways to get rid of me and anything else that didn’t fit into their vision of a perfect world. That’s how “Adequate” came to be “Perfect”. They blinded the population, invented their glasses and threw anyone who didn’t conform into No Mans Land, a place where their glasses couldn’t penetrate. They made us invisible. I’ve been here ever since. They told my mother and Macula that I’d left them. They took my life from me.”

“That’s terrible,” Violet said, as the old man walked over to a cabinet by the wall.

“This is her,” he said, pulling a picture from the drawer and joining them back at the table.

“Wow,” Boy smiled, staring at the picture, “I can see why everyone fancied her.”

“She really is beautiful,” Violet added.

“Was beautiful,” William said, his voice barely audible, “she left Perfect. Met another man George told me. They were both killed on honeymoon when their hot air balloon fell from a height to the ground.”

“Oh,” Violet laughed.

William looked up from the picture.

“Do you find death funny?” he snapped.

“No just George’s story. I didn’t know he had any imagination. Except when it’s in a jar,” Violet smiled.

“Violet are you sure?” Boy hissed across the table, “I really don’t know about this.”

“About what?”

“Well,” Violet said, “I don’t think Macula was in a hot air balloon or with another man or had even forgotten about you for a second.”

“What do you mean?” William said pushing back from the table.

“I met her,” Violet smiled, “I met her only a few days ago in the Ghost Estate.”

William looked at Violet then strode to the cabinet and gently put the picture back in it’s place. Without a word he walked into the shadows and through the door to his office.

“I knew we shouldn’t have come Violet,” Boy whispered, leaning across the table, “Let’s go please. I don’t think he’s too happy with us.”

She was about to answer when a door banged loudly and William Archer emerged back through the shadows. He stopped short of the table and flung something down onto the wood. A gold ring wobbled and rolled before falling over dead.

“Her wedding ring,” he snapped, “Now please leave this house. I have lost all but a morsel of my patience.”

Violet picked up the delicate golden ring and stared at the inscription written in swirly letters.

To my love, everything is clear when I’m with you. William.

“But…” she said, before losing her words.

Boy got up from his seat and grabbed Violet’s hand.

“Come on,” he said, pulling her from the chair, “we have to go. I’m sorry Mr. Archer. We didn’t mean…”

“Her eyes,” Violet said suddenly, “her eyes are green. As green as the grass in spring.”

William Archer walked to the door, grabbed the handle and wrenched it open.

“And she mentioned a son,” Violet stammered, as Boy pulled her through the doorway, “ she said she knew what it was like to lose a child. She said the Archers had taken everything from her and the world meant nothing now.”

The door slammed behind them and Violet and Boy were left alone in the narrow back lane of No Mans Land.

“It was her. I swear Boy,” Violet sobbed, as they reached the corner.

Suddenly another bang shook the street. The pair turned to see William Archer standing outside his house.

“Tell me again what she said Violet?” he shouted.

Violet looked at Boy who pushed her towards William.

“Tell him,” he whispered.

“What did she say Violet?” the man asked again.

“Em… she said the Archers took everything from her. She said she had nothing to live for.”

“Before that.”

“She said she knew what it was like to lose a child and that my Dad would never stop looking for me.”

“You better come back in,” William said, returning to the house.

Violet looked at Boy who had rejoined her side and they walked back up the street together. William Archer was sitting in his chair by the window and the pair took their spots at the table. For a while there was silence. William swirled the gold wedding ring round his little finger.

“We had a child,” he said, without looking up, “We called him Alfred. Macula said it was a proud name, one she knew he would wear well. I didn’t argue I loved her too much for that. Alfred was the most beautiful child I’d ever seen, he took after his mother. He was five when he died.”

Tears formed and William stopped speaking. Violet glanced at Boy who looked as shocked as she felt. She was about to speak when her friend shook his head and she stopped. After a few moments William continued.

“I had been away trying to rally up support against my brothers. It was a crazy crusade Macula said and it was one she disagreed with. My brothers called round while I was out and Macula got into an argument with them. They were trying to persuade her against me. No one noticed the door was open. My mother was the first to spot it and she chased out of the house after Alfred but by then it was too late. He’d fallen under the wheels of a passing car. It was torture. No Mans Land is not a patch on the grief of losing a child. Macula always said the Archers took her son, I never knew if she included me in that but if so she had every right. I should have been there.”

“I’m sorry,” Boy said, “we shouldn’t have come.”

“No Boy. I am the one who is sorry. It’s just I haven’t spoken about Alfred in a long time. It’s easier than it used to be,” he smiled.

“How long ago was the accident?” Violet asked.

“A long time ago Violet, a few years before Perfect. We got through it but I continued to try and convince people of what was going on. My work became my life. I wanted to forget about my son and my wife suffered. She said that treacherous day she lost everything to the Archers. That’s how I knew you had met her. How is she?” William asked, his eyes glassy.

“She’s good,” Violet replied, “she helped me. She saved me from the Watchers. I asked her if she wanted to escape and that is when she said all that stuff about having nothing left. I think she was scared.”

“Did she mention me?”

“No I didn’t ask her many questions.”

“Oh,” William sighed, “I expect that was for the best. Did she seem well though? Healthy? At least a little happy?”

“She seemed healthy,” Violet said, “but I don’t think she was happy.”

William stood up from the table and paced the room. The sadness left his face. His mouth narrowed and his eyes darted from side to side, he was concentrating, thinking. He marched towards the table. His hand held firm in a fist, which he slammed ferociously onto the solid wood. Everything jumped including Violet and Boy.

“Those blasted brothers,” he snarled, “They have made their last pair of spectacles.”

Violet smiled at Boy then up at William Archer.

“I told Boy all we had to do was make you brave again.”

“I’m feeling a lot braver thank you Violet.”