The Ned Wood Archive

So in the end, I was just a middleman
I didn’t plant the tree
But I left it in good hands

Beans on Toast, 2025

Ellie

Ellie’s excited and cautious. Like dead excited and trying to control her excitement. She still isn’t sure whether this is going to be a scam or not.  The bloke called her number and said to meet up because he’s got something of hers.  Not very original.  He didn’t text and say ‘Hi Mom, this is my new phone number’ or anything like that, but still, you don’t know.  On the other hand, someone could have her number in their wallet, couldn’t they.  In fact, it could be one person in particular that should have her number in his wallet.  A day late, though.  Who knows.  Maybe it’s even Joe’s idea of a joke to call her and pretend it isn’t him. Ha! Some joke!

Ellie and Phoebe get to Carhenge and start looking for who the people could be.  She still wants to play it cool. Like not risk anything and make herself look foolish. She’d heard of stuff like that happening. They said there were three of them.  They said the meeting point next to Carhenge.  One bloke and two women.  Wearing T-shirts and shorts.  They’re sure to stand out.  But, in fact, they do.  She can see a likely trio over by the merch stall opposite Carhenge.  She tells Phoebe she’s going to call the bloke to make sure it’s him and that Phoebe should go up close to check what they’re really like.  She wants to take precautions. She’ll bail out if they look super suspicious.

Ellie phones and the bloke takes out his phone and makes to answer.  Ellie tells him they’ll be along in a few minutes while Phoebe goes up to have a nose.  She comes back to tell Ellie that she thinks they’re harmless, so Ellie goes over. Still in control. Not letting the growing anticipation in her heart overrule her head. Not yet. She goes asks the three of them whether it was in fact them that called earlier.

“I’m not sure exactly who this wallet belongs to,” she says.  “Can I see?”

“Well, they must know you because you answered when we called the number inside,” the bloke says.

He takes the wallet out and hands it over.  It’s just like an oyster card holder, but empty.

“Is that it?” she says, turning it over in her hand.

The bloke takes it back, shows her how to open it, then returns it to her.  She plays around a bit more and manages to open it herself.

“Oh, that’s how it works.”

Then she sees what’s inside.  On one side there’s a couple of twenty pound notes.  On the other there’s her number on her scrap of paper. But the main thing, the most impressive thing, is a picture of the sun torn out of the Glastonbury Free Press.  What had he said?  ‘The sun reminds me of you’ or something.  Seeing it makes her feel so good.  She smiles and shows Phoebe.  

“I know exactly who this belongs to,” she says.  “So, tell me how you found this,” she asks them.  

“We work on the recycling line,” he says, pointing to the two women with him.  They’ve said nothing since Ellie’s been there.  They’ve just watched.  Mind you, that’s all Phoebe’s done too.  “We sort through the litter that’s been picked up round the site.  I found this on the line this morning.

“So does that mean it got thrown away this morning or last night?” Ellie asks.

“Not necessarily.  You can’t always tell when the litter we sort got picked.  But as I found it first thing, it was probably picked up yesterday.  Or maybe even Friday.  And it was sort of hidden, so what I think happened is someone found the wallet, but thought it was useless because they didn’t realise there was something inside.  They were near some bar, so they threw it away.  They crammed it into a paper cup and chucked it in a bin.”

“And that was Friday night or Saturday morning?”

“Probably Friday, I reckon.”

Ellie looks at Phoebe.  They’ve both worked out the implications of Joe having lost his wallet on Friday night.  It explains at least some of his behaviour.  Like not phoning.  She explains to the bloke and to the two women that she’s really grateful and that she’ll try to deliver the wallet to the owner.  He says that she’s welcome to the contents anyway.  She’s got more claim on them than he has.

“He’s someone special, isn’t he?” asks one of the women.  It’s more or less the first thing she’s said to Ellie but it’s like she’s read her mind.  

“Yes, I hope so,” Ellie says in reply. 

As they walk off, Phoebe asks Ellie what she’s going to do.

“I have to find him now, don’t I?” she says.  “I’ve got to give him this.  And I still need to know why he didn’t bother turning up yesterday morning.”