The Resurrection Men – A Tale For Easter

by John M. Joyce (April 2009)

In short order he had turned his Rolls-Royce Phantom VI around and had headed back to his club. He emptied his rooms and had immediately had gone to his bank at 49 Charing Cross and had emptied all his safety deposit boxes into the great car and had drawn down all of his accounts to the minimum. After that he had headed to his dealer and had closed out all of his share accounts. Then, loaded with cash, he had hit the exchanges and had purchased as much as he could, at the best prices he could get, in portable wealth. Gemstones, gold sovereigns and Krugerrands were his preferred purchases but he had bought also some small pieces of fine art. He had specified everything for immediate delivery to where he was and there had been no difficulties for he had paid cash and had everything needed in the way of sound identification.

Alice Roughcooper, the nurse to his children and a distant relative (albeit on the wrong side of the blanket from many generations back) had joined him in his study as soon as the children had fallen asleep.

Grief, the last five years had been bad!

Worse than that, however, had been visited upon his beloved country.

By the summer of 2012 fewer than seven hundred and fifty million human beings remained alive on Earth. Anthony buried three of his children that year.

Eventually the pair of them did let go and they all went into the Great Hall. Bishop Daniel introduced Anthony to the others in his party.

Anthony called her forward and, ignoring protocol, introduced her to John. Her clear eyes summed him up and she obviously liked what she saw. The two fathers glanced at one another with faint smiles playing on their lips. As they moved on Anthony whispered an aside to Bishop Daniel:

Ever after, the arrival of those eight men was celebrated in the first toast of the evening at every Spy Wednesday feast held in the Great Hall. The toast, still called by the Squire, because of the words that Philip had carved, has always been:

Oh, and by the way, Pauline and John married in 2018. They are grandparents now and still happy together in this resurrected England of ours. She tamed him. But then, women are good at that!

Happy Easter.

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