Sounds Like Radio Episode 06
“I’ve made you tea,” Gerry said, holding two mugs outside the office.
“Lovely.” Cesca was smiling a big, relaxed smile.
“What a lovely day!”
“Er, yes.” Gerry swallowed. “I was wondering if I can sit in on the Byron thing.”
Cesca took the mug.
“Of course,” she said. “You have to start somewhere.
“Actually, this is a good opportunity for you to learn about collecting practical effects.”
Cesca was in the middle of the room now, staring at the shelves.
“Somebody’s tidied!” she wailed.
“Er . . . good?” Gerry said hesitantly.
Cesca had gone from cheerful to horrified in an instant.
“No! It’s not good!” Cesca put the mug down with a thump and tea sloshed out.
She was scurrying back and forth along the shelves.
Gerry saw a few ancient telephones, a box of chains, a mess of synthetic taffeta in many colours, empty bottles of ink.
“The special Biro’s gone! My perfect quill pen! I made that thing years ago.” Cesca turned to face Gerry, her eyes blazing.
“You have to cut the barrel off at a long angle with a really sharp knife, and lots of times it just doesn’t work, but then finally you get it right!
“That old Biro makes the best scratching quill sounds in the universe.
“It’s ‘period’, it’s Byron, it’s dispatches from Napoleonic wars, it’s Marie Antoinette’s last wishes. It’s perfect!”
Cesca gritted her teeth.
“Miriam!” she growled.