SWNOVELS Chapter 21
Peter`s final day in the police arrived, seemingly very quickly, but was in fact three months from when he submitted his resignation. Chris had been offered a promotion to Major; he thought as an incentive for him to remain in the police and was due to take charge of all day to day and special operations for the whole of Britain. He would still be based at Heathrow but the job was more office based, with him working pretty much from nine in the morning till five in the afternoon, Monday to Friday which meant his evenings and weekends were free to spend time with Fiona and the new baby when it arrived. He and Fiona sold both of their flats in London and bought a seaside house in Sussex with a large garden and even some woods and a couple of fields. This was still easy commuting distance to Heathrow so was an ideal solution. The house needed a bit of sprucing up but Chris said he was quite capable of doing all but the most complicated jobs and was looking forward to the challenge of getting the house how he and Fiona wanted it.
Bill also got his wish of an instructor`s position, something he found he enjoyed since teaching Maureen and helping Fiona while on their voyage. He was also promoted to Captain and like Chris would still be based at Heathrow, with some time spent at the Navigational College at Warsash in Hampshire. This had originally only dealt with sea navigation but since just after the landings handled basic and advanced courses for all navigators, civilian and military. The site had been expanded considerably since the old days and now had over a thousand people working there. The old naval hydrographic centre had also moved here from its old home in Taunton so the centre now offered unified service to all who needed its expertise. Like Peter and Chris, Bill was also tired of living in London and he and Maggie purchased a property in Cranleigh in Surrey, an old picturesque thatched cottage with the inside thoroughly modernised. This also had a large garden and a small stream running through it. The location was ideal as it was roughly halfway between Heathrow and Warsash, depending on where he had to work. Maggie had given up her tutor`s post at the university of Lincoln and now had a similar post at the University of Surrey in Guildford only a short trip from her new home.
Maureen gave birth to a son, while three weeks later, Fiona had a girl. The children were named Dominic and Christabel, and would probably spend a lot of time in each other`s company as they grew up.
Within a year, the farm was flourishing and Peter was immensely enjoying his new role as a gentleman farmer. He spent most days out somewhere on the farm with Ken, the manager, learning all he could about his new way of life. Stanley and Albert, the two sons were still working there but they spent most of their time working alone to give their father a chance to teach Peter properly. Peter went to college once a week in Weymouth, for a full day working towards an agricultural qualification.
Everyone got together at least once a month for a catch up and usually a meal, alternating between the three homes. Peter`s parents came along sometimes as did the students who had now all qualified as Scientists and were now working in several different locations, luckily all in the south of England which made meeting up that bit easier. Everyone was happy with the way their lives had turned out and sometimes on the monthly meetings they would watch disc recordings of their trip which now seemed a long time ago. On these occasions there was always something that they hadn`t spotted or remembered which led to some interesting discussions, and question and answer sessions.