Free Patrick Parker's Progress by Mavis Cheek Page A

still lived in one in Wandsworth. She turned her fully absorbed gaze to Patrick's face. He was lovely when he got going. Sandy fell asleep.
    After the Ironbridge they would go to Bristol and see Isambard Kingdom Brunel 's amazing suspension bridge at Clifton. Audrey was confused and kept quiet - she thought of stockings and suspenders and did not dare ask what suspenders might have to do with bridges. If Sandy had been awake she would have done what teachers did when they didn't know the answer to something: turn to Sandy and say, 'Do you know what suspension is in bridges, Sandy?' And he would say no, and she could roll her eyes at Patrick and say wearily, 'You explain ...' All she could do in the somewhat hazy circumstances was to nod encouragingly again.
    He described it in great detail. The abutment that stands as a memorial to Telford's cowardice because he would not believe Brunel 's original design with a longer span was possible (what contempt Patrick showed for such caution) - the glory of using Egyptian references (the golden age of building) - the catenaries, the links, the sheer bravery of it all. He paused for breath and noticed the sleeping boy. He looked disgusting with his lolling head, his small wet mouth hanging open and his adenoidal rasp.
    'Sandy ’ said Patrick sternly. 'Wake up and pay attention.' He poked him in the chest. Sandy awoke and might have cried but Patrick was looking too fierce for that.
    'I'm looking forward to seeing that bridge,' Audrey said quickly, noticing the rise of colour in her brother's cheeks. She gave Sandy a soothing pat on the arm. 'It's your favourite, isn't it, Patrick? The Bristol one. And he's your hero? The man who built it? Listen to this, Sandy ’ she added. 'It's very interesting.'
    Patrick nodded. 'I now know ’ he said, in a voice that Audrey had great difficulty in taking seriously. "That one day I will build bridges and be the new Isambard Kingdom Brunel .'
    'Ooh,' said Audrey.
    'Coo,' said Sandy. 'Well, so do I.'
    'What?' asked Patrick, fearing for a moment he had a rival.
    'Know what I want to be. I want to be like Stanley Matthews ...'
    Audrey gave him a clip round the ear and told Patrick, very sweetly, to go on.
    'No, Sandy ’ he said. 'I do not want to be like anybody. I want to be better, or the best. There was Abraham Darby and Ironbridge, and after him Isambard Kingdom Brunel - who is the greatest so far - and after him . . . there will be me. Patrick Parker.' He said it with such supreme confidence that Audrey nearly clapped.
    'I'll build another great bridge. Here in England. The best bridge. The bridge of the century ’ he said.
    'I'll bet you will,' she said, fervently. The fervour was genuine.
    To know what you wanted to do for the rest of your life, and to be capable of it, struck her as both exciting and a relief. So far all she'd got were dreams of being an air hostess, advice that she should concentrate on her sewing skills, and the comfort of her mother's words which were that she would get married one day and have children and that was more than enough for any girl to deal with. It didn't quite ring true to her after seeing the Queen being crowned because, after all, she was married, with a husband (obviously) and two children - yet she was Ruler of the World - Malaya and Africa and everywhere. When Audrey pointed this out to her mother, her mother told her not to be so silly, that the Queen of England had blue blood which made the difference. As Audrey knew very well that her blood was only red she accepted this explanation. Patrick's blood was red the same as hers. But it was different for boys.
    'Do you remember when we went to see the Coronation decorations?' asked Audrey. 'And you looked up at those Coronation Arches and said they were too small?'
    He nodded. 'And my dad explained about the stresses and the strains of them and how their proportions were perfect. Any bigger, he said, and they'd out-do Queen Elizabeth.'
    ‘I thought they