Carl & The Engines vol.11 (Patreon)

It was another fun Saturday afternoon for Carl Casagrande. 

He was busy at work at Tidmouth Sheds, watching over the fitters that tended to BoCo for a maintenance check before his day of hauling goods trains began. He also made sure to bring the tools the fitters needed at any moment—he even had the chance to inspect BoCo’s interior up close. 

This pleased the boy, as diesel engines weren’t around as often as steam engines whenever he would visit Tidmouth Sheds. That made learning the in’s and out’s of diesel maintenance and repair an exciting opportunity for him.  What made this day better, however, was knowing that Adelaide Chang, his best friend from Wellsworth, would be seeing him anytime now. They had called each other over the telephone yesterday, and they had both agreed to finish their homework early so that Carl could escort Adelaide around more areas of Sodor.   

What Carl didn’t know was that his friend was much closer than he thought.  Adelaide knew about Carl’s volunteer work and knew exactly where he would be. Adelaide had arrived to Tidmouth a few hours earlier with her older sister, Sid, and the girls had decided to visit Carl’s mother and father. 

From there, they had waited for Carl to come home. But Adelaide had grown impatient of waiting, and so she had decided to leave on her own and go to Tidmouth Sheds to see Carl sooner.   

What the girl saw when she had shown up nearly made her jump in surprise. There was Carl, hard at work and brimmed with sturdy determination and a glow of ruggedness that Adelaide had never seen from him before. 

Before she could get spotted openly staring at him, she ducked behind a tall pile of lumber and clutched at her chest—even though she was still and no longer directly underneath the harsh sunlight, Adelaide’s heart was still racing, her legs were wobbly, and her face felt redder and hotter than a boiling teapot.  What was happening to her? What had gotten into her to make her see Carl like that? She knew he was a friendly, playful boy that she cherished deeply, but for him to make her feel like this? It was unlike anything that she had ever felt for anyone before.   Could it be that she…  

… 

 Perhaps. It would be ironic if that’s what it was. After all, it wasn’t too long ago that Carl had the same reaction to Adelaide when he first saw her. And although the boy had grown since then, it would be foolish to think that his fondness for her had not.

  Between you and me, it makes me wonder where these two will be in the near future. 

How about you?