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Rusty loved Sundays. The little diesel started the day by picking up the maintenance workers from the station. The air smelled of coffee and fresh wood, and the workers greeted each other quietly, still sleepy from the early morning. Rusty carried the workers along the railway, following a steady routine of riding down the line and backing into sidings while the workers fixed the tracks and mended other parts of the line. This cycle was repeated until noon, when the sun was high and the work was done. After dropping the men off, Rusty looked forward to the best part of the day: seeing Stepney, the famous Bluebell engine, who was always on Rusty’s mind. No matter where Rusty went, Stepney always seemed to appear in some way. These thoughts were as steady as Rusty’s wheels on the rails.
Across the railway, everyone knew that some engines could feel romantically towards each other. The engines didn’t always express it openly, but in small, subtle ways. Sometimes, work meant two engines would be coupled together, riding side by side on the way home. Other times, as Rusty traveled down the line, the little diesel would overhear quiet conversations between engines waiting at the platform or resting in a shed. Before long, all the engines began to recognize these moments as signs that a relationship was taking shape.
Skarloey and Rheneas were the first engines Rusty knew who felt something deeper than friendship. Rusty remembered the night Peter Sam told Duncan and Sir Handel, and the little diesel about overhearing the two engines quietly saying 'I love you' to each other. The engines talked about what it might mean, and everyone agreed that something special was happening. The next day, Skarloey and Rheneas shared their new feelings with the others.
Later, while the other engines slept, Rusty gazed at the moon and felt a new sense of longing. Rusty wondered what it really meant to love someone. Skarloey and Rheneas’s story had grown over many years. Skarloey was one of the first engines on the line, and after a while, Rheneas joined him. Their bond formed quickly as they took tourists around the island, working together in perfect harmony. But then they were separated when Skarloey grew older, and the railway couldn’t afford his repairs, so he was retired. Rheneas had to run the railway alone, which was difficult, but the hardest part was missing the engine that made every day brighter. At first, Rheneas saw Skarloey as a loyal friend, but Rusty believed there had always been something more between them, something they could finally share openly.
When Rusty thinks of something, their mind goes to Stepney. Their relationship had always been special to the little diesel. Originally, when the diesel went to find an engine, it was to help make the branch line more efficient. However, when they saw Stephney on the siding, cold and huddled with only his driver, the little diesel knew they wanted to take him away from the scrapyard and give him something more. On the long journey back, they talked about Stepney’s old adventures, and Rusty filled him in on stories about the island and all the diesel's friends. Once they reached Valley Station, a friendship slowly began to grow between the two. Whenever the engines saw each other, Rusty would share with Stepney the maintenance work underway on the line. Stepney would always compliment them on being very useful to the line, which would make Rusty turn a bright shade of red. Stepney, however, who was always pulling coaches, would tell Rusty about the random passengers he took around the island throughout the week. The little diesel would listen, never growing tired of hearing Stephney speak of his adventures. It always brought about a smile on his face that never left.
The lives of the passengers were always changing. Some would have kids, others would be heading to parts of the island to get married, and some would be headed to faraway places that the two could only dream of visiting. They both admitted that humans were always such a strange concept and that their lives always seemed to move in a non-linear way, unlike the engines on the island. However, the conversations always left Rusty feeling warm. It was as if Stephney understood the loneliness of being a maintenance diesel. His stories always gave Rusty a sense of connection to the passengers who came to the island, whom they never saw. These small acts of kindness always made them wonder if that was how Skarloey and Rhenas came to be.
Soon, Rusty and their driver make their way into the station. Rusty finds themselves looking for Stepney, and the little diesel’s eyes notice the tank engine has a crown of bluebells on his funnel and chassis. The sight makes Rusty stop abruptly, and they find themselves unable to look away from the tank engine.
Stepney looked radiant.
Rusty felt their engine short-circuit.
“Rusty, what do you think?” The tank engine says, as if reading the little diesel’s mind. “Some of the children came from the fields and gave me a makeover. I feel quite like an overgrown flowerpot.”
“Well, we might need to find a place to plant you. You’d make a beautiful flower.”
“Well, they’ll have to paint me light blue. Do you think a new coat of paint would suit me?”
“I find your yellow coat to be very fitting for you. I couldn’t imagine another color.”
“I’m happy to know you’re an admirer,” Stepney replied cheekily. Rusty felt themselves turning a bright shade of red. “Are you ready to head to the docks? We have some small jobs to complete.”
“Yes!” Rusty said. He let out an excited whistle that made Stepney laugh a little. They pushed down the warm feeling in their engine at the sound.
Both head down the line, stopping to pick up mail and goods trains. They ride in a comfortable silence, and soon the docks are in view. The engines wait for the cranes to move the items to their proper places. Stepney then looks over at Rusty.
“You know, I saw the strangest thing yesterday? I saw a woman with quite a crazy hat. It had so many feathers she looked like one of the chickens from the Vicar's farm.” Stepney whispers amongst the two of them. Rusty chuckles as the image comes to their mind.
“Maybe she’s secretly a chicken who turned human. If boulders can have faces, then surely chickens can turn into people.”
“Perhaps,” Stepney offers a cheeky smile. “However, even a chicken turned human is more likely than a boulder with a face, don’t you think?”
Both laughed as their drivers returned, and soon the engines headed down to the quay overlooking the sea. They were then left alone, their drivers heading to a restaurant near the seaside. The sun slowly started to set, and Rusty watched as the wind began to blow. The sun made Stepney's yellow coat golden as the rays hit him just right; the bluebells began to blow around his funnel and up into the sky.
Rusty thinks of all the beautiful things they know: the forest, waves crashing into the shore, a beautiful day spent riding around the island, but nothing compares to Stepney. The diesel finds itself speechless. Stepney catches Rusty staring, and red creeps up the engine’s cheeks. Rusty can’t find it in themselves to look away.
“You know,” Stepney says gently. He looks up at Rusty with a shy smile, “I enjoy our time together. I hope you know I look forward to our Sundays rather often.”
“I do as well,” Rusty says a little breathlessly. They feel that giddy feeling again and avert their eyes. “I am always happy to see the amazing Bluebell Engine.”
“I’ve always liked that name. Many have said it, but I’ve grown to miss when it was something between us.”
“Perhaps we could come up with another.”
“I’ve always enjoyed the Bluebell part of the name. I’d like to keep that part.”
“Hmm, then maybe Bluebell is the perfect fit. Earlier, you looked like one. I find it very fitting for a splendid engine such as yourself.” The last part is whispered, but the look in Stepney eyes lets the diesel know he hears it. A shy smile forms on Stephney’s face.
In these moments, Rusty wonders if Stephney feels the way they feel. If Rusty felt a little braver, they might find the words to ask. However, the little diesel decides it’s better to keep their eyes on the sun as it paints the water deep hues of purple, magenta, and a bright orange.
They’ll ask another time.
Soon, the sky darkens, and the moon begins to rise, casting shadows over the engine and the diesel.
In moments like these, the longing comes back stronger. The diesel thinks about that night when Skarloey and Rhenas tell the others about their relationship. Skarloey had expressed how Rhenas had always been the one for him. Rhenas had teased him a little, but the look in his eyes said otherwise. All Rusty could see was the love that had come from years of knowing an engine inside and out. Rusty wondered if Stepney and they could ever have a love like this.
Soon their drivers came back, and the engines began a quiet ride back. Besides the crickets' sounds, there was a comfortable silence between the two. Soon their drivers started taking them in different directions; both let out a rather cheerful whistle as a goodbye, smiling at each other shyly.
Once Rusty reaches their shed, they stare up into the sky and let out a sigh. Staring at the moon, they replay the day over and over. Their eyes start to close as the thought of Stepney in the sunlight, blue petals floating away, brings a smile to the little diesel’s face.