What happened next?

I mention A Christmas Carol once or twice a month, or so it seems! It’s a book that is a constant in my life. The identification I have with Bob Cratchit, the family focused, ill-treated clerk employed by Ebenezer Scrooge, was the subject of a blog post a few weeks back. So, it may not come as a surprise that I have chosen Bob to swap with. However, I have chosen a very specific time to swap, December 26th 1843 to January 1st 1844. (My understanding whenever I have read it is that A Christmas Carol is a contemporary novel set in 1843 when Dickens wrote it.) So, why that specific week?

I would be fascinated to wake up on the 26th (No Boxing Day off in the 19th century.) and realise that because of the unexpected delivery of a massive turkey and the celebration and discussion that followed that I had overslept. I would want to be rushing to Scrooge’s counting house to reduce my lateness and I would want to share Bob’s fear of losing the job that his family relies on. When he gets there and Scrooge tells him he will double his salary and help his family I want to share in his utter confusion. That takes us to the end of the book, but what happened afterwards? When he went back to his wife and family did they look at him like he was mad when he told them what happened? Assuming they did believe him eventually, what was the decision made by the family? Would they stay in the crowded house with the community they had built around them over so many years? Would they move to a different area where the surrounding environment was healthier and where the family could spread out? Would their old friends treat them differently or even be jealous? What prospects do the children now have and do they have the educational ability and the emotional ability to deal with those prospects? When they got to the end of 1843 and looked ahead to 1844 what did they see in front of them, less than a week after their lives were completely changed? So many questions and answers I could only get from having a ringside seat as the fall out, both good and bad, gathered pace.