2
Florence
Florence Leyland chewed on the end of her pen as she gazed around the small office that made Island News headquarters. When she took on the role of part-time reporter, little did she know how boring the job would be. So far, her boss, Zeke, had only given her small articles to write, stories she thought boring for the community of the Isle of Wight.
She took a deep breath as she stretched and rolled back her shoulders. A late lunch of a ham-and-tomato baguette failed to wake her from her slump, so she needed to muster some strength and shove some positive vibes into her day.
If only she had a juicy story to sink her teeth into. Covering a sandcastle competition the week before raised her spirits a touch, but only because two of the parents had got into a spat after the winner was announced and it wasn’t their child. Florence was shaking sand out of her hair for four days after that day.
The memory had her twirl her ash-blonde locks around her pen. She shook her head, remembering the police stopping the warring mothers as golden grains showered down on spectators. At least there was something for the newspaper that week. It wasn’t the life she had expected to be living at the age of thirty-five.
Florence wished she was out riding a horse instead. She would go out later, once her shift was over. Good thing the reporting job was part-time. Not so much for her purse, but for her sanity, yes. She really needed to up her game, and her bank balance.
Zeke poked his head out of his office to peer her way. ‘There’s a new doctor in town. You could cover Dr Tully’s retirement.’
She pulled her lips to one side, mulling over writing a story on the newbie instead. Everyone on the island knew about Dr Tully, as he’d lived in Pepper Bay all his life.
‘Hey, Zeke, where’s the new doc from?’
‘London.’
Hmm, that could be an angle. Big city doc meets small town .
She picked up her notepad. ‘Where is Dr Tully, do you know?’
‘I think he’s settling the new fella in the surgery today, so you might have to wait till closing to interview him.’ Zeke sighed. ‘Ah, going to miss the old doc. He’d go above and beyond for folk round here. Let’s hope this Dr Bedford is just as good.’
Deciding not to continue the conversation, she headed off. With a bit of luck, Dr Tully wouldn’t be helping at the Windmill Practice all day. And she was sure Rose wouldn’t mind her taking a quick peek inside the surgery.
Outside, the sun was shining, and the sky clear of clouds. Florence debated going home to Silver Wish Stables B&B for a while first. Ever since she’d moved there a year ago, she didn’t want to be anywhere else. Horses always soothed her soul and turned her frown upside down.
She walked over to the promenade to stare out to sea as thoughts of her old life in London came to haunt her, as they sometimes did.
Zeke mentioning the city, and the fact she’d just realised she’d been living island life for a year, brought back memories she didn’t need.
Plonking to a bench, her thoughts turned to her little sister, wondering what Tiggy was up to. There wasn’t a lot of choice. She could be in her prison cell, or walking around the grounds, perhaps reading a book.
Florence put on her sunglasses to shield her eyes from the sunlight. The world. Each time she thought of Tiggy locked up, it stung every part of her. So young. So innocent. Her sister didn’t deserve the sentence, or how harsh it was. Two years inside to be followed by time spent outside on licence felt like a lifetime for Florence, she couldn’t imagine how long it felt for Tiggy, especially as her sister had been the victim of a scam.
For so long Florence wished she could rewind time so she could tell Tiggy not to sign any documents their stepfather gave her. Let her know he was committing fraud. How it would all fall to her. It was too late now. Her sister’s only crime was trusting others, but the case was huge because there were so many other companies caught up in the scam, and each person charged was made an example of, receiving a harsh sentence in prison. All except the ringleader, who took his own life.
Florence blew a kiss out to sea, hoping some happy energy would find her sister. Release day was in September, so she had to stop wallowing, get a grip, and try to find a better paying job so she could afford to rent a place for herself and her sister.
The B&B was okay for Florence on her own, and it was never supposed to be permanent. A summer job at the stables in return for free bed and board. Little did she know she would fall in love with the place and make friends with the locals to the point they felt like family.
Pleased she had a life ready for her sister, Florence got up and made her way to the Windmill Practice to see what she could sniff out.
She arrived at the tram stop, bought a ticket, then sat on a bench by the small wooden platform. She gazed at the overhead shelter held up by forest-green, ornate, metal pillars and smiled to herself at her quaint surroundings. It wouldn’t take long to ride from Sandly over to Pepper Bay, and she couldn’t wait for the day when she got to show Tiggy the old red-and-brown open-top tram, certain she would squeal with excitement at how adorable it was.
One thing the Leyland sisters loved was anything cute, which included men. Not that Florence was in the market for such a relationship. Her last partner had dumped her as soon as scandal met her family’s name. A lot of her so-called friends turned their backs, and her mother did a moonlight flit to Saint-Tropez.
The tram pulled up, and Florence greeted the conductor before settling down upon a narrow hardwood seat. She took in the green fields and the dark water of Pepper River as she embraced the warm air, relaxing into the short journey.
Josephine Walker was at the tram stop the other end, flicking through a magazine.
‘Hello, Jo. You having a good day?’
The elderly woman glanced up. ‘Oh, Florence, it’s you. Yes, yes, not bad at all. Where you off too?’
‘Windmill Practice.’ She waggled her notepad. ‘New doc. New story, perhaps.’
Josephine scrunched her nose. ‘Not sure about him.’
That intrigued Florence. ‘Oh, why’s that?’
‘Seemed a bit standoffish when I met him yesterday. Nothing like Dr Tully. Wouldn’t help me at first.’
Florence raised her perfectly shaped eyebrows. ‘Wouldn’t help you?’
‘Oh, he pulled out the thorn in the end.’
The conductor leaned out the entrance of the tram. ‘You getting on or what, Jo?’
Josephine folded the magazine as she stood. ‘Yes, hold your hair on. I’m in my eighties, not eight.’
Florence wanted to ask more about the doctor, but the elderly lady boarded the tram, so she made her way down Pepper Lane to the tea shop to grab a coffee before heading to the surgery.
‘Hi, Florence,’ said Joey. ‘What can I get you?’
Florence smiled at the owner. ‘Hello, black coffee, please.’
Joey set about making the drink, her blonde ponytail swaying as she bobbed slightly to the song she was humming whilst Florence perused the sweet treats on offer in the glass counter.
‘I just saw your gran at the tram stop.’
Joey smiled. ‘She’s off to see friends.’
Florence paid for her drink, then went to sit by the window as Joey served someone else who had just entered Edith’s Tearoom. She noticed a seagull was sitting outside, eyeballing her through the window. ‘I’ve got nothing for you, greedy guts,’ she whispered.
‘You talking to yourself, love?’
She glanced across the shop to see a local taxi driver, Ronnie, grinning her way. ‘Oh, just the bird out there.’
‘Day off?’
‘No. Coffee break.’
Ronnie nodded. ‘Same.’
‘I’m off to the Windmill Practice soon to speak to Dr Tully about retirement, and, hopefully, get a sneaky peek at the newbie.’
‘One of my mates saw him yesterday. Apparently, it was a hard job to get the doc to check out his mole.’ Ronnie jumped as one of his daughters knocked on the window to get his attention. ‘Ooh, hang on, that’s my Molly.’
Florence watched him leave, chastising herself for not ask questions about which mate had the mole. After speaking to Josephine and now hearing that snippet of information, she was sure there could be quite the story about this new doctor brushing off patients.
She sipped her coffee as her mind whirled. If she wrote an article showing the island how unhelpful the doctor was, surely that kind of exposure would promote her from part-time to full-time. She really needed the money, and she was supposed to report the news. If this man was going to make easy headlines for being so cold, that was on him, not her.