14
Florence
Florence hated visiting her sister in prison. Each time she looked into Tiggy’s sea-blue eyes, the sadness there made her crumble.
Sitting opposite Tiggy at a table, Florence put on her biggest smile, and switched to jolly mode as best she could, because her little sister didn’t need to see her cry.
They both knew there wasn’t anything they could do about the situation, having appealed and failed in the past. Tiggy had to complete her time, then they could try to go back to normal.
Florence leaned closer. ‘I have some news I wanted to tell you in person.’
‘Oh,’ said Tiggy, twiddling the tip of her dark-blonde hair.
‘I have a new job, and I’m really enjoying my new little adventure. Not something either of us would have expected me to do, but I’m a childminder.’
Tiggy smiled. ‘That’s a great role for you. You always looked after me well enough.’
‘Bit different, Tigg.’
‘Not really. So, anyone you’ve mentioned before?’
‘No. None of the kids from the stables. Although, she is having lessons now. Her name’s Lindy, and she’s nine. Lost her mum years back, and her dad’s a doctor, so he needs some help looking after her.’
‘Aww, that’s sad for her. I’m glad she’s got you.’
‘She reminds me of you. Loves horses and drawing.’
Tiggy’s smile widened. ‘I can’t wait to meet her.’
‘Not long now. Can you believe we’re in July already? I’ve never been so happy for time to fly. Just think, we’ll be picking pumpkins together soon, and there’s a pumpkin patch nearby where I live. You’ll love it.’
‘I thought you were looking to move.’
Florence gave a small shrug. ‘Yeah, but only out of the B&B. We’ll stay close. At least, I’m hoping we can. I really want us to stay on the island, Tigg. I just know you’ll feel at home there just as much as I do.’
‘I’ve never known you to be so excited about a place. I can tell it’s done you the world of good. I am happy for you Flo.’
‘Be happy for us both, because we are going to live there together soon.’
Tiggy lost her smile. ‘It feels like this last part of my sentence is dragging.’
Florence felt the same. ‘Remember when we were little and we couldn’t wait for Christmas Day? We never did have much patience.’
‘A bit different in here.’
Florence perused the visiting area. It reminded her of the canteen in her last school. ‘How you getting on since you last wrote?’
‘Same. Not much changes. Tell me more about your new job. Why did you leave the newspaper?’
‘Ah, about that. Well, I kind of upset the new doctor, so the old doctor told my boss, and I got fired.’
‘What on earth did you do, Flo?’
‘I wrote a negative article about him, and all because I’d got the wrong end of the stick. We cleared things up in the end, but I didn’t get my job back. In fact, it’s the new doctor I work for now.’
Tiggy giggled. ‘That sounds like a story you could have written about. Actually, you could have told me.’
Florence sighed as she touched her forehead. ‘It was all such a mess. I didn’t want to write to you about bad stuff.’
‘I understand, but you say everything’s okay now, right?’
‘Yes. We get on like a house on fire.’ Florence twisted her lips to one side. ‘There’s one more thing I should mention.’
‘Okay, that look says it’s something totally mind-blowing.’
‘I guess it did blow me away a bit.’
‘Tell all, Flo. You know suspense is unhealthy.’
‘The doctor is the same man I had that one-night thingy with.’
Tiggy gasped loudly, slapping a hand to her mouth, and causing a prison guard to peer over. Laughing through her fingers, she said, ‘No way.’
‘Way.’
‘Does he remember you?’
Florence nodded. ‘Yep.’
‘Awkward.’
‘It was, but we’re okay now. We get on really well.’
Tiggy grinned, flopping her elbows on the table. ‘Is that so.’
‘Oh, no, nothing like that. We’re just good friends.’ Florence immediately felt bad. There was no way she wanted her sister to think she was on the outside living her best life.
As if reading her mind, Tiggy stopped smiling. ‘Hey, it’s okay if you have a love life while I’m in here. I won’t hold it against you. It’s not as though it’s your fault I’m here.’
‘It’s not yours either.’ Florence sat back. ‘Anyway, this whole nightmare will be over soon, and we can concentrate on finding you a love life instead.’
Tiggy wrinkled her nose. ‘With a criminal record hanging over my head, I’ll be lucky if I find a job, let alone anything else. Besides, I’m not interested in relationships. When I get out, I just want to go horse riding, swim in the sea, and hang out with the wildlife, seeing how I don’t exactly have any friends left.’
It still surprised Florence just how fast their old circle pushed them out as soon as the fraud scandal was exposed. Benefit of the doubt would have been nice, or at least innocent until proven guilty, but all they met were cold shoulders and closed doors, and that was before Tiggy even made it into court.
‘You’ll have new friends where I live. Honestly, Tigg, everyone is so nice. The Silver family class me as one of their own, and they can’t wait to meet you.’
Tiggy smiled, but Florence could see it was weak. ‘I’m looking forward to going home with you.’
Florence wanted to wrap her in her arms and never let go, but time was called, and the visitors had to leave. It was never enough time, and she always bit down on her bottom lip to stop the tremble when she had to say goodbye.
‘I’m all right, Flo,’ whispered Tiggy as they parted. ‘Enjoy your life. I’ll be with you soon.’
The worst part about visiting day was leaving, and it never got any easier.
Florence pretty much slouched her way back to the hotel room she had booked for the night. She wished the prison was closer to home. She wished she could see Tiggy every day.
Sitting on the double bed, she stared over at the window as light rain hit the pane and wondered where her mother was. It wasn’t very often the woman came to mind, but knowing her mum hadn’t bothered to contact Tiggy at all did raise questions from time to time.
Wherever you are, I hope you’re getting rained on. Selfish cow .
Florence flopped back, covering her weary eyes with her hands. She always stayed in the same hotel when she was visiting Tiggy, and each time she arrived back from the prison, she cried. It was her heartache spot, as she had taken to calling it. The tears didn’t hang around long, as the release was simply to clear out her anger and pain, then she could breathe freely again until next time.
She pulled out her phone to call Rhett, wishing she could speak to Stefan instead, but how could she reach out to him for emotional support when they hardly knew each other? Besides, he had enough on his plate worrying about his daughter.
Growing up, Florence had been made to feel like such a burden, so it was ingrained in her to be quite the opposite. As much as she wanted to hear Stefan’s voice, she chose Rhett, thinking it for the best.
‘How did it go?’ asked Rhett, knowing where she was.
Florence shrugged, even though no one could see. ‘Same as always. Tiggy’s putting on a brave face, saying she’s fine.’
‘She probably is doing better than you think. She’s been in there almost two years now.’
‘I know, and I know she’s made friends, but that place just sends shivers down my spine, and the thought of her living that life day after day, it’s soul-destroying.’
‘Hey, I spoke to my sister today, and Viv said Tiggy can work at the Gatehouse Café part-time.’
‘That’s great, Rhett. I’ll thank Viv as soon as I see her. How is baby Isobel getting on?’
‘Aww, she’s lovely. I’ve just come from Viv’s. Had the best cuddle with my niece. She reminds me so much of my Willow when she was tiny.’
Florence smiled to herself, looking forward to returning to Pepper Bay.