Chapter 19
19
‘It’s such a huge pain,’ Vi said later to Sylvia as they were having afternoon tea together in her granny’s cosy living room. The curtains were drawn against the wet and windy afternoon and a turf fire glowed in the lovely old fireplace. The lamps dotted around the room cast a warm glow on the beautiful antique furniture and the multicoloured oriental rug. Vi pulled her legs under her and cradled her mug of tea, taking small bites of a freshly baked scone with blackberry jam. ‘I mean, going out on social media. I hate that stuff and I’m terrible at it.’
‘I enjoy it,’ Sylvia said. ‘I love posting photos on Instagram and then getting comments from all kinds of people. If you use the right hashtags, I mean.’
Vi sat up and stared at Sylvia. ‘You’re on Instagram?’
Sylvia nodded and spread jam on her scone. ‘Yes. I thought you knew.’
‘I had no idea.’ Vi kept looking incredulously at her grandmother. ‘And hashtags? I kind of know what they are but I don’t know how to use them properly. It’s so tedious to fill all of them in. So I don’t use them.’
Sylvia shook her head. ‘And I thought you were really social media savvy.’
‘I’m not. But you obviously are,’ Vi remarked. ‘Amazing.’
‘Why?’ Sylvia asked coolly. ‘Just because I’m old, you mean? But I have been on Facebook since it started and then on Twitter, but now that it’s become X, it’s a different story over there. So I do Facebook and Insta and have a lot of fun with it. Better than jigsaw puzzles and that boring Sudoku us old folks are supposed to do to stop our brains rotting.’
Vi burst out laughing. ‘You’re a gas woman, Granny. Hey, do you want a job? You could be my virtual assistant and do my Insta posts. What do you say?’
Sylvia smiled. ‘I say that it would be a blast, pet. I was looking for something to while away the hours in the winter now that Rose is back at work and I’m not needed much at the office any more. So, yes, that would suit me very well. And it would help raise our profile too. I mean the Magnolia profile, of course.’
‘I like that idea. But I want to see your Insta stuff first before I decide,’ Vi said and picked up her phone. ‘What name do you use?’
‘@Sylviamagnolia. I thought you followed me already.’
‘No, I don’t think so. I didn’t even know about it.’ Vi logged into Instagram and searched for Sylvia’s profile. ‘Oh wow, I see it now,’ she said, staring at the screen. ‘You have three hundred followers too. Who are they?’
‘Lots of locals,’ Sylvia replied. ‘And then potential tenants for the apartments and also people who love Kerry and might come and visit the Regency garden, the nursery and the café. I use hashtags to target different people and advertise events like Lily’s Christmas tea party. That’s #magnoliaxmasteaparty, by the way.’
‘The photos are great,’ Vi said, scrolling through lovely pictures of Dingle town and its surroundings.
‘All taken with my iPhone,’ Sylvia said. ‘But Henri took some of them, too, like the surfing and beach shots.’
Vi put her phone on the coffee table and turned to Sylvia. ‘Granny, you’re officially hired.’
‘We haven’t discussed my fee,’ Sylvia said. ‘You might not be able to afford me.’
‘So what is your fee?’
‘A hundred a month and free tickets to all your movies, plus an invitation to any premieres either in Dublin or in London,’ Sylvia stated.
‘No problem,’ Vi said, smiling. ‘We have a deal.’
Sylvia held out her hand. ‘Let’s shake on that.’
They shook hands and laughed, then had more tea and scones while they chatted about what Sylvia could do. She said she’d draw up a plan and show Vi before she got started.
‘Brilliant, Granny. I wouldn’t know where to start, to be honest.’
‘I think we should concentrate on the movie,’ Sylvia suggested. ‘Draw attention to that, take some photos of you in all kinds of beautiful places around Dingle and emphasise your role. Maybe also post photos of Kathleen all through her career. Create a special hashtag for it and tell Jack Montgomery to do the same. No need to get into your private life at all. It has to be professional and not a lot of blather that would invite nastiness.’
‘Oh, Granny, that sounds perfect,’ Vi exclaimed, feeling a rush of relief. She hadn’t expected help from this quarter and it had come as a huge surprise to learn that Sylvia was so familiar with the ins and outs of social media.
Sylvia nodded, looking satisfied. ‘Good. And you know I think we might tackle TikTok a little later. I’m really interested in what it does. But let’s get going with Facebook and Instagram first. No need to get into that X thing. I think it’s had its day.’
Vi nodded. ‘That sounds great. We can start after Christmas.’
‘What’s wrong with right now?’ Sylvia asked. ‘We should get started as soon as possible. Give me your password to Instagram and I’ll get going tonight.’
‘What… when… Oh…’ Vi stammered, feeling she was suddenly caught in a tornado. ‘I have to look it up. It’s on my phone.’
‘I think we have to come up with a new one,’ Sylvia said. ‘A strong password, I mean. I bet yours isn’t that safe.’ She put her hand on Vi’s shoulder. ‘Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing. I think the best idea is to create an image for you that is strictly about your acting career. Nothing to do with your real life or anything that you don’t want to share.’
‘I think that’s what Kathleen did too,’ Vi said, remembering that last letter she had read. ‘The real Kathleen was a different person.’
‘Yes,’ Sylvia said. ‘That would have been the best thing for her to do under the circumstances. But back to you and your social media profile…’ Sylvia went on to lay out a plan for the Instagram posts and the hashtags while Vi looked at her grandmother in awe. It was incredible to her that someone of Sylvia’s generation was so clued-up about marketing and how to raise visibility on the Internet. And then, Vi realised she had missed something. What was that about Kathleen’s circumstances? she wondered. Does Sylvia know about Kathleen’s hidden identity?
As there was no point in worrying about Kathleen’s big secret, Vi decided to wait until she could speak to Fidelma. She took a break from her research, dance and voice lessons and concentrated on the preparations for Christmas: wrapping presents, helping to decorate the big Christmas tree in the entrance hall of Magnolia Manor and the smaller one in Sylvia’s living room. Then they threaded a garland with green leaves and red berries all the way up the stairs to the top floor, making the house look festive. Some of the tenants who had no families to go to were happy to accept the invitation to dinner on Christmas Day.
Leo called one morning just as Vi was rushing out the door to do some last-minute Christmas shopping. ‘Hi,’ he said. ‘Sorry not to have been in touch before. I just arrived in Cork and then I went on to Kinsale to celebrate Christmas with my uncle and his family. Thought I’d call to wish you happy holidays and all that and ask if you’d like to come to a party here on New Year’s Eve?’
‘Oh,’ Vi said, surprised to hear his voice. She had nearly forgotten that he was supposed to come to Ireland around this time. ‘Thanks. Eh… oh, a party? In Kinsale? But I won’t know anyone.’
‘You’ll know me,’ Leo said. ‘And it won’t take you long to get to know my cousins. They’re dying to meet you. It’ll be held in a pub, so very casual. No need to dress up. They are all sailing buddies and will be in sweaters and jeans. And there will be a few movie people here that will be working on the Kathleen movie, so you’ll have a chance to meet some of the crew. Please say you’ll come. It’ll be great craic, they said.’
Vi smiled. She wasn’t too keen to go to a party full of strangers, but she couldn’t resist Leo’s warm voice. ‘Oh, okay,’ she said. ‘I’ll come. I’ll need a break after all the family stuff here.’
‘Fabulous,’ Leo exclaimed. ‘I’ll text you the details and the address of a great B&B nearby. See you then, Vi.’
‘Looking forward to it. Happy Christmas,’ Vi said before she hung up. Then she raced out the door to go to town before the shops closed for the holidays. So much to do and so little time left, as usual. Lily’s Christmas tea was hugely successful and everyone made her promise to do it again next year.
Then there was the Christmas ballet show the day before Christmas Eve. It was very well attended and all the tickets were sold out. As they were going into the communal hall to find their seats, Lily told Vi that Naomi had been so excited she hadn’t been able to sleep for several nights. ‘Then we decided to let her sleep in her costume,’ Lily said, laughing. ‘It calmed her down and she slept like a log last night. I spent an hour ironing it this morning and trying to get the wings straight after being slept on.’
‘Can’t have been comfortable,’ Vi suggested.
‘No but she said she had to be a fairy all night to get ready,’ Lily said, putting little Liam on her lap. ‘He had to come,’ she whispered. ‘I hope he’ll be quiet.’
‘I’ll bring him outside if he kicks up a fuss,’ Violet suggested. ‘But you’ll be a good boy for Mummy, won’t you?’ she said to him, kissing one of his little hands.
Liam nodded, looking solemn. ‘Liam good boy for Mummy,’ he repeated.
There was a commotion at the door just before the show started. Someone had arrived late and was looking for a seat. Why can’t people arrive on time? Vi thought, giving the latecomer an irritated glare. But then there was a whisper through the audience and she realised it had to be someone important.