Chapter 6
Isla came to know Henry and Heathcliff a little better over the following week.
Despite having told her parents that working at Finch’s would be a one-off, after that first day back in her happy place and a follow-up chat with Jonathan and Miriam, Isla volunteered to do as many shifts as they needed her for.
‘Please don’t feel obliged to come in and help. We would never want to take advantage of your good nature, Isla.’
‘Not at all. I’m more than happy to be here.’
After the Finches had made certain that Isla was sincere in her suggestion, they wasted no time in taking her up on her offer, knowing that the business would be in safe hands while they attended to personal business away from the shop.
As far as Isla was concerned, it was the perfect way to spend the empty weeks in the run-up to Christmas.
In any quiet moments, she could do some online Christmas shopping or else she could pop out during her lunch break to pick up any presents from the gorgeous array of independent stores along the high street.
Not, as she quickly discovered, that there were many quiet moments as there was a constant flow of customers through the front door, which suited Isla just fine.
It was the perfect distraction from thinking about her actual work situation and her life in London, as well as a way of avoiding any tricky questions from her parents if she was seen to be moping around the house.
It still gave her time to walk Oscar occasionally and to spend time with Diana and Hugh in the evenings, when they would come together over dinner, have a glass of wine together and sometimes a game of Scrabble too. She was making the most of being back at the family home while she could.
Isla was sharing an early-morning mug of tea with Miriam, who had popped into the shop so that they could go through some paperwork together.
‘How is Venetia keeping?’ Isla asked. ‘I haven’t seen her yet. Or heard her at all.’ She raised her eyes to the ceiling. ‘Although I have met Henry and Heathcliff.’
‘Oh, you wouldn’t have heard, would you? Venetia moved out in the summer,’ Miriam explained.
‘Really?’ It came as a big surprise to Isla. ‘How come?’
Venetia Middleton had lived in the upstairs flat above the bookshop since before Isla had first started working there as a teenager.
In her mid-fifties, she was a part-time midwife who had never married or had a partner, as far as anyone knew, but who led a busy life and belonged to many local groups including the church choir and the amateur dramatics group.
She had occasionally helped out working in the shop and Isla had always enjoyed those times because Venetia had been such a genuine and engaging person with a wealth of entertaining stories.
‘Well, it all happened so quickly. She met someone on a singles holiday. A lady from Wales. They decided they wanted to be together and Venetia has moved to be with her. Obviously, we were very sad to see her go, but she sounds incredibly happy. We do miss her though and simply having someone upstairs keeping an eye on the place. Things don’t stay the same forever, do they? ’
‘No, I suppose not.’ Isla sounded thoughtful.
‘I’m delighted for Venetia, though.’ She would miss seeing Venetia about the place, she was such a vibrant and colourful character, but Isla couldn’t help wondering if she’d taken her joie de vivre with her, leaving a grey cloud hanging over the bookshop.
She could only imagine what a wrench it must have been for Jonathan and Miriam.
They were good friends with Venetia, who had always been on hand to assist if there were ever any emergencies at the shop, and Isla suspected they could have done with her help over recent months.
Perhaps Venetia’s departure was another factor in Jonathan and Miriam’s reflections on the shop’s future.
‘So, who’s living in the flat now then?’
‘It’s standing empty.’ Miriam must have noticed Isla’s horrified expression. ‘I know! We need to do something about that, but it’s obviously not been a priority. Something else we need to look at in the new year,’ said Miriam, a note of sadness in her voice.
‘Oh, I see…’ Isla stopped herself. There was so much more she could say, but she didn’t want to make Miriam feel any worse than she already clearly did.
It was only natural that things might slide at the bookshop when Jonathan had been so poorly, but they were losing out on a steady income stream without a tenant in the flat.
‘Right, well, I need to get home. It’s wonderful you’re here, Isla, because it means Jon and I can get on with some much-neglected jobs. Suddenly, there seems so much to do. Thank you again, darling. I’ll have my phone on me, so any problems, just call me.’
Isla would avoid doing that if she possibly could.
She wanted to help the Finches out during this difficult period.
She certainly didn’t want to become another problem for them.
Besides, she always had Heathcliff to talk to if she needed a sounding board, although she didn’t entirely trust the cat yet.
He had taken to curling up in front of the fire or else he would sit in the window like a bookend, and occasionally, she would find him tucked into the smallest space imaginable on one of the bookshelves.
She was never quite sure where he was at any one time.
It was slightly unnerving to come across him somewhere when she was least expecting it.
Sometimes, she would be engrossed in a task when suddenly, she would become aware of someone watching her.
Quickly, she’d turn around to find a pair of piercing green eyes challenging her.
‘Stop that, Heathcliff,’ she would tell him, feeling a shiver run down her spine. ‘We’re trying to attract customers, not scare them away. Be a good cat.’
‘Can I stroke your cat, please?’ asked a child one afternoon. Isla had needed to peer over the top of the counter to see a small girl, aged about four, with mousey-brown hair, a central parting, freckles and an earnest expression on her face.
‘I’m not sure Heathcliff enjoys being petted,’ Isla said, feeling a momentary sense of alarm.
She wasn’t sure how the cat felt towards children and she didn’t want Heathcliff lashing out with those sharp claws.
That would be a disaster for the business and her thoughts drifted to where the first aid box might be kept.
Thankfully, at that moment, an attractive young woman appeared, grabbing the little girl by the hand.
‘There you are, Amelia. What are you doing? Come on, I thought you wanted to choose a book.’
The girl stuck out her bottom lip and gave Isla a distrustful look, not dissimilar to the one she’d been on the receiving end of from Heathcliff.
‘I do, but I only wanted to stroke the cat. That lady won’t let me.’
Isla gave a friendly shrug towards the mother, hoping she might understand, and the woman directed the little girl back towards the children’s department.
It was one of the areas that needed updating.
The shelves looked as though they hadn’t been sorted through in years, and there were no festive editions to be seen anywhere.
It would make sense to get all the Christmas-themed books out on display on the low table around which were large scatter cushions where the children could sit.
Back in the day, they would have story-time sessions for the little ones, which had always proved popular, but she didn’t think Miriam and Jonathan had run those for a while.
Perhaps it was time to reinstate them in December.
She would need to liaise with Penny who worked part-time, so that there was additional cover when the sessions took place.
She put a reminder in her notepad so that she could start making some plans later.
Unpacking another box of books, she stuck a couple under her arm and wandered around the rooms to put them on the shelves, walking through the children’s department as she went.
She almost gasped in surprise to see the little girl Amelia sitting on the floor flicking through a book of dinosaurs while all the time, Heathcliff padded across her lap, enjoying the attention.
‘The cat likes me, miss!’ the little girl said accusingly, running her hands through the cat’s fur.
‘Yes, he clearly does,’ Isla agreed, thinking perhaps it was only her the cat had taken against.
Back at the front till, the bell above the door rang to herald the arrival of a new customer. Isla looked up to say hello and felt her heart skip a beat seeing a face from the past, one that roused all sorts of emotions within her. Charlie Brace.
‘Hi!’ It was the best she could come up with in the circumstances, as she felt her cheeks redden.
‘Isla! What a fabulous surprise.’ He opened his arms wide, and she was reminded of a smile that was naturally straight, bright and white, and totally compelling.
‘How are you? You’re working here?’ She caught the note of surprise in his voice, the slight tilt of his head.
Mannerisms that were achingly familiar and evocative. ‘That’s brilliant.’
‘Just helping out.’ She was quick to correct him.
She didn’t want him thinking that she’d been working in the same shop since she was a teenager.
That she hadn’t moved away from the area.
That she was still living at home with her parents.
That she was the same person as when she last saw him when she was eighteen.
They’d spent three years together at school, madly in love, or so Isla had believed, but when they’d both received their places at university, in differing parts of the country, Charlie had announced, out of the blue, that their relationship was over.