Jamie laughed to himself as he entered his room. His nan always seemed to make things last. He hung his coat up in the oak wardrobe, then tipped his clothes out of the shopping bags and onto the bed.
She kept some of my things.
The memory had him shoot off to the storage room. It was locked, so he called out the back to Alice to ask where the key was.
Benny came out and opened a drawer beneath the desk. ‘Alice is just in the bathroom. Here you go.’
‘Thanks. I’ll put it back in a minute.’
Benny went back to his room, and Jamie entered the storage section to search for anything he recognized.
Within a minute, he noticed two cardboard boxes with his name on, so he picked them up and moved them to the reception desk so he could lock up and put the key away.
He had no idea what his nan had saved so was a little intrigued.
As he placed the boxes on the floor in his room, he pondered over opening them there and then, but Alice would be waitingfor him to make hot chocolate, so he decided whatever of his past was tucked away, it could wait.
Chapter 9
Alice
All morning, all Alice could think about was the night before. How she’d snuggled on the sofa in her living room with a blanket and hot chocolate and Jamie. They’d pretty much talked all night, bringing up funny memories, and Alice catching him up on any local news since her last letter.
She hadn’t known at the time it would be the last time she’d write to him in prison. She wondered if she might have written something other than the usual Port Berry updates.
None of it mattered now. He was home, and she could just speak to his face whenever she wanted. No security checks, no PO box usage, and no missing his voice.
The phone rang on the reception desk, disturbing her thoughts.
‘Hello. Seaview B&B. Alice speaking. How may I help you?’
There was no reply, so she waited a moment, then tried again, but still no one spoke, so she hung up. The phone rang again immediately, and once more no one was on the other end.
Alice hung up while reaching for her mobile phone so she could test the landline. For a whole week last month, she’d had calls where she couldn’t hear the other person. The last thing she needed was the business phone to give up the ghost. Lots of her guests liked to book that way.
She called the B&B number and all seemed to be well, so at least she knew the problem wasn’t her end.
Heading for the laundry room, Alice wondered how Jamie was getting on with his first shift at the café. She was dying to go over for a nosey. He hadn’t seemed nervous at all last night, but she knew he was good at hiding his true feelings.
Alice pulled out her phone again and sent a message on the group chat, asking her friends for some sort of welcome home dinner at the pub the following evening for Jamie.
‘It will be good for you to hang out with positive people doing good in this world,’ she mumbled, transferring white towels from the washing machine to the tumble dryer.
‘You talking to yourself, Al?’ asked Demi, poking her head around the door.
Alice breathed out a small laugh. ‘I think I spend half my life talking to myself. I have a busy brain.’
Demi grinned. ‘Mine’s usually occupied with recipes.’
‘Were you about to head off?’
‘Yeah, I’m going to take Champ over the park for a walk before I have to get ready for lunch.’
Alice smiled, thinking of the rescue dog Demi had saved. ‘He’s doing so well now, isn’t he?’
‘Oh, yes, he’s loving life, especially his bed. That dog does like his sleep.’
Alice yawned. ‘I know how he feels.’
