‘Isabella Maria Martinez,’ she read aloud, remembering that her beautiful grandma had been blessed with rather glamorous Spanish parents and had inherited her sultry good looks from them both. ‘March 20th1900–May 2nd 1985. Wife of the late Antonio, mother of Tallulah and Yolanda. Rest in peace, thou good and faithful servant.’
Sid automatically crossed himself and then grinned at Vee. ‘Old habits die hard,’ he said. ‘I don’t go to church so often now because I’ve grown lazy in the mornings since I’ve been on my own, and I’m not always washed and dressed in time for the ten o’clock service. The vicar’s a bright spark though. I think you’d like her. Bright red spiky hair and studs all the way up her ears, but she’s all right, is Bev. You’d enjoy her way of doing things, I reckon.’
Venetia doubted this very much. She’d not been into a church for many years. It was hard to sit still for so long, she found. Restless by nature, a whole hour of listening and trying to sing unfamiliar hymns wasn’t her ideal way of spending a Sunday. Sid glanced at Vee sideways and then down at her left foot, which was tapping out a rhythm on the ground.
‘You’re a lot like your gran,’ he said. ‘She was never still for long. Always clicking her fingers and jiggling around. Jenny used to say to her, “Bella, for pity’s sake, stop twitching, girl. You’re making us all edgy.” Mind you, I’d give a lot to be able to say it to her now.’
Vee made a big effort to stop tapping. It had been one of the things that Nigel had found so annoying about living with her, as he’d often pointed out when they were arguing. That, and her tendency to learn her lines out loud in her acting days, and her inability to face having sex with him when he hadn’t washed for three days or more. In the end, there had been far more irritations than moments of affection. Leaving Nigel was the best move she’d made for ages, Vee told herself. For both their sakes.
‘Let’s sit down for a minute, Venetia,’ said Sid. ‘My legs ain’t what they used to be.’
He led the way to a nearby bench and subsided onto it with a grunt. Vee joined him and they both leaned back, letting the September sunshine warm their upturned faces. The gentle aroma of mint and sage wafted around them. Vee looked to see where it was coming from and discovered that they were close to a perfectly tended grave that was surrounded by clumps of flourishing herbs sunk into the soil at its foot.
‘That’s my Jenny’s resting place,’ said Sid. ‘She loved the scent of our herb garden. I have some thyme to plant next, and a tub of lavender. I like to sit here and have a chat with her. I… well, I don’t want to upset you by mentioning it, but I did hear on the grapevine that your ma had died too, and your pa a lot longer ago. What happened to Ivan? He seemed such a lively chap. He was the life and soul of the party at the pub, always the first to stand his round.’
Vee winced. She’d not planned an answer to this question, and she wasn’t in the least bit ready to discuss her dad’s last years. The memories were still too raw. ‘Oh, he… erm… he wasn’t well for a long time before he died. It was very sad. I can’t believe you already knew about Mum too.’
‘News travels fast in a village. I was so sorry. It was sad news even though she was a good age. Where’s she buried?’
‘We decided against a grave in the end. Mum was cremated. My sister and her partner were over from America for the funeral, and they stayed until we could scatter the ashes. We argued about where to put them but in the end, Finn – that’s my sister Cassie’s son – he had a few suggestions.’
‘I see. Nice that the next generation was involved too. It must have been a comfort to have the three of them with you.’
‘Oh, my nephew wasn’t able to come, unfortunately. He’s an apprentice carpenter. He’s learning how to make bespoke furniture, and my sister didn’t want him to ask for time off when he’s only just started work. They live in Boston, and Finn was lucky to get in at such a prestigious firm, apparently.’
Vee tried to make this sound quite normal but actually she’d been bitterly disappointed that Finn hadn’t joined them. She’d been looking forward to seeing him and didn’t think it was unreasonable for him to take a few days off for such an important occasion, but Cassie had been adamant that he shouldn’t risk annoying his new employers.
‘Ah well, at least the rest of you were there,’ said Sid. ‘Family’s so important at times like this, isn’t it?’ He paused, then asked, ‘So, where did you choose to take Tallulah?’
Vee could tell by Sid’s tone that he wasn’t impressed by the lack of proper resting place. She began to feel defensive. It had been hard enough to accept that her mum was no longer there to provide pithy advice and dispense her huge hugs, without someone with no right to judge trying to make her feel guilty for not having a grave to visit.
‘We went to Whitby for the weekend, and then on the second day we drove inland until we found a secluded spot with a view for miles,’ Vee added. ‘Mum loved going there for some sea air. Chips on the beach and a paddle. But what she liked best was a picnic on the moors. No sand in your sandwiches, she used to say…’
Vee’s voice tailed away. Sid shrugged. ‘Well, if that’s what you all wanted,’ he said. ‘I prefer to have somewhere to come and be close to my Jenny. I tell her my worries, that kind of thing.’
Vee had a vision of herself on the windswept Yorkshire moors shouting a random tirade of complaints about Nigel, her lack of acting roles, money worries and anxieties regarding the state of the cottage into the teeth of a north-westerly gale. She could see Sid’s point, but it was far too late to change her mind now, and Tallulah always made it clear that she had no strong feelings about what should be done with her remains. She’d known she hadn’t long left and had made Vee promise to make the funeral as low-cost as possible or even dispense with one altogether. That had been a step too far though.
‘We didn’t always have an easy relationship, but I miss my mum,’ she said eventually. ‘I did my best for her.’
At this, Sid’s expression changed from one of vague disapproval to a much more sympathetic one. ‘Of course you did,’ he said. ‘Ignore me, I’m just a traditionalist. You’ll always remember your ma, wherever she is now, and your pa too. We keep our loved ones alive by thinking about them and being glad we knew them.’
Sid patted Vee’s hand and stood up to leave, rubbing the small of his back and flexing his shoulders. ‘I’m a creaky old bugger these days, if you’ll pardon my French,’ he said. ‘At least your folks have been spared some of the indignities of old age.’
Vee couldn’t help thinking that Tallulah would have rather been popping paracetamol for her aching joints than being swept away on a wild breeze, but she hadn’t the heart to argue. She got up too and, on impulse, gave Sid a hug. He seemed startled but after a moment he responded warmly enough. His bristly chin rubbed against Vee’s cheek briefly and then he let her go.
‘I’ve held you up long enough,’ he said. ‘Where were you off to when I distracted you?’
‘Just exploring. Revisiting a few old haunts,’ Vee said. ‘I’m moving back into Dragonfly Cottage just as soon as it’s fit for habitation, but I expect you already know that too.’
As soon as the words were uttered, Vee realised how snappy they sounded and was about to apologise, but luckily Sid didn’t seem in the least fazed.
‘Ah, yes, I did hear Beryl was going to have a new neighbour, but not who it would be,’ he said. ‘Jungle drums, you know. I bet you’ll uncover a lot of lovely memories today. Good luck, my dear. And always remember, you belong in Willowbrook much more than all those newcomers who keep turning up to buy our houses. This is your home again now.’
Vee couldn’t think of a suitable reply to this well-meant remark. Good memories? Echoes from her past, certainly, but as for lovely, not so much. Even so, she set off down the road to the centre of the village with a new determination in her step. As Sid said, this was going to be her home now. She would just have to face her demons and get on with it. Enough years had passed by for anyone who’d known her before to forget all about what happened back in 1985.
But as it happened, Vee was quite, quite wrong.
6
