“Oh, yes, right. Of course. I remember reading all about it.”
“You read about it?”
“In a brochure on Coral Island.”
“Do you have family here? Or friends?”
Charmaine shook her head. She wasn’t ready to talk about the aunt who might possibly live here, whose name she didn’t recall and who she hadn’t seen since she was an infant. The revelation would only lead to more questions. “It looked like a nice place … in the brochure.”
“Bit of an adventurer then, are you?” Bea tidied some empty cups from the next table.
“Something like that.”
“Well, let me know if you need anything else. And welcome to the Island.”
After she’d finished her coffee and banana bread, Charmaine collected her backpack and set off to find the florist shop Bea had mentioned. The town was like something out of a postcard. The main street had quaint, old-fashioned shops up and down both sides. The streets were clean, with greenery and trees dotted here and there in well-maintained garden beds. Shoppers wandered along the pavement or darted into and out of the retail outlets.
It didn’t take her long to locateBetsy’s Florals.There was a huge picture window that displayed vases full of colourful flowers. Artwork hung on the walls. The narrow shop was painted a bright white with blue trim. When she pushed through the heavy timber door, a bell rang above her head.
“Can I help you?” a tremulous voice called from the back.
Soon an elderly woman appeared, her eyebrows raised in question. She had grey curls and sparkling blue eyes and wore a black apron over a silk kaftan in swirls of blue and green.
“Hi, I was told you might be hiring. My name’s Charmaine, and I’m new to the island. I’m looking for work.”
The woman held out her hand with a broad smile. “Pleasure to meet you, honey. I’m Betsy, and I’m looking for someone to help me out here in the store. You have any retail experience?”
Betsy’s American accent was subtle enough that Charmaine figured she’d lived in Australia for a long time. She wondered what had brought Betsy to a place like Coral Island — so remote, tucked away from the rest of the world.
“Yes, I worked in a dress shop back home.”
“I’m desperate, and that’s a fact. If you can start tomorrow, you have the job. I’ll need some details, of course, and I’ll try to find an application form to give you. I’ve got one lying around here somewhere. Now, where did I put that thing?” Betsy shuffled some papers next to the cash register, then bent over to look through drawers beneath it.
“Thanks for this. I really appreciate it,” Charmaine said.
Betsy straightened with a grunt. “You’re so welcome, honey. You’re doing me a favour, I promise you that. Where are you staying?” She eyed Charmaine’s backpack.
“I don’t know yet. I’m going to find somewhere just as soon as I leave here. I figured getting a job was my first priority. Maybe someone will let me rent from them now that I’m employed…”
Betsy’s eyes narrowed. “Well, if you’re interested, there’s a small apartment upstairs. You go up those back steps, and it sits right above where we’re standing now. It’s nothing special, but it’s comfortable enough. If you’re willing to open and close the shop each day for me, keep an eye on things when I’m not around, I’ll let you stay free of charge. I’ve been hoping to have someone take the load off me now that I’m spending more time caring for my granddaughter. Of course, I’ll need to speak to your past employer first.”
“Wow, that would be amazing. Thank you!” It seemed more than luck had brought her to the florist shop. A job and a place to stay—it was overwhelming. It’d been so long since anyone had done something kind for her. She fought to keep the tears at bay.
“Do you go by Charmaine or Char?” Betsy asked.
“People usually call me Chaz.”
“Very Aussie,” Betsy replied with a grin. “Chaz it is.” She handed Charmaine a sheaf of papers. “There you go—the application form. Here’s a pen. You can sit over there by the window and fill it out. Then I’ll show you the apartment upstairs, and you can move your things into it. Do you have anything else with you?”
“No, this is all of it,” Charmaine replied, patting the backpack with one hand over her shoulder.
Betsy grunted. “Fine, traveling light is the best way to go. I used to travel light. But that was a long time ago. Write down your references here, and I’ll give them a call. I thank my lucky stars that you walked in here today, I was beginning to wonder if I’d ever find someone to help me manage this place. It’s a lot at my age. You’ve really made my day.”
Two
THE CAFE,Bea’s Coffee, buzzed with a large crowd of tourists the next day. A large segment of the group seemed to be a birthday party for a group of six-year-olds. The noise level had risen exponentially since they arrived, and one of her staff was busy cleaning spilled chocolate milk off the floor, balloons bobbing around her.
Beatrice Rushton was too busy to notice when the strange girl from the day before wandered in and found a table. But by the time the crowd had begun to shift through the front door and headed for the dock where the ferry was already churning and chugging itself into place to be boarded, she spied the girl seated at the same table as she’d occupied on her previous visit.
