At least I know now.
How’s Mavis? I was worrying about her when we were having that cold snap. I don’t know why, because she would’ve been well looked after with everyone there and I’ve never met this woman – she might’ve been at Ivy’s funeral but that day still remains a blur.
What are the plans for the spring flowers? Is there a committee where things like this are discussed? I’m picturing it now; the back room at the Puffin Inn has been sectioned off for the evening, and there’s a group of ten residents there, including Mavis, who’s sitting at the head of the table with a mallet and a large gin and tonic – or is it tonic and gin? The current debate is about the colour scheme and there’s a disagreement. Who wins? Who gets their way? I’d love to see it.
Your place looks fantastic. You’ve made good choices, even if you didn’t do any of the work yourself, and I know what your response to that would be – you need to save your hands for typing.
Which is pathetic, Gulliver. I hope you at least picked up a paint brush.
The photo you took of you and Elias is adorable. You should put that on your social media. I swear it’d sell you more books. Or dedicate your next book to him – that’ll have your fan girls’ hearts beating.
I’m really interested in these old photographs. I am intending to visit Puffin Bay soon as I want to see if I’m as enchanted by the place when I’m there in person as I am with hearing all of these things about it. While I’m there, I’ll take new ones to match up with the old ones that are there and you can do a ‘now and then’ comparison. It’d be good on the town’s website or even in a book which wouldn’t be that expensive to put together. I do think that the social history of a town should somehow be recorded, even if it’s through photos. Capturing Mavis’s memories is important too and I’m glad you’re recording them.
I saw about the lifeboat rescue on the website – I do check, you know. I read you ended up in the water to save a dog that was on board, or rather had been on board. How many call outs is that this year so far? I think I’ve tallied three.
So, about New Orleans. I need details. Date. Plane. Where are we staying? What’s the itinerary? It’ll give me something to focus on after I’ve spoken to Phil – which I’m going to have to do for my own sanity.
Speak soon,
Love,
Iris
A year and eleven months after
Dear Gully,
I have everything booked and everything packed, which is very early, I know and Ivy would be laughing because being packed aweek before you go is so very me and so not her. She’d still be zipping up her suitcase when she was in the taxi to the airport.
I’m glad we’re there the week before Ivy’s death and our last night in New Orleans will be the second anniversary. She never went to New Orleans, but I knew it was somewhere she’d wanted to visit, so maybe we can do something that she would’ve wanted – although she would’ve wanted all of it. Everything. My sister was like that.
I’m glad to hear that Mavis is fully better. I saw the photos on the town’s social media page with the Inn decorated to welcome her home after her stay in hospital. That must’ve been scary for everyone.
So when you come back from New Orleans, the place will be decorated for Easter and the tourist season will have started. It’ll feel like going somewhere new again and seeing it for the first time. I’ll need photos. I can’t believe I have to fly from New Orleans over to South Africa, but the job there was too good to turn down, so I’ll leave you by the Mississippi.
I was thinking about summer, and maybe meeting somewhere for a break, a city break maybe? What do you think? We can discuss it while we’re away.
I’m not referring to a city break in London either, or even in the UK. I was thinking more like Rome or Vienna or Budapest, somewhere different. I’m glad we’re heading away because I’ve had enough of London at the moment.
I didn’t tell you about Phil, did I? Probably because I spent one night feeling absolutely insane with irritation and then I decided to forget all about it.
I went to see him after I sent you that last letter because I needed closure. I needed to explain why I was at his parents one minute and the next I’d fled like I was a fugitive.
He wasn’t pleased to see me and I found out why after. He had someone else in his apartment – another woman. Turns outhe’d been seeing her for ages and I was just a ruse and for a very good (to him) reason.
She’s his sister-in-law.
Yep, as in his brother’s wife. And she was there at Christmas when he proposed, and she congratulated us and seemed really fucking genuine about it too.
I don’t have the details of how long or anything like that, but it seems that he wanted a fiancée because his brother was working out that something was going on with them and he fixed on me because I’d make a potentially good wife and mother and it would make a good cover so they could carry on seeing each other.
I did think about taking a photo and sending it to Phil’s brother, but I can’t be bothered. It isn’t my drama. They can sort it out themselves and know that bad things happen to people who cheat and do shit like that.
So I didn’t apologise. I just saw them both half dressed and left. I didn’t waste my words.
New Orleans is just what I need.
I can’t wait.
