‘A half-smashed tooth is not a very attractive look, and I know it’s not ideal but for two days you need to put on your big-girl pants and embrace the situation. You’ll be fine and I’ll be with you before you know it.’
‘I know, I can do this,’ Verity said with determination.
‘You can. Get yourself settled on the ferry, relax, read a book, watch the world sail by. I’ll text you over the campsite details and I’ll make my way there as soon as possible. I promise.’
‘You’d better! I’m just about to join the queue to go through passport control.’
‘Don’t have too much fun without me!’
Verity had to admit she was feeling a tad disappointed to be starting this adventure on her own, but Ava would be there as soon as possible and Verity would only need to keep herself occupied for the next forty-eight hours.
Starting the engine, Verity drove into the ferry port and began to follow the slow line of vehicles. Up ahead was a steward who reminded Verity of a flight attendant, his arms stretched in front of him directing vehicles of different sizes into different lanes. The lane in front of her was moving steadily and soon the steward directed her straight ahead, to join the camper vans and the four-wheel drives. Sitting in the queue she looked out towards the long line of ferries. She’d never realised how big they were; she’d only ever seen one on TV. In fact, she had never been on any type of boat before, so this was certainly a first!
Just above the ferry the royalty of the coastal skies was circulating, the enthusiastic, happy band of seagulls swooping down towards the water, no doubt scavenging their next meal. The car in front began moving and stopped at the kiosk, where the occupants handed over their passports. This was it: as soon as she was through passport control her six-month adventure would start.
Verity switched on the radio and smiled as one of Britney’s songs played, instantly reminding her of Kev. Turning up the music she began jigging in her seat, and, taking a sideward glance, she found a pair of mesmerising eyes staring back at her in amusement. There he was again, the gorgeous guy from the greasy spoon, in the next lane. He began pointing at her bonnet and she raised her eyebrows and shrugged, not understanding what he was trying to tell her. He pointed with both hands and Verity followed his gaze.
There, miraculously still balancing on the van’s bonnet, was her sausage bap. (The coffee was long gone.) The phone call from Ava had distracted her and she’d forgotten all about it.
Verity laughed, opened the van door and hopped down. Just at that moment the ferry honked its horn, causing her to nearly jump out of her skin. She placed both hands on her chest and dared to glance in the attractive man’s direction. He was now shaking his head and laughing. The car in front of her van was beginning to move so she quickly grabbed the sandwich. As she turned, a seagull swooped towards her from nowhere. Verity screamed and threw the sandwich in the air. Not missing its chance, the seagull dived at the food and was soon gliding towards a nearby rock with its breakfast grasped tightly in its beak.
Still in shock, Verity briefly closed her eyes. When she opened them, the man was still watching her. She was totally embarrassed, but a tiny part of her saw the funny side. Trying to shrug it off, she laughed and rolled her eyes, but her heart was beating nineteen to the dozen. She mimed ‘you win some, you lose some’ by throwing her hands up in the air. His smile was wide, showing a perfect set of teeth, and he gave her a friendly wave before the cars in front of him moved and he looked ahead of him in his lane. Verity jumped back in her van and slowly began to close the gap between her and the car in front. Within what felt like seconds, the man was through passport control and heading for the ferry at the far end of the port. She immediately wondered if it might be the one heading to Amsterdam.
Verity’s turn was next. She pulled up at the side of the kiosk, wound down her window and handed over her passport.
The customs officer sitting behind the desk scrutinised the passport then intently looked at her face before looking back at her photo. ‘Where are you travelling to today?’ he asked. ‘Amsterdam or Sea’s End?’
Verity stared at the man. ‘Did you just say Sea’s End? Isn’t that near Puffin Island?’
‘I did. It’s that way to Amsterdam, or that way to Sea’s End,’ he said, pointing to the ferry at the far right of the port, ‘with the onward connection to Puffin Island.’
‘Does the ferry dock near the causeway?’
‘It does and it’s due to set sail in the next hour. So, which ferry are you on? Do you have your ticket?’
Verity’s mind was racing. If Ava wasn’t going to make it to Amsterdam for another forty-eight hours, could she explore Puffin Island today, then jump back on the ferry tomorrow and take the next ferry to Amsterdam?
Thinking out loud, she said, ‘I’m not sure if this is at all doable, but would it be possible to buy a new ticket to Sea’s End – sailing today and coming back tomorrow – and change my original ticket to Amsterdam for a day later?’
The customs officer had a sudden look of disdain on his face, clearly annoyed that she was holding up the queue and he’d now have the inconvenience of changing her tickets. But the more Verity thought about it, the more she knew this was exactly what she wanted to do.
‘You’re cutting it a little fine to change your ticket…’ he began.
‘But it can be done?’ she insisted, taking her chance. ‘It’s just a mad coincidence that that ferry could take me closer to Puffin Island. I didn’t know it even existed until yesterday – actually, that’s a lie, my granny used to tell me stories about the place when I was a little girl, but I thought it was all make-believe – when you’ll never guess what happened.’
‘Enlighten me,’ replied the man, now narrowing his eyes.
‘I found a postcard stuck in my postbox addressed to my granny. It was sent over fifty years ago from a man called W – I’m saying it’s a man because I can only assume it’s a man and he said he couldn’t imagine life without her and their secret must have been too much to bear.’ Verity raised her eyebrows. ‘My granny never saw that postcard because the postbox was sealed up with the post inside, so it’s fate that I’m now so close. Ineedto go to Puffin Island and see if I can find W and discover the secret they shared. It’s like something out of a movie, with romance and intrigue. Look, I have the postcard.’ She reached into her rucksack and held up the postcard towards him. ‘A postcard from Puffin Island.’
The customs officer held up his hands. ‘Okay, I’m invested! Who am I to stand in the way of secrets and possibly romance?’ He turned to the computer behind him and began tapping on the keyboard. ‘It’s your lucky day. There are a couple of tickets left. The return ferry is coming back mid-morning tomorrow, and the next ferry to Amsterdam leaves two hours later, but there will be a cost to change your ticket.’
‘That’s no problem.’ Verity couldn’t believe her luck. She could spend a day and a night on Puffin Island and then arrive in Amsterdam around the same time as Ava. The timing couldn’t be any better.
The man tapped away again and the printer next to him began to whirl, spitting out new tickets. ‘Hang this on the mirror of your van’—he handed over what looked like a paper coat-hanger, which she hung on the mirror —‘and here is your return ticket to Sea’s End, and a new one-way ticket to Amsterdam. The extra cost is ninety pounds.’
Verity handed over her credit card and as soon as the transaction went through, he handed her back her card and passport.
‘Thank you so much.’
