‘My granny used to tell me bedtime stories about this place, including your teashop, but I always thought it was fictional. She described it exactly how it is,’ Verity said, looking around, ‘which amazed me when I arrived – and is still amazing me, to be honest.’
Clemmie walked in just then with a tray and placed it on the coffee table in front of them.
‘Look at that vintage teapot! It’s so pretty,’ said Verity admiringly.
‘Vintage like my grandma and pretty like me,’ teased Clemmie, missing a playful swipe from Betty as she walked past. Grinning, she shut the door behind her.
Betty poured the tea and handed Verity a slice of cake. ‘How did you realise we all existed in real life?’
Verity shared how she’d found the postcard.
‘What an amazing story. How much do you know about your granny’s time here?’
‘Absolutely nothing. All I know is she spoke very fondly about this place, but the postcard suggests that there was some sort of secret between Joe and Granny. And I know my granny never forgot him because there’s been a picture of puffins hanging on the wall in her living room for years, which is signed at the back in the same handwriting as the postcard by “W”, which must have been Joe.’
Betty was quiet for a moment and Verity knew she was unsure how much she should share with her.
‘I feel like I’m breaking a confidence,’ admitted Betty.
‘I understand, really I do, but you’re the only person who can answer my questions about my granny’s time here.’
Betty took a sip of tea and smiled. ‘I can still remember her laugh. It was a very distinctive laugh, a proper laugh right from her belly. And that smile of hers had all the boys falling over her. She arrived here for the summer after an argument with her boyfriend at the time – Alf.’
‘Alf was my granddad. Can you remember what their argument was about?’
Betty was quiet for a second.
‘Please, Betty, I need to know.’
‘Alf had proposed to your grandmother, but Hetty wasn’t a hundred per cent sure. They’d been together since the age of eleven and his proposal made her wonder if there was more to life than what she knew. From what she told me, the pressure from both families was immense, and she didn’t want to let anyone down. She just wanted to make the right decision.
‘The proposal took place in front of both families. I remembered she told me Alf had gathered everyone together, and Hetty felt like she couldn’t say no in front of them all. So she said yes and everyone danced the night away at the local church hall. The next morning, she told Alf she’d felt pressured and wanted more than settling down straightaway, she wanted to visit places and see things. Alf was hurt, and didn’t understand. He said that wasn’t what you do in life and told Hetty to stop daydreaming. The row escalated and then Hetty spotted an advert in a newspaper for a singer at a club in Sea’s End. Before she knew it, she’d taken flight and ended up here, trying to work out exactly what she wanted. I can still remember the day she walked into the tearoom, which was owned by my mother at the time. She had this funny little accent, quite posh, and was wearing a fur coat and denim shorts and had legs like a giraffe. Her hair was curled and bounced above the shoulders and her crimson lips could be seen from the other side of the harbour. She stood in the doorway smoking a cigarette. You should have seen my mother’s face when she clocked Hetty. I thought she was about to have a heart attack!’ Betty laughed. ‘You’d never guess how my mother greeted her.’
‘Tell me.’
‘“Movie star or hooker?”’
Verity gasped. ‘Your mother never said that.’
‘Oh, she did. My mother never held back. She was well known on the island for her straight talking. Your grandmother replied, “Movie star” but said she was out of work and needed a job.’
‘What happened to the singing job?’
‘By the time she’d arrived at Sea’s End the job had been filled, so Hetty hitched a lift across the causeway to see what the island was all about. Once here, she decided to stay. She took a trial shift, my mother hired her for the summer, she rented a room here and we became the best of friends. There was never a dull moment with Hetty. I thought we’d be friends for ever and was completely heartbroken when she left and disappeared from my life as quickly as she came into it. But I never forgot her.’
‘Where did she disappear to?’
‘I’m assuming she’d got whatever she needed to out of her system and went back home to marry Alf. In fact, she never said goodbye. I remember that day so clearly. It was early evening and I went up to her room to see what she was going to wear on our night out, but she was gone. Her bed was made, her suitcase and belongings no longer there. I was hoping she’d simply gone to stay with Joe, who was besotted with her.’
‘Tell me all about my granny and Joe,’ insisted Verity.
‘Your granny sang her way into his heart. We were at The Olde Ship Inn and The Men from Puffin Island were performing that night.’
‘Sam told me your husband Eric was part of the band.’
Betty nodded. ‘He was the drummer, but we weren’t married at that time. That came a few years later. There was also John, who played keyboard, and Pete. After the band had played, we got a lock-in at the pub. Of course, I was allowed to stay as Eric was my boyfriend, and that’s when I introduced Hetty to everyone. They all began messing around with their instruments and Hetty took to the microphone. Your granny had a set of lungs on her, let me tell you. She belted out a song and blew everyone’s socks off. The whole band was mesmerised. If I could pinpoint the moment Joe fell completely in love with her, that would be it. But Hetty was in a quandary, as she was still trying to figure out how she was feeling about everything back home. She knew Alf wouldn’t wait around for ever and if she stayed away too long there was a possibility her family would disown her. Hetty left me a letter saying goodbye and thanking me and my mum for everything we’d done for her that summer?—’
‘And the secret mentioned in the postcard message? What do you think that was about?’ Verity blurted, unable to stop herself.
