‘OK, and they both live on Mahé now?’
‘Yes.’
‘And he can’t leave his wife, not even for a few days or…?’ It’s like getting blood from a stone.
‘She’s in a clinical trial for cancer treatment, so no one has wanted to disturb them, you know? We’re not sure what’s going on and after the way he left, the argument with Xavier…’
‘What argument?’
He shakes his head sadly. ‘A terrible argument between the two. Gus did the wrong thing. That’s all I can say. But Gus is a good guy. Xavier could have handled it better.’
As usual I get precisely nowhere, having to sift through so much wordage and piece together all that’s left unsaid. Gus admitted in the letter that he did the wrong thing, but what? How bad can it be that no one will even hint at what it is? Unless it’s because everyone is respectful of what his wife is going through? In the end, I don’t get far but Michel promises me he’ll get the conservation team here as fast as possible to check over Turt. Somehow, I don’t think they’ll have the cure for what ails our giant tortoise friend, but at least it’s something.
* * *
After a busy afternoon in the bookshop, I’m righting fallen books and dusting the shelves, mentally calculating how many I’ve sold. Each day the numbers rise but not high enough for my liking. Still, progress is good; I just need to keep trying other avenues to increase sales. I’m standing before the romance section, considering making a display of books set on tropical islands, when there’s a thundering of footsteps and Brian pops up next to me out of breath.
‘Darry, I mean, Barry loved the book. He wants more. Lots more. He made notes in the margins.’
‘He did?’
Brian nods. ‘Quick, give me some more before Doris gets here for her midday snooze and will jump to the wrong conclusion if she sees me buying romance novels. Hurry! She’s zigzagging alone the path now after too many breakfast mimosas with Mrs Bastille.’
‘They have mimosas for breakfast? Half their luck.’
The urgency in Brian’s tone increases. ‘Can you focus?’
‘Right, right.’ I snap into gear. This could potentially be a gold mine in sales over the course of the next little while, but better yet, I’ll personally be curating Brian’s education in the romance genre, and hopefully helping him on his quest for love…
I tap a finger to my chin while I peruse the shelves. ‘Tropes, we need various tropes so Darry understands what’s going on here.’
‘Yes, yes!’
‘Second-chance romance. Late-in-life love. Been there all along.’ I pile a bunch of books in Brian’s eager outstretched arms. ‘Now let me give you a quick rundown on what tropes are. So, for “been there all along”…’
42
The next day I’m getting ready for the reading sundowner. I’m keen to give guests a tour of the bookshop and finish with a glass of bubbles as they watch the sun sink into the Indian Ocean and chat to other bookworms.
Turt gives me a sad look, stretching his neck as I cart plastic chairs to the sand. He lets out that same forlorn sound that I read as heartbreak and not pain. ‘You miss your pal, don’t you, Turt?’ I deposit the chair on the sand and hunch down beside the tortoise. ‘I bet he’s missing you too. It’s not often you read a book where a tortoise is the sidekick.’
The three Lucys wander up the path and wave.
‘Ladies.’
‘Putting the world to rights with Turt, are you?’
I sling my hands in the pockets of my cutoffs. ‘Yeah. He’s a good listener but I’m really worried about him. The conservationists visited this morning to check him over. They’re of the opinion there’s nothing wrong, but they’re not with him all day like I am. He’s pining, no two ways about it.’
They give me sympathetic nods. ‘It’s possible. Turt’s eyes are not as bright with his favourite human missing. And I’m sure Gus is feeling much the same.’
‘I finally heard about Gus’s wife, and how she isn’t well.’
‘Yes,’ Lucy says simply.
‘But that’s not why he left the bookshop?’
‘No.’
