‘I’ll do that for you,’ said a familiar voice. I froze as Frank opened the door wider, to reveal Jackson inside. He too was wearing a porter’s coat.
‘Jackson?’ My voice was squeaky.
‘Surprise,’ he said.
‘What are you doing here?’
‘I work here.’
‘Didn’t you tell her, Tim?’ Frank said. ‘You silly goat. I thought you was good mates? That’s what you said.’
‘I’ve not seen much of Elsie recently,’ Jackson said. He lookedstraight at me and I felt – ridiculously – that he was accusing me of something. ‘She’s been very busy.’
‘Well, Nelly’s so poorly …’ I began, then trailed off wondering why I felt I had to explain my whereabouts to him.
‘I’ll take the book for you,’ he said, holding out his hands. I did not want to give him the book. I didn’t want his hands on it. I had a horrible feeling if I let him have it, I’d live to regret it. But I knew if I said no, then there was no chance Harry would get my message.
You’re being a fool, Elsie, I told myself sternly.Jackson’s harmless. Give him the book.
‘Are you sure you know where to go?’ I said. ‘Maybe Frank should …’
‘Of course I know. I’ve been working here ages now. It’s nice, being able to look out for you.’
I stared at him. What did he mean “look out for me”?
‘Give the book here,’ Jackson said.
Reluctantly, I held it out and he took it. ‘The huts?’
‘That’s right.’
He tucked the book under his arm, his eyes never leaving mine. Did he look triumphant or was I imagining it?
‘I’ll get right on to it,’ he said.
Chapter 26
Stephanie
Present day
‘It’s honestly the sweetest thing,’ I said to the eager faces gathered round me in the Tall Trees lounge. ‘My friend Tara says it’s like a romcom. Even my teenage neighbour is gripped by it and he says he’s not interested in romance.’
‘So these people wrote each other letters in the pages of the book?’ Val said. ‘But they didn’t know who they were?’
‘Like internet dating, when people aren’t who they say they are,’ said Kenny with a throaty chuckle. ‘Catfishing they call it.’
Not wanting to think about how Kenny knew so much about catfishing, I spoke up. ‘At the beginning, he knows Elsie, but she doesn’t know who he is, so not surprisingly she is really wary.’
‘Clever woman,’ Val said approvingly. ‘Can’t be too careful.’
‘She asks him lots of questions, about conversations they’ve had, so she’s obviously sort of piecing it together.’
I looked down at the pages on my lap, where I’d typed out all the tiny, densely packed writing. It had taken me ages to getthrough it but I’d got there eventually and it was so wonderful that I couldn’t stop telling people about it. I’d started off telling Val as I made her tea that morning, and somehow I’d ended up in the middle of a group of chairs with residents clustered round wanting to hear the story.
‘Look, he says they can get to know each other through the pages, because he’s a patient and she’s a nurse and it’s not appropriate for them to spend time together. But before she agrees, she asks for clues about who he is and whether they’ve talked.’
‘And he says yes,’ Val put in, because she had already heard this bit. ‘So she says, tell me what we talked about.’
