Miles slides the box onto the end of the island and pulls out a couple of stools. ‘It feels like a big order, but with three postcard stands to fill, it needs to be.’ He turns to me and grins. ‘Was I right about the card that sold out first?’ He hasn’t taken much notice of the cards, beyond the one thatwasn’tabout him.
‘Different cards sold well on different days.’ I think back. ‘A lot of people love theIt’s mylucky dayone with the horseshoe prints, and the edgy ones have been so popular Clemmie was joking that if I find a fourth card rack I should do a sweary range.’
What Miles doesn’t know is that with two extra card stands to fill, I was just about to rush off to the beach with my writing stick when a customer asked if we had any cards with local views and sent me in a whole new direction.
Miles holds up the scissors. ‘Will I be overstepping if I open the box?’
I laugh. ‘Seeing you’ve asked, not at all.’
He folds the flaps back and takes out some packing. ‘I’ll let you take it from here.’
I unwrap the first small package, pull out the cards, smile to myself, and push the top one across for him to see.
His eyes widen. ‘It’s the sea of flowers in Zofia’s garden!’ He looks at me. ‘What happened to the sand writing?’
I laugh and think how he might put it. ‘I’ve diversified.’ I take a few more cards out, look at them myself, then pass them over.
He’s flicking through them. ‘Front doors, doorstep flower tubs, Zofia’s espalier pear tree, boat names from the harbour.’
I hand over the next ones. ‘My favourite garden gate jam shop, Pumpkin’s favourite geraniums down on the harbourside, and some St Aidan shop windows.’
As fast as I’m unwrapping them, he’s taking them from me. Eventually as we come to the end he looks up at me. ‘You’re a dark horse, Betsy Eliza. They’re stunning. I told you you’d be having fun.’
I give a shrug. ‘Let’s see how they sell first.’ Then I give him a smile. ‘You are right, I had a great time taking them.’
Miles picks up another card and squints at it. ‘What’s that about then?’
I lean over to look, and try not to rest my boob on his forearm. ‘That’s the graffiti on the wall by the end of the residents’ car park where the silver surfers group rest their boards. It sayscarpe diem– seize the day. It’s Latin.’
Miles wrinkles his nose. ‘Thanks for sorting that, I’m not the best at deciphering words.’ He blows out his cheeks. ‘It’s not only Latin– it’s all reading. I’m okay with three letter words and short sentences, but if I’m faced with anything as long as a page I give up.’ He pauses for a second. ‘You must have noticed my cryptic writing?’
I’m finding this hard to take in, then it hits me. ‘But you checked my work? That day with the fairy piece, you found every typo.’
Miles’s head shaking starts again. ‘No, I sent it off to head office and they did it. I’m told the team there are very good.’
I’m still finding this hard to grasp. ‘But you knew what I’d written?’
At last he nods. ‘That was text to voice software. It’s very good now. It wasn’t always. But I’ve had my whole life to find ways to get around the problem, I’ve never let it hold me back.’
I’m the one shaking my head now. ‘I’m sorry if I sound rude, but it’s just very unexpected… considering how successful you are.’
He stops to think. ‘My business instincts and vision were good. My enthusiasm and an eye for detail made up for what I lacked.’
I’m thinking back to my own small country village infants’ school and literacy hour, and decide there’s no point holding back. ‘I’m not sure I’ve ever met anyone who couldn’t read before. How did it actually happen?’
Miles pulls a face. ‘I was a bit dyslexic, missed some school and never caught up. I simply fell through the cracks. It wouldn’t happen these days. It’s not exactly a secret but I don’t broadcast it either.’
I drag in a breath. ‘Well, thanks for sharing with me.’
‘It’s the least I can do.’
I’m curious again. ‘What? Because I’m being your roll-out guinea pig?’
He looks slightly bemused. ‘No, because you let me in on your very exhaustive bad-boyfriend list.’
I stare at him. ‘That wasn’t all of it.’ The second that’s out, I’m kicking myself. ‘Shit. There was no need for me to say that.’
‘I look forward to the next instalment.’ He’s looking at me through half closed eyes. ‘This is why you should never make assumptions. People are a lot more complicated than you’d ever imagine, which is why it’s best to get to know them more before you put your trust in them.’
