Tina gasped. ‘I bet I know what’s caused his confusion.’
Lettie shrugged. ‘Go on then, enlighten me.’
‘It’s your name. He’s trying to think where he knows Lettie Torel from, not Violet Torel.’ Lettie winced at the name she hated so much. Why had her mother let her father persuade her to call Lettie after her paternal grandmother? ‘Don’t pull that face. Those older names are becoming more popular now.’
‘Well this particular one wasn’t when I was at school.’ Lettie shuddered. ‘Maybe it was the thought of going out with someone called Violet that put him off me.’ Could it be that? she wondered.
Tina picked up her drink and raised her glass. ‘Whatever his reasons, maybe his memory is so lousy he’ll never work out where he knows you from. And if he does, so what? We all kissed people in high school. You two can just have a laugh about it and move on, right?’
If only it was that easy, Lettie thought, but raised her glass anyway. ‘Cheers to that.’
13
BRODIE
End of May
It had been a long, exhausting day and despite the sea being perfect for surfing, all Brodie had the energy for was a shower, popping something into the microwave for his supper and collapsing in front of the television for a few hours before going to bed.
Running his own practice had proven considerably more labour-intensive and stressful than he had expected. He wasn’t sure why he hadn’t realised before. Probably, he thought, because before taking over The Village Practice all he’d had to do was focus on his patients and making sure the paperwork for them was completed correctly. Now, he also needed to stay on top of the accounts, and ensure all the stock was up to date and that they didn’t run out of anything. Bethan was excellent at her job but she was doing the work of two members of staff, which wasn’t fair. If he didn’t find someone to look after reception soon, she might be tempted to go elsewhere and he didn’t want to risk that happening.
This morning he had missed an urgent message to call one of the practice’s most long-standing clients because he’d had to dealwith an emergency when someone’s cat had been injured in a fight with another cat. Bethan had been helping him with the animal, then calming the panic-stricken owner and the wind had blown the note from his desk where Bethan had placed it. It wasn’t until later when he had bent to retrieve what he thought was a scrap of paper from the wrapping of a dressing that he had seen it.
‘It’s not your fault, Bethan,’ he had assured her before hurriedly phoning the client and apologising profusely. He’d had no choice but to make amends by racing out to the woman’s home and examining her pet pot-bellied pig causing him to be home later than usual.
‘We need to find someone to come and cover reception, and soon,’ he’d said to Bethan earlier that day.
‘We do, but who can we ask? I suppose we could advertise for someone.’ Bethan had thought for a moment. ‘So many people like working from home since the pandemic and this isn’t the sort of job you can do remotely. Last Christmas my parents were hoping to book their Christmas lunch out somewhere nice, but most restaurants were closed over the holidays because they couldn’t risk letting people down through lack of staff.’
He had agreed and thought of the store in town where a large sign sayingStaff Wantedhad been stuck onto the window since his arrival on the island.
‘We must know someone between the pair of us who might want the job.’
He wished he could think of someone. He had been away from the island for so long and most of the people he knew had either settled into full-time careers or had moved to the mainland or even further afield. He couldn’t think of anyone who might want a job working for his tiny practice.
‘How about Tina Thornton?’ Zac suggested a couple of days later when he had stopped to chat with Brodie on the slipway while Brodie had been fastening his surfboard to the roof of his car after an hour’s surfing.
‘She’s busy with her little boy though, isn’t she?’ Brodie asked.
‘Yes, but if she is considering finding work, maybe she could ask her mother to take care of Noah for a few hours each week. I know she’s spoken to Lettie about needing to earn some money and she only lives down the road from the surgery on the other side of the village, so it would probably suit her well.’
Brodie liked the idea. ‘I suppose I could ask her if she has a few hours free each week?’
‘No harm in asking,’ Zac said. ‘Do you want me to ask Lettie to give her a call? Or she could give you Tina’s number and you could phone her yourself?’
‘Either suggestion is fine by me.’
He liked the thought of Lettie having his number. He thanked Zac and left to drive the short distance home. The mention of Lettie made him try once again to work out where he had seen her before. She seemed so familiar, but he couldn’t work out where he knew her from. She was probably a couple of years younger than him. He’d been heavily into his sports at school and didn’t mix much with younger pupils. Why couldn’t he shift that nagging feeling that something happened between them. Something he would rather forget?
14
LETTIE
‘I’m sure Tina would jump at the chance to earn a bit of money,’ Lettie assured Zac.
‘Great. Give me your phone and I’ll put Brodie’s number into your contacts so you can message him and pass on Tina’s details.’
She ignored her brother’s amused look and decided there was no harm in her having Brodie’s number; after all, she might need to speak to him urgently if there was an emergency with one of the animals after her parents were gone. Lettie handed her phone to Zac. ‘I’m sure they can work out her hourly rate and times so Tina will be able to work at the practice.’
