'Where to?'
Tilly hesitated. 'I'm, umm, I'm not entirely sure. I think I want Darling Bay.'
'Single?'
'Yes, please.'
Shelly held the machine out, and Tilly tapped her card against it. Then Shelly paused, looking at her properly for the first time, and her head went very slightly to one side. 'Sorry, I should have asked before you tapped. I’m not with it this morning. Resident?'
There was the resident's question again. 'Yes. Resident.'
Shelly's head came up. 'Sorry, no, I mean. Do you live here on Darling?'
'I do, yes. I’ve just moved in.'
'First I’ve heard. Oh, right, I see. Have you got a permit?' Shelly's eyebrows went up. 'Did you really just move in?'
'I did.'
'Whereabouts, love?'
'The Old Boat Shed.' For the second time in a few days, Tilly watched a Darling Islander's whole face change.
'Margery's?' Shelly queried and narrowed her eyes.
'Yup, that’s right.'
'Well, I never.' Shelly let the machine drop to her side. 'Wait till I tell my sister. We've all been wondering what was going on with it. Someone said something about Otto taking it over.'
'So, umm, yes, do I need the Bay tram for a place called Darlings?'
'Sit yourself down, my lover. I'll give you the shout when you need to get off. It's the stop before the bay depending on which way you go.'
'Thank you.'
'You take a pew anywhere you like.'
Tilly nodded and moved down the carriage, where highly polished timber seats, dark with age, ran up and down on either side. Choosing a seat by a window halfway down on the right, she slid in as Shelly stepped to the front of the tram, picked upthe rope from the bell and called out down the length of the carriage. 'First stop Darling Fire Station, then Town Hall, all stops Darling Bay! Darling Bay, all stops to the bay.'
Tilly hadn't been prepared for how lovely the tram ride would be, and as it moved with a slow, rolling rhythm along the rails and the sliding window beside let in the smell of the sea, she exhaled in pleasure. Beyond the window, the buildings of Darling Street rolled gently past together with a row of shops in between, squished together white cottages, a bakery, a pub on a corner. Then another row of small shops with bunting strung between their awnings. Then more pastels, a doctor’s surgery with old-fashioned shutters and the soft blue Margery had used on her doors at the Shed. A florist with metal buckets on the pavement outside, full of pink and white stems. A small bookshop with a window full of paperbacks. A man on a bicycle going slowly past in the other direction with a French stick under his arm. Darling doing its thing.
Tilly settled her shoulders against the timber back of the seat and watched Shelly working her way slowly back down the carriage, tapping people on and chatting here and there. She stopped at Tilly's seat on her way towards the front. 'Alright, my lover? How are you enjoying us so far?'
Tilly didn’t feel it the right time to divulge that she was thoroughly cheesed off regarding the state of the boat shed. 'Lovely so far. Thank you. Yes, fine, thanks.' She tried to sound positive. ‘The nature and views are gorgeous.’
Shelly sat down briefly on the seat opposite. 'How did you find out about it, then? The Boat Shed? I'm only being nosy.'
'Facebook.'
'Facebook! Right, I see. Ahh, yep, Bill was always on Facebook, especially when they were in Spain. Where are you from then?'
'Actually, I've been travelling for a few years. I came from Fiji. I was very homesick for England, actually.'
Shelly's eyebrows flew up. 'Fiji! What and you saw a Facebook post for a boat shed on Darling Island? We're not quite tropical here.' Shelly cackled. ‘Youreallycame to Darling from Fiji?’
'As I said, I was homesick. I like what I see so far.'
'We aim to please.' Shelly winked. 'Right you are, well, give us a shout if you need anything. The stop after this next one is yours.'
