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‘Y’all right Helen? Nice to see you!’ Ish waved awkwardly at her from behind the breakfast bar. It was almost as if his arms were too long for his body like a human-sized Mr Tickle. ‘Well, that’s a jade plant, easy to keep; and that’s erm well, that’s our Ju Jitsu practice mat. But sometimes we do a bit of yoga, meditation, you know that kind of thing. Anyway, can I get you a drink? Then let’s crack onto those letters.’
Helen perched on the edge of the sofa, Ish’s apartment had ‘man cave’ written all over it, ‘Just a water is fine, thanks.’
‘We have options, you know. Not those kinds of lads to just have half a pint of milk in the fridge. I actually don’t even drink dairy these days. Sorry I’m ramblin’. How about a bulletproof coffee, cacao maca smoothie, or …’ Ish drummed his equally gangly fingers on the kitchen counter, ‘… maybe a classic matcha iced latte, got some lovely coconut milk to put in that?’
‘Dealer’s choice?’ shrugged Helen and accepted a long green drink with a faint hint of pineapple to it. ‘I actually bought you a tiramisu, but you’re dairy free?’
‘And caffeine free. But as it’s the famous baking blogger’s dessert I’m gonna try some.’ Ish pulled a spoon out of the drawer, and went to eat the tiramisu straight out of the bowl.
‘You’re not sharing then?’
‘When it’s this good, Mark and Raj are going to have to fight me for it!’ Ish winked in the direction of the mat. ‘Unless you wanted it?!’ He dropped his spoon, eyes widening.
For the first time she noticed how his eyes had a caramel centre, a bit like a Rolo.
‘No, I’m fine thanks, had some already.’ Helen lied, patting her stomach.
She pulled out her folder, and spread the letters out on the mat. She had to admit the weird green drink also wasn’t so bad. She noticed Ish had given her a candy cane coloured reusable straw and put a pineapple chunk on the side of the glass, and was already ferreting through her stack of letters with enthusiasm.
‘So, what we got? Ooh, I love an old postage stamp, me!’ Ish gestured towards Nanny G’s birthday card, he’d sat opposite her on the mat but kept his distance, tucking his long limbs under one another like a yogic octopus. Helen pushed the pile of letters towards him, and Ish started examining the front and back of each letter. ‘This one’s Deco!’
‘How do you know that?’
‘Did a bit of Art History. Moderns isn’t my forte but I can recognise a classic little piece like this!’ Ish cleared his throat. ‘Sorry I’m buzzin’ – vintage excites me way too much.’
He had a warm accent, the kind of voice that makes you want to sit down and put the kettle on.
‘So, what do we know about our Vernon apart from his address ’ere?’
‘Well, he met my nan when he took his brothers and sisters away to Cornwall to be evacuated, during the Blitz …’
‘Ah, so 1939 then? Same year he wrote all these letters?’
‘I think so …’
‘Mint. If Vernon lived at 292 Lionel Road in 1939 then chances are he would be on the 1939 register. They took it for ration cards and all that, so we know where everyone lived. Good timing for him to have a bit of a flirt with yer nan.’
Ish pulled out his laptop and started typing away. ‘I’ve got a subscription to Ancestry so this should be easy … Right there you go.’
Ish spun the laptop around and Helen read the record:
Address: 292 Lionel Road
Schedule: 101
Surnames & other names: Vernon F Newman
M or F: M
Birth Day: 20 May
Birth Year: 1918
S, M, W or D: M
‘Give over. Well, that bit’s interesting …’ Ish pointed to the ‘M’ and raised an eyebrow.
‘Does that mean …’
