Blast from the Past. Cathy Hopkins

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СКАЧАТЬ number on the leaflet and a man told me where she was going to and when and, amazingly enough, she was in Udaipur the very same dates that we were. Why? Do you want to contact her?’

      ‘No. I just wanted to know more about her, to see if there were any reviews about her.’

      ‘I don’t think I kept the leaflet but I’ll look. In the meantime, think back, Bea: is there anything else that you remember from your session; anything you didn’t tell us?’

      ‘I don’t think so. Second World War and … actually, I do remember something. She said Grace worked as a dressmaker in London.’

      ‘Bea, that makes all the difference. I seem to remember that the census records show occupations. It could narrow the search down significantly.’

      I sighed. ‘OK, but say you did find one of them, or both of them, as I keep saying, so what? All it proves is that two people of that name existed, end of story.’

      ‘You don’t know that. You’d have made a crap detective, Bea. You look at clues, one leads to another. Anyway, I’m not giving up. So. London. Excellent. Second World War and Saranya Ji said that he went to war and didn’t return. If they were to be married, chances are they were quite young.’

      ‘Not necessarily. They may have met later in life.’

      It was no use. Marcia was away. ‘The dates of the Second World War were 1939 to 1945. If I allow for them being engaged as young sweethearts, they could have been eighteen, nineteen or early twenties, and often young men of that age went away to war.’

      ‘Apparently some lads of only sixteen went to fight.’

      ‘Doubt if they’d have been engaged to be married at that age, though. And what was the maximum age for soldiers?’

      ‘I seem to remember it was forty, but older if called for Home Guard duty. I know because Richard was always watching documentaries about the war.’

      ‘But Saranya Ji said he went away to war, right? So he wouldn’t have been in the Home Guard.’

      I nodded. ‘I think she said that. I didn’t make notes because it’s a load of baloney, Marcia.’

      Marcia ignored me. ‘Hmm, but you’re right, Grace could have been in her thirties or forties.’

      ‘Unless he liked older women. He might have had a mother complex. She might have been ancient.’

      ‘I’ll get Pete to find out. I’ll ask him to look up the exact age men were no longer eligible to go to war so that we’re certain. He’ll probably already know but, by my reckoning, it gives us about twenty-five years as a time frame to look at. Men between sixteen and forty, women the same. If Grace was born around 1919, she’d have been around twenty when the war began. We can begin with that, and the fact that we’re looking in London also narrows the field. Other facts, her name and that she was a dressmaker will also help. I’m sure Pete will find her.’ Her face looked flushed with excitement. ‘Don’t you see, Bea, we’re making progress.’

      I laughed. ‘Not we’re making progress: you’re on your own with this. I’m really not interested.’

      ‘Spoilsport. Where’s your sense of romance?’

      ‘As you know, that died a long time ago. Look, you go ahead, but don’t ask me to get involved.’

      ‘Too late,’ said Marcia, ‘you already are. Now, have you thought any more about your list of past lovers, though of course, we may be barking up the wrong tree looking back in time. It may well be that you are yet to meet this special man, so keep your options open, be on the lookout. In the meantime, though, how’s the list? Have you started it? So far, we have Andrew Murphy, and the recent ones like Richard and before him, Michael O’Connor, Joe Wilding and Graham, of course, plus the odd one I can remember from our earlier days. Pete might be able to track them down, no problem, but it would help if you put them in some kind of order according to dates.’

      ‘Are you suggesting that I look them all up?’

      ‘Yes.’

      I rolled my eyes.

      Luckily Pete came to the rescue. ‘Fill your glasses everyone,’ he called from the sitting room, ‘The Snowman is about to commence.’

      ‘Oh come on, Marcia, we can’t miss this. Tradition and all that, and they’re playing your song.’ I pulled her towards the sitting room where people were already gathering and we could hear the familiar strains of ‘We’re Walking in the Air’.

      *

      I got home around midnight to find that there was a package and card on the steps up to my front door. I took them inside and opened them.

      ‘Happy Christmas and sorry about the car, looks OK but if you see any damage, let me know. In the meantime, I got you a new one. Jon. XX’

      I opened the parcel to find a box containing a toy Volkswagen Golf. Hah. Funny. Well, you know where you can stick that, I thought as I put the car in the waste-paper bin.

       10

      Boxing Day was traditionally time to catch up with my family. Sadly it took place in cyberspace because, after living in New Zealand and returning to the UK for a decade, my parents now lived in Spain. My elder brother Matthew and his family were in South Africa, my younger brother Mark up north in Manchester.

      It was still too early to call them, so I made tea and toast and sat down in my pj’s – grey silk ones that I’d bought after Richard had left and I could run up my credit cards again – at the dining table to go through the pile of cards still waiting to be opened. There were about sixty from family, colleagues, friends, an embossed card from Richard with a message saying, let’s get together in the New Year. It was hand-delivered so he must have popped it through my letterbox when I was in the shower this morning. Why? I thought. And had he been hoping to see me when he brought the card? Our time together hadn’t ended well; it was the only time I’d really witnessed his controlled persona break down when he’d begged me to give us another chance. I felt bad that I’d hurt him because he was a nice man, but he was just not for me. I think he had loved me in his own way – or at least the me I’d tried to be for him – but I wasn’t that person. Something had been missing and I hadn’t been prepared to compromise.

      I texted Stuart to see if I could see him as soon as he was free, then I sifted through the cards. My phone pinged that I had a text. Will be back in London tonight, need to see you urgently, coffee tomorrow? Heather XX

      Heather was one of my closest friends. We’d shared a flat together when I first came to London and we’d worked together almost as long as I’d had the shop. She also took care of business in my absence and I trusted her completely. I texted back, C U here at 10? BX. Urgent, she’d said in her text. Maybe she already had wind of what the letter said.

      I sent messages to my parents and my brothers that I would be calling them later, then busied myself tidying and catching up on domestic jobs. Stuart texted back that he could see me on the 28th. Phew, it would be good to talk things through with him, I thought, as I finally СКАЧАТЬ