Page 8 of An Island in the Sun

Cordelia replied with a load of heart emojis, followed by:

I can’t tell you what a relief it is to hear that. I can relax at my spa afternoon now, thank you.

* * *

On Sunday afternoon, Tabitha took her guitar to the sunny spot two-thirds of the way down the garden. She sat cross-legged on the cushioned rattan sofa and strummed the chords of the song she was working on. A fragment of a melody was lodged in her head and had been for some time. The tentative notes joined the birdsong and Tabitha sighed with satisfaction. This was what she loved, spending time on her own, pursuing her passion without the drama of being around other people. Occasionally, she missed gigging and the endless merry-go-round of touring and the thrill of being on stage playing to thousands of people, but she didn’t miss the non-stop travel from one hotel room to another, the lack of sleep, too much drink and the temptation of drugs. This was better. It was easier, however much she knew she couldn’t continue like this forever, not if she was serious about her songwriting career.

A faint voice tugged Tabitha from her thoughts. She looked up, assuming she’d misheard.

‘Hello.’

There it was again, a little louder this time.

Tabitha glanced around. A woman, with a large sun hat, was smiling at her from over the fence in the gap between the bushes.

‘Hi there,’ Tabitha said as the woman gave her a little wave.

‘Cordelia said they had someone staying while they…’ Her voice trailed off, masked by the rustle of a lizard in the undergrowth. She had a gentle way of speaking, one of those people you had to really listen to otherwise every few words were missing, not someone Tabitha could easily hold a conversation with from where she was sitting.

Tabitha rested her guitar against the side of the sofa and wandered over to the one bit of neighbouring fence that wasn’t screened by bushes and trees.

‘Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you. I’m Julie.’

The neighbour Cordelia warned me about, Tabitha thought.

‘That’s okay. It’s good to meet you. I’m Tabitha.’ She stuck her hand through the wilderness on her side of the fence, which was so unlike the rest of Rufus and Cordelia’s manicured garden. Tabitha wondered if they’d intentionally left this bit wild in an attempt to deter the neighbours from seeing in quite so much.

‘I was just doing some gardening and spotted you,’ Julie said, shaking her hand. ‘I hope you don’t mind me saying hello.’

‘Of course not,’ Tabitha said almost truthfully. Cordelia and Rufus’s less than flattering comments about the neighbours had left Tabitha intrigued. Julie was younger than she’d imagined. Cordelia had certainly made her sound older than the fifty-something woman standing across the fence. Her features were as delicate as her voice and the sun hat shaded her pale skin. Her wispy dark-blonde hair was tied into a low ponytail. On first impressions alone, Tabitha wouldn’t have been at all surprised if Cordelia walked all over Julie. Tabitha decided to continue the conversation rather than making an excuse and walking away. ‘You have a lovely garden,’ she said, looking beyond Julie to the large and immaculate lawn edged by flower-filled borders and well-spaced shady spots beneath palms and custard apple trees.

‘Oh, thank you; it was the main reason we bought the place.’ Her voice filled with pride. ‘The house itself isn’t huge – although with it being just the two of us, it’s not really a problem, but the garden makes up for it.’

‘Have you been here long?’

‘Nearly thirty years on the island, but twenty-two here. I’m English and my husband Anton is half Portuguese; his grandparents are Madeiran. We met while doing our teacher training in London but moved out here. What about you? You must have Celtic heritage with that lovely red hair?’

‘My dad’s Irish and my mum’s Welsh.’

‘You don’t have an accent, though.’

‘I’ve travelled around too much to ever really pick one up.’

Julie nodded, looking as if she wanted to say more, but was unsure. ‘I didn’t mean to disturb you before.’ Her cheeks flushed as she motioned towards Tabitha’s guitar.

‘I’m a songwriter,’ Tabitha said by way of explanation.

‘That must be a fascinating job.’

‘It has its perks.’

Julie smiled softly, fine lines crinkling the edges of her eyes. ‘Well, I’ll let you get back to your writing. If you need anything, just let us know.’

‘I will, thank you.’

‘It’s nice to meet you.’

‘You too.’

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