Page 43 of The Little Island Flower Stall
‘I was ten…? I forget. I had a lot of friends – that helped. Sometimes their parents would take pity on us and have us over for tea. Of course, when food became scarce towards the end of the war, that happened a lot less.’
‘I didn’t know this. I mean, I sort of knew your mum had died young, but I had no idea all this had happened. That must have been awful.’
‘There was so much going on I hardly had time to think about it. I suppose nowadays I’d have trauma or something and go to see someone about it, but back then we just soldiered on.’
‘Even at ten years old?’
‘Even at ten. That’s just how it was – there was a war on, no time to wallow in self-pity, even for children. We had to concentrate on staying alive.’
‘It really was that intense? Like you could have been killed?’
‘We didn’t think about it day to day, but people did disappear. There was a woman in St Rosa who got caught hiding an escaped worker from the tunnels. She got taken by the soldiers and we never saw her again. Nobody wanted that to happen to anyone else so we kept our heads down.’
‘It sounds like you had good friends, at least. If they took you home and fed you and kept you company, I mean.’
‘I did.’
Bella was thoughtful, trying to choose her next question with care. This felt like the first time her aunt had been so open about anything during that time, and she wanted to take full advantage of her sudden candour, but at the same time she didn’t want to seem as if she was drilling for secrets.
‘At the museum there was a display that talked about people fighting back, like a sort of resistance. Not quite that, but owning illegal radios and things and getting information from the mainland. Did you know anyone who did that?’
‘If they did, they certainly didn’t say so.’
Bella turned back to the album and flicked the page, her gaze falling on a photo of a group of young girls standing on the beach. One was instantly recognisable as Celestine. One of the others looked familiar. She held it up. ‘Who’s this?’
‘Oh, that’s me with Dolly – you’ve met her, of course – Violette and her sister Anais.’
‘You were all friends?’
‘Yes.’ Celestine took the album out of Bella’s hands. ‘I’m sure you don’t want to look at ancient photographs of people you’ve never met. Let me find some of your dad…’
Bella held back a frown. It was so clear Celestine had reached the limit of what she was prepared to say about the war years. As frank as she’d been about some of it, Bella was left with yet more questions. There didn’t seem much hope that they’d be answered – at least not tonight. If Bella was patient, perhaps she’d get more of the story before she went home.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
‘You’re picking this up so quickly.’
Celestine smiled with obvious pleasure as Bella waved off another satisfied customer.
‘Only because you teach it so well.’
Bella could also have mentioned that, although Celestine was giving out compliments about Bella’s work, it hadn’t stopped her aunt from being at the stall herself whenever she could.
‘I would say,’ Celestine continued, ‘I wouldn’t have put that shade of pink and lilac together, but if that’s what he chose, then…if I hadn’t been busy with someone else, I might have said something.’ She shrugged, and Bella couldn’t help but smile.
‘What you mean is I should have said something to him when he chose them?’
‘Of course not! I would have done had I been serving him, but perhaps I’m too old-fashioned…What do I know about modern design?’
‘A lot,’ Bella said. ‘I don’t have all your floristry experience, but I do know that the customer is always right.’
‘Even when they’re wrong.’
‘Exactly! I like a well-selected bouquet as much as the next person, but I think what the customer wants, the customer gets.’
‘I’m sure you’re right.’
Bella’s smile spread. She could see that Celestine was far from convinced, even as she said so.
