Page 75 of The Bookshop of Memories

‘Yes. I remember feeling so sad when the evacuees had to leave again.’

‘Why do you think she left Henry behind when she returned to London?’ asked Mabel.

‘She said she had to check it was safe to return to London with a baby. Then she never came back.’

‘That was sad for Henry.’

‘And for us. I liked having her around.’

Mabel nodded. ‘Me too.’

‘Things hadn’t been the same after mother died. That lady kind of lit up the place, you know?’

‘We gained a brother, though, didn’t we?’ said Mabel.

‘We did indeed.’

Mabel turned to her sister. ‘I’d like to find him – Henry. If he’s still alive.’

Marjorie stared at her sister. ‘So would I.’

‘I wish—’

‘You wish we’d tried years ago?’

She nodded.

Marjorie frowned. ‘But where do we start?’

Mabel pointed. ‘By keeping an eye on that bookshop.’

‘You really believe you saw a light on in there, don’t you?’

Mabel nodded. ‘I really do, Marjorie.’

Chapter 29

‘I love the flowers.’ Thea stepped out of the flower shop holding a large bouquet of flowers. ‘What a good idea of yours to get some flowers to take in to see your mum.’

‘Shall we get her some chocolates too?’ Katie asked.

Thea smiled at Katie as they crossed the cobbled yard. Thea threw a backward glance over her shoulder at The Bookshop of Memories.

Katie glanced over her shoulder too. ‘Creepy,’ she said under her breath.

Thea looked at Katie. ‘Come on, let’s go and buy those chocolates.’ As they walked down the path and stepped into the high street, Thea said, ‘I was thinking that after we visited your mum we could have some dinner at a restaurant in Aldeburgh.’

‘A restaurant?’

‘Yes. Or a pizza place, if that’s what you prefer.’ Thea remembered when she was a teenager. Whenever they had eaten out, her mum hadn’t had the money for a fancy restaurant, but neither Thea nor Jenna had wanted to eat in one anyway.

‘Or a McDonald’s?’ suggested Thea.

‘There isn’t one in Aldeburgh. I think the nearest one is in Ipswich.’

Thea didn’t fancy driving all the way there just for a McDonald’s.

‘What about fish and chips?’ said Thea, spotting two chippies. ‘Mind you, it isn’t exactly the weather for fish and chips.’ She looked up at the dark sky. The wind was whipping around her coat and her hair, making walking hard work. She’d also lost some of the petals on a few of the flowers.

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