When the all-clear sounded, Jasper helped Cissy to her feet. ‘What’s the rush?’ Cissy asked. ‘Me and Mr Hendricks were just gettin’ reacquainted. Where d’you live now, love? Still down near Eastcliff?’ she asked the old man. ‘Perhaps we could take you back?’
The man grinned at her. ‘I’m not so decrepit, I can’t make me own way back. It’s good to see ya again, Cissy.’
‘Will we see you in the café soon?’
Mr Hendricks hesitated.
‘Go on. Jasper’s told me all about it, and it’s nonsense, isn’t it, Jasper? You’ve known Nellie all her life. What’s got into you?’
‘As my old mum used to say, there’s no smoke without fire.’
‘Stuff and nonsense! Come tomorrow.’
‘Can’t tomorrer.’
‘Any time then. I’ll bring you an extra cuppa and we’ll have a proper chinwag. How about it?’
He smiled. ‘Well, if you put it like that, maybe I will.’
‘All welcome,’ she trilled as Jasper hustled her to the door.
Jasper smiled to himself. Cissy was exactly what the café needed. Give her a couple of weeks, and she’d probably manage to talk the entire town into going back there.
Once they were outside, Cissy tripped along beside Jasper, swinging her violin case. ‘Funny, in’t it? No one would choose to have shells and bombs fallin’ on their town, but at least it gives you a chance to have a natter with old friends and meet new ones. Mr Hendricks were still a young man when I saw him last.’ She giggled. ‘Then again, I was still a young girl. But ain’t that the way – no matter how much we change on the outside, inside, we feel the same.’ She sighed. ‘Not exactly the same, of course. Regret and grief, Jasper. That’s what’s changed inside me. I regret losing Nellie from my life. I threw her over for a man. A good man, mind, but Nellie’s family, and . . . Oh, I were just an impulsive girl anxious to get away from Auntie Gertie. No excuse, though. I don’t expect much quarter from Nell, nor do I deserve it. But I’ll win her round, just you wait and see.’
As they continued along High Street, Cissy paused frequently to exclaim at the ruined buildings and then she’d regale him with her memories of each one, until they finally reached the market square.
‘It’s just awful what’s happened here,’ she said, her eyes taking in the boarded-up windows around the square, the ruined Market Hall and the burned-out hat shop where she used to stare for hours at the beautiful creations in the window. Digging in her sleeve, she pulled out a crumpled handkerchief and wiped her eyes.
Jasper patted her shoulder, feeling guilty, suddenly, for bringing her into the eye of the storm. ‘You don’t ’ave to stay, love,’ he said. ‘We’re all so used to the noise and the danger that I didn’t consider how scary it might be from the outside. But our lives go on. Look there.’ He pointed across the street to where a window box outside a boarded-up window was sprouting colourful flowers. ‘An’ Freddie Overton – remember him? – he’s still organisin’ dances and concerts at the town hall. An’, you know, it ain’t as bad as it looks, really. I mean . . . it is, but somehow it isn’t. Still, if you’d rather go back, then I understand. Dover ain’t for everyone at the moment, an’ there’s no shame in admittin’ you’re scared.’
Cissy frowned up at him. ‘Did I say I was scared?’ she asked. ‘I’ll have you know, I lived through the Birmingham Blitz! It’s just a bit of a shock, is all. But for all that, I’m glad to be home. And Freddie Overton’s still up to his tricks, is he?’ She laughed. ‘Me an’ him had a bit of a thing when we was youngsters.’ She grinned. ‘He might ’ave asked to marry me.’
Jasper laughed. ‘You’re ’avin’ me on.’
Cissy stuck her nose in the air. ‘Think I’m not good enough, do ya? But then, you only ever had eyes for Nellie, didn’t you? You wouldn’t have noticed me if I’d tap-danced naked down the street.’
Jasper blushed. ‘That’s not true! I married Clara, didn’t I?’
Cissy sobered. ‘You did. And she was a diamond, but it was always Nellie for you, and there’s no shame in admitting it now. Clara’s been gone the best part of twenty years, and poor Donald at least thirteen. What’s stopping you and her bein’ together?’
Jasper cleared his throat uncomfortably. ‘Nothin’s that simple, is it? There’s things you don’t know . . .’
‘Ooh, like what?’ Cissy’s eyes sparkled at the promise of gossip.
Jasper hesitated, tempted to confide in her, but then he thought better of it. He’d never talked to a soul about the complicated feelings churning inside him, and he wasn’t about to start now. Especially to Nellie’s cousin. He’d have to stay on guard around her, though. He’d forgotten how easily she invited people’s confidences. It was only after you walked away from a conversation with Cissy that you realised how much of yourself you’d revealed. Her seemingly non-stop chatter masked the fact that when she wasn’t talking, she really listened.
Jasper shook his head. ‘None of your business.’
Cissy smiled impishly and took his arm. ‘You know I’ll winkle it out of you eventually.’
As they approached the café, Cissy’s feet started to drag. ‘I’m as nervous as the day I snuck away from Auntie Gert’s . . . Perhaps I could go to yours first. Prepare meself for the fireworks to come . . .’ She looked up at him, her small dark eyes pleading. ‘Just for an hour or so.’
If he was honest, Jasper’s stomach was a mass of butterflies as well, and he wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. ‘Tell you what, I’ll see if I can sneak you in the back way without Nellie noticin’. Then at least you can have your reunion in private.’
Cissy sighed. ‘You’re right; it’s best to get it over with. But let’s not walk past the front door, in case she’s looking out the window.’
Jasper shook his head. ‘Even if she were, she probably couldn’t tell it were you. Lookin’ through that big sheet of plastic is like lookin’ out to sea on a foggy day. Still, you’re right. If she sees you, she’ll be straight out the door and screamin’ her head off at me.’
Cissy grimaced. ‘That don’t exactly reassure me, love.’
He grinned. ‘Ah, don’t worry. I can handle Nellie.’ He tried to sound confident, but he was feeling anything but. Nellie’s bitterness at Cissy’s abandonment hadn’t waned over the years, though he’d tried to talk to her about it more than once. And to think how Nellie moaned about Edie’s stubbornness . . . No doubt about it, that girl was a chip off the old block. Maybe he could use that as a way of persuading her to forgive her cousin. Especially as he knew, deep down, that Nellie missed and loved her still.