Chapter 5: Mrs. Tishell Returns
Sally Tishell finished unpacking her suitcase and put her toiletries in the bathroom. She looked at herself in the mirror. She was pleased to see how her white neck brace set off her golden tan. She smiled at her reflection, and rubbed her wrist where she used to wear an elastic band. It felt good to not have it there.
She unlocked the inside door that led from her cottage to the chemist's shop and opened the front door to air out the place. She did a bit of light dusting and unpacked some supplies to restock the shelves. She went through the post and then put up a postcard of the Golden Gate Bridge behind the counter. Beside it she carefully put up a small California flag and crossed it with a small Cornish one, then stood back to admire the new decorations.
"It's great to see you back, Sally," came a voice behind her.
She turned to see PC Joe Penhale. "The door was open so I thought you might be open for business," he said. "It's nice not to have to go to Wadebridge for my prescriptions."
"I'm not open yet, I was just airing the place out."
"But you'll be open again today? It's just you were gone for so long, three weeks was it? You look good, very… tan."
She smiled. "California will do that. I made sure I had sufficient sun block of course, too much ultraviolet light isn't good for the skin, but the sun seems to shine every day and so much brighter there. And it felt good to get a real dose of Vitamin D."
"You seem happier. I guess you got over the whole thing with, you know, the Doc leaving and you getting on top of the movers' van and… uh, staging a protest and all."
"Oh, that." She was dismissive. "Well, he decided to stay, didn't he. And anyway, I'm over it all."
Sally's friend Irene Moore came into the shop. "Oh Sally, it's so good to see you back. How was California?"
"It was marvellous," Sally gushed. "I met the whole extended Traywick* family, lots of distant relations I never knew about, and they took me everywhere and introduced me to so many people. It's like a whole new world over there. The best part is there're all these Cornish connections. Did you know there are more people of Cornish descent in California than actually here in Cornwall? I met a very distinguished professor of poetry who speaks Cornish and he's coming to visit here in Portwenn. He lost his wife to a sudden heart attack two years ago, so he was so sympathetic about me losing Clive the same way. He called me Hwegen Sally, that means Darling Sally in Cornish."
Penhale interrupted. "Things have been happening here too. There's news about the Doc. He's Sir Doc now."
"It's true," Irene nodded. "I heard about that. He's got the old Tremethyk House, out in Trerunyow."
Sally was confused. "What are you talking about?"
At that moment, Ruth came in through the open shop door. "Sally, you're back! I'm so glad you decided to take a holiday. And you're looking very well rested."
"Tell her about the Doc, Ruth," Penhale said.
"Oh yes. A distant relative has passed on and Martin inherited some property and a minor title that goes with it. He's now the 15th Baronet, officially Sir Martin Tremethyk Ellingham, although I think he just wants to stick with his familiar name."
Sally was amazed. "Dr. Ellingham is related to the old Tremethyk Ellingham family?"
"Well, yes, and so am I," Ruth replied.
Suddenly dismissive, Sally almost literally turned her back on them. "That's all right for him, as long as he's not leaving the village, because we need to have a qualified doctor right here," she stated firmly.
The other three didn't know what to make of this reaction. "I'm surprised you're not more interested in this, Sally," Irene said.
"Yeah," Penhale said, "you had that petition going to have the Doc reinstated and then when he was but he was going to move back to London you did the, you know… van protest."
"And you were so upset when he got injured," Irene added.
"Right, and just a few years ago you went crazy and took off with little James Henry when he was a baby and took him to the Castle and we had to talk you down from the hostage situation," Penhale continued.
Ruth was not happy with where this is going. "Joe," she interrupted, "it's not helpful to use words like crazy and hostage situation."
Penhale turned to her, undeterred. "But she did have to go through court ordered therapy, and then she used to wear that elastic band on her wrist and snap it anytime anyone mentioned the Doc."
Irene suddenly noticed. "Sally, you're not wearing your wristband. What happened to it?"
Sally was clearly not pleased to hear them bring up all this. "I don't need it any more. My only interest in Dr. Ellingham is as a medical colleague. Now, if you don't mind, I have to finish getting settled back after my holiday."
She ushered Irene and Penhale out and closed the door, but Ruth lingered. "I must say, Sally, this trip abroad seems to have been very good for you."
"Yes, it was. And you saw me take down all the… things… I had in the cupboard, before I left."
Ruth thought to herself that Sally still couldn't bring herself to refer to the newspaper clippings and photos in the cupboard as a shrine to Martin.
"I burned it all," Sally continued. "So no more, er, display for Dr. Ellingham. California really opened me up to a wider world out there, full of interesting new people. Like the Professor."
"Who is that?"
"His name is Hugh Pascoe," Sally sighed, dreamily. "He's a professor of poetry and literature at the University of California in Santa Cruz, a most accomplished and intellectual man. He actually appreciates my company, unlike a certain village GP."
Oh dear, Ruth thought, it sounds like Sally has merely transferred her obsession to a new target. At least this Professor Pascoe lives far enough away to avoid trouble.
"And I've invited him to Portwenn to give a poetry reading to my book group. He'll be here next month."
To be continued…
Note: In my story Martin's Island Beth Traywick ("the American tourist") invites Sally Tishell to visit her in California after her genealogy research shows they are related.