Memphis Wills wants out of Whitehaven, the tiny village she's lived in her whole life. So aged sixteen she leaves for college in the city and never looks back.
Until five years later when she finally wises up and leaves her dirt bag boyfriend. Fee...
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Dad and I had stayed up pretty late last night looking over the photos that I'd taken at Clearview market. We'd gone to the old shed at the bottom of the garden after watching Presley's pick for film night – Horrible Bosses – even though I'd taken them on my digital camera, and we didn't really need to use the dark room. It had just become our place to hang out together and I think Dad wanted to resurrect old traditions.
Dad had ended up emailing a few of my photographs to himself and I'd come with him this morning to watch him lay them out for the next issue. I study the pictures he'd taken while out in Ferndale and I'm impressed, but Dad's always been good at photography. He'd gone to university to study it like me. He'd been travelling all over the world working for a big-name magazine when he'd graduated. That's how he'd met Mum, on a shoot in Memphis that he'd been hired to do. She'd been a PA for the manager. A week was all it took for her to quit her job and travel around with him. But getting pregnant with me had put a stop to it all and Dad quit his job and eventually they'd settled in Whitehaven where Dad grew up.
I push back from the desk on Friday late morning and grab Mum's jacket from the back of the chair.
"I'm gonna head out for lunch," I say, tapping Dad on the shoulder.
He looks up from his computer and nods. "I would say bring me back a danish but Joy's made cupcakes."
I smile, having had a cupcake thrust into my hand no more than three minutes after I'd got here this morning. "I won't be long."
Dad waves a hand at me. "Take as long as you like. It's not like you work here."
I roll my eyes at his raised eyebrows as I shrug on my jacket and head out. I turn left, deciding to grab a drink and sandwich from the café. I glance nonchalantly around the semi-busy café as I enter, the bell above the door announcing my arrival, but I can't see Jack. My heart sinks a little, but I try to ignore the feeling.
I take my lunch to the beach, sitting on an empty bench. A couple of seagulls land on the stones a small distance from me and I place my hand on my sandwich bag and frown a warning. Mum calls them the rats of the sky but that's only because one stole her ice-cream a couple years back; me and Dad had almost died laughing.
Mel calls the second I take my first bite and I chew quickly before answering.
"Memphis, how's hell?"
I grin. "I still miss Bath."
"And me I hope. Anyway, there's something I wanted to tell you."
My sandwich seems to lodge itself in my throat and I reach for my water bottle. "Jeremiah?"
"He will not stop bugging us," she says. "He approached Remy at the pub the other day. She was not impressed."
