Starlight Café Pt.3
Millie really wasn’t sure how this was going to go.
She had been emailing back and forth with UCL about Juliet, and they had helped as much as they could, but they were on their own now. Luckily, Juliet had used a contact one of her lecturers had to get a job straight out of university and they had some contact information. Juliet had gotten a job as a secretary at a law firm in London which, according to the lecturer, was where she met her husband. Unfortunately, UCL didn’t have an address for Juliet, so Millie had emailed the law firm.
Apparently, Juliet had worked there until the mid-70s before she quit with no warning and divorced her husband a few months later. Unfortunately, no one at the law firm had heard from her since. When Millie told Bobby, he had been prepared to let the whole thing go, but Andrew had said they could try to contact her ex-husband. Millie had asked the law firm for contact details and headed over to Bobby and Andrew’s so they could write the email together.
Dear Mr Holmes,
This might come as a bit of a shock, but we’re writing to ask about your ex-wife, Juliet. I recently moved into her old house in Appleford and received a letter meant for Juliet, and I was hoping to track her down and give it to her. The letter had been lost in the post system for about 50 years and I think it would mean a lot to her to have it.
So, if you happen to know where she is, or know someone who does, we would be very grateful if you could provide us with contact details.
Thank you,
Millie, Bobby & Andrew
The three of them had collectively decided it was probably best to leave out that Bobby had written the letter, in case Ian knew he was Juliet’s ex. They got a response two days later.
Millie, Bobby and Andrew,
This is very much a surprise. My name is James Holmes, Ian’s grandson. My grandad isn’t doing too well at the moment, so I’m taking over all his correspondences.
Juliet is my gran. She used to tell us stories of growing up in Appleford, presumably Bobby is the same Bobby from her stories? If that’s the case, I’m very much excited to get the chance to talk to you. I spoke to her about the email you sent my grandad and she’s very interested to find out what the letter says.
My gran runs a café in London, and I own a B&B, we would be very happy if you came to visit. I’ll set you all up in rooms for however long you wish to stay, if that’s agreeable. Just let me know when you’re all available and I’ll sort everything.
Thanks for getting in touch!
James Holmes
Millie was pleasantly surprised by the email, as were Bobby and Andrew, they were expecting it to take longer to get in contact with Juliet. The three of them compared calendars so they could plan a date to go to London.
“What about just after Easter?”
Millie flicked through her planner app.
“I don’t have anything until the middle of May, so whatever’s best for you two is fine with me.”
“16th April? Hopefully it’ll be less busy during the week.”
Millie hummed in agreement and added it to her planner. She quickly emailed James about their decided date to make sure he could also do it.
“Do we want to take the train, or should I drive us there?”
Millie honestly wasn’t sure which option Bobby and Andrew would prefer. She knew they didn’t have a car, but she didn’t know how they felt about public transport.
“Let’s take the train, driving is so expensive. Let us know when James gets back to you so we can book tickets.”
London. Millie hadn’t been before. Bobby had been a couple of times, but Andrew had been fairly often before he met Bobby, so they were relying on him for directions. James had given them the address of the B&B, somewhere in Soho, which meant nothing to Millie, but apparently Andrew knew the area quite well.
“It should be just up here on the left.”
Andrew was in front, dragging his and Bobby’s shared suitcase while Millie trailed behind with her own. She kept getting distracted by everything around her. There were so many people, and so many colourful shops.
“Here it is. Labyrinth B&B. Wonder why it’s called that?”
“Maybe James just really likes the film?”
Millie laughed at the two of them. The sign looked quite old, and it was faded enough that Millie figured James wasn’t even the one that named it Labyrinth.
Walking in they were greeted by the smell of something vaguely citrusy. There was a bar to one side with a girl about Millie’s age behind it, but no one else was around. Millie left her suitcase with Bobby and Andrew and went to talk to her.
“Hi! We need to check in but we’re not sure of our room numbers or anything, James sorted in for us. Could you help us out please?”
“Oh, hello! You must be Millie? James has been talking non-stop about this since your email. He’s just down the road at Starlight right now, the chef is off sick so he’s helping his gran out for the lunch rush. Let me take you up to your rooms so you can get settled in. I’m Elizabeth, by the way.”
“Nice to meet you. That’s Bobby and Andrew.”
They both shook her hand. As they started up the stairs, Bobby started questioning Elizabeth.
“So why did James name this place Labyrinth?”
Elizabeth chuckled.
“He didn’t. This building used to be a nightclub in the 90s and when James bought it from the previous owner, he just didn’t bother changing the name. He likes to confuse people; this is about the least Labyrinth-like place you can find.”
Millie thought she had a point. The building was three floors and the stairs wound around the middle.
“Here you go. Millie you’re in room 13, and you guys are in room 15. I’ll leave you to get settled in. Just come back down when you’re ready and I’ll give you directions to Starlight if James isn’t back already.”
“Thanks, Elizabeth!”
Millie unlocked her room and immediately flopped onto the bed. For some reason, travelling by train always exhausted her despite the fact that train rides involved doing almost nothing. The room was nice, the walls were dark blue and the bedsheets, which were extremely soft, were a lighter shade of blue. Millie could feel herself starting to doze so she dragged herself off the bed and went to knock on Bobby and Andrew’s door.
Andrew answered.
“Do you both want to head back downstairs straight away?”
Andrew shook his head.
“No, I think we’re going to nap for a bit. But feel free to go and explore without us, just don’t go far.”
“No need to worry about that, I probably won’t go further than the end of the road.”
Despite how tired she was, Millie didn’t want to nap as she knew it would mess up her sleep schedule. She stopped in her room to grab the letter before making her way back downstairs to the bar.
“Hey, Elizabeth. Which way to the café?”
“Turn left out of here and then it’s just on the opposite corner at the end of the road. It’s got a red awning, can’t miss it.”
Millie smiled, that sounded simple enough.
“Thanks! I’ll see you later.”
Tucking her hands into her jacket, Millie followed the directions. She found the café easy enough; Elizabeth was right, she couldn’t possibly have missed it. Walking in, Millie saw that they were just winding down from the lunch rush. Maybe half the tables were full, but everyone seemed to be eating. Millie sat at a table by the window and picked up the menu.
A waitress came over to take her order, but Millie wasn’t sure what she wanted.
“Do you have any specials?”
The waitress thought for a second.
“Today’s Wednesday…so that’s soup and a crusty roll for £5.50 and a drink of your choice. The soup is chicken and leek this week.”
Millie nodded.
“I’ll have that then, please. Also, and a pot of tea and a glass of water, please.”
“Okay, anything else?”
“Actually, yes. Is James still here?”
The waitress raised an eyebrow.
“He is, why?”
“Can you tell him that Millie’s here, please? No rush if he’s busy, of course. Elizabeth at the B&B told me he would be here.”
The waitress nodded again, and seemed less suspicious now that she knew Millie was staying at the B&B. While she was waiting, Millie took in the atmosphere of the café. It was very bright inside, courtesy of the floor to ceiling windows she was sat next to. The décor was mostly black and white with little accents of red dotted about. There was music playing softly, but Millie didn’t know the artist.
When her food came, Millie dove straight in. Despite being April, it was still slightly chilly outside, but the soup warmed her up in no time, as did the tea. As she finished her meal, she noticed a man a few years older than her leaving the kitchen. Perhaps that was James?
She watched him from the corner of her eye as he spoke to the waitress. They both glanced at her before returning to their conversation. Definitely James, then. Millie quickly looked down at her bowl and slipped her hand into her jacket pocket to play with the edge of the letter. She was so focused on not looking at the two of them that she completely missed James walking over to her table.
“Millie, right? I’m James, Juliet’s grandson. Do you mind if I sit?”
Millie nudged the chair opposite her with her foot.
“Not at all. It’s nice to meet you.”
“You too. Have you already been to the B&B?”
Millie nodded.
“Yeah. Bobby and Andrew are still there but I decided to come and get some lunch. Which was delicious, by the way.”
James smiled at her.
“Thank you! It’s an old family recipe on my father’s side. My gran will be done in a few minutes. She closes for a couple of hours during the day. Before she joins us, though, I would love to hear the story of how you found us.”
Millie sat back in her chair and pulled the letter from her pocket.
“I got this in the post about a week before Christmas.”
Millie told him the whole story; all the emails back and forth with UCL and the law firm, and then finally being able to get in contact with James.
“How is your grandad, by the way?”
“He’s doing a little better, thanks. He’ll probably be in and out of hospital for the next few months, but he should be fine.”
Before Millie could reply, she saw an older woman coming out of the kitchen and make her way over to them.
“You must be Millie! It’s so wonderful to finally meet you. I’m Juliet, James’ gran.”
Millie smiled, liking her instantly. She just had an aura of friendliness. As Juliet pulled a chair towards the table, Millie held the letter out.
“This belongs to you. I’m very sorry for reading it.”
Juliet took it but didn’t open it.
“Bobby said you could open it without him. He said it’s because he already knows what it says, but I think he might be a little embarrassed.”
Juliet huffed but still did not open the letter.
“I would’ve married him, you know? Bobby. He knew about me, but I know he would’ve married me anyway. My mother found out. She read my diary, and I knew I had to leave as soon as I could. She threatened to cut me off, but I needed the money for university. I went back to Appleford to marry Ian, more for my mother’s benefit than anything else. He didn’t know about me at the time, but I told him a few years later. We’re still friends, of course, and…”
Millie’s eyebrows raised as Juliet trailed off and slid the card out the envelope. Millie caught James’ eye as they both gave Juliet the illusion of privacy while she read it the letter.
“If only I’d got this at the time.”
Millie looked at Juliet again; she wasn’t quite crying but there was a definite sheen to her eyes.
“Would you have run away with him?”
It was James that asked the question, but Millie was just as interested in the answer. Juliet shrugged.
“I honestly don’t know. It would’ve made me rethink marrying Ian, but I don’t know if I would’ve had the courage to go with Bobby either.”
Millie nodded. Of course, with so much time passed nobody could possibly know what they would’ve done in such a situation. James stood, stretching.
“Well, we’re closed up here now. Shall we head back to the B&B?”