Tina: I wouldn’t go that far.
Emma: When my husband had divorced me and everyone else thought I was a monster, Tina was the one who said I could come and work with her. I’d have done it for free, but she set up a proper schedule where I’d get paid more after a certain length of time, or if I was opening up, that sort of thing. On the first day, she gave me a key for the shop and it meant so much that she trusted me. I was holding this little door key and I wanted to cry. I was pinching my thumb, trying to stop myself because it was such a silly thing.
Then she started encouraging me to go to these trade fairs where people buy vintage clothes in bulk. She said I had a better eye than her and that…
…
Sorry, I need a minute.
Julius: They should have come out as a couple. It’s ridiculous. Everyone knows anyway.
Emma: We’re not a couple. It’s not like that. I can’t believe someone would say that. She just… she means a lot to me.
Tina: Couple?! Ha! Who told you that? I think my girlfriend might have a thing or two to say about it.
Emma and I work together, that’s all. Emma was going through a hard time and I’ve known her since we were kids. I offered her a chance and it turned out she’s very good at what she does.
I know she says I saved her – but it’s not true. She’s the one who turned up on time every day. She’s the one who loaded almost six-hundred pieces onto our website, all with photos. She’s the one who bought two grand’s worth of clothes in bulk and ended up selling everything individually for something like ten times that. All that was in the first six months she worked at the shop. If there was any saving to be done, then it was Emma who did it. She saved herself.
Emma: Tina saved me.
Julius: They were definitely a couple – if not now, then before the island.
Emma: We’re in contact every day in some way or another. If it’s during the week, we’ll be in the shop together, unless we have a day off. Even when we’re not in, we message through the day. I think I needed to hear Tina’s voice.
Tina: I instantly knew something was wrong.
Emma: As soon as I started talking, Tina stopped me and asked what was wrong.
Tina: She was really cheery, which was a sign in itself. She was telling me how the flight was great and that the hotel was terrific. All that. I know Emma well enough to realise when something’s up. I cut her off and asked what was really going on.
Emma: I said Dad had fallen off a cliff and that he was in a coma in the hospital.
Tina: She was in a bit of a state because her dad was in the hospital. I don’t think I realised how serious it was at that point. She said everyone was due to be flying back at the end of the week, but her mum was likely going to have to remain with him for as long as was needed. Emma didn’t want her mum to be by herself, so she said she might have to hang around for a little longer.
Emma: It hadn’t really hit me until then. Julius had the girls, so he’d be going home. Liz and Daniel weren’t going to stay – and I don’t know why Victor and Claire were there in the first place. Unless I was going to leave Mum alone, it was going to have to be me who remained.
Tina: I told Emma not to worry about the shop; that she should take as long as she needed. I don’t think that was necessarily what she wanted to hear because there was a long pause.
Emma: I don’t remember everything I said.
Tina: Every time anyone goes on holiday, I think they have a secret hope that their workplace is going to fall to pieces without them. We all want to believe we’re the most important part in any machine but, with Emma… perhaps she needed to be told that a bit more than other people. If I’d been through what she has, I think I’d be the same.
I asked if I could send some photos of jackets to her email so that she could tell me what she thought. She was so happy that I asked if she could upload the three she liked the most onto the website. She’s got a logon, so could access it anywhere. I was assuming she’d taken her laptop.
It’s what she wanted to hear, so it’s what I told her.
Emma: It was good to hear Tina tell me about how the day had gone. There was a woman who wanted to try everything on and then ended up buying nothing. Someone else was going to a 60s-themed party but refused to believe all the things she liked were from a different decade. It sounded like fun.
Tina: It was just another day at work. I closed early because we were quiet.
Emma: I told her I was babysitting Chloe and Amy that night.
Tina: Her mood definitely changed across that phone call. I was surprised that she was going to be looking after the twins. I think I might have said ‘By yourself?’
Emma: She told me I’d do great.
Tina: The biggest concern I had wasn’t anything to do with Emma. If I had a child, I’d have no problem letting Emma look after him or her. It’s not like she’s a danger to children, or even that her judgement should be questioned. Not now, anyway.
My biggest worry was that Julius might be setting her up to fail. If something did go wrong when the girls were in Emma’s care, then it would have been a lot for her to come back from. I only thought that because the relationship she has with her brother is… complex.
Emma: ‘You’ll do great’ were her exact words. I think I needed the pep talk.
Tina: I wouldn’t say they hated each other, certainly not then – but everything is complicated with Emma and her relationships. Things are bound to be when you’ve been through what she has. Things were difficult with her and her dad and probably the same with her brother. I wasn’t sure that Julius had her best interests at heart. Actually, I wasn’t sure that he had anyone’s best interests at heart, other than his own. He has this way of saying the right things, even though he’ll turn around and do the opposite.
I don’t mind being wrong. I hoped I was. I remember telling Emma to be careful, but I wouldn’t have said it like that. I’d have said something like: ‘You’re going to do great – but make sure you’re careful.’ I could hardly tell her to beware of her brother.
…
I don’t think I’ve explained that very well. You’d have to know Emma and Julius to understand. You’d have to see them together. It’s got to be hard when you know your older brother is the favourite child and always will be. If you’re second-best among your own parents, then what sort of message does that give you when you’re growing up? People think Emma’s some spoiled rich girl who threw it all away, but you wouldn’t say that if you knew her.
Emma: I think that was all Tina said.
Tina: I remember telling Emma that I hoped she was OK and that it was great to hear from her. I really meant that…
I hope I haven’t sounded insincere here. I know how it might have come across, but I find it so difficult to talk about Emma. Sometimes I overanalyse the things we talk about, or her reaction to things.