Page 14 of Daydreams & Doughnut Cake

‘Oh, I’m sure he wouldn’t.’

‘You think I should ask him?’ Two lines appeared above her nose as she studied me intently.

‘Well... why not? If he has any sense at all, he’ll say yes.’

‘I’m scared, though.’

I nodded. ‘I know the feeling. But there’s an old saying that goes “faint heart never won fair lady”. Do you know what that means?’

She frowned, thinking. ‘Does it mean you should be careful when you ask someone out because you might faint?’

I suppressed a smile. ‘Well, the “faint” in this instance doesn’t mean actually fainting. It means lacking in courage?’

‘Oh, right.’ Her face lit up. ‘That’s sick. So it means you have to be brave if you want to get a boyfriend?’

‘Exactly.’

‘Which is what I’m going to try to do.’ She nodded firmly, as if trying to convince herself. ‘Be brave.’

‘Do you think he likes you?’ I asked. ‘He’d be crazy if he didn’t.’

She gave a doubtful shrug. ‘He said he likes dancing with me, so maybe he does.’

‘You’ve danced together?’

‘In rehearsals for the end-of-term school show. The music teacher Mrs Proctor matched us together.’

‘Oh, that’s great. So you’re taking part in a school production?’

‘We just have to be dancing at a ball with lots of the other kids my age. The older ones are doing the acting and speaking bits.’

‘Sounds like fun.’

She nodded eagerly. ‘We’ve been learning how to do the quadrille and some other funny dances from a long time ago, where you have to twirl round and sometimes change partners. We keep getting it wrong and bumping into each other and everybody laughs, even Mrs Proctor.’

‘Sounds like good fun. So can anyone come and see you in your show?’

‘We get given three tickets so we can invite our family.’

‘I bet your mum and dad are really looking forward to seeing you in action.’

She looked down. ‘I don’t know.’

I frowned. ‘But of course they will be. I’d be so proud to watch Amelie perform in a show at school. When she’s older, of course. And your parents will feel exactly the same.’

Maisie shrugged. ‘I told Mum about it and I told her I’d need a long dress for the ball. But I think she’s forgotten about it. Dad has a horrible deadline with his book so he’s always monumentally stressed out. And Mum’s always busy with Isla.’

‘Good word “monumentally”,’ I murmured thoughtfully.

‘Dad says it all the time.’ She sighed. ‘He calls people he doesn’t like monumental idiots.’

‘Right,’ I chuckled.

‘Anyway,hecan’t do sewing.Obviously. He’s a man. And I don’t even know if Mum can make me a costume in time.’ She gave a helpless shrug. ‘If I buy one from a charity shop like my friend’s mum did for her it would probably bewaytoo long so I’d have to sew up the hem. But I’m not very good at sewing.’ She gave an exasperated shrug. ‘Reuben will look really sick in his outfit but I’ll look like a crazy old witch!’

‘Well, I doubt that very much. You looking like a witch, I mean.’ I smiled in sympathy, recalling how it felt to be an almost-teen... the drama and the strong emotions – up one day and down the next – and the awful fear that you might not fit in. ‘I’m sure your mum hasn’t forgotten you need a dress, although you could give her a little reminder? She’s got so much to think about at the moment. But I’m sure it’ll be fine. And if you do get a dress from the charity shop that needs altering, I could always help. I used to do a lot of sewing with my mum when I was younger. So don’t worry about it, okay?’

Maisie nodded but she didn’t look convinced.

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