Page 60 of Daydreams & Doughnut Cake

‘Well, we can’t go right now because you have to go to nursery. And while you’re there, I’m going over to Ellie’s with some of her friends to help her with baby Isla.’

‘What are you going to do?’

‘Well, I’ll be cooking lunch with Maddy – one of my curries – and making sure Isla is happy. And Ellie will be having a nice time relaxing on the sofa while Fen gives her a special facial and Katja makes her nails all pretty.’

‘Ooh, can I havemynails all pretty?’

I chuckled. ‘You’re still a bit young for that.’

‘Please? Lois at school sometimes comes to school with nail polish still on!’

‘Does she?’

‘So can I? When it’s not a school day?’ she begged.

‘We’ll see.’

She frowned. ‘That always means no.’

I laughed. ‘Well, not this time. Maybe as a special treat at the weekend. Now, come on, let’s get you ready or we’re going to be late.’

*****

Over at Ellie’s I was surprised to see Maisie there.

‘Oh, it’s an inset day at school so we’ve got the day off,’ she told me airily when I enquired. ‘And soon it’ll be the holidays and I’ll have six whole weeks tonotgot to school!’

‘Wow. What are you going to do with all that free time?’

‘Mum says she’s going to take me and Amy to the leisure centre. They’ve got an inflatable obstacle course that’s really good fun if you don’t mind getting water in your eyes and I really don’t.’

‘That sounds great.’ I glanced over at Ellie who was reclining on the sofa in her dressing gown, being served chamomile tea by Fen from a cute china teapot. ‘Will you be tackling the inflatable obstacle course, do you think?’

‘Ha! No, I’ll just be having a quiet snooze in the corner of the spectators’ gallery I think.’

I grinned. ‘Sounds like a good plan.’

Later, Maisie joined Maddy and me in the kitchen, helping to set the table for lunch.

‘So, Maisie, you never told me what your secret plan was for the delightful Reuben.’ I smiled over at her. ‘Are you going to spill the beans?’

‘What beans?’ she asked, looking around puzzled.

‘It’s just a saying. It means are you going to tell us all?’ said Maddy, who already knew about Reuben and his shocking behaviour.

Maisie paused in her task of carefully laying out the cutlery, her eyes sparkling with glee. ‘Well... Amy pretended she’d changed her mind about going out with Reuben and of course he believed her because whowouldn’twant to go out with him.’ She snorted to indicate she was joking. ‘So then Amy was all,Ooh, Reuben, I can’t wait to go on a date with you! I hope you’re going to kiss me when the lights go down.And all that stupid stuff, which was really funny.’

Maddy frowned. ‘So Amy actually went on a date with him?’

Maisie giggled, shaking her head. ‘No, she just pretended she was looking forward to it.’

‘So she didn’t show up?’ I guessed. And that charmer Reuben ended up on his date alone? Which would absolutely have served him right after the way he behaved towards you.’

‘Oh, no. He did have a date withsomeone,’ said Maisie. ‘But when he got to the cinema, our friend Fergie was there waiting for him instead of Amy. It was all Fergie’s idea. Me and Amy were hiding just inside the cinema to watch, behind a life-size cardboard figure of Batman, and Reuben didn’t look very pleased at all. Especially when we jumped out and took photos of him with his ‘date’ Fergie, and then sent them to all of Reuben’s mates. They thought it was really funny and Reuben was so mad he turned a funny purplish-red colour.’

Maddy and I started to laugh.

‘You are wicked, the pair of you,’ snorted Maddy. ‘That’s just the sort of thingIwould have done when I was your age.’

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