Page 71 of Dreams Come True at the Fairytale Museu
‘I deserve that, but can I say one thing?’
I appreciate that he really does wait for me to give him a nod of permission before speaking.
‘These past three months have changed my life. I’ve never felt worthy of being loved. I thought if anyone knew my secret, they’d despise me, distance themselves from me, treat me as less of a person, and you’ve made me feel accepted and wanted, and that’s a point worth proving, so don’t give up yet, because I’m not going to.’
I somehow manage to hold it together until he gets outside the door before breaking down in tears. The numbness and anger turns to misery and desolation and pure, unadulterated loneliness. I didn’t know how I was going to let him go in good circumstances, and now he’s gone forever inthesecircumstances, and despite everything, he’s taken a piece of my heart with him, and I don’t know how I’ll ever get it back.
23
‘This is really lovely, Liss.’ Mickey reads what I posted online last night. ‘That was a nice touch to compare the escaped exhibits to Santa Claus – something that all parents will relate to. And how you’ve said what everyone’s thinking anyway – that all Berrington Developments have done is make themselves look petty and malicious and like they’re taking enjoyment from destroying children’s belief in magic. They are literally a company who would tell a child that Santa isn’t real, whereas anyone with a shred of decency would play along.’
‘I don’t know if it will make any difference, but it was actually Warren who helped.’
I cut off her gasp of shock before it’s halfway out. ‘Beforehe left for good, never to return.’
She knew he came in last night. I reiterated his explanation for everyone at an Ever After Street meeting this morning, but I hadn’t shared every single word we exchanged, and his tips about the apology were actually spot on.
‘Why would he do that?’
‘Guilt?’ I sigh because I’d like to think it was something more than just that. ‘I don’t know, but he really is surprisingly good at his job. He knows instinctively what people will connect with and how to spark imaginations and reach people’s hearts.’
‘You didn’t have to take full responsibility.’ She nudges my arm with her elbow where we’re both leaning on the front desk, hoping that a visitor or two might pop in on this otherwise quiet morning. ‘We were all in it together.’
‘Yes, I did. Have you seen how angry people are? Everything you lot did was to help me. If there’s any backlash, I don’t want it coming back on you. My time here is up anyway. It doesn’t matter what people say about Colours of the Wind now, but the rest of you have got businesses that have to keep going without this sort of negativity directed towards them.’
‘Don’t say that. We’re not letting this place go without a fight. Sadie’s ordered some chains. We’re all going to chain ourselves to the building before demolition, if it comes to that. And Cleo’s got Mr Hastings on the case to see if there’s any legal way to intervene in planning permission or anything like that. Witt thinks there may be some objection he can lodge about devaluing the castle or the cinema complex blocking light to the Full Moon Forest or something. He’s looking into it. We’re not giving up on this and you’re certainly not.’
I’m always the one who stands up and fights on Ever After Street, but after everything, for the first time in my life, I’m wondering if it’s a fight that isn’t worth fighting. I don’t think I’ve ever felt like that about anything before, and my own lack of conviction is what hurts the most because it feels like Warren has changed something deep inside of me, and I keep coming back to what I’ve heard so many times lately – the museum will not be saved. What’s the point in fighting the inevitable? If the past three months hasn’t changed anything, nothing will. I have until March to clear out completely. I should spend that time finding storage space for the exhibits and working out my next move, whether it’s worth trying to find a new home for the museum, or whether I should give up and look for a nice, normal, stress-free nine-to-five job.
Mickey can tell I’m spiralling into my unknown future. ‘Are there any wishes to grant? That always cheers us all up.’
‘Yeah, one. An anonymous one – probably because a sensible parent had told their child not to give us fraudsters any personal information – and it simply read “I wish magic was really real”.’
She hugs me. ‘People will forget. Tomorrow’s fish and chip wrapping and all that.’
‘Except, in the era of social media, people can keep retweeting and reposting and re-TikToking until the cows come home, and each time it reaches more and more people and earns us more and more cynics.’
‘Or supporters.’ She taps her phone, the screen still showing the letter that I posted. ‘People will understand. You know that. We didn’t do anything wrong –theydid. They made themselves look bad. You’ve already got comments saying that. And I have a sneaking suspicion thatthismelancholy is far less to do with what people think of you and far more to do with whatyoufeel for a certain person…’
‘I miss his smile,’ I say without thinking it through. ‘His real, genuine, happy smile, the one that I didn’t see at all at first because he was always so uptight. And not just the big smile, the little smile he got on his face when he was drawing something, the one he didn’t even know was there, his contented smile. I shouldn’t miss someone who lied and misrepresentedeverysingle thing from day one.’
‘You can miss who you thought he was.’ She reaches over to tuck a pink bit of my hair back. ‘And it did sound like he truly felt bad and didn’t mean for things to go as far as they did. We all make mistakes when feelings are involved.’
I groan at the mention of feelings. I have so many feelings towards Warren that I don’t know what to do with them all. In a couple of short months, I thought I’d met someone who’d be in my life for the rest of forever, and having to reconcile that with what’s happened in the last few days is something I’m struggling to get my head around. ‘I lost my heart to him too, and now I don’t trust my own judgement. I ignored the warnings of people who mean the world to me because I was falling for someone who was putting on a front the whole time, and worse still, he was open about it. Hetoldme he was putting on a front, and I foolishly thought that meant he wasn’t withme.’
‘On the plus side, at least you can wriggle out of the mandatory plus one at Witt and Sadie’s wedding now.’ Mickey tries to cheer me up. ‘Absolute proof that people should never make plus ones mandatory, ever.’
‘I couldn’t agree more.’ I clink my cup of tea against hers and try to focus on the positives that have come out of this, like how much I love my Ever After Street colleagues and how far they’d go to help me, regardless of the outcome.
* * *
‘It’s always brave to stand up to adversity, and what a magical way to do so.’ A visitor reaches over to pat my hand as she gives me the entry fee for herself and her granddaughter. I recognise her, she’s the same one who walked in on me hugging Warren weeks ago.
‘Sorry?’
‘That rotten company have got a lot to answer for, trying to destroy something that brings joy to children and taking such pleasure in their “exposé”.’ She does an angry set of air quotes with the hand that’s not holding her granddaughter’s. ‘I’ll tell you what, if that cinema complex goes ahead, my entire family have promised to boycott it, and any other building they get their dirty little paws on. Imagine wanting to destroy somewhere as wonderful as this.’
I don’t mean to cry, but tears spring to my eyes unbidden at the compassion in her voice, and she apologises for upsetting me, but I’ve been an emotional wreck in the days since I posted our apology, and the slightest kindness is setting me off.
