‘You’re gonna tell me you didn’t notice she was trying to hit on you?’ Norah asked, stunned.

There was a big pause. ‘I think she was just doing her job.’

‘Poppy, she was on the bloody till!’ Norah said, exasperated. ‘She left a queue of five to come and help you.’

‘I did think that was a bit odd,’ Poppy said, befuddled.

‘Man, you’re oblivious,’ Norah laughed.

‘My mind was on your mother’s wrath,’ Poppy pointed out.

‘What if it hadn’t been?’ Norah asked carefully.

‘What do you mean?’

‘I mean, are you... dating?’ Norah asked. They hadn’t touched this subject. Norah wasn’t sure why she was delving into it now.

Poppy looked as though she’d forgotten what the word meant. ‘Oh. No. Not since Luna.’

That made sense. But it was only half of what she wanted to know. ‘So, if you were, would you have been... shopping from that side of the store?’

Poppy exploded with laughter. ‘Good god,’ she managed to splutter. ‘Where the hell did you come up with that little expression?’

‘What’s wrong with it?’ Norah asked, offended.

‘Horrible euphemism, Cauldwell,’ Poppy said, bright red from laughter. ‘It was like something from the forties.’

Norah realised she actually should be embarrassed. Why was she being so euphemistic about it? ‘You know what? It’s the kind of thing my mum would say.’

‘She’s rubbing off on you,’ Poppy said.

‘That was quick. I’ve only been back twenty minutes.’

‘Give it a week. You’ll be wearing gilets and talking to me like shit,’ Poppy said. She paused before clearing her throat. ‘And yes, I’m only “Shopping from that side of the store.”’

Now that she had that confirmation, Norah didn’t know what the hell to do with it. She wasn’t even sure why she’d asked. Maybe it was just the sudden realisation that she had no idea what Poppy’s sexual orientation was. It was bound to come up sometime. Poppy wouldn’t be a nun forever. She was probably fighting them off daily.

‘Speaking of dating, I assume you’re not ready to jump back in?’ Poppy asked casually.

‘Not bloody likely,’ Norah told her, suppressing a shudder. ‘I think I’ll just wait until Freddie leaves for university. I might think about it, then.’

‘Shutting up shop?’ Poppy asked with a grin.

‘Shut up,’ Norah said with an eye-roll.

They fell into silence until Poppy cleared her throat. ‘Which side of the store do you shop at, by the way?’

‘Oh,’ Norah exclaimed, surprised. ‘Both.’

‘Yeah?’ Poppy questioned sceptically.

‘Yes, obviously,’ Norah said. She should have known that. Why was it such a surprise?

But Poppy said no more about it. Eventually, they pulled into the house, and Poppy said, ‘OK, gimme that thing.’

‘I could do it,’ Norah offered.

‘No, I can’t let your mum think I don’t own my mistakes,’ Poppy said.

Norah thought that was a rather intense reaction to a scratched floorboard, but she handed her the pen.

They went in, and Poppy set to work with the pen (after watching a YouTube video several times).

Norah checked it out. ‘Perfect.’

‘You reckon?’ Poppy asked anxiously.

‘Yeah. Let’s get my mum in and watch her try to find fault with it. It’ll be fun.’

‘If you say so,’ Poppy said with a nervous smile.

‘Mum!’ Norah yelled.

Her mother came in from the back garden. ‘Yes?’

‘Poppy fixed the scratch.’

Her mother raised a cynical eyebrow. She pulled up her specs from a chain around her neck and slid them on, bending down. ‘Where was it?’ she asked.

‘Exactly,’ Norah said with deep satisfaction.

Her mother gave her an irritated look. She got up and turned to Poppy.

‘I think that’ll probably do.’

She left. Norah turned to Poppy, who looked oddly ecstatic.

‘I don’t know what you’re grinning about,’ Norah said. ‘We’ve still got to unload the rest of the van.’

‘Ahh, fu...dge,’ Poppy said with a glance to Freddie, who’d built a large castle in their absence.

‘I know what she was going to say,’ he told them smugly.

Twenty-Six

As Poppy and Norah settled into their seats at the PTA meeting, Poppy wondered what Susan would go to eleven about today. She looked rather over-caffeinated, even for her.

‘Right. Let’s talk raffle,’ the woman began. ‘It’s a week away, and we’ve already got a ton of food donations to make up hampers, but I need more. We need more. I want serious showstoppers. Blue sky thinking, guys.’