‘Err...’ Norah said, looking to Poppy for permission.

‘You can both take something at the end if there’s stuff left, which there probably will be,’ Poppy explained to Freddie, as well as Luna. ‘But be warned, they’re as dry as chalk.’

Luna high-fived Freddie.

‘OK, cake sellers, let’s sell some cake,’ Poppy said, slapping her hands together.

The horde fell upon them. But now Norah was on the cash box while Poppy wrapped cakes. It became a hell of a lot less overwhelming. The adults worked in a frenzied harmony, as the cue got longer and long, and then shorter. Poppy and Norah exchanged amused glances, the awkwardness between them forgotten for the moment in the whirl of crumbs, chaos, and loose change.

After about forty-five minutes, Poppy looked down to see an empty table. She turned to the next customer. ‘Sorry, I’m out!’ she said in amazement.

‘I’ll take your money!’ Susan called over.

The customer shrugged and moved down the row to where Susan was working with about three times the amount of goods.

Poppy turned to Norah. ‘I really thought no one was gonna want my stuff. It’s very mediocre.’

‘I think you overestimated the standards at a school bake sale,’ Norah told her. ‘It’s thirty pence a cake. They were willing to risk it.’

‘Nothing’s left!’ Luna suddenly wailed.

‘Yeah! We wanted cakes!’ Freddie huffed.

‘Sorry, guys,’ Poppy said sincerely.

‘What if we go to the park and find the ice cream van?’ Norah suggested. ‘Would that be OK?’

The kids both screamed like Santa was doing a live drop-by.

Poppy smiled, pleased. It would be nice to all go to the park—like nothing was different. ‘Alright, let’s pack up.’

Thirty-Six

The kids were going hard at their ice creams next to the van that had just dispensed them. Luna had an Oreo sundae in a plastic cup, while Freddie had gone with a more traditional cone and flake situation.

Norah watched Luna eating her ice cream. ‘Why didn’t I get one?’ she muttered to herself.

Luna shrugged. ‘Go and get some then. The van is right there.’

‘She makes a strong case,’ Norah said to Poppy. ‘You in?’

Poppy smiled and turned to the kids. ‘You two head into the park,’ she said, gesturing at the nearby gates. ‘We’re getting back in the queue.’

The kids didn’t need telling twice, and they legged it with their treats into the play park. Poppy and Norah joined the back of the queue.

‘What are you getting?’ Poppy asked.

‘Something absurd,’ Norah said with delight.

‘Yeah?’

‘I’m feeling daring,’ Norah added. But how daring did she feel exactly? Enough to treat herself to looking good for a change. But what was she hoping to achieve with that, besides boosting her own self esteem?

They moved forward a place in the queue. ‘Oh, guess what?’ Norah said.

‘What?’ Poppy asked with an interested smile.

‘I got fired,’ Norah said.

‘What?!’ Poppy squawked in shock.

‘Yeah. I made a mistake and that was that.’

‘They fired you for one mistake?’ Poppy said.

Norah laughed. ‘That’s exactly what my mum said.’

Poppy looked disturbed by that.

‘But it’s OK,’ Norah said.

‘Is it?’ Poppy asked.

‘It shouldn’t be, right? Everything’s gone wrong. I got fired from my job and my marriage in the same year.’ Norah laughed, but she couldn’t think why. Her life was in the toilet.

‘You do seem lighter,’ Poppy observed.

‘Yes, I am. I feel like I’ve shed some stuff that was holding me down.’

‘The marriage or the job?’ Poppy asked.

‘Both. Among other things,’ Norah said. She realised she was setting up a segue, so her mouth wanted to do this, even if her brain wasn’t so sure. ‘I was arguing with my mum, and she told me something,’ she began tentatively.

Poppy immediately tensed. ‘What?’

Norah inhaled deeply through her nose. ‘She told me why you ended things with us back in the day,’ she said quickly.

Poppy was wide-eyed with horror.

‘Because she told you to,’ Norah continued. ‘Right? That’s what happened?’

Poppy’s mouth opened and shut a few times before it could achieve any speech. ‘God, how did that come up?’

‘We were fighting. She lost her marbles and confessed, James Bond Villain style,’ Norah said with a half-smile. ‘You could have told me what she said to you. At the time. Or now.’ She was doing her best to keep her tone light as air. She wanted this to seem like a very casual conversation. Precisely because it wasn’t.

‘I couldn’t,’ Poppy said shortly.

‘Why?’ Norah asked.