deserved them, after the way she had carried on … And she must have said something really nasty to Dad before he left to make him nearly run down the path to get away from her. Holly wished she hadn’t been watching a Zoella make-up tutorial on YouTube with her headphones on, because she’d been so angry with Mum. Maybe, if she’d been paying attention, listening on the landing or something, then she would have heard what had happened and could have done something to stop it all.
But it wasn’t too late, she was convinced of that. And first thing tomorrow she was going to put her ‘Get Mum and Dad Back Together in Time for My Birthday’ plan into action. Obviously she’d have to come up with some more ideas, too, because just sending flowers and chocolates was a bit of a rubbish plan. But Aunty Jude was bound to have some really cool ideas … she used to live in LA. And everyone knows that LA is the coolest place on earth. Apart from Disneyland, that’s super-cool too. Holly hadn’t been to either place; in fact, apart from visiting her dad in Singapore and Malaysia last year, there were so many places she still hadn’t been to. But she’d Google-Earthed loads of towns all over the world and none of them was as nice as Singapore … in fact, if Mum didn’t stop being so angry at her all the time, then that could be her back-up plan. Go and live in Singapore with Dad. It had to be better than being here on her own with Mum in a rubbish mood all the time.
Holly looked at the page again and underlined the words ‘Get Mum and Dad Back Together in Time for My Birthday’. That was her wish! Even though she was thirteen years old now and knew deep down that wishes probably weren’t actually a real thing … she still believed in them sometimes. Surely, if you wished hard enough, anything was possible? She had already wished for ages that Dad would come back home, and here he was! So, it could happen. It was just positive thinking and all that. They had a lesson about it at school. In Personal, Social and Health Education. Or PSHE as everyone said. All about mindfulness and the power of thought and focus. And Pinocchio was still one of her favourite Disney films. Especially the bit at the end with the ‘When You Wish Upon a Star’ song … she loved singing along to it. She remembered the first time she saw the film, on the sofa snuggled up in between Mum and Dad. They had watched it and sung along together with a big bowl of popcorn, which Mum used to make in the microwave, and then let her tip sprinkles all over it. This was before the diabetes, of course. And before Dad worked away all the time. Now Mum never wanted to watch Disney films. Perhaps if she did, then she’d chill out a bit and feel a whole lot happier, Holly surmised.
She thought of the Pinocchio song, going through the lyrics in her head. Pausing on the part about ‘anything your heart desires will come to you’. And she knew this was what her heart desired … to get Mum and Dad back together! And it was her birthday soon … and you were never too old to blow candles out and make a wish. She wondered if she could have the wish early and use it right now.
Holly looked down at the words and double-underlined them one more time. The Wish … Get Mum and Dad Back Together in Time for My Birthday.
‘You make me feel so young, you make me feel as though spring has sprung …’ Jude twirled her auburn curls up into a big bun and secured it with a hairband as she sang along heartily with Frank Sinatra on her Spotify playlist. She really was happy to be back in lovely Tindledale with Dad and her friends, relishing the earthiness and realness here, but she’d be lying if she said it hadn’t also come as a bit of a shock. Back down to earth with a bump after all the fakery and full-on fast lane of her life in LA … And she really missed her mum’s cousin, Maggie. They had spoken on the phone last night and she could tell that Maggie was putting on a brave face, being stoic and selfless in telling her she slept well at night knowing Tony was happy having his daughter back. Dad had called Maggie shortly after she’d got home, to thank her for everything she had done for Jude, and especially for bringing Mum’s memory alive. Also for the keepsake box that Maggie had entrusted Jude to give to him. The box had been her mum’s, and inside were notes and cards that Dad had given her when they’d first started courting. A pressed rose secreted between the pages of a pamphlet advertising the first dance he took her to in the old ballroom in Market Briar. Even a faded old photograph of them both cuddled together under a tree on the village green. It had near taken his breath away, he had said, when he saw it all.
Jude wandered across the shop and rearranged the scented candle display for the trillionth time. Business had been slow for the first week since she’d opened and she had spent most of her time either knitting yet another square to add to the pile waiting to be stitched together to make a blanket, as that was the extent of her knitting skills. Or moving cushions and candles from one side of the shop to the other. But, in contrast to the last few days’ weather, the sun was shining today, bathing the narrow, cobbled lanes and surrounding fields full of springy white lambs in a warm, golden glow. So the lovely villagers of Tindledale were either supping ice-cold beer in the Duck & Puddle pub garden, or on the village green paddling in the pond and not bothering themselves with shopping of any kind.
Just as Jude wondered if she’d made a mistake in opening the shop here, and maybe should have focused on selling antiques online, as that part of the business was thriving as it always had done, the phone rang.
‘Darling Antiques and Interiors,’ she answered cheerfully, practically falling on the phone, such was the novelty of it actually ringing during business hours. It often rang shortly after five when she had turned the sign on the door to CLOSED, but typically it was her dad, Tony, asking if she wanted a lift home, or Chrissie to see if she fancied a glass of Prosecco and a catch-up. Which reminded her, she wanted to call in on Chrissie later to see how things had gone with Sam. Chrissie had told her that he was coming back and that they were going to be seeing each other for the first time in ages. Jude wished she could understand where things had gone wrong between Chrissie and Sam. They had so much going for them. Of course, no marriage was perfect, and they were quite different people. Chrissie was much steadier than Sam, who Jude secretly thought was a bit of a dreamer; a carefree, creative, surfer type, if they’d lived near the sea. She could see him now in a pair of shades, sliders on his feet, a MacBook under his arm and lots of ideas. He was an accomplished architect, but had always been a bit unfocused. That was until the last few years when he’d really thrown himself into work, especially after Holly’s diabetes was diagnosed. Jude wondered if that was where the connection was? She couldn’t even begin to imagine how it must feel to have your thirteen-year-old daughter with a serious condition like diabetes; it was hardly surprising that it had put a strain on their marriage.
Jude let out a long breath and shook her head, as if to create a feeling of equilibrium once more.
‘What?’ A gruff male voice asked to open the conversation, bringing her back to the moment and the telephone call.
‘Pardon?’ she replied, taken aback.
‘Is that the antique shop?’ the man demanded in a London accent.
‘Yes.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Err, yes, quite sure,’ Jude confirmed, wondering if this was some kind of prank call.
‘But you just called me darling—’
‘No I didn’t.’
‘Yes, you did!’
‘Darling is my name and I sell antiques and … things for interiors such as—’
‘What kind of a name is that?’ the man cut in rudely. ‘Are you having me on?’ He sounded as if he might be laughing at her. Jude contemplated hanging up, but before she could decide, he added, ‘Can you come and see me? I might
