see Ben leaning against the doorway that led to the kitchen, his hands shoved deep into rust-red chinos that were as perfectly pressed as his blue and white checked short-sleeved collared shirt. Poppy glanced down at his brown leather loafers. Not a scuff in sight. Her tummy did a little flip-flop. Ben looked good. Better than good. The way he was dressed, the way his hair was just so, he could’ve come straight from a fashion shoot.
‘I didn’t know you were here.’ His cheeks pinked up, no doubt embarrassed to have been caught saying something that could potentially hurt someone’s feelings.
Such a Ben thing to do. He’d always cared. About everything. And everyone. Too much, as far as Poppy was concerned. He’d taken his only-child status seriously. Studying hard. Using his manners. Pleasing his parents in every way possible.
They were total opposites. Perhaps that’s why their friendship had worked. Perhaps that’s why even now after all these years – despite Ben’s apparent misgivings – they still worked.
Poppy grabbed a box cutter from her counter that had been put together then painted a soft lavender two days previously, and ran it along the taped lines of the box closest to her. One of about fifty. The contents within each needed to be unpacked and placed on the shelves in an eye-catching matter.
Not that the eye-catching part would be hard. The holographic, iridescent and glittery materials that made up so much of the stock would certainly draw people’s attention. But would it see them buy what she had to sell?
Yes. It would. It had to. She’d sunk the majority of the money she’d saved while travelling the world into this venture, and there was no way she was returning to her mother’s house, sparkly unicorn cap in hand, asking for a hot meal – or worse, for a bed to crash in until she got herself sorted out. Give her mother another chance to ignore her? To remind Poppy exactly how little her presence on this earth meant to her? Give her a chance to shut the door in her face as she had every time Poppy had come to her bedroom as a child, seeking comfort after a nightmare? That wasn’t going to happen.
‘You’re not going to give me grief for having a moment of second thought?’ Ben took a cautious step into the room. Then another. Until he was within swatting distance. Then sank down beside her, his eyes filled with caution.
Poppy shook her head. ‘’Course not. It’s normal to have freak-outs. I’m having about ten an hour. But every freak-out makes me more determined to make this work.’ She pulled out a tissue-covered package and carefully unwrapped it, revealing a crystal figurine: a unicorn, rearing up, its mane tossing in unseen wind, its horn sparkling with gold and silver glitter.
‘That is the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen in my entire life.’ Ben’s voice held equal awe and disgust.
Poppy set the figurine down, then punched Ben lightly on the arm. ‘Now that you have to apologise for. How can you say such a thing? That is the epitome of class and sophistication. Every person in Muswell Hill – no, in London – no, I mean England. No.’ She shook her head. ‘Every person in the world needs a crystal unicorn in their life. They could keep it on their car’s dashboard for luck. They could have it by their bedside to keep the nightmares away. They could sit it on their windowsill so the light refracts through it, creating a smile-inducing rainbow.’ Poppy ran her thumb over the gravelly surface of the glittering horn. She smiled as a fragment flaked onto her thumb. ‘Okay, it’s a little bit ugly. But there’s a market for it. Little girls will adore it.’
Ben shook his head, reached into the box, unwrapped another figurine and passed it to Poppy to set on the shelf. ‘Frankly I can’t believe there’s a market for any of it.’
Poppy snorted. ‘Well, at least one of us is going to be happy working next to the other. Not only will I get to be surrounded by the spirit-lifting goodness that are unicorns, I’ll also be able to help myself to a cup of matcha, or Lapsang Souchong, or plain old garden variety breakfast tea with a splash of milk, any time I feel like one. I’m going to be living the dream.’
‘Well at least one of us will be.’ Ben nudged her with his hip, then passed her another box to open. ‘At least I won’t have to go far to buy you a birthday present I know you’ll love.’
‘Oh, shush.’ Poppy lifted her finger to his lips. ‘You know I don’t do birthdays.’
Ben grinned, then took her finger in his hand. ‘We’ll see about that. Now, less talking, more unpacking.’
Poppy wiggled her finger free, grabbed the box cutter and sliced into another box, and pulled out a smaller box. Printed on the side of the plain brown packaging was an image of the unicorn mug held inside. The tail forming the mug’s handle, a swirled golden unicorn horn poked out opposite the handle, and painted on either side of the mug were big black eyes complete with lush, long glitter-dusted lashes.
She pulled up the box’s lid and lifted the mug out. ‘Where should we put this? It would look great next to those fancy double-walled glass teacups of yours…’
Ben held his hands up, as if warding her off. Her, or her unicorn mug. ‘No. No way. We have a deal, remember? Under no circumstances will I be allowing any of that… that uncouth frippery into my side of the business.’
‘Frippery?’ A giggle tumbled out of Poppy’s mouth. ‘Well that’s a new word to me. I like it. And, fine. I won’t put my mugs alongside your precious glassware. I was just testing the waters. Testing the boundaries. You know how I am.’
‘Indeed, I do.’ Ben sighed. ‘So, how do you feel about a tea tasting? Sophie and Joe should be here any minute, and I was going to hold a tasting for them since it’s important they know what they’re talking about.’
‘Hold on. Hold up. What? Joe’s doing the tasting? He’s my helper. Not yours.’ Poppy wagged her finger. ‘I will not have you seducing him with your aromatic ways.’
‘Plonker.’ Ben picked up the crystal unicorn, turned it over in his hands, then held it up to Poppy. ‘If Joe’s sick, and you’re unwell, who do you think will look after your shop?’
Understanding dawned on Poppy. ‘I would say you, but we both know you’d sooner take a dip in the boating lake at Ally Pally in the middle of winter.’
‘Exactly. We need to have Sophie and Joe up to speed on both sides of the shop.’
Ben turned and made his way to the kitchen, Poppy followed in his wake and took in the set-up he’d put together.
Five glass teapots sitting atop warmers, were placed on the bench. Each pot held a strainer, in which different teas were releasing tantalising aromas into the surrounding air. While various colours – grassy greens, vibrant pinks, and mahogany browns – softened as they blended out into the hot water.
The squeak of the door alerted them to the arrival of Sophie and Joe.
Attach door chimes and fix the squeak, Poppy reminded herself, trying to ignore the stepping up of her pulse as another item was added to her list.
‘We’re here,’ Joe announced. ‘On time, too. Look at us being responsible workers. Must mean we’re due a pay rise?’ He winked as Sophie closed her eyes, shaking her head in a long-suffering manner, just the way Poppy had seen Ben do all the time when they were younger.
‘Convince your grandfather to lower the rent by another fifteen per cent and it’s a deal,’ Poppy shot back. ‘In lieu of more money you can have free
