CHAPTER EIGHT
THIS REALLY SHOULDN’T have worked. Ross had told his secrets, and Laurie hers. They’d kissed and then broken up within the space of half an hour. But somehow it did work. They were building something, learning how to trust and how to work together. And Ross had just learned that no one...no one...could carry off bright yellow feathers in quite the way that Laurie could.
‘Ready to go?’ He tried to keep his face straight as he saw her walking out of the front door of the house in her costume for the Lakeside School sports day.
She pulled the beaked mask up, propping it on top of her head. ‘Yes, I think so. The feathers are fighting back...’ She flapped one arm and a feather drifted upwards then floated back down again, settling on the gravel at their feet. ‘Are you sure we shouldn’t go for different costumes? When I chose these, I was trying to make a point.’
‘Yeah?’ Ross feigned innocence. ‘What point was that?’
‘Don’t ask. It was a really bad idea. You really don’t need to go as an egg.’
‘Too late now. I’m rather looking forward to it. It’s nice that you didn’t go for any of the safe options.’
‘I just hope you don’t mind feathers in your car.’ She wriggled suddenly in discomfort and turned her back on him. Ross busied himself with looking the other way.
‘Ah, gotcha.’ She turned, to face him again, still buttoning the front of her costume, and held up a feather, a triumphant look on her face. ‘They get everywhere.’
‘If you need a hand...’ He probably shouldn’t allow himself to smile when he said that.
‘Trust me. You really don’t want to know where they’re ending up.’
He probably did. Ross dismissed the thought as unworthy of someone who was going to be dressing up as an egg.
He drove the few miles to the school, with Laurie sitting in the back seat, steadying the egg to stop it from rolling around, and showering feathers in the process. When he parked in the school car park she got out and tried to brush some of the feathers off the seat, only managing to replace them with a new set.
‘Don’t worry about that. Best to get all of them in one hit with the vacuum cleaner when we get back.’ He took pity on her frustrated expression. ‘It’s probably because it hasn’t been worn before. All the feathers that are a bit loose are dropping at once, and it’ll stop in a minute.’
‘You reckon so?’ She flapped her arms again in a remarkable impression of a chicken. ‘You might be right, it doesn’t seem to be shedding as many now. Will you do me a favour?’
‘Sure.’ Anything as long as it didn’t involve feathers inside her costume. Ross didn’t trust himself with that, and having it turn X-rated in a school car park wasn’t the image they were trying to promote.
‘If I ever, ever, say that I’m going to choose costumes again, lock me up immediately.’
Ever. Again. It had a ring of friendship about it that warmed his heart. It was a very fine second-best option.
‘It’s a deal.’ He reached into the car, carefully manoeuvring the egg out. It had a shock of painted hair at the top, a wide smile, and a pair of arms folded across its wide stomach. Below that, the yellow and black check that matched his trousers.
Laurie lifted the egg over his head for him, and he secured the shoulder straps that held it in place. It wobbled a bit when he took a step, but he could see straight ahead of him through the eye-holes. Only Laurie had disappeared...
‘You all right in there?’ He felt something brush his knee, and a feathered head appeared, peering up at him from the base of the egg. He chuckled, giving her a thumbs up, and she disappeared again, reappearing in his line of sight and pulling down the chicken mask over the top of her face.
They walked slowly over to the crowd that had formed at one end of the school sports field. He could hear Laurie’s voice, a little muffled, talking to the kids who ran up to her and they both posed for photographs. He saw Sam doing the same in her blue and white Alice in Wonderland dress, while Jamie looked after their son Timothy. Laurie seemed to be slowly working her way over to them.
Sam waved, and he heard Laurie complimenting her on her costume. Then a blond head appeared at the bottom of the egg.
‘Hey, there, Timothy.’ He smiled down at his godson.
‘Uncle Ross!’ Timothy seemed to be intent on climbing up his legs, and there was just about enough room to lift him up in the confined space. The boy wriggled with glee at this amazing adventure, and Ross moved his head so that he could peer out of the eyeholes at his mother.
‘Timothy!’ He heard Sam’s voice. ‘Are you there?’
‘Shh!’ Ross pressed his finger against his lips and Timothy laughed loudly.
‘Come out, come out wherever you are...’ Sam’s voice again, as she pretended to look around for her son, lifting the trailing tablecloth on the drinks table and looking underneath it.
‘Where is he?’ Laurie had joined in with the play-acting and was looking around as well. Thrilled with the idea of a talking chicken, Timothy shrieked, and Ross let him down so he could duck under the bottom of the egg.
‘Here!’ Timothy ran over to Laurie, and she squatted down, flapping her arms in a very good impression of a chicken. Sam was laughing, and Jamie rapped his knuckles on the side of the egg, shouting a hello.