She breathes deeply and then purses her lips as though she’s not sure how to say what she wants to say, and then she manages. ‘I like her too.’
I smile and nod. ‘She’s pretty cool,’ I say.
Thea laughs, and then nods in agreement. ‘She’s pretty cool. Just like mom.’
And my heart melts as I start to cry.
*
*
Willow tightens the blindfold around my eyes as she giggles and I can’t help but laugh too, but mine is one less of glee and more of overwhelming and intense anxiety. And yes, it’s the kind that occasionally diverts to your butthole and makes you tingle and squeeze.
I laugh as Harpy pokes me in the tummy, bucking forward in surprise.
’She can’t see,’ she says, satisfied, and I laugh again, tears streaming down my eyes and soaking into the dark fabric as I try and wrack my brains to figure out what this is all about.
‘Are you ready?’ says Willow.
‘I don’t know,’ I giggle.
‘She’s ready,’ says Harper. ‘She was born ready.’
‘You watch way too much TV,’ I say as her sister snickers behind.
‘Ready for the spin-dry?’ she says.
‘Spin-dry?’ I say, and then I realise what she means as the pair of them take a hand each and begin to run in a circle, spinning me in the centre as I scream. By the time they’re done I’m so dizzy I can barely stand up. This would be fine if it wasn’t for the fact that I’m on the first floor, blindfolded and being led by two children toward a staircase.
I stagger towards the door as the pair of them guide me, and I cling to the frame as I’m steered toward the top steps. There I teeter at the edge, feeling my way for the first one, and then Harper is pushing and I have to commit, hopping down as quickly as my woozy head will allow.
At the bottom, I hear feet shuffling and the faintest of giggles and then I’m out into the sunlight and I can hear the pool lapping. For a moment I panic and try to turn away as I suddenly and irrationally fear I’m about to be thrown into the pool, but Willow spins me away from the noise and a few seconds later Harper is tugging me backwards and I feel the edge of a chair against the back of my knees and I sit down.
‘Oh my goodness,’ I whisper, and then light floods my eyes and I see Blake sitting in front of me, a wild grin on his face, dressed in a suit, with a small table between us laden with a basket of French bread and two glasses of wine, and my jaw drops.
‘Good evening,’ he says, raising his own blindfold off the table with a grin and shaking his head. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who was not in on this plan.
I look around in astonishment and find both Willow and Harper beside me, bouncing with excitement, and then I see Thea walking across the grass carrying a covered tray. She places it on the table between us and smiles and then lifts it up to reveal two plates swimming with spaghetti bolognese.
I laugh and blush as my eyes thank her, tears welling for just a moment as she beams with pride and then I turn and blink in surprise as I see my twin sister standing by the glass doors, holding two rucksacks with another by her feet, and three sleeping bags behind her and I frown.
‘Flick?’ I say.
‘It was their idea,’ she says. ‘I just facilitated.’
‘We’re going for a sleepover,’ says Harper, her eyes bursting with excitement which quickly becomes uncontainable as she starts to jump in a circle.
‘A sleepover?’ repeats her father.
’With Aunty Flick,’ winks Felicity as I stand up. ‘Don’t move,’ she says, waving me back down.
‘Are you sure?’ I say, making my way toward her anyway.
‘One hundred per cent,’ she says. ‘As I said, this was their idea. Thea called me.’
‘Thea?’ I say, turning toward her. She shrugs and grins as I blush with appreciation.
‘Have you got Unicorn?’ I ask Harper, and she nods and shows me.