Chapter 7 #2
“Hi, Poppy, hi, Carrie, hi, Uncle Dylan,” she said.
“I’m glad you could come. Dad’s got so much food.
I’m in charge of slicing all the buns because he didn’t buy the pre-sliced ones.
” She gave a little roll of her eyes making Poppy giggle.
“These are my friends Zoey and Lottie from school,” Layla said.
“Tabitha’s in the sitting room, Poppy, if you want to come and see her. ”
Poppy nodded, a little in awe of Layla’s friends it seemed, and went inside with the girls.
“Poppy seems very popular,” said Dylan.
“Apparently so.” Carrie was grateful to Layla for being so kind and welcoming.
It was good to have Dylan to chat with as Michael was busy cooking and talking with other guests.
Michael’s best friend was good company, and she felt herself relax as he asked her about the bookshop and her job in London.
It seemed he’d designed her aunt’s fancy website for her.
She spotted Michael looking over at them a few times, and when Monty came over and made them both laugh by begging dramatically for some sausage, she caught a puzzled expression on Michael’s face.
Lucy arrived and waved to Carrie. She chatted with a group of people by the barbeque with Michael.
Poppy came back outside just before food was being served up. It sounded like she’d had a lovely time and had the teens wrapped round her little fingers. Apparently, they were wanting to braid her hair after they’d eaten.
One of the other little kids came over to Poppy and asked if she wanted to play with them at the end of the garden so Poppy went skipping off again.
“It’s so easy to make friends at that age,” said Carrie with an exaggerated sigh.
“I don’t think we’re doing too badly,” said Dylan with a killer smile.
He was definitely good-looking; Carrie couldn’t deny that. But she found she was more interested in what Michael was doing. He glanced over again and their eyes met. She gave him a little smile and was rewarded with a nod. But he didn’t seem overly happy.
Everyone filled their plates with food. There was barbecued chicken, sausages and burgers, with veggie options available, and plenty of bread, salad and potatoes to accompany.
Layla hadn’t been exaggerating when she’d said her dad had ordered a lot!
But she definitely had been when she’d warned Carrie off her dad’s cooking, everything was delicious.
Seren arrived and joined Carrie and Dylan for a bit with some food which she picked at but mainly moved around her plate.
It was clear she wasn’t entirely comfortable as she fiddled with the bracelets on her wrist and tapped her foot.
Carrie tried to put her at ease. Bless her she really didn’t like social situations.
She made her excuses soon afterwards and left.
“Is Seren OK?” asked Dylan. “She didn’t stay long.”
“She’s fine. She just had some things she needed to do.”
Carrie managed to convince Poppy and the rest of the kids to stop playing for a little bit and they went in to wash their hands before they settled down with heaped plates on a blanket on the lawn.
Dylan had gone to refill his plate, so Carrie was by herself for a minute and Lucy came over.
“Hi,” she said. “This is awesome, isn’t it? Michael’s cooked up a storm.”
“Apparently so. Layla warned me about his cooking, but it seems that was completely unfounded.
Lucy laughed. “Typical teen. Are you having a good time?”
“Yes, it’s great. Poppy seems to be having an absolute ball and I’ve been chatting with Michael’s friend, Dylan.”
Lucy gave a little roll of her eyes.
“I’m guessing you know him?” Carrie said, raising her eyebrows.
“Yeah,” said Lucy. “He’s harmless. Just thinks he’s God’s gift that’s all. And that he knows everything...” She shrugged. “Anyway, it’s great to have you here. How are you liking the town?”
“It’s lovely. It doesn’t really seem to have changed much since my childhood visits!”
“I suspect that’s very true.” Lucy laughed. “I’m going to grab another drink. I’ll catch you later,” she said with a smile.
Michael came over with a plate of food he’d finally procured for himself.
“I saw you chatting with Dylan,” he said, seeming extremely interested in his fork all of a sudden.
“Your best friend, or so he informs me,” Carrie replied.
“He is indeed. He’s also an incorrigible flirt . . .”
Carrie laughed. “Don’t worry. He’s definitely not my type. I won’t be falling for any of his charms.”
“Phew,” said Michael, immediately. Carrie raised an eyebrow at him and was sure his cheeks reddened.
He cleared his throat. “Was the food all right?” he asked, taking a bite of a burger.
“Everything was great! Thank you so much for inviting us,” said Carrie. “Poppy’s having a wonderful time.”
“She certainly makes friends easily.”
“She does,” Carrie agreed. “I swear, I didn’t have anything like her confidence when I was her age. But you have to admit, it was easier to make friends when we were kids. You just walked up to another kid, asked how old they were and if they wanted to play football.”
“Very true,” Michael said, chuckling. “Carrie?” he said, suddenly all seriousness. Their eyes met.
“Yes, Michael,” Carrie replied, goosebumps suddenly appearing on her arms.
“How old are you?”
Carrie’s face broke into a grin. “I’m thirty-four.”
“I’m thirty-seven,” said Michael. “Do you want to play football?”
Carrie laughed. “Now?”
“Well, when I’ve finished eating.”
“There’s not much room,” pointed out Carrie. The garden’s small lawn couldn’t really be considered big enough to play football on.
“I happen to know of a rather large beach just a few minutes’ walk away.”
Half an hour later the party moved from the garden down to the beach.
For some reason it was decided that it was necessary to have several footballs and that Monty would join in.
Carrie was worried he’d get stepped on, bless him.
He was a sweetheart, and so gentle with Poppy, but he wasn’t exactly the sharpest tool in the box and she wasn’t sure his survival skills were up to staying out of the way of people’s feet.
Michael announced that Layla and Poppy would be team captains and they took turns picking their teams, with Poppy choosing first. Poppy pointed to Michael straight away.
“Oi,” said Carrie. “I’m your mother!”
“But you’re not very good at football,” explained Poppy, honestly, making everyone laugh.
“You can be on my team, Carrie,” said Layla.
Carrie heard Michael murmur, “Pity choice!”
“We’ll show you!” declared Carrie.
“Yeah,” agreed Layla.
* * *
An hour later and everyone was covered in sand. Carrie’s throat was sore from laughing and shouting so much and her thighs were aching from running on the sand. Her team had been what could only be termed annihilated by Poppy’s, much to her daughter’s delight.
The three footballs they’d been playing with at once — and which had definitely added to the mayhem — were gathered up along with the hoodies used to mark out the goals. The exhausted players traipsed back up the hill and round the back of the shops to Michael’s garden.
“Poppy and I will head into ours now,” Carrie said to Michael. “If she gets back playing with the other kids in your garden, I’m not sure I’ll ever get her to leave.”
“OK. Thanks again for coming. It’s been a lot of fun.” Michael moved forward and gave her a gentle peck on the cheek. Colour rushed to Carrie’s face and she found herself speaking far faster than usual.
“It has. Thank you for inviting us. Poppy! Time to get ready for bed now, Pumpkin. Say goodbye to your friends.”
It was well past her bedtime and Poppy really must have been tired because she agreed without hesitation, and they left with Carrie giving a last glance over her shoulder at Michael as they went out of the garden gate. Their eyes met and he gave her a wave before he was called away by Layla.
Poppy showered the sand off and was tucked up in bed ready for her story mere moments later. They were nearly at the end of The Enchanted Wood and debating whether to continue the series or start something new when Poppy fell asleep mid-sentence.
Carrie tidied up the flat and gave her mum a call to fill her in on all they’d been up to, before having a shower herself and settling down to read in bed.
What a lovely evening. She’d felt really welcome and it had been great to get to know people better.
It had been a long time since she’d laughed so much with a group of people.
And she could hardly believe how well Poppy seemed to be settling in to this friendly community.
Who knew that agreeing to her aunt’s slightly crazy request would have turned out quite so well.