Chapter 29
TWENTY-NINE
‘I don’t think I want to go,’ said Lara.
She was standing in the hallway, dressed as a vampire, bag clutched in her hand. It had been hard to persuade her to still enjoy the Halloween fun – after all, she was the only one not invited to Rosie’s party.
Nancy looked at Beth, who had come over for the evening as her husband Martin was on shift.
She’d turned up on the doorstep earlier that afternoon fully dressed in a tight bat costume and Nancy and Lara had giggled as she’d regaled them with the looks she got from other drivers on the journey over.
Nancy had hugged her friend – she’d told Beth in advance of Lara’s disappointment and loved Beth for her attempt to cheer Lara up.
Beth crouched a little so she was at Lara’s level, her bat wings draping on the floor. ‘Because this other girl left you out and you don’t want to see them all out there?’
Lara nodded. ‘I’m on my own.’
‘Now that, my darling, is untrue. Have you any idea how long it took me to get into this lycra outfit?’
Lara gave a small smile. ‘A hundred years?’
‘You cheeky little . . .’ laughed Beth.
‘Yeah, but you’re not going to be knocking on the doors with me, are you?’
‘No, but then that’s probably a good thing as I’d take all the sweets before you got a look in.’ Beth stood. ‘Come on, half an hour. What do you say?’
Lara thought. ‘OK.’
Thank God, thought Nancy and flashed Beth a grateful smile.