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“Hey, Maddie-Moo, want to see the wedding dress I made?” I prod.
She nods, and I open my mobile and pull up some photographs I took, flipping the phone over to show her.
“Dee, this looks like a princess dress!”
“Very pretty, isn’t it? I have another one commissioned, and their bridesmaid dress,” I explain.
“Let me see,” Verity says, and I turn the phone towards her. “Beautiful.” There’s a nod of approval.
She hands her phone to me so I can add my choices to the order. I see she’s amended Maddie’s to include the salad, and that her own meal is a simple chicken salad.
I skim through the menu options, just in case something different to my usual choice takes my fancy. There isn’t anything, so I get the same meal I always do when I’m here: a pasta dish with chicken and chorizo. It’s one of my favourite meals, but it’s also very familiar. Somebody once told me that ordering the same meals all the time, or watching the same television shows or films, is a trauma response. I don’t know how much I agree with that, but I can’t help but draw parallels that I’m sometimes looking for the familiar because the unfamiliar scares me. I wonder if my desire for a familiar meal today is a response to how unsettled I feel about my decision to see Joseph again.
I still can’t believe I changed my mind about seeing him tonight. My stomach feels like it has a swarm of butterflies in it, and despite the familiar food order, I’m suddenly panicking that I’m not going to settle them before my meal arrives. I want to focus on my time with Verity and Maddie, but I know my mind is likely to wander—whether I want it to or not. What am I going to say to him tonight? What is he going to say to me? There seemed to be plenty he wanted to say this morning when he arrived at the shop.
I shake my head slightly as I hand the phone back to Verity.
“Guess who came into the shop last night,” I prompt.
“The King,” Maddie guesses.
“Why on earth would he be coming into my shop? No, guess again.” I laugh.
“Felix?” she asks.
“Felix is always in the shop. Oh, that reminds me, he gave me this to give to you.” I pick my bag up from the floor and rummage around for the keyring Felix gave me last night, once he was over his initial shock of hearing about Joseph and after he had given me another long assessment about why I shouldn’t see him again.
“Wicked!” Maddie takes the keyring from me. I knew she would love it because it’s of her favourite pop star.
“You’ll have to thank Felix the next time you see him,” Verity says. She’s fond of Felix, almost as much as my dad was, but not as much as Maddie loves him. When I take Maddie to concerts, Felix comes with us, and he’s apparently far cooler than her annoying big sister. She never minds it when Felix sings along to the music or dances in the stands.
“I will do,” Maddie promises. I watch as she puts the keyring into her pocket.
“So, who came into the shop?” Verity prods.
“Joseph Wakefield,” I tell her.
She isn’t aware of my history with Joseph, but she’ll know who he is. I’m sure most people in the UK know who he is.
“Joseph Wakefield from that new film, The—” she starts.
“That’s the one,” I confirm.
“What was he doing in the shop?” Verity asks.
“He needed a new shirt for the premiere as he spilt coffee on his,” I explain.
“I bet that’s the last thing you expected when you got up yesterday morning. You were like his knight in shining armour.” She chuckles.
“Well, you know how I feel about men always doing the rescuing,” I joke.
“I can’t wait to be older.” Maddie sighs.
“To be the damsel in distress or the knight in shining armour?” I tease.
“I’m going to be the knight. I’m going to do all the saving and be in charge.” She has a determined look on her face.
“Plenty of time for that.” Verity grins. “So, Delilah, was he as yummy in real life as he is on-screen?”
