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Maisie tugged on Lili’s sleeve. ‘Come on!’ She had piled two paper plates full of party food. ‘Here.’
Lili took the plate and cast a glance back at Hannah, who was having words with the staff, complaining that they hadn’t prepared enough food.
Lili looked at her platter as she followed Maisie up the stairs. Her mouth was watering at the sight of the canapés. After the eventful morning – and skipping breakfast – Lili was starving.
Maisie opened the door to a small room on the first floor, just at the top of the stairs. ‘I chose this bedroom because it’s cosy. All the others are too big.’
Lili looked around at the room. She smiled at the colourful posters that brightened up the bland magnolia walls. They were pictures of her favourite superheroes fromThe Avengers– the movies that Maisie was into watching at the moment. Casting her gaze further, Lili spotted a crib in the corner. She walked over to the crib, half-expecting there to be a baby inside.
‘That’s for my new brother or sister.’
‘Your mum’s having a baby?’ Lili blurted.
Maisie shook her head. ‘Not yet, but she said she’s getting everything prepared for one after they are married. I have to get used to the idea.’
‘Don’t you want a little brother or sister?’ As Lili said it, she was thinking of William. Maisie already had a little brother. She didn’t know if Hannah had told her, though.
Maisie shook her head. ‘I don’t like babies. They don’t do anything.’
‘Babies quickly grow into …’ Lili paused, ‘well, sisters or brothers like William.’
Maisie brightened. ‘I like William. I wish he was my brother.’
Lili stared at her. So, Hannah had whisked her away and not told her the truth. Lili frowned. She had a right to know about William, her half-brother, about her father, Nate, and about her grandparents.
‘Shall we make a den and then we can have our picnic?’ Maisie said.
Lili smiled. Using a white sheet from the bed, together they made a makeshift tent with pillows and cushions to sit on.
The afternoon of playing games with Maisie drifted into the evening. Lili didn’t feel any inclination to join the party. At some point, Maisie took another trip downstairs for more food and a large glass of milk. Eventually, she changed into her pyjamas, and Lili read her a bedtime story, sitting with her on her bed. ‘Are you sure you don’t want me to fetch Mummy to give you a goodnight kiss?’
Maisie shook her head.
Lili gave her a goodnight kiss instead.
‘I enjoy having a story. Mummy’s new fiancé, Kyle, says I’m too old for that sort of thing. Anyway, I go to bed when I like, but I always take up a glass of milk and read to myself before I go to sleep.’
Lili wasn’t pleased to hear that Kyle sounded like a jerk, and that Maisie went to bed when she wanted. Children needed routines and boundaries. Maisie seemed to have sorted out her own bedtime routine, though.
‘Can you take me on holiday to Aldeburgh again?’
Lili smiled. ‘We had a good time, didn’t we?’
Maisie nodded. ‘Oh, yes.’
‘What were your favourite things?’
As Maisie drifted off to sleep, she recounted their time spent hunting for amber, her paintings, the yummy fish and chips they’d eaten on the beach with William and Ray, and their stay in the flat above Joseph’s shop. She liked the flat and told Lili their new house was too big. She carried on talking about the things she’d enjoyed about their trip until she fell asleep.
Sitting on the bed, propped up by a pillow, Lili was also thinking about what she’d enjoyed about their holiday. One person kept coming to mind – Nate. Had she fallen for the doctor with the crappy bedside manner? Lili tried to think of anything else but Nate. It wasn’t working. Watching Maisie sleeping, Lili’s eyes grew heavy.
