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Inside the Cottage
The sun lasted most of the morning. There were high white-and-grey clouds which occasionally obscured the sun from view, but there was, as her mother used to put it “enough blue to make a sailor a pair of trousers.” Amy and Harry had been to Keswick, where she’d treated them to a game of crazy golf and let Harry win, so he was in a great mood. They’d been to the supermarket for supplies, so he was full of sweets, and she’d splashed out so they had beer and wine for the evening. While they were out, she spotted a cheerful string of fairy lights shaped like red, blue, gold and green stars, in a gift shop. They would be great for making the campervan feel more homely and they weren’t too expensive. She carefully checked the spending money left in her purse. There was enough and it would be nice to give something to Matt as a thank-you for all his help.
By late afternoon it had clouded over, and a light rain had begun to fall again, so they headed back up the narrow lane between the stone walls to the campsite. She looked eagerly for the campervan as she drove up the lane, and there it was, shining brightly in the grey afternoon.
The big red tent was still there, too, silent and closed up. There was no sign of Ty, which hopefully meant they were out and the peace and quiet might last a while longer.
As she pulled up beside the tent in the campsite, Matt came straight over to her.
‘Had a good day?’
‘Yes, thanks. I’ve got something for you — you and Oliver.’
‘You have?’
Oliver came running from the direction of the campervan. He could smell a possible present from a mile away, like Harry could.
‘What is it?’ he demanded.
‘It’s only little. I thought you might like these for the campervan, make it feel more homely?’
She gave Matt the little paper bag with the lights in.
‘Awesome. Stars, Oliver!’
‘We don’t need them. I like the campervan like this. It’s how Mum wanted it.’
‘Yes, but I’m sure your mum would’ve liked stars if she’d been here. It was what her name meant, after all — Stella means star. So, these are extra special because of that,’ Matt told him.
‘Oh.’ Oliver couldn’t think of anything to say to that.
‘You could call the campervan Star too,’ said Harry.
‘That’s not a bad idea, Harry. What do you think, Oliver?’
Oliver was obviously considering, hard.
‘What about “Red Star” because it’s red?’ suggested Amy.
‘No. I don’t like that,’ Oliver said, firmly.
‘Oh well, never mind. I’m sure you’ll think of something.’
‘Thanks for the stars, Amy. Why don’t you and Harry go and find somewhere to put them, Olly?’
‘Okay.’
‘Have you got plans for this evening?’ Matt turned to Amy as the boys disappeared into the campervan, where lots of clattering could be heard.
‘I was wondering about tea, Goat Gunge, Titty book, bedtime? I did buy some beer tonight, if you fancy —’
‘Perhaps we can all go for a walk after tea. There’s somewhere I’d like to take you — both of you,’ said Matt.
‘A walk?’ Harry’s voice came from inside the campervan in tones of utter doom. ‘Another walk?’
‘You’ll need to get into practice for when you go to all those theme parks in Florida. You have to walk for miles every day when you’re there,’ Matt told him.
‘You’ve been to Florida?’ Harry asked.
