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Mum looks away, toward the dining room table, and I follow her gaze. Sitting on the surface is a bouquet of flowers.
Slowly, I get to my feet and go over to the table. The bouquet is wrapped in cellophane and tied with a big red bow. I count the flowers inside—it contains two dozen crimson roses.
Charlie appears beside me, and says, “Ohhh…”
I remove the envelope that’s stapled to the cellophane, open it, and retrieve the card inside. It says, “Thanks for a great evening. You left me smiling like the Cheshire Cat. Kip x.” It ends with a red heart.
“Cheshire Cat?” Charlie says. “Oh shit. He knows who you are.”
“What does it say?” Mum asks.
Charlie reads out the card, while I stare at the flowers and cover my mouth with a hand.
Did he know all along? Or did he just Google me when I left, the same way I did him?
“Who is he?” June asks.
I lift the bouquet, open the cellophane at the top, and sniff inside. Oh, they smell amazing. I turn to face them, still holding the bouquet. “His name’s Kip Chevalier. I met him online, and it was his birthday yesterday. We went for dinner with his brother and his girlfriend.”
“How old is he?” Mum asks.
“Twenty-nine. He’s a computer engineer.” I glance at Charlie. I don’t want her to tell them that his family’s rich. She just gives a small smile.
“What’s he like?” June wants to know.
I hesitate and glance at Charlie. She grins. “He’s absolutely gorgeous, and really into Alice.”
“Charlie!”
“He is! You should have seen the way he kissed her goodbye this morning.”
“This morning?” Mum asks. Her eyes widen. “Did you spend the night together?”
“Oh God…”
Mum and June both squeak, and Charlie giggles.
“Oh Alice,” Mum says, “tell me everything!”
“Absolutely not,” I reply, and they all laugh.
“I live vicariously through you two,” Mum scolds. “So I need all the deets.”
“I’ll tell you,” Charlie says with a wink. “Alice has to go and message him, don’t you, Alice?”
I glare at them all. She’s right though. I promised I’d message him, and I definitely need to now he’s sent me flowers. “All right,” I say. I throw Charlie a warning glare as I get up. “Don’t give away all my secrets.”
“Absolutely, I will,” she says. “All the gory details.”
I poke my tongue out at her and, gesturing at June with my head, go outside to the garden, carrying the flowers.
June follows. I put the flowers on the table outside, and we stand on the deck. The sun is going down, and it’s warm and sultry. Bees are meandering through the flowerbeds, and at the bottom of the lawn, a couple of rabbits are having an evening silflay.
“Thanks for looking after her the past few days,” I say. “I really appreciate it.”
“Of course, no problem at all.”
“How is she?”
