Page 86 of The Village of Lost and Found

‘Me? I didn’t do anything,’ said Lucy. ‘This is all on you, sister.’

Molly nodded. ‘Yeah. I suppose it is.’ She broke into a smile. ‘I liked it. Being in charge, I mean.’

‘Told you so,’ said Lucy, giving her a gentle nudge with her shoulder.

‘Thanks,’ said Molly.

‘You’re welcome,’ Lucy told her.

She looked around the table. If the events that evening had proved anything, it was that she now had friends. Good friends. They had each other’s back and that was the most important thing of all.

46

Lucy staggered into Cranbridge Stores on Sunday morning with Keith in tow.

‘Good morning!’ said Amber, cheerily.

‘It is in no way a good morning,’ groaned Lucy, heading straight up to the counter. ‘I’m shattered. Extra-strong coffee please!’

‘What happened?’ asked Amber, turning to make the coffee.

‘Molly kept me up chatting half the night and then Keith woke up really early demanding a walk.’ Lucy yawned.

‘How is Molly?’ asked Amber.

‘She wasn’t up when I left, but she seemed OK after the whole failed proposal thing,’ said Lucy.

‘It was for the best,’ said Amber.

‘Absolutely,’ said Lucy, nodding. ‘Can you imagine if she’d said yes! You’d better add a bag of croissants to that order. Molly will need some breakfast.’ She glanced down at Keith. ‘Oh and one extra for him as well.’

‘Of course.’ Amber’s smile grew wider. ‘I think it’s great that you’ve taken him under your wing.’

‘Humph,’ said Lucy, glancing down again at the dog, who looked up adoringly at her. ‘Well, he’s not so bad once you get used to the bad breath and lack of sleep. In that regard, he’s actually more personable than a lot of my ex-boyfriends.’

As she turned to leave, she almost bumped into a woman standing behind her.

‘Ooops! Sorry,’ said Lucy. ‘I’m half-asleep still.’

‘I know the feeling,’ replied the woman. ‘We’ve got the builders in and I’ve come out for some peace and quiet. The kitchen table is covered in dust and I’ve not got anywhere to work.’

‘You’re welcome to use one of the benches outside on the veranda,’ said Amber. ‘It might be a bit noisy though, with people coming and going.’

‘Thanks,’ said the woman, looking grateful. ‘I don’t care as long as I’m not covered in dust again.’

Lucy and Keith headed back upstairs to the apartment, where she was looking forward to a lazy Sunday napping on the sofa all day.

So groggy was she still from lack of sleep that she didn’t realise until she had reached the kitchen that Molly was standing on top of the sofa beside the wall.

‘What are you doing?’ asked Lucy, putting down the croissants on the table.

‘Getting rid of all this,’ said Molly, revealing the scraper that she had in her hand.

Lucy realised that the words that had previously been stuck onto the wall were now mostly in small pieces on the floor.

‘A little less sparkle would be nice,’ said Lucy, nodding her approval. ‘Don’t eat that!’ she called out to Keith as he wandered over to investigate the shredded paper. ‘Have a croissant instead.’

‘Oh, it’s not just the words that are going,’ said Molly, looking around in a somewhat manic manner. ‘The whole lot is changing.’