Page 50 of The Village Inn of Secret Dream

‘Why not?’ asked Lucy, as all three friends turned to look at her.

‘I, er…’ stammered Belle. She couldn’t think of a lie quick enough that wouldn’t involve Grandma Tilly.

‘You have a date!’ said Molly, looking excited. ‘Who is it?’

Belle immediately shook her head. ‘Of course I don’t.’

‘Then what?’ asked Amber.

Belle picked up her phone. ‘I can’t tell you,’ she said.

‘What do you mean?’ they all chorused together. ‘Of course you can tell us.’

‘I just can’t,’ said Belle. ‘That’s all.’

‘Well, this is all very strange,’ said Lucy, looking across at Amber. ‘Oh! Don’t let me forget. I’ve got those forms for Grandma Tilly if she’s in the shop today.’

‘What forms?’ asked Amber.

‘Something to do with her pension,’ said Lucy, with a shrug. ‘She got muddled with the form and wanted Tom to give her a hand filling it out.’

‘Okay,’ said Amber. ‘I’ll give them to her later.’

But Belle was worried. Grandma Tilly was having trouble sewing and now filling out forms. Something was wrong and she was keeping it a secret from everyone.

She wondered once more as to whether she should talk to Pete about it. The conversation between them the previous evening about Pete’s reaction to losing his father as well as finding the letter from his dad’s other wife had somehow brought them closer. He had opened up to her and she was pleased that they were finally talking. Their chat in front of the fire had been nice. More than nice. It had felt right, as if they were finding their way back to each other after all the recent awkwardness.

She couldn’t stop herself from smiling in memory.

She slowly became aware of the three other women staring at her in shock.

‘What?’ she snapped.

Amber glanced across at her friends before clearing her voice. ‘It’s just, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile like that before,’ she said eventually.

‘Are you saying I’m miserable most of the time?’ asked Belle.

‘No, no,’ said Amber, shaking her head. ‘It’s just that…’

‘You’re a fantastic friend,’ said Lucy quickly. ‘You’re kind and generous too. And we love you, okay? But you can be a little…’

‘Prickly,’ said Molly, before biting her lip.

‘Defensive,’ volunteered Amber.

‘We’ve just never seen you look all soft like that before,’ said Lucy, with a shrug.

‘I can be soft and girly,’ argued Belle.

‘We know,’ said Amber. But her tone of voice didn’t agree with her words.

‘Do you want to be soft and girly?’ asked Lucy, in a gentle tone. ‘And if so, why all of a sudden?’

Belle hesitated long enough for the other three to break into wide smiles at her.

‘Yeah, we know,’ said Molly, with a giggle.

‘I’m glad somebody does,’ said Belle, confused. ‘Would you mind telling me?’