Poppy loved them both equally and she knew that they loved her and the twins very much as well. But she was very worried that they didn’t love each other any more.
She hardly slept a wink that night thinking about her parents and was very pleased to see Honey at lunch the next day to talk over her problems with her best friend. Together they decided that they had to do something – but what?
Chapter Four
THE FIRST MONDAY of the school holidays began with the excitement of Sally and Sol’s wedding invitation arriving. This, coupled with Poppy’s chat with Honey the day before, had made her feel a lot happier. Plus she was trying to come up with a plan to make everything better between her mum and dad – and Sally’s special holiday craft classes were beginning that morning.
Poppy and her friends met for their class at the entrance to the Village Hall and were let in by Sally. They were all very excited: not only did they adore their craft sessions but they couldn’t wait to hear more about Sally’s wedding plans.
“Listen up, everyone,” said Sally as they settled down at their places to start knitting their multi-coloured pencil cases. “I’ve got something to tell you. Sol and I have been talking about the details of our wedding. He has chosen his best man – which made me realize that I’d better think about my flower girls. I wondered whether to have one or two, but the problem was I couldn’t decide which one or two I wanted to ask – and that’s because I want all of you to be my flower girls!”
“Yippee!” cried the girls in unison.
“Wow! Thank you! I’ve never been a flower girl before,” said Sweetpea.
“What will we wear?” asked Abi.
“Ah, I knew someone would ask that!” Sally smiled at them. “Well, each of you will have a dress specially made for you by Saffron. I’ve chosen a gorgeous fabric for the dresses – it’s printed with summer flowers. Lily Ann is going to help with your hair – though you can wear it in any style you like – and Holly Mallow is going to make charm bracelets for each of you.”
Poppy was absolutely thrilled by this exciting news. She hadn’t even dared to hope that she might be asked to be a flower girl. It would be so much fun to do it with all her friends from craft class too. She was very pleased indeed that she was going to be part of the main wedding party and get loads of attention. Poppy loved being at the centre of the action!
“Now, girls, calm down and let’s get down to work,” said Sally. “That’s why we’re here, after all. We will have to finish promptly today because I’m going on a date. Sol is taking me out for a yummy lunch in the City and then to the cinema.”
When Poppy got home she was dying to tell Mum all about being asked to be a flower girl.
“Hi, Mum! Where are you?” she called out.
“I’m in my studio. Can you come and try on a hat for me while I stitch some flowers onto it, darling?”
“Course I can,” said Poppy, who loved posing in front of Mum’s fancy mirror.
“Guess what,” she said to her mum as she stood modelling the hat. “I’m going to be a flower girl at the wedding!”
“Wow! That’s great news, sweetheart!” said Mum. “Has Sally told you what sort of dresses you’ll be wearing?”
“Well—” began Poppy excitedly, but she was interrupted by the crackle of the baby monitor: one of the twins was starting to cry.
“Back in a minute, darling!” said Mum.
But Poppy knew she wouldn’t be back. Angel and Archie were so demanding; they always made Mum forget what she had been doing before. Poppy took off the hat and placed it carefully on Mum’s workbench. Shortly after this, Dad returned from pricing a big gardening job, and before long he and Mum were discussing childcare arrangements, shopping lists and chores once again.
“Oh, I’m shattered,” said Dad as he sat down at the kitchen table. “Any chance of a cup of tea?”
“You’re shattered?” snapped Mum. “What about me?”
“I know, I know. It’s harder work in the house than it is out of it. But I could do with a break,” said Dad.
“Honestly, James. I can hardly keep my eyes open. I’ve got the kids, plus all these hats and—” Mum sounded as if she was at the end of her tether.
“I don’t know why you agreed to do so many hats. You’re always overworked and then you take it out on me,” complained Dad.
“I take it out on you,” Mum continued, “because I don’t think you do your fair share around here.”
Poppy hated it when Mum and Dad argued; it seemed to be happening way more often than it used to. She decided to go up to the attic. At least she wouldn’t be able to hear them from there. But their argument made her even more convinced that they didn’t love each other any more. And then it came to her . . . What Mum and Dad needed was to go on a date – just like Sally and Sol – and then maybe they would fall in love all over again and forget their troubles.
Chapter Five
POPPY PUT HER mind to organizing the date right away. She took out her notebook and wrote down a list of ideas.
When she looked at her list, she became more concerned than ever: it seemed as if Mum and Dad didn’t even like doing the same things! Organizing this date was going to be more difficult than Poppy had anticipated so she decided to go up to the Sewing Shop and ask Saffron for some advice.
When she got there, Poppy explained to Saffron that she was planning a surprise for Mum and Dad’s tenth wedding anniversary but that she was having trouble coming up with the perfect date.
“Oh, Poppy! You are a love, thinking about your mum and dad like that. What a good idea. I hope that when David and I have children they grow up to be as thoughtful as you are. Now, let me think . . . I reckon that if you’re an exhausted mum and have to make lots of meals every day, then the best treat is probably to be cooked a delicious meal – all nicely presented with candles, wine and music.”
“Good idea!” agreed Poppy. “Mum does get fed up with cooking all the time. She says she’s running an All Day Café in our kitchen. I’ll get to work on it now. Thanks, Saffron!”
Poppy returned home feeling much more positive than earlier and buzzing with ideas for the date. Now she just needed to sort out the details – and work out how to pay for it as she didn’t have a lot of money left in her piggy bank.
. . .
Family life at Honeysuckle Cottage continued to be very hard at times. Poppy did her best to help but it didn’t seem to do any good.
One morning she came into the kitchen to find Angel wearing the brand new silver sandals that she had saved up to buy from Saffron’s shop. Poppy had been planning to wear them to the wedding. And worse still, Angel had drawn on them with felt pens.
“Angel! How could you do this?” shouted Poppy. “You ruin all my stuff. It was better before you were born!”
Angel began to cry. “Solly, Pop,” she said over and over again. “Angel bad girl!”
“Poppy!” cried Mum. “Do you have to get so angry? Angel is only a baby.”
“Lavender, I can understand why Poppy’s upset – just look at those sandals,” said Dad, feeling sorry for his elder daughter. “She saved up for those, remember?”
“Are we going to deal with discipline as a team or not, James?” snapped Mum.
Poppy flushed. “I’m sorry, Mum,” she said. “I should never have lost my temper. I just loved those sandals.”
“I know, darling, and Angel has been very naughty. I’m sorry as well,” said Mum. “You have a lot to put up with, Poppy. It’s just, well, you know, she doesn’t mean to do these things – and maybe we can get the felt pen marks off them.”
Dad tutted. “Honestly, Lavender. You need to be firm and keep a proper eye on the twins.”
Mum exploded. “Why don’t you keep an eye on them?”
Oh no, thought Poppy. Now she’d caused another fight between Mum and Dad. It was so easy to set them off.
Poppy knew that she had to get Mum and Dad out on this date before it was too lat
e.
Chapter Six
THE NEXT DAY Poppy wandered over to the Lavender Valley Garden Centre, as she often did when she was at a loose end. Every time she’d been there lately, Sally was chatting to Sol about the wedding plans: it all sounded brilliant. Poppy had to admit that it was much more fun here than at her house.
“What do you think of this, Poppy?” Sally asked on one occasion. “Sol and I are going to Paris for our honeymoon!”
“That sounds amazing!” Poppy replied. She had heard that Paris was a very romantic city.
Sally and Sol were always laughing and having fun together, plus they were so nice to Poppy. They seemed to have all the time in the world to listen to her.
As Poppy walked home, her heart was very heavy. Why couldn’t Mum and Dad be more like Sally and Sol? Poppy was beginning to wish that they were her parents – they were so much more fun to be around and they never argued. She really hoped that the surprise she was planning for Mum and Dad would make them more like Sally and Sol.
Rather than go home right away, Poppy decided to visit Honey. She wanted to tell her about an idea she’d had to make her parents’ date even more special.
“Hi, Honey,” said Poppy. “Guess what? I’ve come up with another brilliant idea for Mum and Dad’s special evening. Do you want to hear what it is?”
“Yes please,” said Honey eagerly.
“As well as giving them a deeelicious meal under the oak tree in our garden, I’m going to make them a memory box to remind them how amazing their wedding day was and leave it under the tree for them to find.”
“Wow! That’s such a cool idea, Poppy.”
“Thanks! I found their wedding guest list in Mum’s wedding box in the attic so I’m going to write a letter to everyone to see whether they’ve got anything connected with the wedding day that I can put in the memory box.”
“But how will you get all the stuff without your parents seeing it?” asked Honey.
“Um, I hadn’t got that far,” confessed Poppy, suddenly feeling rather deflated.
“Maybe my granny will help,” suggested Honey. “She loves surprises – I bet she’s got some good stuff to put in the box too.”
“That’s a brilliant idea! Let’s go and ask her now!” replied Poppy.
The girls raced over to Bumble Bee’s Teashop and told Granny Bumble all about the plan.
“What a lovely idea. You are a thoughtful girl, Poppy. I’m sure I have a recipe for their wedding cake somewhere. We could put that in, couldn’t we? It was a special one as they didn’t want rich fruit or chocolate cake. They had rose-scented Victoria sponge cake with soft peppermint icing and butter-cream filling. Oh, it was absolutely scrummy even if I do say so myself. I’ll frame the recipe with a photo of the cake and give you that for your box, if you like.”
“Oh, thank you, that would be lovely,” Poppy said, delighted. “Actually, I wondered whether it would be OK if I ask everyone to leave the special box things here with you – that way Mum won’t find out what I’m planning.”
“No problem, love. Do you mind if I ask what is bringing all this on?” asked Granny Bumble. “Is it because of Sally’s wedding?”
“Sort of. You see, it’s nearly Mum and Dad’s tenth anniversary and they don’t act anything like Sally and Sol do, so I’m planning a surprise date for them,” explained Poppy, not quite revealing the whole truth.
Granny Bumble chuckled. “That sounds wonderful. And what does that entail?” she asked.
“Well, Saffron thought that a yummy meal with wine and music would be the best thing. I’m going to set it out at the bottom of our garden under the big oak tree. Me and Honey are going to decorate it like a fairyland so that it is really magical – just like their wedding day,” said Poppy proudly.
“It sounds like you’ve got it all worked out. Aren’t you girls clever?” said Granny Bumble. “But who’s going to look after the twins and who will do the cooking?”
“I’m going to ask Saffron to babysit – she loves taking care of Angel and Archie,” replied Poppy, “but I might need some help with the cooking . . .”
“I’ll help,” offered Granny Bumble immediately. “I’m all in favour of exhausted parents having a good meal in peace. And I think I know all their favourite things. I’ll make it so it’s very easy to serve. They don’t want us hovering around while they’re having their anniversary dinner, now do they?”
“I suppose not,” said Poppy, who had thought of spying from the tree house. However, she realized Granny Bumble was right. They needed complete privacy for their magical dinner date to work.
Chapter Seven
POPPY WENT HOME and wrote a letter to everyone on her parents’ wedding guest list. Some were from college, which was where Mum and Dad first met. Her dad had been studying landscape gardening, and her mum had been in the year below him, studying hat making. Poppy imagined they’d had great fun back in those days when they were both students living in the big market town of Merrivale Marsh, which was about thirty miles from Honeypot Hill.
When Poppy had finished writing all the letters, she had a sandwich for lunch, then went round to call on Honey again.
“Will you help me deliver these letters?” she asked.
“Yeah, definitely. I’ll just tell my granny,” replied Honey.
“Good luck, girls!” called Granny Bumble as the two friends walked down towards the river. After posting a letter through Aunt Marigold’s door they set off across the fields to deliver a letter to Saffron and another to Farmer and Mrs Meadowsweet. The next house on their list was the Turners’ pretty cottage, which was in the grounds of Cornsilk Castle; then they headed back through the fields and over the bridge to give a letter to the Woodchesters at the Hedgerows Hotel. The last deliveries were to other local friends who lived on the outskirts of the village. Then they went past the post office and posted the remaining letters to the people who lived a little further afield.
“I can’t wait to see what people bring to Bumble Bee’s Teashop!” exclaimed Poppy. “Now I need to make a really beautiful box to put all the stuff in. Will you help me?”
“I’d love to,” replied Honey. “Let’s go back to your house now.”
The girls found an old wooden box in the loft and covered it with silky wedding fabric from Mum’s remnant box. Then they decorated it with white ribbons, sequins and pearly beads.
“Let’s use this wrapping paper to line the inside,” suggested Poppy, who loved craft jobs like this.
“Good idea. It will look really pretty,” agreed Honey.
“And when this is finished,” announced Poppy, “we can get on with the rest of the plan – the best bit. We need to write the love letters. I can’t do it because Mum and Dad will recognize my writing, so you’ll have to.”
“Oh, Poppy, I can’t write love letters to your parents!” said Honey, who was really worried about getting caught.
“But, Honey, if you don’t then the plan won’t work and my mum and dad will carry on fighting all the time. Pleeease,” begged Poppy.
Honey didn’t want to let her best friend down but she was definitely not going to write love letters to Mr and Mrs Cotton. What if they found out? She’d be in such trouble with them and with Granny Bumble.
“I know,” she said suddenly. “We could use my new computer. If we type the letters they won’t ever be able to tell who wrote them!”
“That’s a brilliant idea, Honey!” said Poppy. “Let’s go and do it now.”
“Poppy, Honey,” called Mum, “what are you girls up to?”
“Nothing,” they replied in chorus.
“Well, you’d better both stop doing nothing. Poppy, it’s time for supper. Honey, I’m sure Granny Bumble will be wondering where you’ve got to. I’ll ring her and let her know you’re on your way home.”
Honey looked at Poppy. “Come round to my house tomorrow morning and we can do the letters then. My granny will be at the teashop so no one will know what we’re doi
ng,” she suggested conspiratorially.
“Cool – see you then,” replied Poppy. She couldn’t wait.
The next day the girls sat in Honey’s lovely yellow bedroom in front of her new computer and started to write the letters.
“A bit of mystery and romance is required here. It needs to be like Prince Charming writing to Cinderella,” explained Poppy.
“I’ve never seen a love letter,” confessed Honey. “I don’t know what people put in them. I bet they’re really yucky and lovey-dovey though. Did you read the love letters you found with your mum and dad’s wedding stuff?”
“Ew, no,” replied Poppy. “That would have been gross. I know what their pet names for each other were, though, so let’s start with that.”
Poppy dictated while Honey typed.
“There, that sounds good,” said Poppy as she read what they had written. “Let’s print them out!”
Poppy and Honey had it all organized. Tomorrow they were going to decorate the garden with fairy lights and set up a table with candles and flowers. Just before Mum and Dad were due to arrive Poppy planned to lay out the delicious feast that Granny Bumble was making for the occasion. The wedding box would be placed near the table for her parents to discover during dinner. Now all she had to do was make sure they both received the love letters . . .
Chapter Eight
WHEN POPPY GOT back, Mum was busy getting the twins ready to go to Grandpa’s for the afternoon. He’d promised to look after them to give Mum a break for a few hours. This was the perfect time to plant the letters!
Poppy decided to leave the letter for Mum on the desk in her studio. Dad never went in there so he definitely wouldn’t find it, and because Mum was working so hard at the moment she was in there all the time. The question of where to put the letter for Dad was more tricky. She thought about putting it in his golf bag, but then she remembered that he only played on Saturdays so he wouldn’t find it in time. His trouser pocket was a possibility – but what if he decided to wear a different pair? Eventually Poppy decided to leave the letter in the drawer of his bedside table. Dad definitely looked in that every night because he kept his reading glasses and ear plugs there.
Happy Ever After Page 2