“Okay, but don’t spend too much.”
On our way into Washbridge, Florence and Wendy were chatting nonstop in the backseat of the car, clearly excited about their little adventure. By the time we’d parked in the city centre, it was almost lunchtime, and Jack and I were starving.
“What does everybody fancy for lunch?” Jack said.
“Chicken nuggets!” Florence shouted.
“What about you, Wendy?”
“I’d like chicken nuggets too, please.”
Jack went to the counter while I waited at the table with the two girls. I couldn’t believe the size of the bucket he came back with.
“How many have you got there?”
“It’s a family size bucket. It has twenty in it.”
“We’ll never eat all those.”
Wendy and Florence didn’t need any encouragement to dive in, and they were soon munching on the nuggets. I managed a couple, but I wasn’t impressed with them. There was one unexpected highlight when Wendy inadvertently put her elbow on the ketchup and squirted Jack all over his shirt. I really shouldn’t have laughed, but it was so funny. And, it made a refreshing change for it to happen to someone other than me.
“It’s not funny, Jill.”
“I’m not laughing,” I said while wiping tears from my eyes.
“Can we go and get my bead kit now, Mummy?” Florence had almost as much ketchup on her face as Jack had on his shirt.
“Yes, darling. Wendy’s Mummy told me that she bought hers from Toy Arcade, so we might as well start there. Wendy, you can look for something, too.”
“Thank you, Mrs Maxwell.”
Even now, all these years later, I still got the heebie jeebies whenever I walked into a toy shop. It took me back to the time I’d had to try and track down a TDO for Lizzie for Christmas. TDO, short for Total Dream Office, had been that year’s must-have present. I’d promised Kathy I would get one for Lizzie, but like an idiot, I’d left it too late. In the end, it had been Winky who’d come to my rescue. That cat did have his uses sometimes.
Fortunately, there was no such problem today because the shops had a shelf full of the bead kits. Wendy chose a kit for making sparkly pictures with glitter. I ignored Jack’s concerns that her mother might not be too thrilled at having pots of glitter in the house.
On our way back to the car, I spotted the Elf-Charming shop across the road. Daze and I had arranged to discuss the issue of the missing elves again on Monday, but it seemed silly to be so close and not at least take a look at their operation.
“Why don’t we go and have a look in there?” I pointed across the road.
“Don’t tell me you want one of those charm bracelets?” Jack shot me a puzzled look.
“Why not?”
“After all the things you’ve said about them?”
“I might let you buy me one for my birthday.”
“Lizzie has one of those, doesn’t she, Mummy?” Florence said.
“Yes, darling, she does.”
“Can I have one?”
“You’ve already had a toy today, haven’t you?”
“Can I have one for Christmas?”
“We’ll see.”
No expense had been spared on either the exterior or interior of the shop. Inside, everything was white, chrome or glass. Behind the counter, a young woman, wearing a grey suit, greeted me with a smile that looked like it had been painted on.
“Good morning, madam. Do you already have an Elf-Charm bracelet?”
“No, I don’t.”
“You’ll find they’re very reasonably priced.” She pointed to the display cabinet in front of her.
“So I see.” I glanced at the charms. “Those look rather expensive, though.”
“Not when you consider that each one is unique.”
Over by the other cabinets, Florence had opened her bead kit, and the two girls were studying the contents.
As I walked past Jack, I said in a hushed voice, “Get ready.”
Before he had the chance to ask what I meant, I gave Florence’s arm a gentle nudge, causing her to drop the box onto the floor. The beads scattered everywhere.
“Mummy!” she yelled at me. “Look what you’ve done!”
“Sorry, darling. It was an accident. Daddy will help you pick them up.”
Jack joined the girls on their hands and knees, and even the assistant, who’d witnessed the incident, came out from behind the counter to help. That gave me the opportunity I’d been hoping for, so I sneaked through the door at the back of the shop. The contrast there couldn’t have been more pronounced: it was dark, dirty and most unwelcoming. I walked down a grimy corridor and came to a large room, which was empty except for several piles of boxes in the far corner.
I was about to turn around and check the opposite end of the corridor when I heard a tiny voice.
“Hello!”
Then another voice. “Please help us.”
“Get us out of here!”
Soon, there was a chorus of the tiny voices, which all seemed to be coming from behind the piles of boxes. I hurried over there and found the entrance to another passageway. Next to it, was a metal door behind which were dozens of elves all squeezed into a tiny room.
“You have to get us out of here. They’re going to shrink us. They’ve already done it to lots of our friends.”
“Who are they?”
“Two wizards. They’re horrible men. They’ve gone out to get something to eat, but they’ll be back any minute.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll get you out. Stand back from the door.”
I cast the ‘power’ spell and pushed the metal door. As soon as it sprang open, the elves piled out.
“Thank you so much, but we need to get to Candlefield before those wizards come back.”
“I’ll take you there, but
