When my time was up, I took the kids back to the refreshment stall, and Kathy took over. When she’d gone, Jack said, “Do you know anything about those charm bracelets?”
“I do, actually. Those charms were real elves. They’d been abducted from Candlefield, dipped in silver gunk and then shrunk.”
“That’s awful.”
“I know. Luckily, the scientists in Candlefield have found a way to reverse the effects. Daze’s people have been retrieving the charms from the human world, so they can rescue the elves. It’s a bit hard on poor old Lizzie and her friends, but it’s for the best.”
It was only a few minutes later when Kathy came back to join us.
“Hey, your time isn’t up yet.” I tapped my watch.
“They’re closing the carnival because of the high wind, so I bought the kids some candy floss to make up for it.”
“It’s yummy, Mummy.” Florence held it out to me. “Try some.”
Before I could decline, a gust of wind blew the stick of candyfloss out of her hand, and onto my face.
“Yuk!” Although I managed to pull the stick away, most of the candy floss was still stuck to my face and hair.
Jack, Kathy and Lizzie were in hysterics.
“It’s not funny!”
Florence clearly didn’t think so either because her bottom lip began to quiver. “I don’t have any candyfloss left.”
“It’s alright, pumpkin.” Jack put his arm around her. “We’ll go and get you some more before they close.”
“Yes, thanks, I’m fine,” I said while pulling candyfloss from my hair. “Thanks for asking.”
“Why don’t you shoot off home and wash your hair,” Jack said. “We won’t be long.”
“We should be making tracks, too.” Kathy took Lizzie’s hand.
“What happened to you?” Buddy began to roll around the floor, laughing. It was the first time I’d seen him crack a smile since he’d arrived.
Ignoring him, I made my way upstairs to the bathroom and decided it would be easier just to have a shower. It took ages to get all the candy floss out of my hair, but I eventually managed it. I was sitting on the bed, blow-drying my hair, when I heard Jack calling from downstairs.
“Jill, come down here. Quick.”
I hurried down to find him in the kitchen, staring out at the garden. “What’s wrong? Where’s Florence?”
“That’s what I’d like to know.” He pointed to the lawn, which was now over five feet tall. “She’s out there somewhere with Buddy.”
I stepped outside. “Florence, where are you?”
“Over here, Mummy.” Her voice came from the far side of the garden.
“What did you do?”
“I’ve been practising the ‘grow’ spell.”
“Stay where you are.”
I reversed the spell, and little by little, the grass returned to its normal height.
“Sorry, Mummy. I think I did it for too long.”
Chapter 26
It was Monday morning. I’d just kissed Florence goodbye, and I was on my way out of the door when Jack called me back.
“Jill, you haven’t forgotten that it’s the open day at the hotel this afternoon, have you?”
“I had, actually. We’re not going, are we? It’ll most probably be rubbish.”
“We have to. I’ve already told Florence and she’s looking forward to going.”
“Okay. What time is it?”
“It starts at midday, but I thought we could go about four, after I’ve picked her up from school. Can you make it back home by then?”
“Yeah, I’ll be here.”
“Okay. See you this afternoon.”
***
Mrs V had a plaster on her forehead and another one on the top of her ear.
“Oh dear. Are you okay, Mrs V?”
“No, I’m not. Those squirrels are getting more and more belligerent. I was sitting under the parasol, but they still managed to hit me with their acorns. Armi is furious about it. He’s talking about getting a catapult.”
“There’s really no need for him to resort to that.”
“That’s easy for you to say, Jill. You’re not the one under attack in your own back garden.”
“That’s true, but I happen to know quite a lot about squirrels.”
“Do you?”
“Yes. Haven’t I ever mentioned that I did a special project on them at school?”
“I don’t think so.”
“It was part of the biology curriculum back then. It’s a little-known fact that squirrels’ moods are affected by the moon’s cycle.”
“They are?”
“Absolutely. I’m confident you’ll notice a marked improvement in their behaviour over the next few days as the moon phase changes.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Positive.”
“I hope you’re right.” She clearly wasn’t convinced. “Because if this continues, it will be the catapult for them.”
“If you ask me,” Winky said, “those acorns are affecting the old bag lady’s brain. She’s even nuttier than she used to be.”
“As far as I recall, I didn’t ask you. Anyway, how’s the life coaching coming along?”
“Brilliantly. I should have got one years ago.”
“What sort of things do you do?”
“Learn to set attainable goals, create action plans, find the right work-life balance, to name just a few.”
“And you really think it’s helped you?”
“I’m a different cat since I started doing it. You should give it a try.”
“Me? Do you really think so?”
“Definitely. Let’s be honest, your life’s a mess.”
“That’s not true.”
“Of course it is. You stumble from one disaster to another.”
Harsh, but quite possibly true.
“I’ll think about it.”
“While you’re doing that, how about some salmon?”
“You’re on a ban, remember?”
“Not anymore.” He waved a sheet of paper in front of me.
“What’s that?”
“This is the name and address of the person who’s been hacking the old bag lady’s account.”
“Already?”
“Nobby doesn’t
