She felt a wave of anger at the fact that Tony not only failed to provide for his daughter but was also quite happy to take money from her.
“No, I can’t.” She sighed. “I can’t believe you are even asking this after just letting Poppy down.”
“Don’t be like that, Carrie,” Tony whined.
And in that moment, Carrie made up her mind. “I’m not being like anything. Poppy and I are going to Cornwall. I need every penny for that.” There was nothing stopping them she realised, and now Poppy’s dad wasn’t even going to be in the same country over the summer, so she needn’t feel guilty on that count.
She went to remind Tony that Poppy’s birthday would be while he was away, but he’d ended the call.
“Who were you talking to, Mummy?” asked Poppy, running over with a huge grin.
“I called Daddy,” Carrie said. “He’s sorry, but he’s got a really cool new job and is having to go away for the summer. He’s not going to be able to take you to the zoo on Sunday — but he will as soon as he gets back. He’s going to Germany.”
Carrie’s heart broke as she watched her daughter’s face fall. “I bet he sends you a postcard,” Carrie said, as brightly as she could manage. She stood up and gave her daughter a hug, making a mental note to ask Tony to send Poppy a postcard.
“What about my birthday?” Poppy asked quietly. She looked down at her shoes.
“I don’t know,” Carrie said. “Maybe he’ll be able to travel back for it.”
Carrie stroked her daughter’s hair. “We’ll just have to think of lots of fun things to do together until Daddy comes back,” she said.
“Like what?” asked Poppy. She looked as if she was going to cry.
“Like going to stay at the seaside in Cornwall,” Carrie found herself saying. Her aunt’s offer really was the perfect solution. She’d be able to earn some extra money, trusting that Aunt Mary wouldn’t make herself bankrupt paying her. And being somewhere different would be exciting for Poppy and would keep her mind off the fact that her father had let her down once again.
“Cornwall?” Poppy said.
“Yep. Do you remember that my Aunt Mary, Granny’s sister, has a bookshop at the seaside? She’s asked us to go and take care of it for her while she goes on holiday.”
Poppy’s face brightened and she stepped back to see her mum’s face. “I love bookshops.”
“I know you do. And this one is really cool. I used to visit there when I was little. And there’s a flat upstairs we can stay in where my Auntie Mary used to live before she moved. It’s only a few minutes’ walk to the beach.”
“Is it a sandy beach?”
“It is. The main beach can get a little busy but I’m an expert in all the secret coves the tourists don’t know about. Some of them have little caves to explore, and rock pools where you can find tiny crabs...”
“And we’re going to go there?” asked Poppy.
“If you’d like to,” Carrie said, with a smile.
“I definitely would,” said Poppy, solemnly. “When can we go?”
“I think my Auntie Mary needs us there as soon as possible. How about we spend tomorrow packing and getting ready and then drive to Cornwall on Sunday?”
“Will we be there for my birthday?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe? Would that be OK?”
“Yes, but we’ll make sure Daddy and Granny know?”
“Of course.”
“Can I go and tell Charlie? He’s still in the playground,” Poppy said, pointing to her friend.
“Sure. After that we’d better get home. I’ll call Auntie Mary and tell her we’ll be coming. Then we can start getting ready for our adventure. She’s going to be so pleased that she can go on her holiday.”
Carrie watched her daughter running excitedly to her friend. It seemed she’d made the right choice in agreeing to help her aunt.
