As soon as Poppy wandered into her bedroom at seven the following morning, Carrie told her that her dad would be coming to see her in a couple of hours. She was done covering for him. She didn’t want Poppy to be hurt, but she couldn’t protect her from everything and part of her felt that the little girl might need a little time to prepare before seeing him.
“Cool,” Poppy said. “Did he say where we’re going?”
“No, he hasn’t told me,” said Carrie. “But I bet he’s thought of something awesome.”
“And you’re definitely not coming?” asked Poppy.
“Not this time. I’m going to get on with some boring stuff here while you and your daddy have a lovely time together.”
Carrie took a deep breath. “Poppy, how would you feel about going back to the bookshop?”
“When?” asked Poppy excitedly, her face lighting up.
“When you come back from seeing Daddy,” said Carrie. “It’s really important that you get to spend time with your daddy, but I think we both really liked living in Castle Cove.”
“I did. I love the beach and the shop and Monty and Tabitha and the kittens and Michael and Layla and Auntie Mary,” said Poppy.
“I know you do. And Granny would like to move near Auntie Mary as well.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Auntie Mary has actually offered me a proper job in the bookshop and says we can stay living in the flat above it. She also says there’s space for you at the school, which is supposed to be really good. I know it’s a long way away from Daddy, but we can travel to see him regularly. What do you think?” Carrie asked, nervously.
It turned out that Poppy didn’t need any time at all to consider the idea.
“I think it’s a great idea,” she said. “I want to be there. Daddy can come to visit and when I’m bigger, I can take the train to see Daddy.”
“That’s very true,” said Carrie, feeling like she was going to cry. “And you’re absolutely sure?”
“Definitely. And Granny’s even going to be near us!” Poppy’s smile couldn’t have become any wider. “Oh, and guess what?”
“What?”
“This means that my birthday wish has come true!”
“Oh my goodness. In that case, I’ll get us all packed and we’ll head back to the bookshop after you’ve seen Daddy. How does that sound?”
“We’ll be back at the bookshop tonight?” asked Poppy excitedly.
“We will. Hopefully early enough to go to Layla’s party.”
At this news, Poppy began dancing around the bedroom.
“And I’ll be able to see the kittens,” she sang. “I wonder how much bigger they’ve got?”
“It’s only been a couple of days,” laughed Carrie, pulling her daughter in for a hug. “But they’re going to be very happy to see you.”
“And Seren said she was going to show me how to pack up books to post to people all over the world, but we didn’t have time. Now we will.”
If Carrie had needed any confirmation that she was making the right decision, Poppy’s reaction was it.
“Can we get McDonald’s on the drive, please, Mummy?”
“We can definitely manage that,” Carrie said. “Are you going to have a Happy Meal?”
“Definitely,” said Poppy with a nod. “I’ve got to get all my toys ready to go!”
Poppy hopped off the bed and raced back into her room to start preparing to return to what it was apparent she now considered, home.
