“Well, whatever, we’re still raising a good amount.”Annabel pouts, smacking away the love hearts thrust in her face by another passing Cupid.
It’s not just Cupid.
I see someone dressed as an ancient love scholar, on one knee, proposing to a very embarrassed lady. Her boyfriend doesn’t look too happy either. There are giant fluffy hearts pushing their way through the crowd too.
“Story. Stor . . . Wait up.”
It feels like everything happens in slow motion as I whirl around at the sound of my name.
There he is. It’s been six weeks since I last saw Hendricks, and his hair has grown so much. Curls flop over his forehead, and he’stall. Way taller than he was at Christmas. His legs are so long, and he must be a whole head bigger than me now. He could probably rest his head on mine when he hugs me, but I’m not hugging Hendricks while people are around.
He’s wearing that goofy smile he does sometimes, the one I always tease him about because it’s so lopsided. I can feel mine stretching so wide that my cheeks hurt, and my chest flutters as my heart pounds harder. That is, until I realize Annabel and Mary are watching me, so I pull it back, and my cheeks turn red instead.
“Hey.”
He stops right in front of me. “Hey, hey, guys.”
Annabel points at him. “Hendricks twin, right?” Like she could tell the difference if he hadn’t made it obvious he wasn’t Miles.
“Yup.” He nods, but he’s looking straight at me. “What are you up to?”
I don’t know why I’m so shy around Hendricks all of a sudden, because he literally knows more about methan any other person. I talk to him as much as I talk to Annabel and Mary, more probably, and it would be weird if I weren’t happy to see him. But not spending so much time together makes it more obvious how different he is right now. The same, but different. Whereas I don’t think I’ve changed at all. I’m definitely the same height, for one.
“Not much.”
“Just wanted to find out what time your dog thing is.”
“Are you coming?” Annabel interrupts before I get the chance to reply.
“Think so. I want to come and see the dogs.”
“Cool. Make sure you bring Miles.”
“I’m at eleven,” I tell him, ignoring Annabel.
He thumbs behind him, narrowly missing a Cupid. “I’ll find my brother and the boys. We’ll try to make it.”
I want to ask him if he wants me to reserve a space, so he can come up to the counter, but instead, I say, “See you later.”
He jogs off through the crowds, and as he disappears, a smile reappears on my face. I feel ridiculously happy. Pushing my arms through Annabel’s and Mary’s, I link us together. “C’mon, let’s go see the booth.”
Like everything else in the village today, the booth is covered in big red hearts. It’s set halfway down the high street, outside The Beanery, from where the smell of sugar is floating into the air.
There’s a long queue of people, some of whom I know from school, some I’ve never seen before. A couple of much younger boys hold their mum’s hands, and, from the sounds of it, the girl standing behind thepink-and-red-striped counter, holding a wire-haired terrier, is their sister.
“This is so cute. Do you think any have been adopted yet?”
“I hope so,” Mary replies. “I wish my mum would let me get a dog.”
“Is that Sam Pelling?” Annabel asks, pointing at the front of the queue. “Yeah, it is. Sam! Sam!”
He turns around and waves.
Sam is the last person in the queue before I take my spot at the counter. I get to hold a little pitbull / Labrador mix puppy whose tail is so waggy that his whole body vibrates. He’s got one white patch over his eye, and the rest of him is dark gray. I decide to name him Patch even though his name tag says William.
He’s adorable, and the first person to come up to the counter is a lady a bit younger than my mum. She takes one look at him and decides to adopt him on the spot. She doesn’t even want a picture with him. So I introduce her to the adoption staff at the shelter, and they take her to sign papers.
When I get back to Annabel and Mary after my turn is over, Hendricks is there too.
