“Like what?”
“Likefart powerthat makes you fly,” she shouted, giggling, just as they reached Daisy, who was dressed in a long beige coat that Tom wasn’t sure he’d ever seen before, her hair tied back in a ponytail revealing her sharp cheekbones.
“Daisy, Martha. Martha, Daisy,” Tom said. “I apologize in advance for any—”
“What about burps that are also fire balls?” Daisy said, crouching down. “Hi, Martha. I overheard from here,” she explained. “Just flyingisvery boring, Tom.”
Martha’s eyes widened as she leaned back. “Or burps thatkillpeople because they’re sostinky.”
“What about bouncy feet that go so high you land inspace,” Daisy said, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. “You could be called Bunny Hop?”
“Like Scorbunny.” Martha did an involuntary leap into the air, she was so excited.
“Exactly. Although we all know Jigglypuff is the best.”
“She’s my favorite!” Martha shouted as Tom looked down at her, shaking his head. It was the opposite of what she’d told him the other day.
Daisy reached into her bag and moved a hand behind her back. “Now I heard we’re going for ice cream which means you’re probably not also allowedthis.” She put her hand up behind Martha’s ear and pulled out a Curly Wurly, as Martha turned to Tom with her mouth wide open. “I won’t tell him ifyou don’t,” she whispered, despite it being very obvious that he could see the whole exchange.
Tom pretended to look the other way as Daisy took off the wrapper and held a hand out to Martha, who immediately took it and hopped excitedly along beside her.
Ten painful minutes later and Tom had a handful of clothes on his arm carefully selected by himself, Daisy and Martha as they waited to go into a changing room. Some he’d wear, like the dark navy Levi’s, but some were probably much more suited to someone born at least ten years after him.
“I got magic powers,” Martha blurted out, as she leaped from one chair of the changing rooms to another.
“You do have superpowers,” Daisy replied kindly. “You are superfast. And superstrong.”
“I am,” Martha said. “But that’s just me. My secret power isthis!” she shouted, jumping off the chair into the air and then landing in a heap on the floor beside Daisy’s feet.
A dressing room opened up and Tom approached it, feeling self-conscious.
“Are you two going to be okay?” he asked once he’d hung the clothes up, poking his head back out of the curtain to see Martha hanging from one of Daisy’s arms.
“We’re going to be great. Shopping is most definitely more fun with a pet monkey,” she said, tickling Martha under an armpit so she giggled and let go, hanging from just the one arm and then, once again, dropping to the floor.
Tom listened to the chatter outside as he pulled on outfit number one.
“Miss Knight choked on a crisp today. It sprayed everywhere.”
“Is Miss Knight your teacher?”
Tom did up the navy-blue jeans and pulled off his graysweatshirt, changing into the—actually quite tight once buttoned—navy shirt and adding the smart jacket Daisy had chosen. He stood staring at himself for a long time, unable to recognize the man that stared back. He hadn’t worn an outfit like this, even for a wedding. He’d always reverted back to his black-suit-and-white-shirt look. This was different. It was smart but also... classy? Was that good? Did he want to be classy?
“Show us, show us, show us,” came the clapping chant from Daisy and Martha before Martha started cackling. If Laura thought she wouldn’t enjoy herself, she couldn’t have been more wrong. Tom had rarely heard Martha having more fun, though that was partly to do with Daisy.
Tom came out of the dressing room and both Daisy and Martha looked up, very different expressions passing across each of their faces.
“Yes!” Daisy shouted, clapping her hands together as Martha scrunched up all her features and shouted, “Yuck!”
“Hang on,” Daisy said, standing up and walking toward Tom. She was wearing the same floral perfume she wore on the bus, which made sense. It was just, sometimes those 4:00 a.m. moments between them didn’t seem quite real. Seemed almost dreamlike. As though there could be a completely different version of Daisy who walked around in daylight hours, that Tom would never meet. One who walked and talked differently and wore a different scent. Who belonged to a different world to the one Tom got to see.
She lifted her hands to his neck, undoing the top button and the one beneath as Tom held himself as still as possible, keeping his breath steady. They’d touched a few times now and each of those had felt natural in a way he hadn’t expected. Holding hands as they ran away from the bus stop. Dancing at the ceilidh. Sitting side by side on the N73. This time, as Daisy reached for his second button, her index finger brushed against Tom’s chestand his pulse jumped at the unexpectedness of it, an electric jolt flying through him as he felt the softness of her skin against his bare flesh. His throat dry, he tried to discreetly swallow as Daisy whipped her hand away and stood back, surveying him again.
“Much better.”
Tom nodded, licking his lips, before walking back into the dressing room, allowing a second for his pulse to slow before he took another look at his reflection. She was right. This did look much better. Much more casual. It would, in fact, be a great outfit for the opening night and private viewing of his exhibition.
“I actually love it,” Tom said.
