‘It’s in bits.’ Alice removes a piece of the balloon. ‘I think there must have been a photo on the front.’
I remember Amber telling me it had a photo of Kate’s face on it. ‘Yes, it had a photo of a local woman, Kate, who sadly passed away. Her family commemorate her every year with a special balloon.’
Alice touches a piece that looks like the photo’s corner. ‘That’s nice.’ She puts the piece back in the bag. ‘Kate’s balloon was stuck on a branch. I tried to free it, but it burst. It was then that I noticed a curled-up piece of paper, which must have been inside.’
She passes me a slip of pink paper.
To whoever finds my mum’s balloon, her name is Kate. She passed away eighteen months ago, and my dad, Ben, needs a girlfriend. He’s been miserable ever since Mum died, and as I am an adult (15 years old), plus the oldest daughter, I have decided to take control of this situation. Dad is 39, kind, funny, always wins at Monopoly, likes books, and he’s grumpy in the mornings before coffee. If you want to apply to be his girlfriend, please email me – [email protected]. You do need to like kids – he has three! Amber x
‘Do you know Amber?’
I nod. ‘Yes, I do, and I’m relieved you found this, as Amber confessed to putting this message into her mother’s birthday balloon the other day.’
‘Do you think I should give it back to her? It doesn’t feel right to put the balloon pieces in the bin.’
‘Amber comes in here a lot. I can keep it behind the till. Do you want me to watch out for her?’
Alice’s face lights up. ‘That would be great.’ She gestures to the message. ‘I love Monopoly, books, and I am grumpy in the mornings too. If only I were dating again…’
I find myself imagining what it would be like to play Monopoly with Oliver. Those dark eyes and that dangerous smile of his would distract me from hoarding those little houses and hotels. I glance over at him and see that he’s looking at me too. He holds my gaze as Alice says, ‘I’ve had my heart broken too many times. I’ve vowed to remain single.’
Her words pull me out of my trance. I tear my eyes away from him. What am I doing? Hasn’t my curse taught me that love is something that should be avoided at all costs? I have also had my heart broken, and I am still glueing mine back together. Sam’s face flashes in front of my eyes. I also still haven’t seen anything when I touch Oliver. The light in Alice’s face has dimmed and she’s rubbing her chest. I give her a knowing nod. ‘Love never ends well.’
‘100 per cent agree,’ she says. ‘It’s not worth it.’
She’s staring at Amber’s message. I wait for her to speak again.
‘Do you know the family well?’ she eventually asks.
She might be wavering. I need to help her stay firm. Love only leads to heartbreak. ‘Yes, I do, and I knew Kate well. The kids are a handful, and he’s?—’
She stops me. ‘I have heard enough. I’m going to stay single.’
Alice says goodbye after handing me the plastic bag. I watch her walk away and I tell myself that making sure she didn’t waver was the right thing to do.
‘Excuse me,’ says a female voice. The voice belongs to an older woman with wavy brown hair. Behind her are her three teenage children, all busy on their phones.
‘Do you have any books by the Spanish author, Miguel Diaz?’
‘I can have a look.’
The woman smiles. ‘I’m looking for a romance book he’s written where the Spanish male character tracks down his British female pen pal from when they were kids, and when they meet up, he realises she’s the love of his life.’
‘Oh, I see.’ I type his name into the laptop to see whether his books are in stock.
‘I can’t find his name on our database.’
Her face falls. ‘That’s a shame. Could you order one?’
I can see the book is on one of our distributor sites. ‘Yes, I could do that.’
She smiles, and I notice her cheeks are reddening. ‘Miguel and I used to be pen pals when we were younger. We were more than pen pals at one point.’
‘Mum,’ exclaims one of the teenage boys, ‘You promised us you wouldn’t be cringe.’
She turns to her son. ‘I am not being cringe.’ All three children look up from their screens and raise their eyebrows at her.
‘What’s all this talk about being cringe?’ jokes Oliver, coming to stand near the counter.
