Chapter 44

Poppy, Belle and Katie were doing their homework at the table half an hour later as I carried the breakfast tray into the kitchen.

“Some men just took away the fence and delivered some big sacks of stuff,” Belle told me as I loaded the plates and mugs into the dishwasher.

“Ahh, I meant to take the fence down before they arrived, that’s all the stuff to make the base for Lia’s office.”

“So we’re really having a building at the end of the garden?”

“Yep, it’s big enough for you all to work in there if you want.”

“They’re putting speakers in there,” Lia said as she sat next to Katie at the table, “so we can have music while we work.”

Katie put an arm around Lia, “are you OK?”

“A bit achy, but I’m fine.”

“I’m OK with you sleeping with dad, you know, it wasn’t for me, I’m strictly a girl girl, but if you like it, I’m happy for you to be with mum and dad.”

“I really enjoyed it, maybe not the biting thing, that was just something I needed to exorcise some demons, same with the whipping, and maybe the whole anal thing was a bit much.”

“The normal sex bit though, that was nice?”

“It really was, and sleeping with Jenny, that was awesome, and Belle, oh my god, Poppy, you’re so lucky having Belle in your bed every night.”

“I really am,” Poppy agreed, “I’m the luckiest girl around, for so many reasons.”

Belle sat back at the table, she picked up Poppy’s mug and took a drink of her coffee, “I think we’re all lucky, especially me, because I managed to have sex with the three most beautiful girls in the last few hours.”

Poppy laughed as she hugged Belle, “you always have your priorities right.”

“I made him cum four times,” Lia whispered.

“Four!” Belle cried, “how is that even possible?”

“I did him once by mouth last night...”

“Did you swallow it?” Katie asked.

“Not that time, and it’s a good job I didn’t try, I nearly drowned,” she laughed, “oh gosh, I forgot to bring your shirt down, he made me squirt and I think I’ve ruined his nice shirt and suit.”

Lia quickly ran upstairs and returned with my shirt and suit, she held them up and her sisters checked them, “mmm, the suit can be dry cleaned, it’s not visibly stained,” Belle told her, “the shirt might need some stain remover in the wash, come with me and I’ll show you what to do.”

A minute or two later Lia sat back at the table whilst Belle made more coffee, Katie held Lia’s hand, “so, number two?”

“Oh, that was in my pussy, but we had a little drama. I really should have told you all this. You know those pills I take?”

“Yes, the little red ones?” Katie replied.

“Those ones, yes, well they’re hormones, I have to take them because my ovaries don’t work anymore, Jayden broke them.”

“How the fuck did that happen?” Poppy asked, shocked.

“Kicking me around like a rag doll. It was only years later, after Jeremy took me to a clinic when I was feeling poorly that they found out. I’ve had to take those tablets ever since.”

“Oh fuck,” Belle sympathised as she hugged Lia on her way back to the table, “that’s the worst thing I’ve ever heard.”

“Definitely worse than anything that ever happened to me...” Poppy replied quietly.

“Do your bits still work, Poppy, you know, after everything that happened?” Belle asked her.

“My monthly period suggests they’re working fine,” Poppy replied, kissing Belle on the forehead as she returned to her side.

“What if you want babies some day?” Katie asked.

“I guess that’s your job now,” Lia smiled.

“But I’m the only one who isn’t having sex?”

Belle put her hand up, “excuse, Poppy hasn’t had sex for weeks, at least not the kind of sex that makes babies.”

Both Katie and Poppy were quiet for a moment, then Poppy smiled, “you’re right, I haven’t. And you know what, I’ve not missed it at all. You really do fill my heart to bursting Belle.”

“Anyway, who says any of us want babies.” Lia said, “If we ever feel maternal, I’m sure there’s plenty around that people don’t want.”

“Exactly,” Poppy replied, “but for now our hands are full raising Belle.”

“Oi! I’m properly house trained, I can work the washing machine and do joined-up writing.”

“I know baby, I was only teasing you.”

Belle leaned her head against Poppy’s chest, “you do make a great mum though.”

Poppy had a look of pure love in her eyes as she ran her fingers through Belle’s hair, “and you’re a good daughter.”

“So, where was I?” Lia asked, “oh yeah, so dad had just slipped inside me and he has a panic because he doesn’t know, and he’s like I need a condom, and I’m like, it’s OK, there’s no need, and well, slight breakdown and mood ruined, so we go to sleep.

“Then I wake in the middle of the night all horny, and dad’s all hard, so we do it.”

“With mum asleep?” Belle asks, scandalised.

“Oh no, she was awake and playing with herself, it’s probably her noises that woke us both. So we’re having sex, at last, and it was just as amazing as you all told me. I’ve never felt an orgasm like those, with him filling every inch of me, it was awesome.”

“So that’s number two,” Katie said, “what was number three.”

“Ahh, well, we were a bit messy, so we went for a shower,” she looked over to me smiling, “he tried to carry me, but it didn’t quite work. We had a shower, and I was still feeling sexy, so I gave him another blowjob...”

“In the shower?” Belle asked, “was it fun?”

“It really was, and I swallowed this time, then we had a kiss...”

“Did you give him some of his cum back,” Poppy asked, grinning.

“No, I’m not that mean.”

“Then we all saw number four,” Belle said, “and you beat my record. Although I’m still claiming a moral victory as I did three in under an hour, you took ages for your four.”

“And that’s a well-deserved record you can keep,” Lia told Belle with a smile.

“Yes, it is,” I added, “because I doubt I could ever do that again.”

“So, what are we doing today?” Belle asked as she filled the dishwasher.

“Me and Katie are going shopping with mum, she wants some new bras so I thought we’d go to that shop you showed me Poppy.”

“Oh yes, they’ll have some really nice ones in mum’s size.” Poppy replied.

“What size is she?” Lia asked, “her boobs are amazing, I was in heaven last night. I was playing with her tits when Alex made me squirt.”

“She’s like a 34G I think...” Poppy told her.

“Yep, she is,” Belle confirmed, “I checked her bras, because I was curious. I also wore one as a hat for a bit, but it covered my whole head.”

We all just looked at Belle.

“What!” she cried indignantly, “I had her bra in my hand, why wouldn’t I put it on my head to see if it fit. It means I’m the only one here who knows for definite that each one of mum’s tits is bigger than my head.”

Poppy nodded sagely, “I have to admit, she’s got a point, none of us know whether mum’s boobs are bigger that our head.”

“Should I go and get one so you can all check?”

“Ahh no, I’m sure we can live without knowing that.”

“It’s your loss, if we ever get into a discussion at school over who’s mum has the biggest boobs, I’ll be the only one who can show people just how big hers are.”

“And Helen’s,” she added after a moment’s thought, “I checked and hers are bigger than my head as well.”

“So, if we can drag our thoughts away from mum’s boobs...”

“ ... and Helen’s,” Belle added.

“Yes, and Helen’s, me and you have got to entertain dad today. What should we do?”

“Zoo!” Belle cried, “can we go to the zoo?”

Poppy looked at me, “that’s actually a really good idea, can we go to the zoo dad?”

“Absolutely, I haven’t been to the zoo in Regent’s Park in years.”

“I’m going to take the camera I bought to practice,” Belle said brightly.

“That’s a good plan,” Poppy replied, “shall we make a picnic?”

Lia looked at Katie, “I fancy a trip to the zoo as well, shall we phone mum and see if she wants to go shopping tomorrow?”

“Yeah, maybe she can meet us there.” Katie replied.

Belle clapped her hands, “amazing, a family trip! Let’s get to work on a picnic while dad phones mum to explain why the shopping trip is postponed.”

I stepped out of the way as the girls gathered around the worktop. Belle dug through the fridge, tossing ingredients to her sisters and issuing instructions.

I left them to it and moved to the lounge to phone Jenny with revised plans for the day. She’d never been to the zoo at all, so was excited about the visit.

“I’ll take Lia and Katie shopping tomorrow, and you can have a fun Sunday with Poppy and Belle, I’m sure they’ll be happy to keep you entertained while I’m shopping for something to make you smile.”

“That sounds like a plan.”

“Great, I’ll be finished here soon, so I’ll meet you at the station in half an hour, or are the girls not dressed yet?”

“They’re all up, dressed and making a picnic.”

“Did you have a good time after I left for work? Who joined you?”

“Guess?”

“Why am I even asking, Belle...”

“Got it in one, but the other two arrived just in time for the main event, they helped Lia out.”

“And did you...”

“Yes, we did, and it was amazing.”

“They’re all so giving. I look back at myself at their age and I think how selfish I was, and how jealous I was of my friends and their boyfriends. Our girls are just not like that at all. All four of them just want the best for their friends.”

“I was thinking much the same earlier.”

“Before, during or after you sowed your oats?’ Jenny laughed.

“In between...”

“Ahh, the super is on the way, got to go.”

“I love you Jenny.”

“I love you too Alex.”

Back in the kitchen Katie was helping Lia load up a backpack, “hey dad, is mum ok with us coming with you to the zoo?” she asked.

“She’s more than ok, she’s excited about joining us, she said you can go shopping tomorrow.”

“Yayyy, our first full family outing!” Belle cried, “I want to see monkeys, do they have monkeys?”

“They have monkeys,” I laughed as Belle jumped into my arms.

“And penguins, I have to see penguins, and lemurs, and meerkats, and tigers, I need to see a real tiger.”

“They have all those, and more.”

“Amazing,” Belle replied before pecking me on the cheek and jumping down, “we’re all ready to go, we have food, we have cartons of juice, I have a camera, and I have my Doc Martens.”

“Jenny says she’ll meet us at the tube in half an hour.”

Belle thought for a moment, “mmm, that gives me time to get changed into something more zoo appropriate,” she mumbled as she ran for the stairs.

“Oh shit,” Poppy cried, “this can only mean one thing, the panda hoody she found in the charity shop yesterday.”

“What’s wrong with it?”

“It’s almost fluorescent pink with a silver panda.”

“Well, we won’t lose her,” I replied.

“But we might want to,” Katie said.

“Leave her alone, she loves pink,” Lia said, “oh fuck, I take it back, that is bright,” she added as Belle returned, her arms wide, her face beaming.

“How great is this,” she laughed as she gave us a twirl.

It was almost blindingly pink.

“mmm, a little loud, maybe.”

“I like loud, loud is my favourite colour,” she looked around, “don’t you like it?”

Poppy pulled her into a hug, “just because we wouldn’t wear it doesn’t mean we don’t love it on you. Whenever you wear something you love you smile so brightly, it makes me love you even more.”

“I do love this hoody, look at the cute silver panda, isn’t he amazing?”

“He really is.”

Belle unzipped her hoody and showed us her t-shirt, “and look underneath, PENGUINS!”

Indeed, penguins, lots of them all over her t-shirt.

“When did you buy that, it’s amazing,” Poppy asked.

“Yesterday, when you were browsing for blouses, it was only £1 but I made the lady take £5 because I loved it so much.”

“You must be the only people that haggle to pay more,” I told her.

“Yeah, but I’ve got loads of money, paying £1 for something this much fun is an insult.”

“And that’s just one more reason why I love you so much.”

“And do you know why I love you?” Belle asked me.

“I’ve no idea.”

“Because you make me feel safe, when I hold your hand, everything is right in the world.”

“She’s right you know,” Poppy chipped in, “I don’t hold your hand so much now because Belle’s younger, and she looks so damn cute walking with you, but just being around you gives us all a sense of peace, even Jeremy doesn’t make me feel as peaceful as you do.”

“Err, I don’t know what to say to that.”

“There’s nothing to say, you’re our hero, and if we could give you a medal we would.”

I felt awkward just then, I’ve never taken praise well, and Poppy was so sincere I wasn’t sure how to react.

“It’s OK, you don’t have to say anything, I kind of ambushed you just then. As long as you know that you’re a hero to all of us and we really have no idea how to thank you properly.”

“There’s no need to thank me, ever. Just seeing you happy, and being such friends to each other, that’s all I need.”

Jenny met us at the station, I wasn’t sure of the quickest route to take, but Poppy pretty much had the tube network memorised.

“We need to get to Paddington then the Bakerloo line to Baker Street. What do you think Lia?”

“I don’t know, we could take the surface train to Vauxhall, then Victoria line to Warren Street, but I think that’s a longer walk at the end.”

“Mmm, I think they’re both pretty much the same,” Poppy replied, “I guess we’ll go with whichever train arrives first.”

As it happened the surface train was waiting, so we hopped on that, Belle crossed her legs on the seat and pulled out the instructions for her camera.

“How was school this week,” Jenny asked, “we’ve been so busy I’ve not been able to ask you.”

“It was ok,” Poppy replied, “I’m getting the hang of science now, Misty is still helping me a lot in lessons, because there’s so much I missed.”

“What about you Belle, no more problems?”

“Jade was back yesterday, I had to see her in the Head’s office,” she replied quietly, “it was a bit awkward at first. I apologised to her and she apologised for trying to slap me. We had a talk together and the head assured Jade that I was definitely Poppy’s girlfriend and had no interest in boys. Jade said that’s what her friends had told her, and she apologised again. I don’t think we’ll be friends, but we’re not enemies.”

“But no more trouble?”

“Nope, I’ve been a model pupil since the incident.”

“We spoke to Jade’s friends,” Katie added, “we kind of hinted that if they tried to take revenge, Poppy is far, far scarier than Belle.”

“But she isn’t!” Jenny replied.

“If anyone hurts Belle, I don’t know what I’d do,” Poppy replied, coldly.

Jenny was visibly shocked by the power of Poppy’s words, “I see what you mean. Do you think Jade’s friends understood this?”

“One of them nearly fainted,” Katie answered, “I’m sure everyone will leave Belle alone. They were a little confused because they thought I was Poppy’s girlfriend, but Poppy explained I was now seeing a 6^th former, which impressed them, not strictly true, because you’re not in college, Lia, but I’m now seen as very mature and sophisticated with my almost adult girlfriend.”

Lia giggled at this, “I’m 18, I’m legally an adult.”

“Oh yes, if it comes up again I shall make sure they know you’re an adult.”

We changed trains at Vauxhall, Belle resumed reading her manual for the five stops to Warren Street.

“This camera is great, it can shoot video, I didn’t expect that. I can make films of the animals.”

“That will be fun,” Poppy replied, “we’ve got software on the iPads that can edit video.”

“Can you make me an Instagram, so I can put some of today’s photos and stuff up, I’d like to be able to show Molly and Autumn in my form.”

“Have you made friends?” Jenny asked.

“Yes!” Belle replied indignantly, “I don’t just go around attacking people at school, I’ve made friends my own age, well, two friends, and Molly was assigned as my buddy, I’m in all her classes. Autumn is a friend who wasn’t forced on me though, she’s nice, and she’s not afraid I’ll steal her boyfriend, unlike some people.”

“I know Autumn,” Katie broke in, “she’s lovely. She used to live near me, she dated Ashley for a little while, but it didn’t work, probably because he’s not really into girls.”

“Invite her round some time, if you don’t think we’ll scare her off.”

“I can’t imagine you’ll scare her, it would be nice to have a friend round though. She knows I’m gay, and she knows Poppy is my girlfriend, and she saw me on TV, so she knows my past. I can’t see what would weird her out about our family.”

“Excellent,” Jenny replied, “so invite her round, and perhaps you could invite this Misty girl who’s been helping you, Poppy.”

“Yes!” Katie said, “that would be great, she’s seen dad, and she knows everything about us now, well, almost everything, so yeah, it would be great to have Autumn and Misty round.”

At the zoo Lia managed to persuade them she was under 18 so we got in as a family group, I was about to pay when Belle stepped up. She absolutely insisted on paying, “it was my idea to come here, and I’ve not been able to treat you all with my newfound wealth.”

There was no way I could change her mind, so I let her hand over her debit card.

Belle then made us pose just inside the entrance, she took a few photos at different settings, as we discussed the plans for the day.

Lia wanted to see the snakes and spiders, Katie informed Lia that this is not something she particularly wanted to do, but she loved her more than she hated spiders, so she’d join her.

“I love spiders,” Jenny told them, “why don’t we go to see them, and your dad can take Belle and Poppy to see the monkeys and penguins.”

“Yayyy,” Belle cried, “I like this plan.”

I checked the map on the wall, “why don’t we meet up near the tigers, if the rain holds off, we can eat lunch at the picnic area over there, 2 o’clock long enough to see what we want to see first?”

Everyone agreed, so Belle took hold of mine and Poppy’s hands and we set off towards the monkeys.

Poppy had the zoo’s app on her phone, “if we spend 20 minutes with the monkeys then walk quickly, we can see the penguins being fed.”

“What if I make friends with a monkey, I might not want to leave?”

Poppy laughed, “that’s very possible, they’ll see you as a kindred spirit.”

“Are you calling me a monkey?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying, and it’s why I love you so much. Anyway, if you do make friends, we’ll just have to miss the penguin feeding, we can always come back another time.”

Belle was happy with this answer and skipped ahead, so Poppy took my hand, “thank you,” she whispered.

“What for?”

“For being who you are, a few weeks ago I never even dreamed of being happy ever again, and now here we are, a family, at the zoo, with our own little monkey trying to take our photo whilst walking backwards.”

“Ahh, is she going to fall over?”

“Almost certainly,” she laughed, “stop walking Belle, you’re going to trip on that kerb!”

Too late, we ran forward to catch her just as she started toppling backwards, also too late.

“Oh my god, are you OK Belle?”

She was fine, she lay there laughing, “I’m glad we did a ponytail this morning, I just bounced.”

I helped her up and Poppy dusted her down, “can we face the way we’re walking for the rest of the day?”

“Yes mum!” she pouted, “I wanted to get a photo of you holding dad’s hand,” she turned the camera around so we could see the screen, “you look so lovely together.”

Poppy, swiped to her photo app and scrolled though her photos, “I think you win on the loveliness stakes,” she said, showing Belle a photo from one of our walks in the park, “I think I’ll make this my wallpaper.”

“I still like my photo of you better,” Belle mumbled as we walked on towards the monkeys.

“I like it,” Poppy reassured her, “it’s a great photo, you have a really good eye. Oh look, monkeys!”

Belle let go of me and rushed towards the enclosure, “Hello!” she cried as one of the Tamarins smiled at her.

Poppy took a few photos, “see, she’s like a sister to them,” she laughed as she slipped the phone into her pocket.

We stood back smiling at the scene, Belle was in her element, talking to the monkeys, talking to the children around her, she was as full of joy as I’d ever seen her.

“She was like this back on the streets, always finding happiness in any situation. I think she was sent to save me you know. She thinks I saved her, but it was the other way round. My life was fucked up beyond all redemption, then I found her, and I got better for a while. I fucked up again, obviously, but she’d given me the strength to survive anything Kenzie threw at me.”

I put my arm around Poppy and passed her a tissue, “we’ve all saved each other, honey.”

“We have. I was totally honest before, when I was talking to mum. I don’t know what I’d do if anyone hurt Belle. Since we got her back, I’ve realised just how important she is to me.”

“What are you two doing?” Belle called to us, “come and talk to the monkeys.”

Poppy wiped her eyes and tossed the tissue in a bin, “let’s go talk to the monkeys.”

“Are you OK?” Belle asked as she saw Poppy’s red eyes.

“I’m absolutely fine, these are tears of happiness, from watching you. I was just thinking about how you were always finding the beauty in even the shittiest of situations.”

“Yeah, that’s my job, but right now we’re out of that and there’s some monkeys you need to see, this is Donald, and this is Freddy, and here’s Carmen, isn’t she great? Oh, down there, that’s Carmen’s little boy Archie.”

“How do you know their names?” I asked, wondering if they were written down somewhere.

“He just looks like an Archie...” is all Belle said as she dragged Poppy around the enclosure to see the Spider Monkeys.

I pulled my phone from my pocket and took some photos for Jenny and Helen; Belle was totally at peace here, of all the things we’d done these last few weeks, this was the best. We’d definitely be buying a membership on the way out.

As she suspected, Belle had far too much fun with monkeys to make it to the penguins in time for the feeding, but that wasn’t a problem, she still got to see happy penguins waddling around, some even coming right up to her and pecking around her feet.

“Oh man, this is so much fun. I don’t know whether I love penguins or monkeys more?”

“Can’t you love them both the same amount?”

“You mean like how I love you and dad the same amount?”

“Yes, exactly that!”

“But ... do I love you more than I love monkeys...” she added before running away to the meerkats.

“She is a fucking monkey,” Poppy laughed as we walked over to find Belle watching some young meerkats fighting over a pile of mealworms.

“This is the best day ever dad!” she cried as she took more photos, “I went to a little zoo with mum and dad once, but I don’t remember it being this much fun.”

We watched her take a few more photos then she stepped back and joined us, sitting down hard on a bench.

“It wasn’t a fun day because mum and dad were having a row, why have I only just remembered this?”

“Because your brain sometimes tries to forget things you don’t want to remember,” I told her.

Belle made fists and pushed them into her cheeks as she thought.

“I think dad was upset about something he’d found out, arghh what is it? Why can’t I remember it all?”

I opened the backpack and dug around until I found a Mars bar, passing it over to Belle.

“Ahh, thanks dad, this will make me forget everything.”

“That’s the plan,” I told her.

Belle ripped open the chocolate bar and took a bite, then her eyes went wide, “fuck me! She was sleeping with Tom! Oh, man, she was so slutty...” she gasped, scandalised by the memory.

Poppy wrapped her arm around her sister, “who’s Tom?” she asked.

“My English teacher,” Belle replied, “she was sleeping with my fucking English teacher, now how on earth did that memory come back?”

She took another bite of the Mars bar, eyes closed as she thought some more, “oh wow, I can see it now, we were looking at the meerkats then, dad made a catty remark because ... the meerkats were getting it on,” she was laughing now, “some of the parents were pulling their kids away, I was having a great time watching, and dad says to mum that she was having as much sex as the meerkats, and she was like, what do you mean by that, and he tells her about seeing Tom running out of the back door the week before, so she tells him that Tom can give her what dad can’t, and so could Harry, Dave and ... Debbie!” Belle almost cheered, “mum was having sex with Debbie my PE teacher!”

Poppy slipped a hand over Belle’s mouth, “shush, we don’t need everyone to hear this.”

“I know, but I’ve finally worked it out, mum was bi, she was having sex with other ladies. I’m so happy about this, it’s why she was totally OK with me liking girls, she was doing it with Debbie, who was seriously hot, I fancied her so much, and mum was sleeping with her.”

“Firstly,” Poppy started, “this is great, I think, is it great?”

“It really is, I loved mum, she was so cool, and pretty, you’ve seen her photos, she looks so much like Jenny. I’m still confused about why I don’t have her boobs, but, whatever...”

“But your dad, do you know why he wasn’t sleeping with your mum?”

“Well, I saw his willy once, and, well, it was disappointing.”

“Ahh, so you think your mum liked her men to be a bit bigger?”

“Exactly, and she liked her ladies with little boobies, based on Debbie, who was a bit like me in the breast department.”

“So, apart from the news that your mum was, widely available, shall we say, are we OK?”

“I think I already knew that, Gramps pretty much hinted at it when we were talking at his home. I’m a little disappointed she was a bit snappy with dad like that, mmm, I wonder if that’s what happened, or I’m just adding bits to the memory. I don’t like that bit, can we go somewhere to take my mind off it?”

Poppy opened the app and looked at the map, she pointed at Belle’s hoodie, “we could go see the pandas.”

“Oh wow, this day just gets better and better...”

“The pandas were cute,” Belle told us as we walked towards the tiger enclosure, “but they were a bit boring, just sitting there eating bamboo like that. Why didn’t they come to talk to us?”

“I guess they’re just not as sociable as the monkeys,” Poppy replied.

“Like Maisie! I so want to be her friend, but she just stays at the back of the class and doesn’t talk to anyone.”

“Do I know her?”

“She’s the redheaded girl with the freckles and nose-stud.”

“Oh yes, I’ve seen her. Why do you want to be her friend?”

“Because I don’t think she’s got any friends.”

Poppy nodded quietly at that and we walked in silence until we reached the picnic area by the tigers.

Belle took my backpack and started to lay out the food and drinks while we waited for Jenny, Katie and Lia.

“I know what we can do in daddy and daughter time tomorrow,” Poppy announced when the table was set.

Belle perked up, “what are we doing?”

“We’re going to bake a cake for Maisie, and you’re going to give it to her on Monday. If she’s not your friend after that then she’s beyond help.”

Belle thought about this, “mmm, I like that idea, but I have a better plan, something I’ve been thinking about, I’d like to make some chocolates. Just think how much fun that will be...”

“Oh my god, really? I didn’t think you could even make your own chocolates.”

“I saw a video on You Tube, it looks fiddly but not too complicated, and it will involve a visit to Wholefoods I think.”

Poppy looked at me, “do you fancy helping us make chocolates tomorrow?”

“Do I get to eat the misshapes?”

“You get to eat some of the misshapes.”

“Then count me in.”

“Yayyy, I’m going to spend the evening writing a shopping list.”

“What are you shopping for?” Katie asked as she slid onto the bench next to Belle.

“Tomorrow’s daddy and daughter activity day,” Belle replied.

“Which is?” Lia asked as she sat opposite Katie.

“We’re going to make chocolates.”

“What, real chocolates, like a box of chocolates?”

“Exactly, different flavoured fillings and stuff. I’m going to make then to give to Maisie in my form, because she’s got no friends. I want her to talk to me, then she can be in my gang with Autumn and Molly.”

“I find it odd that someone would choose not to talk to you,” Lia said as Belle started to hand out sandwiches and crisps, “you’re the most approachable person in the world.”