Hidden Magic (13 page)

“One more sleep to go, one more sleep until the party, one more sleep until Grandad Arthur dresses up like an Oompa Loompa and drinks lots of beer, one more sleep until the partyyyy,” Grace sang loudly as she came down the stairs for breakfast, causing Harry to laugh mid-mouthful of tea. Unable to contain the fluid within his mouth, his cheeks bulged and as the tea escaped through his pursed lips, a shower of fine tea droplets sprayed out from his mouth across the breakfast table and straight into the face of his dad, who was sitting opposite him.

“Hah, sorry, Dad,” Harry said wiping his chin with his hand, trying to catch the remnants of his tea as it dribbled down from his mouth.

Evan calmly picked up a tea towel from the table and patted the tea droplets off his face, then he put the tea towel down and continued reading the newspaper on his tablet as if nothing had happened. You see, such shenanigans were par for the course in the Darling household and everyone continued to eat their breakfast as per normal.

“Nice one, little sis. When did you make that song up about Cranky?” Harry asked.

“Just now, as I came down the stairs,” Grace replied, pulling up a chair at the breakfast table and placing a slice of toast onto her plate.

“Dan, please could you pass me the jam?” Grace asked.

“Agh, er…” Dan replied, shaking his head, with his mouth stuffed full of toast, as he grabbed the jam jar for himself.

“Oh, you're such a child,” Grace said, reaching for the butter.

Dan just smiled and nodded, still clutching the jam jar, his cheeks bulging like a hamster's.

“Grace, sweetie, Dad and I are going out for the day to get food, drink and decorations for the party. Nanny and Grandad are going to come over to look after you and I've invited Christian over to play for the day.”

“YES!” Grace said, holding her clenched fist below her chin and pulling it down sharply to her side as if she'd just scored a strike at ten pin bowling.

“What time are they coming?” she asked excitedly.

“Well, Nanny and Grandad are coming at nine thirty and I've told Sharna and Kyle, Christian's parents, that you will knock for Christian once you've finished helping Elsie with DD.”

“Okay,” Grace said, hurrying to finish her toast.

“Please may I leave the table?” she asked, gulping down a mouthful.

“Hey, slow down young lady, you'll make yourself sick,” Evan replied, peering over the top of his tablet.

Grace swallowed her last mouthful. “Sorry, Dad, please may I get down now?”

“Okay, off you go,” he nodded.

Grace pushed back her chair and hurried toward the back door.

“Erm, where are you going?” Evan asked.

“To feed the birds before I get dressed and go next door to Elsie,” Grace replied.

“Haven't you forgotten something?” Evan asked, turning his head and looking towards the plate that she had left on the table.

“Doh! Sorry, Dad,” she smiled. She collected her plate from the table, gave her dad a great big kiss on the cheek, then carried the plate to the dishwasher.

* * *

Grace skipped down the garden in her dressing gown; compressed, icy snow that had begun to melt and had then re-frozen crackled under her wellies. She filled the hanging bird feeders with seed, dropping a plentiful amount on the ground below. Womble had followed her outside and was snuffling around in the snow, nose to the ground, his ears flopping as he attempted to hoover up dropped seed with his droopy jowls.

“No Womble, silly,” Grace tutted. “Dogs don't eat seeds, they are for the birdies,” she said, shooing him away with her wellie-booted foot.

Small birds began to gather in the higher branches of the tree.

“Morning, birdies,” Grace beamed, captivated by the tiny birds as they hopped around from branch to branch, clearly visible in the winter nakedness of the deciduous tree. A few brave little sparrows ventured closer and began to feed.

“Hello,” Grace whispered.
I wonder where your friend the little robin is? I haven't seen him for quite a while now
, she thought to herself.

Grace could have stayed and watched the birds in her garden all day, but she had things to do and Christian, her bestest friend in the whole of the world, was coming over to play for the day and so she whispered, “See you tomorrow,” to the little sparrows and left them to eat their breakfast in peace.

* * *

When Elsie opened the door to Grace, the first thing that Grace noticed was the wonderful smell of fresh baking. The warm and homely aroma of breads and cakes spiralled through the air, swirling up Grace's nose and dancing around her senses, making her taste buds tingle and her mouth water. The second thing she noticed was that instead of her usual cheery smile, Elsie had a sombre expression on her face.

“Morning, Elsie, are you okay?” Grace asked.

“Oh yes, dear, nothing for you to worry about. I'm just a little worried about DD, that's all. She doesn't want to go outside, not at all, it's most unlike her.”

“It has been rather chilly, Elsie. Maybe she just doesn't like the cold,” Grace said reassuringly.

“Maybe,” Elsie sighed. “Anyway, my dear, I've a warm chocolate chip muffin in the kitchen with your name on it. Best come and eat it before you see to DD, while it's still warm.”

“Yum! Thanks, Elsie,” Grace grinned as she pulled off her boots and hung her red coat over the stair banister. Then, following her nose, she headed to the kitchen.

“That was absolutely deeeelish! Thank you, Elsie,” Grace said, with a melted-chocolate-chip grin.

“You're most welcome, my dear. It's the least I can do to say thank you to you for helping me to look after DD.”

“Are you coming to our party tomorrow?” Grace asked.

“Oh no, dear, I'm a bit too old for parties now, but I do hope you all have a lovely time.”

“I'll pop round to see you before it starts, to show you my costume if you like?” Grace said.

“I'd like that very much,” Elsie replied.

Grace went into the living room, bent down and picked up the little dwarf lop rabbit and tucked her under her arm to carry her outside and place her in her run. Grace quite often did this when she cleaned out DD's indoor hutch because the curious little rabbit would often interfere and toss the fresh hay around with her head, creating a huge mess in Elsie's living room. As Grace approached the back door, DD wriggled and scratched with such ferocity that Grace had no option but to put her down. “Ouch, Donna, you doughnut, what did you do that for?” Grace said, rubbing at her arm where the rabbit's claws had scratched her.

“Oh my goodness, did she hurt you?” Elsie asked, gripping at the furniture to steady herself, as she tried to hurry across the kitchen to Grace.

“I'm fine, Elsie. It's just a little scratch.”

“I don't know what's wrong with her. Something has spooked her into not wanting to go outside,” Elsie said.

“Well, I did see a fox last night, and it ran into your back garden,” Grace said, suddenly remembering the footprints in the snow, the fox and the orange lights that shone from Mr Avery's window.

“That's what it is then, that's what DD is afraid of,” Elsie said, quite relieved to have found out what was upsetting her poor little house companion.

“You silly little doughnut, I wouldn't let a hungry Mr Fox get you, would I?” Elsie said to DD, who was now trembling on the floor in the corner of the kitchen.

Grace cleaned out DD's hutch. She gave her fresh food and water and snuggled the little rabbit into a comfy nest of fresh hay inside the bed compartment of her hutch.

“There you go, DD, all snuggled up safe and sound,” Grace said, stroking the rabbit's velvety fur. “Is there anything else that you'd like me to do before I go, Elsie?”

“No dear, you go and enjoy the rest of your day.”

Elsie used the walls and furniture to support herself as she saw Grace to the front door. As Elsie opened the door, a small van with a picture of a hot, steaming pie on the side of it pulled up at the bottom of the path in front of her house.

“Ooh, that will be the lovely Janice with my dinners for the week. She does the best shepherd's pie in the whole of Witern Wood, or even in the whole of the world, I've no doubt,” Elsie said, giving the Meals On Wheels lady a cheery wave.

“'Bye, Elsie,” Grace said and she headed down the front path.

“'Bye, dear, see you tomorrow,” Elsie called out, staying at the doorway, ready to let Janice in.

As Grace reached the end of the path, a car pulled up behind Janice's van.

“Nanny! Grandad!” Grace squealed excitedly and as soon as they got out of their car she gave them each a big bear hug.

“Hello, darling,” they said, squeezing her back.

“Hi, Janice!” Lizzy called out.

“Morning Lizzy, morning Arthur.” Janice waved back.

“Are you coming to Mary and Evan's fancy dress party tomorrow?” Lizzy asked.

“Oh yes, I'll be there, I can't wait,” Janice replied as she carried a food box down the garden path to Elsie, who was still waiting at the front door.

“Great, see you tomorrow then,” Lizzy called back, giving a final wave as Janice and Elsie closed the door and went inside.

“I'm going to knock for Christian, see you in a minute,” Grace said to her Nan and Grandad.

“Okay, darling, see you soon.”

Grace ran around the close to Number Ten. The snowman in Christian's front garden had been given a reprieve from the thaw as the cold air had allowed him to keep hold of his one remaining button eye for a little longer. Grace pressed the doorbell and before she had even managed to move her finger off the button, the door was flung open and Christian stood there with one arm inside his coat sleeve and the other sleeve dangling down behind his back. He pulled the door towards him with one hand and clumsily flapped his other hand around behind his back, in an attempt to find the sleeve hole to slip his arm into.

“See ya, Mum,” he managed to call out just as the door slammed shut.

“Be good!” his mum's muffled voice could be heard calling out from the kitchen.

Grace ran back towards her house round the path, cautiously dodging any icy-looking patches. Christian, on the other hand, had chosen to cut across the road, running and skidding on every icy patch that he could find.

“Look, Grace, I'm ice-surfing,” he bragged, as he slid down a long stretch of ice with his arms held out for balance.

When they reached Grace's front door, the pair pushed their noses against the glass and knocked, chanting “Let us in, let us in.”

“Not by the hair on my chinny, chin, chin!”
Grandad Arthur bellowed through the letter box at them and then he chuckled as he opened the door and they almost fell inside.

“Good luck with looking after the children today,” Mary said to her mum, then she smiled and glanced toward her dad, implying that he was the biggest child of them all.

“Thanks, Mary, it looks like I'm going to need it,” Lizzy replied, rolling her eyes at Arthur as he lay on the floor in the hall while Grace and Christian yelled “Bundle!” and jumped all over him.

“Right, kids, you be good… and you!” Mary said, glaring at her father.

“We will,” all three of them said, continuing with their play fight.

“Dan, Harry!” Evan called up the stairs.

“Yeah,” they replied.

“Don't stay in your room all day. You can give Nan and Grandad a break this afternoon by taking Grace, Christian and the dogs out for a walk in the woods, please.”

“Yeah, okay, okay,” they replied and then the gunshots rang out as they continued playing their computer game.

“'Bye then, Mum,” Mary said, kissing her mum on the cheek.

“Thanks, Lizzy, you don't mind if we don't come back, do you?” Evan joked, as he kissed his mother-in-law's cheek on his way out of the door.

“You'd better come back! Not that I mind the kids, it's him that I can't cope with,” she said, half smiling and half scowling at Arthur.

“Hey,” Arthur tried to say, just as Christian shouted “BOMB!” and jumped on the old man's tummy, winding him.

Grace and Christian helped pull Arthur to his feet and then they all joined Lizzy at the door as she waved Mary and Evan out of the close.

As the car disappeared out of sight, Grace scored another strike. “Yes!” she said and once the front door had shut, the playful bedlam continued.

* * *

The instant that Grandad Arthur laid his head back on the chair, his eyes closed, his mouth gaped open and he began to snore loudly.

“How does he do that?” Grace asked her nan.

“I don't know how he does it, Grace, we were sitting having a coffee and a cheese scone in the tea rooms with the vicar the other day and he nodded off mid-conversation! I'm sure he has narcolepsy.”

“What's narcolopsy?” Grace asked, befuddled.

“Narcolepsy is a medical condition that causes people to suddenly fall asleep at strange times, like when they are standing talking to someone, or when they are in the middle of eating their dinner.”

“Oh, I think my dad has narcrepsy,” Grace said, unable to correctly pronounce the new grown-up word that she had just learnt. “He always falls asleep after dinner, right when it's time to walk the dogs. Mum says he does it on purpose but maybe he has narcropsy too, just like Grandad.”

“Maybe,” Lizzy chuckled.

Grace and her nan tiptoed out of the lounge, leaving Grandad Arthur snoring in the chair. They went into the kitchen and Nanny Lizzy began clearing away the soup bowls from the table. After lunch, the boys, Dan, Harry and Christian had gone upstairs for a game of Fifa. Football bored Grace to tears and so she had chosen to stay downstairs with her nan and grandad.