Lost Girl: Part 1 (3 page)

It took me just over an hour before I fell back to sleep, but it felt like I was gone for only minutes before I was woken up again. I look around my bedroom and notice the screen of my phone lit up, it must’ve gone off and woken me up. I stretch to my bedside table to reach for it. Curiously I look at the unknown number on the screen and unlock my phone to read the text,
Thanks again for last night, can I make it up to you? x Rick

My belly does a little flip just reading it and I quickly text back
. It wasn't a problem. What were you thinking of? x

Almost instantly my phone buzzes again, letting me know I've gotten another text, but simultaneously the door buzzer sounds loudly. Throwing my phone onto my pillow, I jump out of bed and quickly wrap my dressing gown around my body to rush to my front door.

“Hello?”

“Summer, can I come in?”

“Anna?”

“Yes.”

“Sure, come on up.”

Still feeling sleepy, I shuffle over to my coffee machine and start making a cup, halfway through there's a knock on my door, so I shuffle back and open it.

“Hi Anna, what are you doing here?”

“Mama’s friends came over early. I climbed out my window as soon as I heard them. Can I stay here for a little while?”

I rub my eyes, trying to wake myself up a bit more, “sure, have you had any breakfast this morning?”

“No,” she shakes her head, “we had no food again.”

Poor thing. “Are you hungry?”

She nods, and takes her shoes off to run her toes through my carpet again, while I make her a bowl of Cocoa Pops and place it on the kitchen table. Hungrily she comes over and tucks in straight away.

“Will you be okay on your own for a bit?”

Confused she looks up at me, “where are you going?”

“Nowhere far,” I smile at her, “but I haven’t had my shower yet.”

“I’ll be fine,” she mumbles with her mouth full.

I pick up my coffee and take it in to the bedroom while she's eating. I can finally look at that text now.

I don't want to leave Anna home alone for too long, but I'd like to take you out for a drink or something x

Again my belly makes a little flip.

Don't worry about leaving Anna alone. She just turned up here again x

Is she okay?

Yes, she's fine. Eating Cocoa Pops :) Are you at the market right now? x

Yup, here until 4 x

K, we'll come over in a while x

When I emerge from my bedroom with my clothes for the day draped over my arm, my heart stops for a moment when I notice Anna isn’t at the breakfast table anymore and I look around my apartment, then I see her sitting on the floor next to Herbert’s cage and my pulse returns back to normal.

She looks up at me and her face turns curiously, “what's so funny?”

“Funny?” I ask, a little confused.

“Yes, funny. You have a goofy smile on your face.”

I try and pull my face straight, but for some reason it’s impossible.

“Nothing special, I just remembered something.”

“What?”

“Nothing for you to worry about,” I smile at her. I'm not going to tell her that thinking of her brother gives me butterflies. “Do you want to go to the market later?”

“Yes, please. Can we go to the pet shop too? The one that you talked about, that has animals? I want to see all the animals!”

I laugh in response, “sure we can. When I’m ready we’ll leave.”

“Can I take Herbert out of his cage?”

“Yes, but make sure he doesn’t go behind the TV. He likes to chew through the cables.”

“Eww,” she scrunches up her face, “you like eating cables, Herbert?” she giggles at my rabbit, “they’re not very good for you.”

I watch her open the latch to Herbert’s cage before stepping into my bathroom and pulling the door shut behind me.

After a quick shower I towel myself down, get dressed and walk out of the bathroom with a towel still wrapped around my head, not wanting to leave Anna alone for too long.

I get the hair dryer out of my bedroom, and plug it in in the kitchen so I can watch Anna while she plays with Herbert.

“Are you ready to go?” I ask her once my hair’s dry.

“Mhm,” she nods and picks Herbert up to place him back in his cage. “Summer?” she quietly says my name as she walks up to me with a guilty look on her face.

“What’s wrong?”

“I think Herbert pooped on your floor,” she says in a tiny voice.

“That’s okay,” I smile at her to make her feel at ease, “he does that sometimes.”

Pulling a few pieces of paper from the kitchen roll, I walk over to the spot on the floor she pointed at and clean up the few little droppings.

“Go put your shoes on,” I tell her while I throw the filled kitchen tissues in the rubbish bin before I go and do the same myself.

My shoes are tied before she’s finished the first one and I watch her do the second. Her face is set in full concentration, her tongue slightly sticking out while she wraps her laces around each other.

“Did Rick teach you that?” I ask her when she’s done.

“He did,” she says proudly, “but I’m not very good at it yet, we only just started.”

“We could practice some more later if you want?”

She looks up at me excitedly, “could we practice other things too?” she asks as I place my hand on her shoulder and gently guide her towards my door.

“Like what?” I ask her while I grab my key from the kitchen side.

“Like reading,” she replies.

“Sure, we can do some reading later, but I only have grownup books.”

“But the words are the same, aren’t they?” she asks, looking a little unsure.

“Yes, the words are the same,” I smile.

When we’re both outside I lock my door behind us and we make our way to the staircase, once there Anna starts hopping down the stairs, jumping down a step at a time and giggling. At the bottom of the first flight, just before we have to turn the corner she looks over her shoulder at me, “come jump with me,” she giggles and extends her hand to me. A little unsure I take Anna’s hand, and place my other on the railing to keep my balance. At the bottom of the second flight of stairs I feel completely out of breath, but I’m laughing with her.

“That was fun!” Anna exclaims.

“It was,” I agree.

Once outside, I debate whether I should drive us to the market, or if we should take the long walk again, but Anna’s already walking ahead, picking daisies from the field of grass in front of the building and she’s decided for us. We’ll be walking again.

It doesn’t take us long to find Rick’s stall this time, he’s right down the middle of the market, just like Anna said.

“I’m not working at the bar tonight, how about that coffee when I’m packed up?” Rick suggests, looking at me with a hopeful look on his face. It feels good to see him again, I never expected to feel this way about someone I hardly know, but to see the eagerness of wanting to spend more time with me in his eyes makes the butterflies go wild.

“Sounds like a plan,” I smile at him while I feel a little hand pulling on my sleeve.

“Can I come too?” Anna asks in a small voice.

“Of course you can,” I laugh.

“But I don’t like coffee,” she says, scrunching up her face.

“I’m sure they have hot chocolate, or something else you’ll like,” Rick laughs, “where do you want to meet up?”

“How about here? We could come back when you finish.”

“Are you sure?” I know it’s quite a long walk, especially with her getting distracted by everything,” he says while he smiles at Anna.

“It’s okay, I have a car,” I smile at him, “I’ll drive here later, I’ll park somewhere behind the church...” before I can finish my sentence, there’s a forceful pull on my sleeve again. “Can we go yet?” Anna asks impatiently.

Rick looks at her in surprise, “where do you want to go?” and then looks at her sternly, “and don’t be rude. Haven’t I been teaching you manners?”

“Yes, you have,” she mumbles, looking at the ground and kicking some loose stones with her foot, “Summer promised she’d take me to the pet shop so I can see all the animals.”

“Oh,” Rick laughs and looks back up to me again, “she woke up in my arms just before we got home last night, it was all she could talk about.”

I smile at him again, he looks so good when he’s laughing that it’s hard not to, “I guess I better take her then.”

“Yes please!” Anna shrieks, jumping up and down next to me. Rick and I look at each other and we both laugh, “I guess we’ll see you here later then,” I say to him.”

“Can’t wait,” he replies with a big grin.

“I’ve got an idea,” I smile at Anna when we make our way back down the market, “what if, instead of going for a coffee with Rick, we make him a nice dinner this evening?”

“I like that!” Anna chirps.

“What do you think we should make?”

“Mac ‘n’ cheese!” she exclaims, “it’s our favourite.”

“Is it?” I laugh, “do you know how to make it?”

“It’s very easy,” she nods, “you just have to boil the macaroni and then heat up the packet of sauce. Rick showed me how to do it many times.”

“What if I show you how to make it from scratch? It’s even nicer that way.”

Her little face lights up, “I would love to learn how to make it from scratch.”

I smile at her excited expression, “what if we make it even better? We could have some candles on the table, and wear some nice clothes?”

“We can’t,” she says, looking at the ground and sounding sad, “I don’t have any nice clothes.”

“We could find you something at the market, and then go shopping for food after, how does that sound?”

“Yes please,” she smiles, instantly happy again, “but will we still go to see the animals?”

“Yes we will,” I smile back at her, “the pet shop is on the same road as the supermarket.”

After trawling through the stalls, we finally come across one that does children’s clothing. Anna picks out a pair of black leggings and a black t-shirt with lots of sparkly sequins and pink palm trees printed on the front. The stall holder folds them up for us and bags them before I hand him the money.

“Can I hold the bag?” Anna asks me excitedly after I take it from the man.

“Sure you can,” I smile at her and give her the bag.

“Aren’t’ you going to buy any new clothes?” she asks me.

“I’ve got a nice new shirt at home that I haven’t worn yet,” I smile at her, “and I think tonight will be the perfect time to wear it.”

“Are we going to the pet shop now?”

“Yes, we are,” I laugh.

Grabbing my hand, she starts pulling me back in the direction of the park and my flat, “are we going the right way?” she suddenly asks.

“Yes,” I reply, “the pet shop is near where I live.”

***

“I love it here!” Anna exclaims with her nose pressed up against the glass of one of the hamster cages, “I wish I could stay here forever and ever.”

“Really?” I laugh, “why’s that?”

“I could play with the animals all day long! And brush them and stroke them and feed them and cuddle them! Can I take one out please?”

“We’re not allowed,” I say, pulling a sad face at her.

“Aww!” she replies, pulling a sad face too.

“But I’ve got a bunny at home that loves your cuddles. Why don’t we go get the food we need for tonight, and then you can play with Herbert when we’re back home?”

“But I can help you with the cooking too, right?”

“Yes you can,” I smile and take her hand to lead her out of the store.

“Bye all,” she yells over her shoulder and waves at the animals.

***

Back in my apartment I lay out all of our shopping on the kitchen counter, ready to be turned into a dinner.

“What do we start with?” Anna asks.

“To start, I think it’s best if we both wear an apron so we don’t get messy,” I say, pulling two aprons out of a kitchen drawer. I give one to Anna, but when she pulls hers over her head and lets it drop, it hits the floor, and I laugh at the silly sight of it. “Turn around for me,” I tell her, and when she does, I pull the straps in a little tighter and pull a knot in them, making the apron a little less long, “how’s that?”

“I think it’s good,” she says, looking down her body.

“Good,” I smile at her, “then lets get started.” I pull up a chair, so she can get to things a little bit easier, then I take a pan out of one of the drawers, fill it with water and place it on the stove. Next I open up the bag of dried pasta, “count two handfuls for every person, and drop it in the pan,” I tell her.

“So, six handfuls?” she asks, looking uncertain.

“Yes,” I smile at her brightly, “well done. Six handfuls.”

“Done,” she beams after counting to six out loud. “What’s next?”

“Next you can make the garlic butter for our garlic bread.” I scoop up two spoonful’s of butter and place them in a bowl for her, then sprinkle over some garlic powder, “if you mix this really well, you can spread it into the baguette.”

I start cutting the baguette for her, while she mixes the butter with her tongue sticking out.

“Carefully spread it in between the cuts I’ve made,” I tell her, “and when you’re done with that, you can give the pasta a quick stir,” and I place a wooden spoon in the pan, ready for her to use.

“What’s next?” she asks when she is done with both tasks.

“Next, we have to wait for a little while, until the pasta is cooked.”

“Can I take Herbert out of his cage?”

“Sure you can,” I smile at her again, “you can give him a little lettuce leaf if you want too.”

“Yes please!” she exclaims, takes the leaf from me, and runs over to Herbert while I stir the pasta some more.

After draining it, I place it in an oven dish, “Anna? We’re ready to make the sauce now.”

“Coming,” she replies, and comes rushing over.

“Don’t forget to wash your hands again,” I tell her.

“Oh yeah,” she replies, and quickly rinses down her hands, “what do I do now?”

“Now we pour some milk into a clean pan,” I explain, and she takes the milk from my hands.

“How much?” she asks before pouring.

“I’ll tell you when to stop,” I reply, and watch her pour. “Okay, stop.”

“Now what?

“Now we add some flour,” I say, handing her the flour and a spoon.

“How much?”

“Just scoop some in, I’ll tell you when to stop. Stop.”

I hand her the whisker, and she starts stirring the milk and flour together. After she’s done, I give it another quick whisk to make sure all the flour is fully absorbed, turn the hob on full and place the pan on top of the stove. I grate some cheese for her to sprinkle into the sauce in a bit and scoop a little bit of butter into the sauce while Anna stirs it again with a wooden spoon. When the sauce is finally thickening, I pass her the plate of grated cheese, and she sprinkles it in while she stirs.

“Now what?” she asks again.

“Now we are done,” I smile at her, “I’ll pour the sauce into the oven dish in a minute, and then all we have to do when Rick comes here, is sprinkle some more cheese on top and place it in the oven.”

“Can I do the cheese? Please?” she begs.

“Of course you can,” I laugh, “but how about a shower first. You can dress in your new clothes after, and look all pretty for when Rick gets here.”

“Yes,” she says, looking excited, “I like that.”