Page 39 of Second Verse

‘If she ever gives it to you, share it with me, would you?’ Norah said dryly.

Poppy chuckled. ‘No way. I need every drop for myself.’

‘Yeah,sureyou do,’ Norah said.

Was that a compliment? Poppy wasn’t sure. Even if it was, she had to pretend she hadn’t noticed it, or she was gonna get all embarrassed and silly. She needed to make some attempt at seeming vaguely cool.

Norah suddenly pieced something together. ‘Wait, are you back on Orchid Road?’

‘Yeah, my mum’s old place. You didn’t know? I’ve seen your mum around. I thought she might have mentioned it.’

‘She never said a word,’ Norah said.

‘She doesn’t say hello to me,’ Poppy noted.

‘Don’t take that too personally,’ Norah said. ‘Her eyesight is shocking these days. She probably didn’t realise it was you.’

‘She looked in rude health to me,’ Poppy observed.

‘So, umm... Can I ask...’ Norah began, her voice wavering with slight anxiety.

‘Yes?’

‘How come you’re back?’

Poppy was glad of a chance to dispel whatever myths were in Norah’s head about her living some wealthy life. ‘I was rentingin London, and I stopped being able to afford it. And I never sold my mum’s house, so it made sense to move back into it.’

‘Youhadto come back?’ Norah asked.

‘Yeah. I’m broke.’ Poppy gestured around her at the cafe. ‘You thought this was an eccentric hobby?’

Norah looked embarrassed. ‘Sorry. None of my business.’

Poppy actually wouldn’t have hated talking more about it. She’d been alone with all this, and it might have felt good to be able to speak to someone. But apparently, it was a dash too real for Norah. There was a limit to how personal they were going to get.

‘Hey, what time does your shift end?’ Norah asked.

‘We close at four.’ Poppy checked her watch. It was half two. Though things were quiet enough now, around three would come a last push of people. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do without Freddie to occupy Luna.

‘Well, if you like, Luna can come home with us,’ Norah offered. ‘You could pick her up after. We’re not far from you.’

Poppy was very careful about who she left Luna with, but she had no reservations about Norah. ‘That would be brilliant.’

Norah smiled. ‘Great.’ She drained her coffee. ‘Oh, you need an address, don’t you?’

‘Text it to me. I’m in the group chat now, so you can find my number there.’ She tried not to put her displeasure at that fact into her tone, but Norah heard it anyway. She rolled her eyes. ‘Get ready to put that on mute every day of your life.’

Poppy smiled. ‘I’m on it, trust me. I don’t need to know about every child-friendly event in a ten-mile radius.’

‘Yeah, it’s banal. But now and then, there’s a pretty entertaining drama.’

‘Yeah?’

‘Yeah. Last time, it was because Susan’s kid’s very expensive water bottle went missing, and she went bonkers on the chat, demanding answers, pointing fingers, the whole thing.’

‘Did she find the culprit?’

‘Of course not. But that’s not the point for Susan. She’s just demonstrating her tiny amount of power.’ Norah immediately looked like she regretted her words.

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