Page 16 of Daydreams & Doughnut Cake

The Maisie Diaries

Right, so I’ve decided to call this ‘The Maisie Diaries’ because it’s like the name of one of my favourite-ever movies!!!

Mum used to go on and on about how she loved ‘The Princess Diaries’. She said Granny Rose took her to see it at the cinema when she was little, which must have been like a million years ago! We watched it together on TV one night, while Dad was out meeting his author friends, and she made popcorn – the sweet sort that is my favourite, even though Mum likes the yucky salty sort of popcorn best.

I suppose I’ll have to get used to watching baby programmes from now on. Whoopee! CBeebies here we come (BORING).

The reason I’m writing this diary (Rosie is so lovely and kind for buying it for me) is mainly because I need a ball gown for the school show and I don’t know where I’m going to get one.

Also, my head is in such a muddle over Reuben. I can’t talk to Mum about him. Obvs. She used to be really good at giving me advice. Like when I had those embarrassing spots on my chin and she made sure I had the right facewash and she told me all about when she had actual ACNE when she was my age which sounded so much worse.

I don’t even know if I want to talk to her about Reuben, but I wish I could if I wanted to. Isla is always screaming. And with Mum, it’s like she’s not even here anymore. It’s like she’s got in a Tardis and whizzed off to another universe with Isla in her Moses basket, and I’m left to hold things together down on Planet Earth!

Honestly, what with Dad being so busy with his books and Mum off on a Dr Who mission, who’s here to make sure there’s milk in the fridge for cereal? I’m in the village store so often these days, Gladys behind the counter asked me if I fancied a job there the other day! She was joking, of course. I’m a bit young at eleven (but nearly twelve!!!) to be launching a career in customer service.

But anyway, running a house turns out to be harder than I thought. Like a MILLION times harder! I was wearing the same uniform for three days and Mum didn’t even notice. So I got Dad to show me how to use the washing machine.

He was pretty clueless himself, mind you, but we worked it out together and we had a good laugh while we were at it! But Dad had to go to the library to work so he had to leave, and when he kissed Mum and little Isla goodbye (she was asleep for once) and dashed off, Mum stood at the window for hours just staring out. I asked her what she was looking at but she didn’t hear me, and even when Dad’s car had gone, she was still just standing there staring out at nothing.

But then Isla started screaming again so I vanished into the kitchen and started putting the dirty mugs in the dishwasher (I can work that myself as well now!) because I’ve no idea what to do for my baby sister when she’s like that. (I don’t think Mum knows, either, which is a bit worrying.)

Wow, diaries do make you ramble on. I’ve totally got off the subject that I was going to write about.

Reuben.

The thing is, I know he thinks I’m cool because when we’re at rehearsals after school for the show, I’m better at dancing than he is. (I watch Strictly with Mum and we sometimes practise the moves.) Reuben likes being the best at everything and I give him tips on how to dance, things like that. I could tell he wasreally proud when the teacher, Mrs Proctor, picked us out as being the best.

We had to do the dance just ourselves while everybody else watched!

It was horrifically embarrassing but really quite sick at the same time. I knew Reuben was pleased because he was really smiley and chatty with me after that. Normally, he’s the strong, silent type like one of those dark-eyed sexy heroes with no shirt on the covers of the books that Mum sometimes used to read. I mean, Reuben keeps his shirt on. Obvs. But I just mean he’s gorgeous. Just like a hero from a movie. All the girls think so.

But the thing is, after we’d danced on our own that time and everyone clapped us, he grinned at me and said, ‘Hey, you’re pretty cool, aren’t you?’ It was like he was looking at me properly for the very first time when he said it, and my heart started beating so crazily when he smiled at me, I thought I was going to be sick!

Luckily, I wasn’t. Which was probably just as well because Reuben’s the sort of boy who needs to look fresh at all times, so I don’t think he would have appreciated me vomiting all over his expensive new trainer-type shoes.

The fact he thinks I’m ‘pretty cool’ is real progress. And I’m kind of thinking I might actually buy two tickets for the cinema and ask him if he wants to go and see a movie with me. Or is that a rubbish idea?

The thing is it would be SO HORRIBLY EMBARRASSING if he laughed and said no thanks. Can you imagine?! It would be a TOTAL NIGHTMARE from which I know I would NEVER EVER recover!!!

Also I need a ball gown.

Rosie

CHAPTER NINE

It was Tuesday and I was in my sunny kitchen trying to concentrate on cooking up dishes for the market the following day. But a dark cloud was hanging over me.

Clare knew where I was working now. It had to have been her who sent me that horrible note.

I KNOW WHAT YOU DID.

A chill ran through me every time I thought of it.

What exactly did she think she knew?

Was she still around for the wedding? Or had she left by now?

Thoughts of the past were swamping me. I felt like I was sinking in quicksand, slowly suffocating, remembering those last few months of Mark’s life... the funeral... the all-consuming grief...

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