Me and Mr Jones Read Online Free PDF

we going to the beach?’ seven-year-old Hazel asked hopefully. She’d fallen in love with the beach from the moment she’d clapped eyes on it, and was a total surfer girl in the making. She was already angling for her own wetsuit so that she could swim whatever the weather, and had filled in most of the I-Spy at the Seaside book that Izzy had picked up from one of the charity shops, eagerly pointing out herring gulls, hermit crabs and sandworms whenever she spotted them.
    ‘No, we’re not going to the beach,’ Izzy replied carefully. ‘And yes, it’ll be teatime when we get back,’ she added to Willow, who was anxious about everything happening exactly as it should do. ‘We’re just popping out for half an hour or so to meet a new friend.’
    ‘Oh God ,’ Hazel groaned in disgust, even though Izzy had told her plenty of times not to say that. ‘We’re going to meet that man, aren’t we, the one who brought the strawberries today? He is like so embarrassing.’
    ‘Oh, Mum, we’re not, are we?’ Willow’s voice went up three notes, and her eyes burned into Izzy, dark pools of worry.
    Izzy hesitated. Strawberries, tulips and that crooked smile . . . So much for being made of steel, so much for never again. She was a bloody pushover. ‘It’s just one drink,’ she said awkwardly. ‘Hey, what do you think you’ll choose? Lemonade or fizzy orange?’
    ‘Orange,’ Hazel said, perking up with astonishing speed. ‘Do you think he’ll bring us some more strawberries? They were yummy.’
    ‘I’m not having a drink,’ Willow said mutinously, turning away and folding her arms. ‘Because I’m not going. I’ve got a tummy ache.’
    Izzy crouched down in front of her. ‘Listen, chick,’ she said, taking Willow’s hands in hers. ‘We’re being polite, that’s all. If he’s really boring and we don’t like him, we’ll say sorry, bye, and we’ll come back home, just the three of us. And do you know what we’ll do then?’
    ‘What?’ asked Hazel breathlessly. ‘Make chocolate krispies again?’
    ‘Even better than chocolate krispies,’ Izzy said, thinking quickly. Willow was listening – she had to make this good. ‘When we get back here, us three are going to have . . . the best ever pyjama party. We’ll put on our pyjamas and get the duvets off the beds, and cuddle up under them together on the sofa while we watch a film. I’ll even make popcorn. And do you know what we’ll do after that?’
    ‘What?’ both girls said now.
    ‘PILLOW FIGHT!’ shouted Izzy, grabbing Hazel and ruffling her hair.
    Hazel squealed and giggled. ‘Yay!’
    Even Willow was smiling a little bit. ‘We could just stay here and do that now,’ she suggested.
    ‘YEAH!’ cried Hazel, bouncing up and down. ‘Pillow fight! Pillow fight!’
    ‘No, let’s go, because I did promise, and you know I never break promises,’ Izzy said quickly, before Hazel became too hyper. ‘We’ll give him a chance, this Charlie fella, all right? But if he’s boring or annoys us, then the code word is “pyjamas”, got it? And as soon as one of us says “pyjamas”, then we’ll come back and have our party. Yeah?’
    ‘Yeah,’ the girls chorused.
    Izzy smiled, loving them so much it hurt. She was well aware of the damage Gary had done. Willow was wary of strangers, and tended to stay on the sidelines of any group, casting suspicious glances around her until she was completely sure it was okay to join in. Hazel, by contrast, was eager to be everybody’s best friend, all too willing to please. From now on, Izzy wanted them to have the best ever childhood, one of fresh air and giggles and bear hugs, one where fun and innocence reigned for as long as possible. She would not let them down.
    ‘Come on, then,’ she said. ‘Let’s go.’
    Willow stayed glued to Izzy’s side as they walked into the pub garden. Charlie had bagged a table in a sunny spot and waved them over. ‘Evening, all,’ he said, then made a point of