The Reluctant Elf (Kindle Single)
mean we can stick everything together with chewing gum.’
    Hmm, chewing gum.
    ‘Danny? Could we fill the holes in the walls with gum?’
    He shakes his head. ‘No, that won’t work. We tried it in our halls of residence to cover the nail holes we made in the plaster. Toothpaste is what you want for that.’
    He goes back to his paintbrushes. I go to the bathroom to raid my spongebag.
    An hour later I survey my handiwork. The walls smell like toothpaste but they’ll look okay with a coat of paint. It’s a minty fresh renovation.
    I’m even beginning to enjoy myself. With a bit of ingenuity and a lot more hard work, I feel like I’ll honestly be able to tell Aunt Kate when I see her later that things are going to be all right.
     

Chapter Five
     
    It’s after midnight again before I crawl into Aunt Kate’s bed with Mabel. I could move her into one of the other rooms once the stench of fresh paint wears off but I’d rather keep her with me. I love reaching out in the night to stroke her soft hair, or hear her rhythmic breathing on the pillow next to mine. I didn’t know I could love someone this fiercely until I had her. 
    Aunt Kate always said she never wanted her own children ( What would I do with my own that I can’t do with you, darling Lottie? ), but that made me a little sad. Then after Mum and Dad died, selfishly I was glad. It meant that Mabel and I didn’t have to share her love with anyone else.
    She continued to look after Mabel when I got back from Australia and I slept for two straight days. She quietly and efficiently took care of all the funeral arrangements, called the friends and made all the administrative changes that a death involves.
    As we sat together on the sofa after the funeral, surrounded by Mum and Dad’s many friends, she quietly asked me if I wanted her to stay.
    ‘Would you?’
    ‘Lions couldn’t chase me away if you want me here.’
    ‘Yes, please.’
    She moved into Mum and Dad’s room and in those six months when she put her life on hold to help us learn to live ours again, she became as close to me as my own parents had been.
    I’m going to do everything I can to help her now.
     
    Danny is already in the kitchen when I come downstairs the next morning.
    ‘Day two,’ he says. ‘Do you want some tea?’
    ‘I could murder a cup, thanks.’ I wince at myself. At least Mabel-the-Mimic is still asleep. Being big sister to the cat is proving tiring work.
    He pours two large mugs and sits across from me at the long refectory table. I’ve got to say this for Aunt Kate. Her house might be falling down but she hasn’t skimped on the décor. At least that gives us something to work with.
    ‘Do you have everything here that you’ll need for your cooking?’
    ‘Sure. I can just make pasta every night, right?’
    I laugh. ‘Right. Imagine serving spag bol to a B&B critic. I’ve been thinking about that actually. Last night I ordered a bunch of stuff that should give us everything we need to impress them. It’s supposed to arrive by tomorrow lunchtime. You have no idea how hard it was to find a company that could deliver here.’
    I spent two hours in the conservatory with my teeth chattering before finding a shop online, called Posh Food Fast, that can FedEx their food to us. ‘We’re not exactly within the Waitrose delivery area.’
    ‘We’re probably not even within the Lidl delivery area,’ he says. ‘Will you need me to get anything from the shops today?’
    ‘I’ve made a list that should cover us for their whole stay.’
    ‘Good, because everything will close tomorrow afternoon and probably won’t open until the 27th.’
    ‘That’s what I figured. Can you go in to Rhyl today while Mabel and I visit Aunt Kate? You could do the shopping and then come back to collect us. If it’s okay, I’ll cook for us tonight after we get back from the hospital. I’d like to say thank you for helping me.’
    Danny might be joking about the spag bol, but I’m not.
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