A Girl's Guide to Fairy Tales

Chapter Eleven (part 2)

When I met Clare for lunch, I was like a kite without a string holding me back anymore. I’d been cut free and what was more, it was my boss who held the scissors.

‘He even said he would make sure Alfred Lambert’s gave me the best rental price possible!’ I shouted, before slumping backwards like I had drunk two glasses of vino too many.

‘That’s wonderful Madeline. I think you should just go for it,’ Clare urged, which was quite out of character for her seeing as this was a risky venture.

‘Well I still need to find a property. The ones I looked at today with Adam didn’t have the right feel, but they certainly got my imagination going. There’s no going back now, I have to do this.’

‘Good! We’ve all been telling you for long enough that you could make a living out of what you do as a hobby. A lot of people would kill to be able to do that. I mean you’ll never earn a lot in what you’re doing now so why not do what you clearly love?’

I kept nodding like the Churchill dog.

‘You were never suited to working for other people anyway,’ Clare added.

I snorted. ‘Tell me about it. Besides I’ve already worked out how many cakes I could make a week and what my profit margins would be. Tom has always promised he would let me use his discount at the wholesalers for the first few months at least and –’

‘It sounds like you’ve given this a lot of thought.’

‘Clare, I think about it all the time. Every minute of every day I imagine what it would be like to have this business. You know I’ve even designed my uniform and every time I see a bit of chintz in those cute little shops I adore, I imagine it sitting on my shop shelves.’

I looked into the distance, my arms reaching to adjust the position of my imaginary cake stand.

‘Hey, you could also offer local crafters some shelf space to sell their artwork and take a cut.’

‘Oh my God Clare that’s a great idea! I mean that would give my shop exactly the right feel.’ I rooted through my bag to find my doodle book and made a barely legible note of Clare’s idea.

‘You want this badly don’t you?’ she asked. I didn’t look up as my latest sketch of a Manolo Blahnik shoe cake required some adjustments. I nodded vehemently all the same.

‘I know I’m not a risk taker Maddie, but even I say you have to follow your heart with this one,’ Clare sighed.

‘You do?’ My voice was almost a whisper. I smiled contentedly before relaxing into my chair to allow my Debenhams lunch to settle.

Just then Clare’s mobile began to buzz noisily. She flicked it open – God that girl really needed a new phone – and tucked her dark curls behind her ear before answering in a delicate voice.

‘Hello. Right, okay. Well I’ll ask but – yes, alright I’ll tell them then. I’ll be round after work, yes five thirty will be fine. Okay...bye.’

My knitted eyebrows prompted an explanation.

‘Sophie,’ Clare said rolling her eyes.

‘Not like her to ring during school hours,’ I pouted. ‘Is she alright?’

I hadn’t dared to probe Clare about Sophie and Tom’s split, even though I had already heard Tom’s side through my sister’s friend who was dating one of the sous-chefs at Eden.

‘She wants a night out this Friday,’ Clare said unenthused.

‘Yeah, I’m up for that. Girl’s night out is probably what we all need.’