But Coral wasn’t listening. “A box full of romance!” she sighed blissfully. “C’mon, I have pocket money.” And then she disappeared through the charity shop’s door.
Nicks hesitated for a moment before scooping Romeo up in her arms and following her friend inside. She found Coral pointing at the box in the window, already discussing her potential purchase with the grey-haired lady behind the till.
“Oh, I remember the poor young dear who donated that box of Valentine decorations to the shop. I remember her well,” she was saying. “That girl sobbed her heart out right on the spot where you’re standing now. You see, she’d just lost her one great love.”
Nicks watched Coral. She was rooted to the spot and staring, silent and unmoving. Her lower lip looked ready to tremble.
“But how did she lose her one great love?” Coral cried out, her mind was reviewing all the possibilities. Was it an illness? An accident? Some natural disaster?
“He ran off with the blonde from Belarus,” replied the charity shop lady matter-of-factly.
Coral’s concentrated face of emotion dissolved instantly. “Oh right,” she said. It was hardly the epic love story she’d been hoping for.
“And the young girl said she never wanted to celebrate Valentine’s Day ever again,” concluded the lady, like she had come to the unhappily-ever-after end of the story.
Coral thought about the dumped girl. If only they knew who she was. There was no doubt in Coral’s mind that the Cupid Company could help her to find love once again.
“So will you be buying the box of decorations in the window?” the lady asked.
Nicks already knew Coral’s answer. “I’ll fetch it,” she quickly answered. She really just wanted to get home.
She returned carrying the box, but Coral couldn’t wait for home. Already she was dipping both hands excitedly into the tangle of decorations dedicated to love. The air was instantly a flurry of red and pink and silver. There were padded fabric hearts that said FOREVER, BE MINE and LOVE BUG. There were dangling cupids, foil garlands of red and silver hearts, heart-shaped window stickers, balloons that spelled L FOR LOVE and a banner that said I LOVE YOU. There was even a tub of fake rose petals for scattering. Coral sighed noisily and stared, starry-eyed. She was in Coral Heaven. And then she thought about the girl whose boyfriend had run off with the blonde from Belarus. It was like holding a piece of history. She sighed again, but was soon drawn to the other items in the charity shop, which was like an Aladdin’s Cave of treasures. Her hands reached for the overflowing shelves, railings and baskets.
“Give the lady your money, Coral,” ordered Nicks.
But Coral had already found another treasure.
“Coral!” A tired Nicks was getting impatient.
Coral spun round with a giant pair of oversized tortoiseshell sunglasses on her nose.
“Ha ha, very funny,” said Nicks. “But I’m really in no mood for fooling about.” She gripped the wriggling Romeo even closer.
“Who’s fooling about?” grinned Coral as she flounced in the direction of a basket of discounted scarves. Dipping her hands inside, she let her fingers ripple through the soft and silky material. Of course she knew there wasn’t much time left ticking on her best friend’s meter, but she hardly needed any time at all. Quickly she found what she was looking for and held it up, smiling. The grey animal-print silk scarf with the sparkle stripe was very fashionable.
Nicks was huffing and puffing now and tapping her foot impatiently, but she clearly wasn’t quite ready to expire just yet. So Coral took one last dip into the basket and came up with a purple paisley bandanna. It would be perfect for Romeo. She gave a small joyful whoop and carried her final purchases over to the till where her box of Valentine decorations was still waiting. This had been her best shopping day ever!
The lady accepted Coral’s money with a gentle smile and was about to place the sunglasses, the scarf and the bandanna inside the box of decorations for easy carrying when Coral slipped the sunglasses from her grip and returned her smile.
“Thanks very much,” she said, “but I’ll be needing those.” She put the sunglasses on her nose and pushed them up as far as they would go. “C’mon, Nicks. C’mon, Romeo.” And then she swished out of the shop with the box of decorations hoisted under one arm like a very big trophy.
Nicks hurried after her, relieved to be leaving, but also a little confused by the sunglasses (although her best friend did have a strange sense of humour). Coral was outside and waiting on the pavement, still wearing the oversized glasses.
“Don’t you think you should take those things off now?” asked Nicks.
“Take them off? Whatever for?”
“Oh, please, stop being silly.”
“I am not being silly. All the celebs wear these. We’ll need to find you a pair too.”
Nicks groaned and made a choking sort of sound. “I don’t think so. They don’t even fit you properly.”
Coral tilted her head at a backwards angle and started walking, narrowly missing a large lamppost.
Nicks returned Romeo to the pavement and quickly caught up with her zigzagging friend. She was no longer feeling quite so tired.
“So how are the sunglasses working out for you then?” she asked with a smirk that was almost as big as her friend’s sunglasses.
“Great!” Coral looked awkward but determined. “They’re lovely,” she said, almost smacking straight into a postbox. She held on to the box of Valentine decorations even tighter. Nicks decided it was wiser not to even ask what she planned to do with those. It looked like her best friend just needed to focus all of her concentration on getting home safely!
Coral had got Nicks to promise she would be at her house at nine the next morning, and now Coral was counting on it — literally. There was a small clock on her bedside table that she was watching, its two heart-shaped hands edging forward.
“Coral, Nicks is here!” her mum called up from the kitchen.
“Send her to my bedroom, please!” Coral hollered back.
“Must you all shout to one another?” her father called from the study.
“Sorry!” both Coral and her mum cried in unison.
And then Nicks’s head appeared round the bedroom door. “Wowzers,” she breathed out loud.
“Isn’t it brilliant!” Coral grinned.
Nicks stepped inside the bedroom. There were pink padded hearts tied with ribbon to cupboard handles, lamps and the bed frame. The ceiling was alive with swirling hearts and dangling cupids. The banner across the wall above her bed spelled out: I LOVE YOU and strings of red and silver foiled hearts dipped from corner to corner. There were even bunches of balloons tied to the bedposts and red hearts stuck to the windows. The finishing touch was the fake rose petals scattered across the carpet. Nicks swished through them like autumn leaves, noticing Romeo’s face poking out from under the bed.
“It’s certainly very Valentiney,” Nicks commented. Even if it wasn’t that time of year. But she didn’t say the last bit out loud.
“It’s a room dedicated to love and romance,” said Coral excitedly. “Can you think of anything nicer!” It wasn’t a question, and Nicks knew better than to answer.
Nicks gazed