It was a bright, warm September day. Anya was running around, squealing with excitement, in the little pink princess costume that Raina had made for her, granting wishes with her sparkly wand. Raina’s had already been granted. Seeing her little girl so happy was all she wanted.
She’d offered to go and help with the preparations for the party this morning, and Clara had given an obstinate no. An hour early would be more than enough. When she parked outside the house, the swathe of pink and mauve balloons around the front door showed her that she was in the right place. Gabriel flung the door open before she and Anya had even got out of the car, and Anya ran up the front steps.
‘Happy birthday, Anya!’ He scooped her up in his arms and Anya tapped him on the top of his head with her wand.
‘Wish granted!’
Gabriel chuckled. ‘Thank you. Let’s see if we can find a few wishes for you, shall we?’
Outside, a bouncy castle sat next to a large marquee, one side of which was covered with a hoarding that had been painted to look just like a castle, with turrets and people along the battlements. Gabriel showed Anya where to tap her wand, and the door swung open.
The inside of the marquee continued the castle theme. A long banqueting table stood at one end, low enough for the children to sit at. Around the edge of the marquee was a frieze with medieval lords and ladies painted on it, and on one side there were doors to open and tunnels to run through. There was a dragon, with a wide grin on its face, holding a cauldron in one hand and a red sparkly button in the other, and Clara walked up to it, bending down to press the button. The lid of the cauldron swung open and Clara could see small gold-wrapped packages inside.
‘Gabriel! This is gorgeous. How long did Clara spend doing all of this?’
Gabri
el dismissed the question. ‘Hardly any time at all. You like it, Anya?’
Anya nodded, running to explore the rest of the tent. Every part of it contained something different and imaginative to catch a child’s attention. Clara must have had professional help with this.
‘That’ll be a yes.’ Raina turned to Gabriel. ‘She loves it and she’d like to thank you and Clara very much.’
Gabriel chuckled. ‘No thanks needed. As long as she enjoys herself...’ He turned, as the sound of the doorbell echoed faintly through from the open back door. ‘That’ll be the unicorn.’
‘The what?’
‘Actually, it’s a Shetland pony. But it has a horn on its bridle and Clara reliably informs me that it’s impossible to tell the difference. I’ll have to get them to walk it down the road and bring it through the alleyway at the back as it might take fright and stampede if we bring it through the house. Where’s Anya got to?’
‘Hiding in the magic forest.’ In one corner of the marquee there was a selection of small artificial trees, with twinkly lights in them. ‘Anya...’
Anya appeared from behind a tree, running back to Raina and trying to pull her back to the forest for a game of hide and seek. Gabriel bent down to her, tapping her on the shoulder.
‘Would you like to come and see the unicorn with me? Mummy can stay here and guard the castle.’
Anya looked at Raina and she nodded. ‘That sounds fun. Where’s Clara, Gabriel? I have to go and thank her, this is so beautiful.’
‘Um...lying down. Give her fifteen minutes. I’ll bring you a glass of wine to fortify you for the fray...’ He shot the words over his shoulder as Anya tugged at his sleeve, propelling him out of the tent.
A moment later he was back, a chilled glass of white wine in one hand and Anya’s hand held firmly in the other.
‘Mummy, there’s a unicorn! I saw it out the window!’
‘Did you, darling?’ Raina smiled at her. ‘Go with Gabriel, then, and you might be able to say hello to it.’
‘What’s its name?’
‘I don’t know. You’d better ask Gabriel.’ Raina shot him a smile.
‘Um... I don’t know either. You have to ask it. I believe that it’s only allowed to tell you if you’re four years old.’
‘I’m four!’ Anya was dancing on the spot, pulling at Gabriel’s hand as he led her back out of the tent.
It was all so beautiful. Twinkling lights, games for the children. There were even little tubs of glitter jelly on the table. Raina sipped her wine, feeling a tear prick at the side of her eye. The one thing that would make it all beyond perfect was sharing it with... She turned as she heard the door to the tent swing open behind her.
Alistair! Raina blinked, wondering if this really was a magic castle and just thinking about him had conjured him up. But he seemed real enough, walking towards her with that awkward smile on his face that she loved so very much.
Now wasn’t the time to run into his arms. It wasn’t the time to punch him for having hurt her so much either. Raina stared at him only half-aware that the glass had slipped from her hand and fallen onto the grass.