Maisie had been to France.
She came back with a tan and a small striped bag and approximately four hundred things to tell Scarlett about - the swimming pool, the food, the boat trip, the ice cream that came in flavours Scarlett had never heard of.
Scarlett listened to all of it and smiled and said “that sounds amazing” in the right places.
It did sound amazing.
And somewhere underneath the listening, something small and quiet was sitting in her chest.
She wasn’t sure what to call it exactly.
It wasn’t quite jealousy - she knew that feeling now, the twisty one, and this was softer than that.
It was more like... a wondering.
Was my summer enough?
That evening, Scarlett sat with Lenny and told him about Maisie’s holiday. All of it. The swimming pool and the boat trip and the unusual ice cream.
“It sounds wonderful,” said Lenny.
“It does,” said Scarlett. “Ours was different.”
“Tell me about yours,” said Lenny.
Scarlett shrugged. “You were there.”
“Tell me anyway.”
Scarlett thought for a moment.
“We made the map,” she said slowly. “And went to the hill. And I found the feather — it’s still on my wall. And there was the day at the coast when the seagull stole my chips and Mum screamed.”
“Go on.”
“And Sam came over and we built the den that kept falling down. And we had the indoor picnic when it rained. And we stayed up late and watched the stars from the garden and it was really cold but we didn’t go in.”
She stopped.
Something had shifted slightly in her chest.
“That’s quite a lot,” said Lenny.
“It is, isn’t it,” said Scarlett. Not quite a question.
“What’s your favourite part?”
Scarlett didn’t even have to think.
“The stars,” she said. “Mum brought out blankets and we just lay there and she pointed out the ones she knew and made up names for the ones she didn’t. And Pudding came and sat on my feet and kept them warm.”
She was quiet for a moment.
“I don’t think Maisie has a story like that,” she said.
“No,” said Lenny. “She has her stories. You have yours.”
Scarlett looked at the feather on her wall.
“I’m going to tell her about the stars,” she said. “And the seagull.”
“I think she’ll love the seagull,” said Lenny.
Scarlett smiled. “Everyone loves the seagull.”
🫶 Dream big dreams.