I pondered this as we walked back to the tables and helped ourselves to cheese and onion pie and tomato salad.
‘How about we let the Outlaws decide?’ I offered, once we’d found a spare bench near the pond.
‘What, take a vote?’ Mum frowned. ‘Jessie, if we start letting them vote on who gets to stay or go, it’ll become all-out war.’
‘No, nothing that blatant. Let them vote with their feet. Or rather, feet, hands and hair. The sign-up sheet for this week is still on the noticeboard. I can announce during lunch on Monday that if they no longer want their treatment then they need to cross their name out so someone else can take the slot. If they’re still happy to trust Ada and May, then why shouldn’t we let them?’
Mum took a thoughtful bite of pie. ‘What if everyone cancels? Or, more likely, replaces their names with insulting graffiti?’
‘We can cross that bridge if we get to it. Did you see how people walked out of the library last Thursday? I swear that most of them had grown a good three inches, and not only because Ada has a superhuman ability to add body and bounce to the wispiest of hair. Every single one of them glowed. And the only two who didn’t have seen the funny side.’
‘I don’t know.’ Mum still looked slightly haunted. ‘I’ll have to ask Dad.’
‘Okay, but whatever you decide, please don’t boot them out before I’ve had a chance to get my turn in the chair.’
‘Are you kidding?’ Mum smiled at last. ‘I’ll be fighting you for a spot.’
* * *
I caught up with Connie while we were folding up bunting in the shape of oak leaves ready to be stored away until the next Robin Hood-themed celebration.
‘Are things any better with you and Isaac, since the meal at ours?’
She wrinkled her nose. ‘Sometimes yes. Sometimes no. Sometimes I overhear him talking to other people, and he still definitely acts differently with me.’
‘How is he with you?’
Apart from utterly smitten…
‘Kind of, I don’t know, stiff? All uptight and proper. Almost pompous. I know,’ she said, starting to laugh. ‘Since when has Isaac Brown been anything close to pompous?’
Since he fell in love and had no clue what to do about it?I yelled, disconcertingly loudly, inside my head, while externally nodding and trying to look sympathetically puzzled.
‘And then,’ she added, face softening. ‘There’re these moments. Like when we were at yours for dinner. When he’s so…totally lovely. I think for a moment that we could be friends.’ She sighed, tucking the end of the bunting away and placing it into a box. ‘Then he barks at me for staying late to finish off some place settings, virtually accusing me of neglecting my child, and I’m back to wondering why I annoy him so much.’
‘Connie, you don’t annoy him. Trust me.’
She raised her eyebrow, unconvinced.
‘He’s never cooked anyone dinner before. Not even our parents. And he didn’t act like a prig with you then, did he?’ I took a deep breath. ‘Honestly, I think sometimes he gets nervous and it comes out as surly.’
She gave a confused laugh. ‘Why would I make him nervous? We were at school together.’
Before I could get myself into more trouble with my brother, Wilf appeared.
‘Hello Assistant Coach Jessie.’
‘Hi Wilf, but I’m not on football duty here, you can just call me Jessie.’
‘A good coach is always on duty,’ he pronounced. ‘When can I come and watch the rest ofDroid Defenders?’
‘Wilf,’ Connie warned. ‘It’s rude to invite yourself to someone’s house.’
‘But you said I could watch the rest another time,’ he replied, jaw jutting. ‘And you said I can’t ask Isaac because he might get grumpy about it, even though Isaac’s never grumpy. You didn’t say I couldn’t ask Assistant Coach Jessie.’
‘Well I know, but…’
‘How about the bank holiday Monday?’ A week on Monday it was half-term and the schools were closed all week. I called across to Isaac, who was busy folding the banqueting tables away with Elliot. ‘Hey, bro! You’re not busy a week on Monday, are you?’
