‘Oh, I am, Evin. I absolutely love it. It’s funny, I never imagined doing something like this, but it’s like it was what I was always meant to do.’
‘You should buy it! You could move in forever and then you could come and see Chewie do his tricks now that you like dogs!’
Juliette laughed. She loved how children thought life was so simple. ‘Yes, that would be amazing. But, sadly, the museum isn’t for sale. And I have to go home after the summer.’
Evin’s brow crumpled. ‘But I heard dad saying…’ Clearly, he thought better of sharing whatever it was and instead sighed and turned towards the exit. ‘Maybe I should go and show my dad Chewie’s new tricks anyway. It might cheer him up.’
Juliette’s interest was piqued. ‘Is he sad?’
Evin shrugged. ‘Sometimes. But he’s grumpy alot. My grandad is really poorly, and my uncle is always going away on trips for TV, so he doesn’t visit much. I think my dad wishes he had some friends, but he won’t admit it. My mum says he’s as stubborn as an ox.’
‘Ah.’ Juliette decided not to pry further in case news of her nosiness reached Reid. She wasn’t entirely sure where she stood with him, so the last thing she needed was to provide him with reasons for disliking her. ‘Are you not playing with your friends now it’s summer?’
Evin crumpled his nose and shook his head slowly. ‘I don’t really have any.’
Her heart sank at his confession. ‘Oh, but you’re such a friendly boy.’
He shrugged. ‘I’m not popular. I got bullied a bit, but it’s okay now. They just ignore me. I think they think I’m boring.’
Juliette scoffed. ‘Pfft! You’re theleastboring person I’ve met here. You’re great fun.’ Her heart went out to the poor, disheartened child.
He grinned. ‘Do you think so?’
Memories of her own experience of bullying at school came flooding back. The cruelty of those so young could have a dire effect and she wanted to help him. ‘Iknowso. Anyway, it’s their loss. And what you must remember is that bullies are usually quite insecure people. They bully others because they think it makes them look big and cool. But it doesn’t. It’s quite sad, really.’
He pursed his lips and nodded. ‘I’ve never thought of it like that. It makes lots of sense.’
‘Anyway, take it from me, you don’t want fake friends in your life. One day, you’ll meet someone who loves the same things that you love. So, try not to worry.’
Evin’s eyes brightened. ‘Thank you. See, youareSparkly Jules. You make everything seem bright.’
Touched by his words, Juliette struggled to find any more of her own. Her throat tightened a little. Ever since that day she helped pull Chewie from the water, there had been this affinity between them. In spite of what he’d no doubt been taught about strangers, he clearly trusted her and, even though it probably shouldn’t, the fact made her heart swell. She thought that if she ever had a little boy, she would love for him to be just like Evin.
‘Well, I’d better get going. I’m supposed to call for bread and milk. Ooh, I nearly forgot, are you coming to the games? There’s a talent show and all sorts of other fun stuff.’
‘Talent show, eh? Are you entering?’
Evin cringed. ‘I don’t have any talents.’
Juliette placed down the duster. ‘I’m sure that’s not true.’
He looked at his feet. ‘I can’t sing, or dance, or play a guitar, or do rapping, or—’
‘How about you focus on what youcando? Talent isn’t just about music, you know. I distinctly remember moments ago you saying you had trained Chewie to do tricks. That’s a talent. And you’d get to do the show with your best friend. Sounds perfect to me.’
Evin’s eyes brightened as he lifted his face. ‘Do you think people would think I was talented if I did that? I mean, is it the kind of thing youdoin a talent show?’
‘Absolutely. There was a TV talent show where a girl and her dog did tricks. She went on to have her own movie.’
His eyes widened. ‘Coooool! That’s it then. Youhaveto come to the games to see me and Chewie do tricks!’
She held out her hand. ‘Deal.’
He shook it and beamed. ‘Deal.’
15
Later, Caitlin called round at the cottage with a gift of her home-made lemon cake. Juliette filled the kettle and put it on to boil. ‘It’s funny, I wasn’t expecting to be so welcome, with me only being here for the summer. I never expected to be treated as part of the village,’ she confessed.
