“It is for you—look.”
Instantly, my heart begins to pound. Could it be from Noah? Who else knows I’m here?
I go over to Dad and take the box from him. The handwritten label on the top says, To Penny, Happy You-Know-What Day! N
“Who’s it from?” Dad says, looking suspicious.
“Noah,” I mutter, my cheeks immediately flushing red.
“Who?” Dad says.
“Noah,” I repeat.
“Yes, I got that, but Noah who?”
“He’s Sadie Lee’s grandson,” Mum explains. “Penny went with him to get the replacement tiara today.”
“So, what’s in the box?” Dad asks, raising his eyebrows.
“I don’t know,” I reply. They all stare at me, waiting for me to open it.
“I’m going to go to bed,” I say. “I’m feeling really tired.”
Dad looks at Mum and raises his eyebrows again. She smiles at him and shakes her head as if to say, it’s OK. I breathe a sigh of relief.
“See you guys in the morning,” I say, quickly getting my key card from my bag.
“Yes, bright and early,” Mum says.
“But—” Elliot begins.
“Night!” I say, and I slip through my door and shut it behind me before any of them can say another word.
My heart’s still pounding: what could it be? I check my phone to see if Noah’s texted but there’s nothing. I open the top of the box and peer inside. I see a load of silky auburn hair and I gasp—the doll!
I also notice an envelope taped to the inside of the lid. I open it and pull out a note.
Dear Penny,
So, I went back to the store and just as I was walking past the doll she told me that it is her greatest dream to be adopted by a kindhearted British girl with really cute hair and freckles just like hers. It was such a heartfelt plea that I just couldn’t resist—even though it meant having to talk to the Store Owner from Unfriendly Hell twice in one day. This time he said to me, “Son, don’t you think you’re a little too old to be playing with dolls?” I told him I hoped that one day I’d be just the right age for something—marriage, dolls, whatever. He wasn’t amused.
I’ve also enclosed a piece of Sadie Lee’s famous devil’s food cake (?just to make sure you stick to the Magical Mystery rules and have cake with every meal).
N
I pull out the doll and a huge slab of cake wrapped in silver foil. I sit the doll on my pillow. She already looks so much happier, gazing at me through her glassy green eyes. Then I get that fluttery feeling again and all of the stress of the evening begins to fade. Noah really is lovely and he really does like me. I hadn’t imagined our connection after all.
Chapter Twenty-Four
I’m just about to text Noah when I hear a gentle tapping on the adjoining door.
“Pen, can I come in?” I hear Elliot call.
“Of course,” I reply.
The door opens and Elliot pads over to me. He’s wearing his pajamas, a backward Yankees cap, and no glasses, which makes his face look even thinner.
“Hi,” he says, scanning the bed, obviously looking to see what was in the box. His gaze falls on the doll. “No way!” he exclaims. “Is that what he sent you?”
I nod and, even though I’m trying to play it cool, my mouth involuntarily curls into a grin.
“She’s beautiful!” Elliot sits down on the bed and picks up the doll.
“I know. We saw her in the vintage store earlier—when we went to pick up the tiara. I told him how abandoned toys always make me sad. He sent a note saying she wanted me to adopt her.” My face flushes with embarrassment and I wait for Elliot to make some kind of mocking comment, but he doesn’t. He just keeps on smiling at the doll and smoothing down her hair.
“Look at the dress. It must be Victorian. Do you know how much it cost?”
I shake my head.
“It won’t have been cheap. This is no Barbie, my dear.”
“I know.”
“Oh my God! Did he send you that cake too?” Elliot’s eyes go even wider as he spots the devil’s food cake.
“Yes. His grandma made it. She’s an amazing cook.”
Elliot puts the doll back on the pillow and smiles at me. “OK, OK, I’m starting to see why it was love at first sight. Go on then.”
“What?”
“Tell me all about it.”
So we get under the duvet, and I tell him all about my magical day with Noah. When I get to the bit about his hand brushing mine, Elliot actually starts waving his hands up and down in excitement. I decide against telling him about the inciting incident, though—I want to keep that just between me and Noah.
“Holy swoon-gate!” Elliot exclaims when I finally get to the end of my tale. “If that’s what Brooklyn boys are like I’m emigrating as soon as possible!”
I laugh and break off a piece of Sadie Lee’s cake and pop it into my mouth. It’s so soft it feels like velvet on my tongue.
“I’m sorry I was such a grump earlier,” Elliot says. “I totally get why you were so excited now.”
As soon as he says this, I think of my blog post. In all of the excitement of the special delivery from Noah, I completely forgot to delete it.
“That’s OK,” I say. “I should have told you before I blogged about it.”
We look at each other and grin and I’m filled with a wave of relief that everything is back to normal between us.
“OK, I’m going to let you get some sleep,” Elliot says, getting up from the bed. “You’ve got a big day ahead.”
“I’m really sorry. I’ve hardly got to hang out with you.”
“That’s OK. I’ve been having a great time with your dad and tomorrow we’re going to the Statue of Liberty and on a ghost tour.”
“A ghost tour?”
“Yep. It’s going to be epic—it even includes a visit to the hidden tomb of twenty thousand yellow-fever victims.”