The Rewilding of Molly McFlynn by Sue Reed

Author:Sue Reed
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Children's fiction
Publisher: The Book Guild
Published: 2023-10-28T00:00:00+00:00

Thirteen

Birthday Girl

My dad FaceTimed me! It was so good to see him even if it was only seven o’clock in the morning and he’d woken me up. Nanny McFlynn was there too, although you could only see the top half of her head on the screen. They were singing ‘Happy Birthday’ and Dad was playing his guitar. Even their dog was joining in! They were hilarious. Dad’s hair was getting long and grey, his curls bouncing on his shoulders as he played. I couldn’t wait until I could go across to Ireland and stay with them, though with the pandemic, goodness knows when that would be.

Mam hadn’t totally forgotten either. She sent me a message, wishing me Happy Birthday and saying she’d ring later. I guessed she was at work. She said her present was in the post. Dom from drama club video-called me too – like me, he was still in bed. He was surrounded by a rainbow of pillows. He’s lush, he is. He said he was sick of being in his bedroom, and there was nothing to get up for. Poor Dom. He looked right fed up. It was still early so I wasn’t surprised that Jess or Shona or Abby hadn’t messaged. I wasn’t going to waste any time thinking about them, though. I could hear Nan singing in the kitchen below and the smell of a cake being baked was wafting up the stairs, so I jumped out of bed, grabbed my dressing gown and ran down.

‘Happy Birthday!’ Nan shouted. There were jugs of daffodils on the table and a big chocolate cake on a glass cake stand in the middle. She looked like summer sunshine itself, dressed in lime green and pink, and surrounded by bright yellow flowers.

‘When did you make that?’ I asked, looking at the most splendid chocolate cake I had ever seen. Nan had been in her workshop mixing potions for Grandad when I went to bed last night. It was three layers tall, and covered in buttercream icing, with little purple flowers on the top.

‘Oh, who needs sleep? I certainly don’t! Come on, open your presents.’

There were three presents on the table.

The first was a smooth, round wooden box with a fitted lid. It was beautiful. The grain of the wood flowed in bands around it. It felt wonderful in my hands, and I put it up to my nose to smell it.

‘It’s cherry wood,’ Nan said, ‘from the tree in the garden. He thought you could put your rings and earrings in it.’ It was perfect, and I loved that Grandad had made it himself.

I rushed up to the landing and stood at the bottom of the stairs that led to the attic. ‘Thank you, Grandad! It’s wonderful! You’re so clever! I love you!’

He tried to call back down, but he coughed and spluttered with every word.

‘Don’t talk! I’ll bring you some cake!’ I clattered back down the stairs and sat at the table. My phone pinged. It was Grandad.

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