Page 87 of The Village of Lost and Found

‘What are you talking about?’ asked Lucy, wondering if she was perhaps still drunk from the night before.

‘I hate the black and pink,’ said Molly, making a face. Her mouth was set in a firm, determined line that Lucy hadn’t seen before. ‘And the jungle stuff in the bedrooms.’

‘Wow. Great,’ said Lucy, feeling surprised but pleased.

‘And the cats.’

‘The cats?’ Lucy looked up at Molly in surprise. ‘Are you sure?’

‘Verysure,’ said Molly, glaring. ‘I hate them. I always have. And this is our home, not Bridget’s. Seeing as our friendship is most definitely over, I don’t see why I should keep them any more. Anyway, I think they were upsetting Keith.’

Keith looked up from his new squeaky toy just long enough to thump his tail on the floor upon hearing his name.

‘So I’ll box them up and dump them outside,’ carried on Molly. ‘If she wants them, then she can come and get them. If not, the charity shops can take them.’

‘Yeah, they’ll be really grateful,’ said Lucy, giving her a wink.

Molly giggled. ‘I’m not so sure they will,’ she said.

After they had had their croissants, Keith included, they switched on the radio and sang along, mostly out of key, to the songs as they stripped the ghastly dark wallpaper from the walls. Lucy found it quite therapeutic returning the walls back to their lovely pale original colour.

Once they had finished the lounge, they looked around in pride.

‘It looks so much better,’ said Lucy, nodding.

‘Absolutely,’ said Molly. ‘We’ll have to repaint the walls, but we’ll find a similar colour. It shows off the oak beams so much better. Right. Let’s get rid of that awful jungle stuff next.’

The wallpaper in Molly’s bedroom put up more of a fight than in the lounge and there were a few sticky patches left on the walls once they had finished.

But Molly shrugged. ‘I don’t care,’ she said. ‘Some paint will cover it up. But that bloomin’ lion used to give me nightmares.’

‘So did those parrots,’ said Lucy, nodding in agreement.

The walls looked a bit tatty underneath, but they were still a marked improvement on the ghastly wallpaper.

Then Molly headed downstairs to pick up some cardboard boxes from the shop and began to pack away the ornaments.

‘It’s so cluttered,’ she wailed. ‘I can’t bear it.’

So the cats went, as well as all the glittery shiny boxes and fake chandeliers. Gradually the apartment was stripped bare until it was just the furniture, blank walls and oak beams.

‘Much more classy,’ said Lucy, nodding her approval.

Molly took the boxed ornaments downstairs to get them out of the way.

‘I’ll give Bridget two days to pick it all up,’ she said, texting as she came back up the stairs. ‘Otherwise the whole lot will go.’

‘Who are you and what have you done with Molly?’ asked Lucy in amazement.

Molly giggled. ‘I’m still me. Just a little stronger.’

Lucy nodded. ‘It suits you.’

And it did. It was all Molly, of course. But, for once, Lucy felt a little glow of appreciation that she had helped out her friend. And that she now had friends to help as well.

‘Well, what do you make of all this then?’ asked Lucy, as she sat down on the sofa. ‘Everyone’s changing.’

Keith suddenly stood up and climbed onto the sofa next to her, placing his head on her knee. She stroked his floppy ears as she looked down at him.