Page 90 of Little Miss Fortune

‘Are you all right?’ he asks.

‘You are very impressive,’ I blurt out without thinking.

He chokes on his coffee. ‘What? How come?’

‘You make friends everywhere you go. It’s as if you’re lacking the genes to be awkward.’

‘I was very awkward around you, if you remember. But that’s because I fancied you.’

‘I just feel like... I don’t know, let me ramble, and maybe I will get to the point, eventually.’

‘Please go ahead.’

‘I have always been ashamed of certain things. Looking different, sounding different, being bad at things, being unlucky. Exhibit A—the bird—I do not understand how that could have possibly happened to anyone, yet it happens to me constantly. I worry that I won’t be good enough to be around you. Everyone loves you, and those women at the market loved you. They couldn’t understand why you would want to be with someone like me, and I don’t blame them because neither do I.’

‘Fuko—’

‘It’s just... I feel like I’ll always be a hindrance. I make horrible choices. Like did I tell you that whenever things get even slightly bad, I call John. I’ve been using him for years, and I justify it because he’s not a good person. But I am just as bad for stringing him along.’

‘I think—’

‘And that monstrous bird. I thought that maybe if I won this kiddy race I would at least have something. Something that I can show you that isn’t my normal mistakes, or my usual insecurities. Because I think... I think I’ve really started to fall for you.’

That just came out. I didn’t mean to say it, but I did, and now he is staring at me. Is it fear in his eyes? Oh god, I’ve fucked it. My mouth opens and closes like I am a fish witnessing colourful rubber birds bobbing up and down the stream.

My instinct is kicking in—to take it back or to run away. But I sit, waiting to hear what he says. His face turns red, perfectly matching mine. Does he have the same fears as me? Of this being too soon and too sudden? If he does, those fears do not interfere with his hands cupping my face and his lips finding mine.

Damn, I really wish I had worn something nicer—it could have been a perfect shot.

The bell on my amulet jingles, stopping the kiss as my phone starts ringing.

Reluctantly, I grumble and pull away from the kiss. ‘Hello?’

‘Is this Fookoh?’ asks the woman on the other end of the phone.

‘Yes,’ I say and shrug my shoulders at Toby’s silent question.

‘I am calling from the raffle.’

‘Raffle,’ I mouth to Toby.

‘You are our third-place winner.’

‘I won?’ I jump up.

‘The massages?’ Toby jumps up with me, and I shake my head. The second prize was...

‘Yes, please collect the cupcakes from Merton Abbey Mills by three o’clock today.’

‘We are coming right now.’ I hang up. ‘Toby, we have cupcakes to collect.’

‘That’s even better than a spa massage!’

‘It isn’t, but I like your energy.’

The cupcakes have no nuts, as Tiama’s daughter is also allergic. Toby and I share two cupcakes each. We laugh about the heron and the Quacky Races. Toby promises to be more forthcoming about future dates so I can plan appropriate attire.

We shake our hands, confirming that, although I did not lose in the true sense of the word, Toby did win the race. So our next date will have to include me cooking for him.