It felt nice.
So nice, of their own volition, her hands lifted to curve her fingers around one of his strong forearms and she held on.
“With a little effort, anything can be made into a party,” Joy replied breezily, her eyes dropped to Jack’s arms and Belle’s hands and she continued in a softer voice. “And these days, it seems we have more and more to celebrate.”
Before Belle could process this statement, Yasmin stormed in and Belle stared.
She looked entirely normal except for the fact that she was barefoot, there were toe separators between her toes and three toes on her left foot had not been coated with the bright, iridescent tangerine the others sported.
She looked around and then her eyes locked on Joy. “Did I miss it?”
“No, darling, you didn’t miss it,” Joy assured her, her eyes on Yasmin’s toes. “Did I catch you in the middle of a pedicure?”
Yasmin walked into the room, toes curled to the ceiling, her gaze moving to Jack and Belle. “I dropped everything and got in the car. I think I may have broken the land speed record to get here.” She looked to Belle. “I’ve been waiting years to see Myrtle and Lewis. If they’re appearing more often, I’m considering moving in.”
Belle began to wonder if maybe Yasmin wasn’t a little mad too but she didn’t get to process this either.
Suddenly, Yasmin rocked back on her heels, her arms crossed on her chest and she grinned a mischievous grin. “You two look cosy. We know we’ll soon be hearing the pitter-patter of little feet but are we expecting wedding bells too?”
Belle’s body went statue-still.
So did Jack’s.
Belle wanted to run from the room, from the castle, maybe even find a spaceship and ask the astronauts to take her to the moon.
Jack, as if sensing this, tensed his arms.
“Yasmin,” he said in that oh so scary low and rumbly voice that was even more oh so scary than ever before.
“What?” Yasmin asked with feigned innocence, her grin never slipping. “I need to be prepared. I have to have an outfit and a big hat. Huge,” she emphasised. “The hat has to be enormous.” Her gaze shifted to Belle. “Do you design hats?”
“No,” Belle replied in a small voice.
“You should,” Yasmin told her. “I bet you’d be good at it.”
Before any more could be said, Gram and Mom entered the room and, not surprisingly, they did it far more flamboyantly than either Joy or Yasmin.
Or at least Mom did.
“You!” Mom shouted, clearly in a state, her hand up, finger pointing at Jack then she demanded, “How dare you move my daughter into a haunted castle?”
“Oh dear,” Joy muttered.
“Oh dear is right,” Mom yelled at Joy. “I do not believe this. Ghosts. Creepy child ghosts. See-through creepy child ghosts.” Her eyes shifted to Jack and she screeched, “Child ghosts! Everyone knows nothing is creepier than child ghosts!”
Although Belle found nothing whatsoever funny about the current moment, Jack, of course, did. She knew this because she not only heard his chuckle but she felt his body shaking with laughter.
“This is not funny!” Rachel shrieked.
“Rachel Leonora, calm down,” Gram demanded.
Mom turned on Gram. “I will not calm down. We’re moving out, this instant.”
“You’re not moving out,” Jack stated, all humour gone from his voice and Mom whirled back to him.
She opened her mouth to speak then she stopped and her eyes moved over Jack and Belle. They rested on Jack’s arms and Belle’s hands then they lifted to Belle’s face.
Then they narrowed.