The Night Rainbow A Novel - By Claire King Page 0,78

I stand next to the grey one for a long time, stroking the dark line down his back and his shoulders, smelling his grassy donkey smell.

That donkey likes you best, says Margot, and the brown one likes me best.

Yes, I say. And I stand some more.

The donkeys follow us down to the stream and stare over to the other side. Someone has been here and given the low pasture a haircut. It is lying flat, turning yellow in the sun, and it smells like you could eat it. I’m sure I can hear the donkeys’ tummies rumbling. We wave goodbye to them and go very carefully over the stepping stones. The field looks different now, bigger and cleaner, like it wants us to run in it, so we do. Right along the long rows of cut-down grass. It feels funny running on the stubbly leftovers, no flowers, all empty. The grass spikes scrunch under my sandals.

Claude has been to the girl-nest. There are bottles of water and a packet of biscuits waiting for us. But Claude is not there. I drink some water and start on the biscuits. They are soft and sticky and full of figs. I wonder if I should save some, because I haven’t decided if I am going to go home yet. I am tired and need to think about it. The nest is shady and soft. Margot and I curl up together and try to make nice dreams come.

When I wake up my dream is still behind my eyes. I was dreaming of a jar of beads, red at the bottom and then orange and yellow and blue all the way up to the top, with all the colours, even the boys’ colours. The beads were spilling out one by one. I knew when the last red bead was gone and the jar was empty something very bad would happen, but I couldn’t scoop them up as fast as they were tipping out. It wasn’t a nice dream and I am very hungry. I shake my head to make the dream be gone.

Pass the biscuits, I say to Margot.

Pass the water, PLEASE, Margot says back.

I pass her the water and when I take the biscuits from her I say a very big and polite THANK YOU. I have nearly finished the whole packet before I remember to offer her one.

I’m terribly sorry, I say, how rude of me. Would you care for a figgy biscuit?

Margot smiles. How kind, she says, but no, really I’m not very hungry. Would you like some water?

Oh yes, I would LOVE some water. THANK YOU, I say.

After all this I feel better – not dizzy any more and less cross. But I don’t think I want to go home.

Shall we go to Claude’s house? I suggest.

We can’t, says Margot. He put up his finger and said not today.

Hmm, I say. Well what about Josette then?

Why should we say we have come?

To say hello?

She might be disturbed.

I don’t want to go home! I say. I can shout at Margot, it doesn’t matter. She isn’t allowed to get cross with me.

Right then, says Margot. Off we go to Josette’s house. Shall we take her some flowers?

That’s a good idea, I say. Yellow ones.

Josette is pegging out the laundry in her garden. She has a pink basket sitting on the grass full of unusual clothes. We are sitting on the grass and watching her. We arrived quietly and she doesn’t know we are here yet. She takes a pair of trousers and floofs them so that they uncrumple. A pair of frilly knickers fly out from the leg and I laugh.

Pivoine! says Josette. Good heavens, you gave me a fright! What are you doing here? Is everything OK?

I hold out the flowers. Hello, I say.

We hope we are not disturbing you, says Margot.

Are you hungry? she says.

No, I say. Claude left us some biscuits and water.

Did he now? Josette folds her arms.

In the girl-nest, Margot says.

In the low pasture, I say.

I hope it wasn’t meant to be a secret, says Margot.

Maman yelled at Claude, I say. So we have no one to play with.

Who? says Josette.

Me and Margot, I say.

Suddenly I hear music, and we look up to see a band walking up the path to Josette’s house. There is a man with long hair and a trumpet. A man wearing a hat with a green ribbon around it and holding an accordion. There is a lady with long dark hair and rings