Kate folded her arms as the crew gave up and decided on a break. Everyone was there, ready for filming, but Darcy. She fiddled with the clothes stand next to her. Some plastic thing jutted out at the top. Had Darcy just decided she wasn’t going to be dressed? Was she too busy to bother turning up? Was she okay? She shoved her hands in her pockets. What if she wasn’t okay? She would contact Susannah if she wasn’t, right?
“Susannah, did you know about this?” Marge asked, hurrying over with her phone.
Susannah looked down at it, then shook her head. “No. She didn’t say, but then she didn’t tell me about the book.” She rolled her eyes. “Not like she says anything to me anyway.”
Zoë wandered over from muttering about a whole collection of badly shaped jumpers, or sweaters, to her. There were a lot of differences between English and American names for clothes. Why? Were they going to say a cardigan was not a cardigan, because the people of Cardigan in West Wales would be pretty irritated. Then again, did they actually make them or get named after them? Cardigan was cold sometimes. Maybe someone decided that yanking a jumper on over the head was too stressful? She picked at the stand. Maybe she needed to stop thinking so much?
“Atta girl,” Zoë chimed at the phone. “She knows when to step in.”
Kate frowned. Step in?
Susannah glanced over with a furtive look, like she didn’t want to say. “I’ve never seen anyone cheered out of school before.”
What were they on about? Kate picked at the stand again. Maybe Darcy had gone on a date with some gorgeous woman or was following Gregory whatever-his-name around, but that wouldn’t have made Susannah happy…and she’d mentioned school. Hmmm.
Kate pulled out her phone and flicked to Darcy’s Twitter account: Bullies, FYI, labels only useful on clothes. No knock-offs. Everyone is designer. #EmbraceDesigner.
Okay, bit random…or had she heard about Mikey? She chewed on her lip. Oh no, her heartstrings couldn’t take that kind of thrumming. Mikey was a soft spot.
She searched through the hashtag. Pictures posted by parents she knew. Darcy in front of the entire school, charming smile, Mikey at her side. Tweets like: Darcy is amazing, what a hero; Mikey’s BFF pops in, Darcy McGregor! Mikey and his sidekick take on bullies; Bullies suck, let’s close them down. Kate read through them—there were hundreds. Mikey was a hero in them. #EmbraceDesigner pumped out until it was trending. She picked at the plastic and yanked it. Darcy was… Oh shit, how did she walk away from that? She yanked the plastic again, and it came free.
The stand collapsed. Clothes slumped to the floor, and it clattered over, knocking two more clothes stands over. Oops.
“I feel your pain,” Zoë called over with a chuckle. “I’d trash the lot.”
Marge tutted at her. “Snob.”
“It’s not snobby. If you’re going to pay fifty pounds for something, least it could do is be the right size.” Zoë scowled at the clothes on the floor. “It’s offensive.”
Kate hurried to pick up the clothes. She wanted to cry. How pathetic was that? But did she want to cry because Mikey was a hero, because Darcy had stepped in, or because every time she convinced herself Darcy was scum, she went and proved she wasn’t.
#FlippingConfused.
“Kate-oh!” Mikey’s triumphant call ripped through her remaining resolve, and she sobbed out a breath.
She looked up in time to catch him hurling himself at her. They thunked into the pile of clothes with an oof.
“Hey, how come you’re out of school?” She cuddled him close. Maybe she could just hold him until she stopped being a baby?
“Darcy rescue.” He snuggled in with a contented sigh. “She say I hero.” He chuckled. “Sproutman is cool.”
She squeezed him, more tears blubbering down. “You’ve always been cool to me.”
He peered up at her. “Have?”
She nodded. “Yup.”
“We were missing a vital cast member,” Darcy said to Marge as she stared at her. Same “what is the issue?” tone as always. “Every designer needs her sprouts.”
Zoë nodded. “Missed the dude. Honey, you gonna finish up heckling your agent and get over here?” She frowned over at Blanche wandering around, phone glued to her ear.
Blanche held up her hand and carried on chattering.
Zoë rolled her eyes. “If the guy wasn’t so gay, I’d be worried.” She smiled at Susannah, who gazed up at Darcy like she’d launch-hug at her. “It’s in there somewhere. She just can’t let you see she’s human.”
Darcy tutted at her and met Kate’s gaze. Then she frowned, concern in her eyes as she must have seen the tears. She moved forward, then stopped and sighed. “Why is Kate dismantling the store?”
Susannah glanced over, then frowned exactly like Darcy with echoed concern. “Shopping is painful?”
Darcy blurted out that laugh, then seemed to decide something with a nod and strolled over. “You don’t like patterned camisoles?”
Kate sat up, Mikey nestled into her, and shrugged. “If I knew what they were, I’d say yeah?”
“They’re…” Darcy waved it off. “You are quite dangerous in department stores, aren’t you?”
Kate looked around her. “I think so.” She pulled herself to her feet and smiled. It was just a relief that Darcy was talking to her, looking at her, smiling. “You abducting children?”
“They let him go, and I had permission,” Darcy said. Mikey ducked under her outstretched hand and gave her a cuddle. Darcy raised her eyebrows like she wasn’t sure what she’d done to deserve such affection. “Besides, if you are going to dress me, I need an ally.” She winked down at him. “He knows how to dress.”
Mikey pointed to his green T-shirt with some kind of crocodile on it, or maybe it was an alligator. She wasn’t sure which was which. “Green and blue work.”
“They do. It’s a wonderful combination when used well.” Darcy squeezed him. “Some little fashion myths need a rewrite.”
He nodded. “Designer.”
She beamed down at him. “Exactly.”
He spotted Susannah and cheered, then launched into a stutter run at her. “Susannah-oh!”
Kate let out a long breath. Right. Not easy to ignore loving Darcy right now, was it? “Thank you.”
Darcy held her gaze. “It’s my job. He’s my Sproutman.” She winked at her, then leaned in like she wanted to kiss her. Instead, she pulled a stray camisole off her shoulder. “Best we keep you away from doors and clothing stands, hmm?”
Kate narrowed her eyes. Tease. “Maybe I caught it from you? You knocked them over first.”
“Yes, well…” Darcy stroked her cheek and turned. “I’ve always been a trendsetter.”