by Chloe Carpenter
Daisy walked to work every day, always taking the exact same route out of habit. But one Monday, she did things differently. Noticing a big white shaggy dog on the opposite side of the road, she couldn't resist crossing over to stroke it. But as soon as she reached it, the dog barked joyfully, wagged his tail and bounded away, pausing every few paces to turn and look at her, making sure she was following.
"You want to play, boy?"
The dog barked again, his tail thumping energetically from side to side, his head cocked expectantly. Daisy grinned and hurried after him, but though she ran as fast as her little legs would carry her, she never quite managed to catch up with him. The dog clearly thought this was great fun and he hurtled along at a furious pace, then turned the corner and disappeared from view. Daisy scampered after him. She reached the end of the road and then made a left turn into a little side street.
There was no sign of the dog. A loveable but fickle beast, he had lost interest in his new playmate when his nose picked up the delicious aroma of fried bacon emanating from an alleyway nearby.
"Hey! Where are you?" The side street was empty save for a few parked cars and a woman pushing a baby buggy. "Here boy," called Daisy, scanning the shop doorways, wondering where he had got to. Sighing, she was about to head back the way she had come when a brightly coloured green and gold awning caught her eye, and below the awning was a tall display stand. Around the borders of the stand were colourful pictures of teddy bears, balloons and rag dolls, and the lettering in the centre read: Tennant's Toy Store - Now Open! All visitors welcome.
"Oh, wow!" If there was one thing Daisy loved, it was toys. She headed towards the shop and peered in through the window. She was greeted by games and bricks, dolls and bears, roller skates, kites, craft kits, and all manner of cuddly toys. "Awesome," she breathed, her eyes sparkling with enthusiasm. She had to go look inside. She just had to.
So imagine her disappointment when she tried the door and found it locked. Pouting adorably, she peeped through the letterbox, hoping to see a member of staff who would open up and let her in.
"Well hello, little one," said a voice from behind her.
Whirling round, she looked up into a pair of inquisitive and intelligent deep brown eyes. A man smiled down at her. She smiled back. "Hello. I was just ... looking..."
"Through the letterbox. Yes. I saw you." The man grinned. "I was just about to open up. Want to see inside?"
"Hell yeah! That would be great," enthused Daisy.
The man produced a key from his pocket. "Your wish is my command, little princess." He inserted the key in the lock, turned it, and opened the door. "In you come," he said, and flipped the little Open/Closed sign so that it read 'Open'.
"This is so wonderful." Daisy's eyes grew round as saucers as she scanned the shop interior. There was so much to see she didn't know where to start.
"I'm glad you think so. You are one special little girl. Shall I tell you why?" Daisy nodded. "Because this is my first day in business and you are my first ever visitor!"
"Cool." Daisy smiled at the tall man. He had a kind face. "I can't stay long though - just ten minutes, as I have to get to work."
"Work?" The man looked at Daisy. She was tiny - barely five feet tall, with a cute, elfin face and pretty dark hair that tumbled down her back in a ponytail tied with pink ribbon. She gazed at him through thickly lashed hazel eyes. He couldn't help noticing the smattering of freckles over her cute button nose, and the way her endearing little rosebud mouth twitched at the corners as she smiled, "You don't look old enough to be going to work, young lady."
Daisy grinned. "Everyone says that. I'm only little, and I like being little and doing little girl stuff, but believe it or not, I'm twenty-three."
"No way!" The man blinked in surprise. He scrutinised Daisy again. "With your youthful looks and that outfit you'd easily pass for a kid."
"Thanks. I'll take that as a compliment." She gave the man a cheeky look and did a twirl, her short flared skirt whirling playfully.
"Very nice," he said appreciatively. "I couldn't have wished for a nicer first visitor." He extended a hand. "The name's Johnny. Johnny Tennant."
"And I'm Daisy." She put her little hand in his and shook it. "Gee - what big hands you have." She liked the way Johnny chuckled. He had a deep rich laugh that was infectious. She found herself laughing too.
"I'm very pleased to meet you Daisy. You're welcome to browse to your heart's content, or if there's anything special you're particularly interested in, just let me know."
"Do you have any rocking horses?"
"Sure do. Come this way." He led her towards the end of the shop, and there was the most amazing rocking horse Daisy had ever seen. It was dapple grey, mounted on an oak stand and it had a sweet natured face and big expressive eyes. Daisy fell in love with it instantly.
"Ohhh! She's beautiful."
"She is. All hand made too, not factory produced. Would you like to try her out."
"Could I?"
"Your wish is my command," he said, and lifted her effortlessly onto the polished soft leather saddle, sitting her astride the horse, watching her animated face as she put her tiny feet into the stirrups, her fingers reaching for the leather bridle.
Daisy began to rock, loving the feel of the wooden horse beneath her, loving the motion as she rocked back and forth. "I'm in heaven. Does she have a name?"
Johnny shook his head. "Not yet she doesn't."
"If she were mine, I'd call her Belinda."
"A very good name for a rocking horse. It suits her." The little bell above the shop doorway tinkled as two more customers stepped inside. "I'd love to stay and watch but I'd better go," he said reluctantly.
"No problem." Unperturbed, Daisy carried on rocking, as though riding the horse was the most natural thing in the world for a twenty-three year old woman to do. She was not in the least bit embarrassed and didn't care who saw her. She was having fun!
She was having such fun that she made herself late for work. Scurrying out of the shop a little after 9am, she waved at Johnny; he was standing by the counter talking to two ladies. "Thank you. That was terrific. Gotta go."
"You're welcome Daisy. I hope you'll come back when you have more time?"
"Sure I will. I love toy shops and this one is like an Aladdin's cave." She opened the door and turned for a final look. "What time do you close?"
"Six." He flashed her a look ... a look that was full of promise and allure. "I'll see you later, princess."
"Yep." She felt the colour rising to her face. There was a tingling sensation deep in her tummy. There was no doubt about it, although he was much older than her, Johnny Tennant was undeniably attractive. Daisy knew at that moment that she would call back to the toy shop on her way home from work. She wanted to ride Belinda again, and have a closer look at some of the other toys ... and then there was Johnny. Johnny Tennant.
She thought about him all day.
At 5:20 she pushed open the toy shop door and stepped inside, her chest heaving from the effort of running most of the way. Her eyes darted to the counter on the right, and there was Johnny, smiling at her.
"Hello again, little girl. I'm delighted to see you again."
"Thanks," panted Daisy.
"Looks like you've been running. Want some lemonade?"
"Yes please."
"Come through to the back." He led the way, pushing open a door at the end of the shop marked with a sign that said 'Private'. "I have a little makeshift kitchen here. Take a seat, Daisy."
Daisy sat at a small table and watched Johnny open the fridge and take out a bottle of lemonade. He filled a tall glass and handed it to her.
"There you go, sweetheart. Want a cookie to go with it?"
"Is it a chocolate cookie?"
"How did you guess?" Johnny's eyes twinkled as he reached for the cookie jar in one of the cupboards.
As she ate and drank, Daisy found herself chattering away to Johnny. She told him about her day at work, her little apartment, her favourite foods and TV programmes, and how she found his shop by following the big dog across the road.
"So a dog brought us together, huh? If I ever see him, I'll give him one of these cookies as a reward."
"I think he'd like that." Daisy beamed. She felt very comfortable with Johnny. He was so different from her previous boyfriends - older, more mature and interesting, and when he looked at her in a certain way it made her feel so deliciously squirmy.
By the time they'd done chatting it was 6pm, so Johnny locked the toy shop door and flicked the sign round to read 'Closed'.
"There you go, princess. I'm in no hurry, so take as long as you want to play with whatever you want."
Daisy clapped her hands in excitement and rushed over to the rocking horse again. After five minutes, she dismounted and began to explore the shop. Johnny smiled indulgently. At one point he hunkered down on the floor next to her and they played with a fairytale castle and little plastic people and animals in the castle grounds.
This became their routine for the remainder of the week. Daisy called at the toy shop every afternoon after work and had cookies and lemonade followed by playing with anything she wanted. And the really fun part was that Johnny indulged her in every way, and joined in some of her games. They chatted and laughed together and got on wonderfully well, but on Friday evening, he noticed her downcast look.
"What's the matter, little one? Are you unhappy?"
"Well ... it's just ..." She hesitated, suddenly shy.
"Go on." He took her hand in his. "Tell me."
"It's Saturday tomorrow and I don't go to work on Saturday's - so that means there's no excuse for me to come here."
Johnny smiled. "Silly girl. Of course you can come. Why not spend the day here? I was hoping you would. You can help out round the back if you like. I'm setting up a doll's hospital. You'd be surprised at how many kids have toys that are broken - toys that are so well loved they don't want to throw them away. We'll mend them, you and I. If you'd like that?"
"Oh I'd love that!"
He smiled that quirky smile of his that she had grown to love. "And maybe after work, you'd like to have dinner with me, and we can spend the rest of the weekend together?"
"I'd love that too, Johnny." Daisy reached up and flung her arms around his waist. Johnny responded by lifting her up and perching her on the end of the counter.
"There. Now you can hug me properly," he teased, and when her arms went round his neck he leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers. "Mmmn. Daddy's going to take care of his little one the entire weekend."
"Daddy? I kinda like that," she purred.
"I thought you would," said Johnny, and kissed her again.
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