Everything is Beautiful by Eleanor Ray (best classic romance novels txt) 📕

Joanna’s make-up. A healthy amount of foundation and blusher and she looked even more like the girl she used to know. She was pleased she’d kept all these mirrors now; every time she turned around she was surprised by the pleasant-looking person who glanced back at her. She gave herself a tentative smile, testing how it felt to try to look happy again.

The doorbell rang, and for once Amy didn’t mind its jaunty tone. She opened the door and saw Charles standing there. ‘You look different,’ he told her.

‘I found some old clothes,’ she said.

‘Your face looks different too,’ he said, suspiciously.

‘What is it?’ asked Amy.

He smiled at her. ‘You said I could ring your doorbell when I wanted to see you.’ Amy didn’t reply. ‘So here I am,’ said Charles. ‘I thought we could play in my room, so we don’t break any more of your things.’

‘I’m actually quite busy,’ began Amy.

‘There’s always time for a break,’ replied Charles brightly. ‘We have to be careful in my room too. No breaking things when we play.’

‘I’m a bit old for—’

‘You’re younger than my dad, I bet, and he plays with me sometimes. Nina never plays. She’s too boring.’

Amy thought about the mess upstairs. She should really clear up all the boxes she’d moved. But to where? She still hadn’t found the shoebox she wanted so she didn’t want to put everything back in that room, but where else? She bit her lip and considered getting rid of some of her things. But which ones? The thought of it made her feel uneasy. Maybe it was a problem for later. ‘OK,’ she said. ‘Just for a little bit.’

‘Come on then,’ said Charles, taking her hand. ‘We’ve not got all day.’

Amy slipped on a pair of sandals and allowed herself to be dragged along into the house next door. She was beginning to get used to its emptiness now. Charles went up the stairs taking them two at a time. Amy lifted her long dress to keep it out of the way and did the same. ‘This is my room,’ Charles told her proudly, as he opened the door. ‘I have to share it with Daniel,’ he confessed. ‘But the coolest toys in it are all mine.’

Amy saw the little plastic car bed that she’d spotted when they’d first moved in. It had a duvet on top which depicted Mickey Mouse kicking a football. There was a bigger bed on the other side of the room with a duvet illustrated with every construction machine imaginable. ‘Take a seat,’ said Charles, gesturing to the building-site bed. She perched on it tentatively. ‘It’s good for bouncing on,’ he told her. Amy nodded and looked around. There were two little chests of drawers, a smattering of bright plastic toys and a few dinosaurs exploring the carpet. It was pretty tidy.

Charles dragged out a heavy red box from a corner and turned it over. Little yellow machines spilled out, covering the floor. ‘My collection,’ he said.

‘It’s lovely,’ said Amy, feeling a sense of kinship. He rummaged through another box and produced a heavy book. ‘This book has more than you’ll ever need to know about construction equipment, my dad says,’ said Charles. He turned to a well-used page. ‘Look.’

Amy obeyed. ‘Keep reading,’ instructed Charles, going to the cupboard. He came out with a box containing an excavator. ‘The JCB 220X LC,’ he told her. ‘Remote controlled.’ He carefully opened the box and withdrew several pieces of tissue paper, then a small machine. He placed it on the floor. ‘My dad gave me this for my birthday,’ he said. ‘It’s a to-scale replica of the ones they use on real construction sites like in this book,’ he pointed. ‘Except in real life they don’t have remotes. People get inside to drive.’

‘It’s very nice,’ said Amy.

‘Do you want to drive it?’ asked Charles. ‘You have to be very careful.’

‘You show me how it’s done,’ said Amy.

‘Good thinking,’ replied Charles. He switched it on and a high-pitched whirring sound began as it explored the room. ‘It’s best in the hallway,’ said Charles. She followed him as he drove it out. ‘It can really pick stuff up. Look, I’ll show you.’ He pushed open a door and they went inside. Amy found herself in an adult’s bedroom. Charles grabbed a lipstick from a dressing table which he threw to the floor. He frowned in concentration as the machine struggled to scoop it up. ‘Give it a minute,’ he said. ‘Lipsticks are tricky.’ He struggled some more, then tossed it a bottle of perfume with a poppy painted on. ‘That’s a better shape,’ he said. They both watched as it picked up the perfume bottle and thrust it towards the bed. ‘Cool,’ said Charles.

‘What’s cool?’ Richard was standing in the doorway. Daniel stood with an arm around his leg. ‘Oh, hello, Amy.’ He looked at her. ‘You look different.’

‘Like a princess,’ said Daniel.

‘I found some old clothes,’ said Amy, feeling uncomfortable.

‘Blue suits you,’ said Richard.

‘Got it!’ the excavator spun round in victory, clutching the lipstick.

‘Nice skills,’ said Richard, taking his eyes away from Amy and back to his son.

‘Watch this.’ The machine dropped the lipstick and went up to the chest of drawers. Charles pursed up his whole face in concentration, as the excavator arm reached up, grabbed the drawer handle and pulled. The drawer opened and they all clapped. ‘Shush,’ he said. ‘I need to focus.’ The machine let go of the drawer and pulled out a handful of silky underwear. ‘Ta-dah!’ he said.

They clapped again and the machine spun around in victory, spreading underwear over the floor.

‘What’s going on?’ The laughter stopped and they all turned to look at Nina, standing in the doorway. ‘What’s that on the floor?’

‘Sorry about that,’ said Richard, gathering up the underwear. ‘Charles was just showing us how good he’s got at using the excavator.’

‘Are those my knickers?’ asked Nina. ‘And is that my perfume on the floor?’ She looked around the room and