than Coral and Nicks. And they had, after all, successfully played matchmaker to Archie and Gwyn (the couple kissing on the beach at that very moment!). So it really was their destiny.
Coral turned and faced her friend with a big grin. “What a result!”
“What a pair of matchmakers we are,” agreed Nicks with an identical grin.
Coral thought about it some more. “You know, there’s a chance I may have a special talent,” she added. After all, Archie and Gwyn had been her idea. She then thought about Great-Aunt Coral. Was this talent something she’d inherited? After all, Coral Hut was like a shrine to love. Coral Hut. That was it! Coral tapped her chin thoughtfully. It seemed like the universe was sending them a message.
She stared at Nicks, but she was focused on Romeo, who had disappeared on to the beach and returned with a plastic spade in his mouth.
“Maybe it’s actually Great-Aunt Coral who is sending us a message from…wherever she is,” Coral wondered out loud. “Maybe the beach hut is where she wants our company to be – where we should base it all. This could be our Cupid Company head office!”
‘What a brilliant idea!’ said Nicks excitedly. ‘But just how do we find more people to matchmake?’ she murmured thoughtfully.
Coral hadn’t thought that part through. But her enthusiasm was gathering speed. She felt a bit like Venus – the goddess of love (and probably Cupid’s cousin or something). “We’ll work it out. It’ll be all for love and love for all!” she cried out passionately.
“It will?”
“Yes, that can be the Cupid Company’s motto.”
Nicks was contemplative for a moment. “Mmm. If we’re going to do this then we must do it properly. We should have questionnaires for the Cupid Company clients to fill out – you know, listing their likes and dislikes. That way we know who to match up.”
“Good idea,” agreed Coral.
“And we’ll need to distribute some Cupid Company posters. Every company needs to advertise. And of course we’ll have to clean Coral Hut up properly. We’ll probably need to paint the outside too. It’ll make a far better impression.”
Now all Nicks needed was a clipboard to write all those useful points down. She was a top organiser. And if she was going to be the head of the Cupid Company then Coral was definitely the heart. They really were the perfect pair.
“But before we do anything,” Nicks paused with a finger planted firmly in the air, “we need to return this spade to its rightful owner.”
Coral glanced down at Romeo, who still had the plastic spade gripped tightly in his mouth. She nodded happily. And even though they were only matching a missing spade with a child, already she felt like the fairy godmother of happy endings.
It was not even lunchtime, but already it felt like the end of the day. The girls had arrived at Coral Hut early that morning weighed down with buckets, soap and thick sponges. Even Romeo had carried a feather duster in his mouth. They’d certainly started off with great gusto. But cleaning the beach hut had only seemed like fun for a while. After that it was just plain old cleaning.
Coral’s mum arrived just in time. Not only did she have sandwiches, chocolate bars and a large bag of cleaned laundry, but the girls knew she’d offer to help them. One of the girls counted on it.
“Mum!” cried Coral. “Oh, thank goodness. I am pooped!” She laid her palm across her forehead and closed her eyes just to prove it. There was even a chance she might faint. Probably. Or at least maybe. She thought she’d better sit down.
“So are you done then?” wondered her mum.
Nicks stood holding a sponge with bubbles up to her elbow. “Nope.” She eyed Coral. “We still have the floor to do.”
Coral thought it was time to change the subject. “Did you bring the paint with you?”
“Your father offered to buy that,” her mum replied. “He’ll bring it over later.”
Coral frowned. Mr Keep-it-Cheap-and-Cheerful was off buying their paint? This was not necessarily good news.
“He does know we want pink paint, doesn’t he?”
Her mum nodded distractedly and opened a bag of clean laundry. She hauled out cushion and daybed covers – all clean and fresh and cobweb free. She stacked them in a tall towering pile on one of the deckchairs, and only when she was finished did she acknowledge the lump that was Coral slumped on the floor.
“I’ll make a deal with you,” she began. Coral perked up slightly. “You finish the floor and I’ll put all the clean covers back on for you.”
Coral wilted. She’d hoped that the deal would include an offer to do the floor. But finally she nodded. And, like her mum, she kept her promise. She tried her best too, although Nicks didn’t seem to see it that way. But Coral couldn’t help it if her friend was super-speedy with a sponge. She had one speed and this was it.
When Coral’s mum left, the girls were stretched out and lolling with their tired hands and feet dangling from their deckchairs. They were out of energy and simply sat and stared out at the people on the beach. Junior lifeguards raced between orange cones. A surfer rubbed wax on to his surfboard. And the same small girl they’d seen earlier – the one with the colourful glitter clips in her hair – collected more shells. Only this time she had two ponytails with a whole bunch of scrunchies in each one, making her ponytails stand out straight like tentacles.
“There’s that little girl collecting shells again,” noticed Nicks.
“We should definitely call her Shelly,” decided Coral as she sank deeper into her deckchair.
Nicks was silent for a few moments. She sat upright. “That’s enough lying about; we really should get busy! We’ve got Cupid Company posters to make and questionnaires to write.” There was no time for hanging around – not if they were going to do this properly. And Nicks only did things one way, and that was properly.
Coral still hadn’t recovered from the cleaning. She yawned. “But my dad will be here soon with the paint.” Or he could be. There was every chance that he might be. So there was no sense in starting anything else. But Nicks had already disappeared in the direction of the wicker basket. She returned with sheets of scented paper and a few coloured pens.
“Let’s start with the questionnaire,” she suggested. “And then we’ll make a few Cupid Company posters.” She armed herself with a pen and put the end in her mouth to help her think better. “Now, apart from the basics like name and age and boy or girl, what else shall we include on this questionnaire?”
Coral sat upright. She had recovered from the cleaning marathon; she was back in Cupid Company mode. Ideas were definitely her thing. “There should be a section for hobbies,” she suggested brightly. “And likes and dislikes. Mmm. Better leave a few lines for strange habits too. You know what I mean…” She smirked at her friend knowingly.
“What is that supposed to mean?” demanded Nicks.
“You practise silent kung fu when you’re concentrating.”
“Well, you put ketchup on everything.”
“You sleep with the covers over your head.”
“You hum to yourself all the time.”
The girls stared at each other, silent. And then they exploded with laughter.
“I’d better include quite a few empty lines for strange habits then,” agreed Nicks. “What about star signs? A lot of people think they count for something.”
Coral nodded.