Free Watching Willow Watts by Talli Roland Page B

too big to pass up without serious consideration, and Willow had seen from the campsite just how huge this thing was getting.
    ‘ Well, I think you should go for it. It’s a great chance, and if it was me, I’d have been twirling down the street in full Marilyn gear long ago!’ Paula attacked the hair on the floor again. ‘Anyway, it’s not like you’re busy doing something else. Ever since you came home, you’ve just been helping out your dad.’
    Willow flinched. Paula was right, but between worrying about her father and the shop, she hadn’t had the mental space to even think about trying to rebuild a life for herself here. The Willow who’d enthusiastically whipped up stunning floral arrangements felt like she’d been buried under an avalanche of anxiety.
    ‘ Where are you meeting him ? I’ll walk you over.’ After shoving the broom behind the counter, Paula linked arms with Willow and the pair pushed through the crowd that had gathered out front, waiting for Willow to emerge. As they made their way down the street toward the pub, Paula stopped abruptly in front of the bus shelter cum tourist information centre. ‘What’s happening here?’
    A forest of helium balloons printed with Marilyn’s face festooned the rickety metal contraption. Clad in a tuxedo, Simpson was handing them out to passersby.
    ‘ Willow Watts!’ Simpson’s face lit up when he spotted her.
    ‘ What’s going on?’ she asked, taking the balloon he offered her.
    ‘ We’ve finally got the funds to build the new tourist centre!’ Simpson beamed. ‘I’ve been trying for years, but the council always told me we never had enough visitors. Well, thanks to that video, now we do. Here’s hoping they keep coming.’ He drew her into an enthusiastic hug, then pulled back. ‘And I’ve just passed by your father’s shop. You should see the big surprise he has for you! I know he’s found it difficult since your mother passed on, dear. It’s good to see some life back in Richard.’
    Willow nodded , her mind racing. The surprise! What could Dad be planning? With the campsite, the banana loaves, and trying to meet with Jay, the whole thing had slipped her mind. She’d better get over there fast and see what he’d been up to. Jay would have to wait a few more minutes. Waving goodbye to Simpson, she grabbed Paula’s hand and the two of them ducked around people on the street. The bell tinkled as Willow opened the door to Watts’s Antiques.
    ‘ Dad! I’m—’
    Whoa.
    Willow’s eyes popped as she took in rows and rows of neat merchandise. Neat Marilyn merchandise. Heart thumping, she rushed over to the glass cabinet, which had once held silver cutlery but was now full of horrible plastic Marilyn Monroe figurines. Marilyn singing in that white dress, Marilyn posing beside JFK, Marilyn with Joe DiMaggio, Marilyn . . . doing almost everything imaginable!
    Willow forced herself to look around the rest of the room. T-shirts with Marilyn Lives! and If Jesus was alive, he’d marry Marilyn adorned the walls, along with black and white blow-up photos and reproductions of Andy Warhol’s famous Marilyn print. Baseball caps and sun visors perched jauntily on the faux-Chippendale cabinet, and various bits of paraphernalia – from banners to a bumper sticker reading Honk if You Love Marilyn – were strewn across the small space.
    ‘ Oh my G od,’ Paula breathed. ‘It looks like Marilyn threw up in here.’
    Her father poked his head around an oversized inflatable Marilyn in the corner. ‘Surprise! What do you think?’
    ‘ It’s great, Dad, ’ Willow said, struggling to sound enthusiastic even though her heart was plummeting. How on earth had he paid for this?
    ‘ It is, isn’t it?’ He came over and put an arm around her shoulders. ‘I thought a bit of a change would be nice, so when Simpson mentioned the idea a few days ago, I figured, why not?’
    ‘ Yes, why not?’ Willow echoed. Why not? Because we don’t have the money for