Summer at the Kindness Cafe

by Victoria Walters

  ‘As you said, you hadn’t seen him for nine years – I can fill in that time for you.’

  ‘I suppose you blame me for not seeing him for all that time. He was the one who ran off to Europe; we didn’t even know where he was for years.’

  Eszter felt the woman’s anger radiating across the table. ‘I know. He did invite you to our wedding though.’

  She shook her head. ‘That’s what he said in the letter, but I never saw an invite so I don’t know about that.’

  Eszter was surprised. She knew how nervous Nick had been sending that and how eagerly he had checked the post for weeks until he realised that no RSVP was coming. ‘I saw him send it. He wanted you there.’

  ‘And then he didn’t even come back for his father’s funeral. I had to deal with everything alone.’

  ‘And then you didn’t come to his,’ Eszter said quietly, only then realising how angry she was that her mother-in-law didn’t support her.

  ‘It was too far. And I wanted to remember my son as he was.’

  ‘I didn’t have that luxury. I had to stand there and receive all the sympathies from his friends and colleagues. I had to look after our devastated daughter.’

  ‘How old is she?’

  ‘Zoe is seven. She looks just like him.’ Eszter took out her phone and showed her a picture. Mrs Harris glanced at it briefly before looking away.

  ‘I don’t understand why he sent you here. It was a long time ago that he left Littlewood. I think the past is better off left buried.’

  ‘Really? I think that’s the last thing it should be,’ Eszter said. ‘My daughter has no connection to her father besides you. She needs her family now more than ever.’

  ‘I told you that I have no money. All I have is this house and you’ll have to move me out of here dead,’ Mrs Harris snapped.

  Eszter closed her eyes for a moment to try to control her temper. ‘I keep telling you that I don’t want anything from you. How could you read Nick’s letter and still think that’s why I’m here?’

  ‘You have no idea what it was like when Nick left.’

  ‘No, I don’t, but I know how much I love Zoe and how I’d feel if I lost her. Nick didn’t tell me why he left. He didn’t talk about the past much at all. Like you, he wanted to bury it, but his letter proves that he wasn’t able to do that. He sent me here because he couldn’t come himself. I think we both owe it to him—’

  ‘I don’t owe him anything,’ Mrs Harris interrupted. ‘He left me. I moved on. And now, so should you.’

  ‘Nick asked me to give this to you.’ Eszter hated how this second meeting was going, but he had asked her to give the watch back to his mother, so at the very least she was going to do that. She took it out of her bag and held it out for her. Nick had worn it every day and for some reason it had been important enough that he wanted his mother to have it now.

  Mrs Harris stared at it, then stood up abruptly. ‘Nick took that from us,’ she said, her voice hard and bitter. ‘It belonged to Frank. His father.’

  ‘Maybe he wanted something to remind him of you both?’ Eszter put it down on the table but Mrs Harris pushed it back to her.

  ‘I don’t want it.’

  Eszter sighed and took the watch back, standing up. ‘I’m staying in Littlewood for a while. Won’t you let Zoe come and see you? Let her meet her grandmother?’

  ‘You think I want anything to do with your daughter? You two stole my son from me.’

  ‘You know very well that’s not the case. Nick was the one who stayed away. I tried to persuade him to talk to you. I don’t know what happened, but I’m starting to see why he left here.’ Eszter started to walk away, fed up with her attitude.

  ‘You have no idea what it was like!’ Mrs Harris cried and followed her.

  Eszter stopped and faced her. ‘No, you’re right, I don’t. If you want to tell me, then that’s fine. I’m trying to do what my husband wanted, but none of this is my fault.’

  ‘If he hadn’t met you then he would have come back.’

  Eszter raised an eyebrow. ‘Really? Or would you have never heard from him ever again?’ They stared at one another. In the silence, Eszter heard a noise from upstairs and wondered if there was someone else there. ‘I know that I’m not a substitute for your son, but you have a granddaughter who would love to meet you.’ She saw then on the table in the hall a photo of Nick when he was at school, one of those posed ones that look formal and stiff. She recognised his smiling eyes though. It showed Mrs Harris had some feeling, surely? ‘Wouldn’t you want that?’

  It seemed for a moment that she was softening, that she might come around, but then she shook her head with a stubbornness that made Eszter want to scream. ‘I don’t want anything to do with either of you,’ she said coldly.

  Now Eszter could see why Nick had walked away from his parents all those years ago. ‘Fine,’ she said.

  I’m sorry, Nick, she thought, but what else can I do here? She flung open the door and walked out. Her mother-in-law obviously had no desire at all to heal the past.

  Eszter wished her husband was there to help her know what to do but was also glad that he wasn’t. At least he died with the hope of reconciliation and would never have to know what had just happened between them.

  Then suddenly behind her there was a loud crash, which made her jump and turn around. A cloud of dust spread out of the front door and she heard Mrs Harris cry out. Instinctively, Eszter hurried back to see what had happened and from the doorway she saw that the ceiling had collapsed and water was pouring down into the hall from upstairs. Mrs Harris was clutching the table in horror, her clothes covered in dust and a piece of the ceiling sat on her shoulder like an unwelcome parrot.

  ‘I forgot the bath was running!’ Mrs Harris broke the shocked silence with a wail and started to cry. Eszter looked up to see the bathroom now visible from the hall.

  ‘Come on, it might completely collapse on us,’ she said, leading the distraught Mrs Harris out into the driveway. She stood there wondering what to do as Mrs Harris sobbed, and suddenly she saw that this was a frightened, lonely old woman. Be kind to each other, Nick had said. Well, this woman was going to get her kindness now whether she liked it or not.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Abbie and Louise walked around the supermarket together, sharing the task of food shopping for the first time since they were kids. Abbie waved to someone down the frozen aisle and explained it was someone working at Huntley Manor.

  Louise grinned. ‘You’ve settled right in to Littlewood, haven’t you?’

  Abbie thought about it as she added a whole chicken to the trolley. It had only been a couple of weeks, but she did feel as if she’d been in the town for a lot longer than that. ‘I suppose I have.’

  ‘So, it’s not proving too dull for you after London life?’

  ‘I do miss having an H&M on my doorstep and there’s no cocktail bar, but it’s not as bad as I thought,’ Abbie admitted. ‘I can see why you’ve stayed here for two years.’

  ‘You thought I was mad moving to a small town.’

  ‘I didn’t understand it, no, but I can see why you like the community here. It’s much slower paced than London. I suppose I do feel a bit more relaxed. I should be worrying that I haven’t had any interview offers, but all this work I’m doing at Huntley Manor makes me wonder how I’d have the time if I did get one.’

  ‘The job market is always slow over the summer, and you are working, just not getting paid. Voluntary work always looks good to employers.’ Louise threw in the two types of bread they both liked.

  ‘I hope so. I can’t afford to keep working for free, or sponging off you.’

  ‘It’ll all be okay, I know it.’

  Abbie wondered how Louise could be so positive when it came to her sister but not for her own life. Then her phone started to ring, so she walked away to answer it, leaving Louse to grab the milk. She was surprised to see the name on the screen, especially after talking to Louise about h
ow settled she was feeling in Littlewood. London seemed very far away but now it all came rushing back.

  ‘Abbie, darling,’ Jack said warmly when she said hello. ‘I’ve been thinking about you all morning. We had a meeting with Let’s Eat and they asked where you were. I think they were disappointed you’d left the company.’

  ‘You mean, been forced out,’ Abbie replied. She was sure the client would be missing her; it was her ideas after all that had helped them become a success, not Jack’s. Not that Jack would ever admit that, of course.

  ‘Let’s not dwell on that. I miss you. Can I come and see you?’

  Abbie looked around her in surprise. The idea of Jack strolling through the streets of Littlewood was far too strange to imagine, but then two weeks ago, she would never have pictured herself here either. ‘Why?’ she asked, wondering why he wasn’t breaking off all contact between them as she assumed he would once she left the company.

  ‘I just said – I miss you.’

  ‘You can see why I’m confused though – you broke things off.’

  ‘I have a proposition for you. We can’t keep talking over the phone; we need to see each other again. There’s still something between us, isn’t there?’

  Abbie thought for a moment. She really hadn’t felt the urge to get in touch with him since leaving London, but she thought about how much passion she had felt for him just a couple of months ago and it was hard to know if that had been extinguished completely or not. Seeing him would make that decision for her, she was sure.

  ‘Honestly, I don’t know, but it would be good to see you,’ she said, cautiously. She had been hurt by Jack, but Louise had been right that she hadn’t completely fallen in love with him. And she was sure he hadn’t loved her either, but maybe she had judged him too harshly.

  ‘Thank you. So, can I come and see you next weekend? Where can I stay?’

  ‘Huntley Manor,’ she said immediately. She didn’t want him at the cottage confusing her more, and Thomas needed the guests. Jack knew a lot of people in London and he could easily spread the word. ‘I think you’ll love it there.’

  ‘If I get to see you then I definitely will.’

  Jack hung up after telling her he’d call her when he’d made the reservation. She stood still for a moment, unsure if she was more excited or nervous at him coming. Louise was right that she hadn’t been pining for London as much as she had thought she would, but thoughts of her previous life there now flooded in. What would Jack be offering her next weekend? A chance to rekindle their relationship? An opportunity to come back to the city?

  Abbie didn’t know what she wanted his visit to bring but she felt that change was on the horizon, whether she wanted it or not.

  Louise was ducking down low by the jars of marmalade when Abbie came back. ‘What are you doing?’

  ‘Shh,’ Louise hissed, pulling Abbie down beside her as Alex, the vet, walked along the supermarket aisle next to them, basket in hand. They watched as Alex disappeared out of sight and as he did, Louise’s phone buzzed in her bag. She answered Eszter’s call, standing up slowly.

  ‘Hello?’ she said in a low voice to make sure he didn’t hear her. She could feel Abbie giving her a pointed look and her cheeks turned red.

  ‘Louise, are you near Littlewood? There’s been a slight disaster . . .’ Eszter said in a frantic voice.

  ‘What’s happened?’ Louise listened as Eszter told her the ceiling had just collapsed at her mother-in-law’s house, and they needed help. ‘Stay put, we’ll be there as soon as we can.’ Louise hurried to the checkout, telling Abbie what was going on as they walked. They hurriedly paid for their shopping and got into the car to head back to town.

  ‘What was that all about?’ Abbie asked as they drove.

  ‘What?’

  ‘Hiding from Alex back there!’

  Louise avoided her sister’s gaze. ‘I just didn’t want to have to make small talk. I mean, look at me,’ she admitted, gesturing to her old jeans and hoodie. She’d left off her make-up that morning and had been planning to wash her hair that night.

  Abbie smirked. ‘Didn’t want to see him when you’re not looking your best? And you told us you didn’t care that he was attractive.’

  ‘I don’t!’

  ‘I think the lady doth protest too much.’

  Louise shook her head, wishing her sister would stop talking about him. Something about Alex made her feel nervous and she didn’t want to analyse the reasons why.

  They soon arrived outside Mrs Harris’s house, and found Eszter and her mother-in-law standing in the driveway. The front door was open and as Louise and Abbie jumped out of the car, they could see the debris all over the floor.

  ‘Are you okay?’ Louise asked as they approached them.

  ‘It was quite a shock,’ Eszter replied, looking pleased to see them. She gestured for them to have a look at the mess. ‘She can’t stay here,’ she hissed in a low voice as they stood in the doorway to assess the damage.

  ‘Definitely not,’ Abbie agreed.

  ‘I turned the water off from the cupboard under the stairs; it looks too dangerous to go up there.’

  ‘I know a builder at the Manor who can take a look. Does she have insurance?’

  ‘I hope so,’ Eszter said. She sighed. ‘I’ll talk to her.’

  ***

  Eszter walked over to Mrs Harris, who had perched on a log in the garden. She looked much older suddenly and far less formidable than she had been when they had been arguing just half an hour ago. ‘You really can’t stay here, Mrs Harris. I’m taking you back to my cottage with me,’ Eszter said firmly. She saw Mrs Harris was about to protest. ‘No arguments. Is there anything you need which I can try to get?’

  ‘My bag,’ Mrs Harris said weakly, wiping her eyes and looking unsteady on her feet.

  Eszter picked up the handbag from the hall table and locked the door with Mrs Harris’s keys. Abbie and Louise got in the car to wait for them. She looked at her mother-in-law, who was gazing at her house shaking her head in disbelief. Eszter knew that Mrs Harris had no one else to help her so she would have to step in, but she doubted the woman would be happy about that.

  ‘Right, Louise is going to drive us to my house, and we can sort out everything there. And have a cup of tea. Don’t worry; it will all be okay,’ Eszter promised. Eszter had always been good in a crisis and she ushered Mrs Harris into the car before she could stop her. Mrs Harris seemed to be in shock anyway.

  Eszter looked back at the house as they drove away. She certainly hadn’t planned for any of this when she stepped onto the plane Nick had booked for her. She was determined now to find out what had happened between them in the past and to heal the divide between them.

  Which was definitely not going to be easy. But if there was one thing Eszter had always relished – it was a challenge.

  She watched the town stream past the window as Louise drove them back to their cottages and she was sure for the first time since arriving in Littlewood that she was where she was supposed to be.

  Notes from the Brew Kindness Board:

  Someone left a copy of a book on the train with a note saying, ‘This is my favourite – hope you love it too!’ and it kept me gripped all weekend. I’m now going to leave it on the train so someone else can enjoy it.

  ***

  Thank you to my friend Alice who saw I was exhausted and picked my son up from school and looked after my new baby so I could have my hair done. An hour alone being pampered was the best!

  ***

  I was struggling to lift my shopping bags out of the trolley and into my boot at the supermarket after breaking my arm and a kind man walking past stopped to do it for me. Thank you for helping me!

  ***

  My neighbour Steve – for looking after my cat for me so that I could go on my friend’s hen weekend. A paws up from Whiskers and me!

  Part Two: Making Friends

  Chapter One

  Eszter watched the sunrise outside th
e cottage. Her hands were wrapped around the mug of strong, black coffee she had just made, and she was relishing the bitter caffeine hit and having a few minutes to just think. Upstairs it was silent, but soon her daughter Zoe would be up and they’d both have to deal with their unexpected new houseguest.

  Eszter had had to practically drag her mother-in-law Anne to their cottage the day before. Due to the shock of what had happened, Mrs Harris had retreated to bed early, leaving Eszter to sweep into action, phoning builders and the insurance company.

  It had all happened so quickly that Eszter hadn’t really had time to process much, but now, in the light of day, she was nervous about what would happen when the woman awoke. Relations between the two of them had been more than frosty and she wasn’t sure what she could do to smooth things over.

  Her phone vibrated beside her. It was Louise.

  ‘I thought you’d be up,’ Louise said when Eszter answered the phone. ‘I’m just on my way to work and I wanted to see how you are?’ Eszter had been very glad of Louise and Abbie’s friendship over the past twenty-four hours. After taking them back to Eszter’s cottage, they had both stayed until late to help Eszter sort everything out.

  ‘I didn’t sleep very well, to be honest, so I’m downing coffee as we speak.’

  ‘I’m not surprised; it was all so dramatic. You dealt with everything so well, though, and I know that Mrs Harris will be grateful to you, even if she doesn’t show it.’

  Eszter had told Louise all about her argument with Mrs Harris, so she knew how difficult Eszter was finding the task of building bridges with her. ‘I’m so grateful you were around to help. We need to go back to the house today and start sorting it all out. I’m nervous for her to wake up, to be honest.’

  ‘I think it will be fine. Just focus on the tasks in hand and everything else will sort itself out. If you need me, just text me, okay?’

  ‘Thanks, Louise.’ Eszter said goodbye, wishing that she didn’t have to deal with all of this on her own. Eszter was still struggling with how hard things were now without her husband to lean on.