Summer at the Kindness Cafe

by Victoria Walters

  ‘This feels right,’ Abbie said. ‘Doesn’t it?’

  Her question hung tantalisingly in the air.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Louise walked out of the staffroom at the hospital ready to start her shift and was met by Julie, who rushed up to her, looking harassed.

  ‘Oh, good, I caught you,’ she said, breathlessly. ‘I’m just heading off, but I wanted you to hear it from me first.’

  ‘What is it?’ Louise asked, instantly worried.

  ‘Hazel’s back.’

  Louise’s heart sank as Julie explained that the doctors were concerned Hazel’s cancer might have returned and had brought her straight in for urgent tests. She had thought her recovery had been going so well; she’d been having regular check-ups, of course, but Alex had said how well she was the last time she had asked him. She felt incredibly sad that the little girl was back, and she ached for Alex and his sister and what they must be going through.

  She thanked Julie and went to the ward, finding out where Hazel was and heading straight for her cubicle.

  Louise stopped before she reached it though. Outside, Alex and his sister Sarah stood together, holding one another.

  Louise backed away, not wanting to intrude on such a moment. She went to speak to the ward sister about what needed doing, but she could hardly think about anything else. She couldn’t stand to think of Alex in pain like that. Seeing him holding his sister had told her what she had been trying to ignore for far too long: she had feelings for Alex. She might even be falling for him.

  And she had no idea what she was going to do about it.

  ***

  Later, when Alex had left, she went to see Hazel and Sarah. ‘How are you guys doing?’ she asked. ‘Do you need anything?’

  ‘We’re fine, thank you, Louise,’ Sarah said. She was sat by her daughter’s bedside, worry etched all over her face.

  ‘I brought Sam back to see you,’ Hazel said, lifting up the bear. She was smiling and Louise was certain she had never in her life met anyone as brave as Hazel.

  ‘Hello, Sam,’ Louise said, trying to smile back at Hazel. It was hard when she felt so sad for her though. ‘Has he been good?’

  Hazel nodded. ‘He helps me sleep.’

  ‘I was sorry to hear you were back,’ Louise said. ‘But I’m sure the doctors are going to look after you really well.’

  ‘I’ll be okay,’ Hazel said bravely.

  Her mother looked away, and Louise saw her eyes brimming with tears.

  ‘If you need anything, anything at all, just give me a shout,’ Louise said. She gently touched Sarah on the shoulder and waved back to Hazel, who seemed as cheerful as ever despite the fact she was facing the prospect of her cancer returning, and hurried away before she too broke down in tears.

  On her break, Louise picked up her phone wanting to say something to Alex. Something that could help. But how could anything help? So, she settled for: So sorry to hear about Hazel. I hope you’re okay.

  He replied a few minutes later. Thanks Louise. All we can do is wait and hope.

  Louise put her phone down and sighed. She wanted more than anything to put her arms around him and hold him, but that was impossible.

  ***

  On her way home, Louise got a text from Abbie to say that she was at Brew, so she parked her car there and found her sister at their favourite table with Eszter.

  ‘What a day,’ Louise said, sinking into the empty chair.

  ‘What happened?’

  Louise told them about Hazel reappearing on the ward. ‘I just feel so sorry for them; they’ve already been through so much. And Alex, too. It makes you feel so helpless. And it reminds you, doesn’t it, how short and precious life is. Seeing that brave little girl in there, I don’t know, it makes you not want to hold back or regret anything. Who knows how long any of us have?’

  The other two looked at one another. Louise knew how grave her words sounded, but she had been thinking about it all day. She had spent two years holding back. Wasn’t it time she made a change? What if she left it too late?

  She looked at her sister and her friend. ‘So . . .’ She took a deep breath. ‘I really like Alex, but I don’t know what to do.’

  And then, embarrassingly, she burst into tears.

  Eszter and Abbie sprang into action. Eszter grabbed tissues, a coffee and a slice of cake, and Abbie wrapped her arms around her sister.

  Louise wiped her eyes and tried to calm down, glancing around to see if any of the other customers were watching. Luckily, her back was to the café. ‘I’m sorry,’ she sniffed, taking a sip of the coffee.

  ‘It’s okay,’ Abbie soothed. ‘You’ve had a tough day. I’m so sorry about Hazel. But look, Alex likes you, I’m certain of it, so please don’t worry about that.’

  ‘But I was so firm with him that we couldn’t be anything other than friends. I pushed him away. Why would he want me now?’

  Eszter gently touched her arm. ‘You’re allowed to change your mind, Lou. You’ve been hurt in the past; it’s understandable you were cautious. I think Alex will get that. He obviously cares about you. Things are difficult for him right now with his niece, but I know he’ll want your support. And then you can tell him how you feel.’

  Louise widened her eyes. ‘Tell him?’ She looked at Eszter and Abbie in horror. ‘But how? After everything I said to him.’ She sniffed again and willed herself not to start crying all over again. ‘I wouldn’t be able to find the words.’

  ‘You could show him instead,’ Eszter suggested.

  ‘I hate seeing him in pain over Hazel,’ Louise said, taking a bite of her cake. It helped a little bit. Despite the fact that seeing Alex in the hospital made her realise she had fallen for him, she knew that it wasn’t the right time to do anything. Not when Hazel’s health hung in the balance. She was sad but in a weird way also relieved. She had been fighting how she felt for so long. She had been scared. But her heart had broken free of the cage she had locked it up in after Peter. And she knew that whatever happened with Alex, she would be okay. ‘You were right,’ she told Abbie. ‘I had shut myself off for too long. I really like Alex, but it will be okay if he doesn’t feel the same way, I’ll be okay.’

  ‘You need to tell him though,’ Abbie said.

  Louise nodded. ‘I will. I will find a way, I promise.’ She glanced at the Kindness Board behind them. It had brought her and Alex together after she had put up her plea for help in finding her earring. Alex had been kind to her ever since that day. Now she needed to show him how special he was to her. But while she decided just how to do that, she would be there for him and his family, and she prayed that Hazel would be okay.

  ‘We’ll help you,’ Eszter promised.

  ‘The kindness pact just keeps on going,’ Abbie said with a smile.

  Louise smiled back. ‘I still haven’t quite fulfilled my part of the pact, but now I know that I want to, that I can, and I will,’ Louise vowed. She had been hard on herself. She hadn’t seen it until this summer, but now she knew that she did deserve to be loved. But would the man she wanted be able to love her back?

  Like Alex, all Louise could do now was wait and hope.

  Part Four: New Adventures

  Chapter One

  Abbie stood in the ballroom of Huntley Manor as a whirlwind of activity happened around her. It was late in August and the French doors, which led out to the stunning grounds of the stately home, were thrown open to try to create a bit of breeze on the sticky summer afternoon. Abbie held a clipboard on which she had written an extensive list of things that needed to be done before the re-opening of the room – and hopefully the relaunch of the hotel as a destination people would flock to – which was just two weeks away. Thomas Huntley had laughed at her clipboard and told her just to use her iPhone but Abbie liked to be able to physically tick off the things that had been done, and it helped her feel more in control to carry it around with her.

  Abbie was nervous. This party was pretty much the l
ast chance for Huntley Manor but it was also her first solo PR project. Her plan to set up her own PR company meant a lot was riding on the event being a success but it wasn’t the only thing on Abbie’s mind. She had offered Eszter the chance to be partners with her in her new venture, and Eszter was still thinking it over.

  Last week, Abbie had brought Eszter to the hotel and shown her around and taken her up to the empty office which Thomas had kindly offered as a location for her new business, rent free. Eszter had been impressed and had talked excitedly about what they could do with the space, she had even become less nervous about the idea of working in an industry she hadn’t worked in before, but she still hadn’t given Abbie a ‘yes’. Abbie knew it was because Eszter still didn’t know whether her future lay in Littlewood or whether she and her daughter Zoe should go back to their home country of Hungary. Abbie felt in her bones that the two of them would be a great team and she hoped that Eszter would come to realise that as well, and soon.

  ‘What do you think?’ Amy, the hotel’s receptionist, appeared, holding up a laminated black and white menu.

  Abbie took it and looked at the 1920s cocktails listed on it. ‘I love it.’

  ‘This party is going to be amazing,’ Amy said. ‘I’ll tell Glen we’re a go then,’ she said, taking it back and hurrying to find the barman. Abbie had decided that their party needed a theme and the 1920s seemed perfect – it was an era when this very ballroom would have been in its swinging heyday, and it meant they all got to look glamorous and pretend they were in The Great Gatsby.

  Abbie went over to the florist who was sizing up how big to make her displays. They had agreed on black and white flowers to fit the theme. ‘Are you all okay if I head off?’

  They agreed for Daisy to send the final ideas and quote over later in the day so Abbie headed out and towards the library, which she and Thomas were using as party planning central.

  Thomas was at his desk and when she walked in, he looked up and smiled. ‘How’s it all going in there?’

  ‘It’s coming on perfectly.’ She bit her lip.

  ‘Why do you look worried about that?’

  ‘It just feels as if it’s all going a little too smoothly,’ she admitted, flopping into the chair opposite him. ‘I hope a disaster isn’t looming.’

  ‘I thought I was the pessimistic one in this team?’

  She smiled at the idea of the two of them being a team. ‘I’m sorry, I just want it all to go well.’

  ‘You’re working so hard, of course it will. And I’ve just ordered my suit.’

  ‘Louise texted me earlier to say my dress has arrived. I can’t wait to try it on.’ Abbie had scoured the internet for a 1920s outfit and was very excited to see the cocktail dress she had ordered. She wanted to make sure she looked good enough to be on the arm of Lord Huntley.

  ‘I can’t wait to see it,’ Thomas replied, holding her gaze with his own. She felt her cheeks turn warm. She liked the way he looked at her. As if she was the only woman he had eyes for. She hoped that was the case. ‘But first, we have more mundane matters to deal with,’ he said, moving his gaze back to his laptop. ‘One of our guests has asked if there will be canapés to meet their dietary requirements – vegan, non-dairy, gluten-free, and sugar-free.’

  ‘I’ll speak to the caterers,’ Abbie replied with a laugh. Party planning was all about the details, and luckily, she loved dealing with them.

  He sighed. ‘Can’t they just eat before they come?’

  Abbie was rather glad she was the organiser, not Thomas. She told him to check on his hotel and she’d finish off checking their emails. He got up eagerly; he had far less patience with party planning than her. Abbie didn’t care what the guests ate, as long as they turned up in good numbers and told everyone they knew about Huntley Manor. It really was last-chance saloon for the hotel and Abbie wanted this to be the party of the summer.

  Her phone vibrated beside her and she checked the text from her sister Louise.

  My dress makes me look like a sausage. A lumpy one! HELP!

  Abbie sighed. She knew things had been going far too smoothly. She texted Louise back to say she would be home as soon as she could, and prayed to the party gods that her sister was exaggerating.

  Chapter Two

  Louise stood in front of the full-length mirror in her sunny bedroom, staring at herself in the sparkly dress she had ordered online for the 1920s party, and sighed, hoping her sister would be able to help salvage this disaster. Louise had never been interested in fashion really but she knew how much this event meant to Abbie so she had let her sister order her a dress along with one for herself, but it was so restrictive she could hardly breathe, and it made her look a stone heavier than she was. Why could she never look effortlessly glamorous?

  She peered at her phone on the bed beside her. After she had texted Abbie for help, she had then sent a message to Alex. She had a couple of days off from the hospital and had wanted to check on Alex’s niece, Hazel, who was having tests to see if her cancer had returned.

  But there had been no response from him as yet.

  ‘Where are you?’ Abbie’s voice called up the stairs. Louise told her to come up and she turned around to show her the dress.

  Abbie stopped in the doorway. ‘Oh,’ she said, taking her sister in. She looked her up and down and then to Louise’s annoyance, burst out laughing.

  ‘Hey!’

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Abbie said, trying to stop. ‘But you do look like a lumpy sausage.’

  ‘I don’t know why I bother.’ Louise started to take the dress off. ‘I knew this was a bad idea. I’ll just wear my jeans.’

  ‘You can’t wear jeans. I thought you wanted to impress Alex!’

  Louise gave her a withering look. She had already begun to regret confessing her feelings for Alex to Abbie, who had developed a gung-ho attitude to how Alex and Louise could get together and be a couple. Louise kept telling her that nothing could happen while Alex had to look after his niece but Abbie had selective hearing a lot of the time. ‘He won’t even be there.’

  ‘Of course he will, with everything going on, he’s just forgotten to RSVP to the invitation but I’m sure he will.’

  Louise spun around as she tried to pull her dress up over her head. ‘What invitation?’ she demanded, her voice muffled by the fabric. ‘Why won’t this bloody thing come off?’

  ‘Here.’ Abbie stepped forwards and helped her tug it off. Louise staggered forwards and then they watched as the dress fell to the floor. Louise stamped on it then she looked at her sister and they both started laughing. Louise folded the dress up and put it on the bed ready to send back and pulled back on her beloved jeans and hoodie, and felt a hundred times more like herself.

  When they had stopped laughing, Louise smoothed down her hair and faced her sister again. ‘So, Alex?’

  Abbie sighed. ‘I’ve invited pretty much the whole town, Lou. And, admit it, you’d love him to come, right?’

  Louse hated that Abbie was right, and had been all along about Alex being a great guy. Louise had been scared though of being hurt after what had happened to her in the past, but she knew now she wanted to fight the fear because Alex was too special for her to lose. She just had to find a way to tell him. But she couldn’t while Hazel was sick. ‘It would be nice to see him there but God knows what I’m going to wear.’

  Abbie opened up her package and pulled out the black cocktail dress. ‘This is lovely,’ she said, holding it up.

  ‘Why is the one you chose so much better than mine?’ She sank onto the bed. ‘I am definitely missing the how-to-shop-successfully gene.’

  ‘Don’t worry, I’m going to find you something really special. I promise.’

  ‘That won’t change the person wearing it though.’ Louise hated feeling down on herself but she was constantly on edge at the thought of telling Alex how she felt, and she wasn’t sure if he was still interested after she made it clear they could only be friends. She was worried she had p
ushed him away too often. Why would he want her now?

  Abbie spun around from the mirror. ‘Stop that right now. You are gorgeous and anyone would be lucky to have you in their life, okay? What happened to being kind to yourself? I can see I’m going to have to show you how. A girly night in it is. We’d better call Eszter.’

  ***

  A couple of hours later, Louise was glad Abbie had suggested a pampering session. Abbie and Louise sat on the sofa in their cottage with Eszter in the armchair opposite, all three of them in their pyjamas. On the coffee table was wine and the remnants of the pizzas they had ordered. They each had a face mask on and were painting their nails, with music playing in the background and the room lit with scented candles.

  ‘I could get used to this,’ Eszter said, taking a careful sip of wine to avoid spoiling her face mask. She had come over after leaving her daughter Zoe with her grandmother and she leaned back in the chair to smile at her two friends. ‘This was such a good idea.’

  ‘We’ve all been so busy lately, we definitely deserve this,’ Abbie replied. She looked at Louise. ‘Feeling better?’

  ‘I’m fine. I just can’t stop thinking about Alex,’ she admitted, grateful that the mask covered her blush. ‘He replied to my text and said they are meeting the consultant tomorrow so we should know more then. I hope he’s okay.’

  ‘It’s a tough time for them,’ Abbie said. ‘But I’m sure he’s grateful for your support.’

  ‘Do you think he will come to the Huntley Manor re-opening?’

  ‘It’s the event of the summer,’ Abbie said confidently, then groaned. ‘At least I hope it will be.’

  ‘Neither of you need to worry,’ Eszter said firmly. ‘It’s going to be great.’

  ‘It would be even better if I had my partner to help me navigate the inevitable dramas that will be coming up,’ Abbie said.

  ‘She’s relentless, isn’t she?’ Louise said, with a smile at Eszter. Abbie was so determined with her ideas, she had to admire her conviction. Louise felt like she was always unsure about things. Then again, Abbie deserved this after making the wrong choice a few weeks ago about going back to London with Jack. Louise was thrilled that Abbie had decided to make her home and business in Littlewood. ‘I think we need to wash these off; my face is going numb.’