Random Acts of Kindness--Part 2 by Victoria Walters

Author:Victoria Walters [Walters, Victoria]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Eszter, Zoe and Anne made their way back to their cottage after the fete late in the afternoon. Zoe carried a cuddly cat that they’d won on the raffle, and was chatting away about all the animals they had met, and how she wished she had one of her own. Eszter glanced across at her mother-in-law – she looked tired but was smiling at Zoe, and Eszter was certain the day had been good for her.

When they got home, Zoe took her cat and curled up on the sofa with a book but soon fell asleep. Anne went into the kitchen to prepare the meal and Eszter sat at the kitchen table chopping vegetables for her. It was strange how easily they had formed a routine in the house, with Anne taking over all the cooking and Eszter able to relax after her shifts at Brew, more than she usually would have done. It was an arrangement that was suiting all of them. Zoe especially seemed to be enjoying having her grandmother with them. Eszter was pleased to see a bond forming between the two of them, something she could never have imagined when she arrived in town, particularly after their disastrous first meeting.

‘I’m glad we bumped into Jane,’ she said as she chopped an onion. Anne was making pasta, her back to her as she stirred the saucepan over the hob. Eszter felt more confident in speaking up when they weren’t making eye contact. She was still a bit nervous of her mother-in-law and didn’t want to do or say anything that might disrupt their shaky truce. ‘I think the community centre is such a good idea. I definitely want to take Zoe over there. Do you feel like doing a class with me too? It’d be nice to meet some more people here.’

‘I’m not sure it’s really for me, to be honest,’ Anne replied, keeping her back towards Eszter.

‘But wouldn’t you like to meet some people too? I mean, don’t you ever get lonely in that house all by yourself? I know since Nick died, I’ve felt that way, especially when Zoe is in bed and I have the evening all to myself.’

‘I suppose I’m used to it. Frank didn’t really want me being too involved in community things without him,’ Anne said quietly.

‘Anne,’ Eszter said, before getting up and going over to her. ‘Was Frank quite . . . controlling?’ she asked, tipping the onions into an empty saucepan. She was sure that Nick wouldn’t have walked out on his family if there hadn’t been a good reason for it. Their falling out over his career didn’t seem like enough of a reason to cause such a rift for so many years. ‘I had a boyfriend when I was younger,’ she carried on when it was clear that Anne was hesitating to answer her. ‘He was very controlling and he started to tell me how to dress, who I could be friends with, even that I

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