Page 43 of Eden's Comfort Kitchen
‘I’m going to get some air…’
Eden had heard her say it, but nothing had registered. Only Caitlin, for a split second, voiced any concern, but their mum shook her head as she made for the door.
‘I’m OK. I’ll be back in a minute.’
But then came the sickening thud, a sound that would stay with Eden for the rest of her life. Her mum had collapsed, straight down, hitting the floor like a deadweight. And then everyone leaped up and the rest was a blur. Even as they turned her over, Caitlin searching for a pulse while their dad tapped at her face and called for her to wake up, the awful truth was staring them in the face. In the time it had taken for Eden to draw one breath, her mum had taken her last. She pulled out her phone and stumbled over every word as she called for the ambulance, but in her heart, she already knew it was too late.
Eden shook off the memory, tears squeezing her throat. She had to keep it together. If she started to cry now, Livia would want to know why.
And despite what she’d promised Caitlin, she hadn’t yet spoken to her dad. Even as she was trying to be better, she was still being selfish. She’d picked her battles but, in a way, perhaps she’d picked the ones that didn’t really count. But then she looked around at the pub where she already felt settled and happy, and at Livia, who meant so much to her after only a few short weeks, who’d taught her more about being a decent human than anyone else had in her twenty-seven years on the planet, and she knew that if she said those things out loud, it would be the end of all this.
‘You don’t have to tell me,’ Livia said, seemingly able to sense Eden’s reluctance.
Eden let out a sigh. ‘I’m just not…I don’t want to talk about it if that’s OK. Sorry.’
‘No need to be sorry. Consider it forgotten. So what’s the plan for the next dinner?’
‘More of the same. I mean, I think it went quite well. What do think?’
‘I think so too. We’ll do our best to be there again.’
‘I know you have a lot going on, so?—’
‘But until you get off the ground properly, Mum and I want to offer our help. I’m sure in a few weeks you’ll have more volunteers and donations than you can cope with?—’
‘And diners,’ Eden cut in, thinking about what Ralph had told her.
‘And diners,’ Livia agreed. ‘But you’ll have plenty of help, and you won’t need us. Until then, we’ll do what we can.’
Eden gave her a grateful smile. ‘I never expected to make such a good friend when I came here. Especially this quickly. Thank you.’
‘Did you expect to spend the six months alone?’
‘Honestly, yes. I was OK with that, but I like this outcome better.’
‘Good. Anyway, let’s get this bar cleaned up so we can go home!’
‘OK,’ Eden said, her mind going back to all the things she’d wanted to tell Livia but couldn’t. Maybe she was overthinking it. Maybe, if she explained it, expressed her remorse, accepted the blame and tried to make Livia understand how she’d learned from the trauma she’d caused, her friend would be able to see past it. Maybe nothing would change, apart from a new comprehension of Eden’s motives.
Then again, what if everything changed? What if Livia didn’t understand? If Caitlin had been right about one thing, it was that Eden’s behaviour in the past had been pretty shitty.
So she went back to the cleaning and decided to say nothing more about it.
Two days later, Eden and her little team were back at the scout hut getting ready for another community dinner sitting. Exceptthat her team had grown by two more members – Bilbo’s ‘lady friend’ Mavis, who went dancing with him on Saturday nights, and who everyone knew was secretly his girlfriend, and her neighbour Val.
While Eden was thrilled with the extra help, she did start to wonder whether she might have to put a cap on the number of volunteers. Firstly because the kitchen simply wouldn’t be big enough for them all to work safely, but also because if she wasn’t careful, she’d have more volunteers than actual dinner guests. As much as she’d love to bankroll the entire project, those little donations from her diners – however small – made a huge difference to her ability to shop for decent food. She’d rather not if she could help it, because she didn’t want to put people off, but when Julia said exactly the same to her, she wondered whether she’d simply have to get tougher about the whole thing. It was funny, because being tough and pragmatic had never been a problem in her previous career in property, but things had changed.
‘Where would you like me, dear?’ Mavis asked Eden.
‘I’m not really sure,’ Eden said. ‘You probably know better than me what needs doing – I’m new to all this cooking business.’
‘You must have cooked before,’ Bilbo said, laughing an old, husky laugh.
‘Well, yes, but not like this. It’s always been oven chips and microwave pasta. My mum was a brilliant cook, but I never took any notice when she tried to show me how to do things. Too busy on my phone or wanting to go out to meet friends.’
‘That’s all youngsters,’ Bilbo said. ‘Things haven’t changed. My dad used to try to teach me woodworking, but all I wanted to do was be out chasing skirt.’
Eden giggled. ‘Chasing skirt? I can’t imagine you being that naughty, Bilbo. You seem like such a gent!’
