Page 3 of Eden's Comfort Kitchen
‘No problem at all. After all, you are renting from me longer than anyone ever does. I should thank you that I won’t have to worry about empty weeks for the rest of this year. I don’t mind telling you, it makes life a lot easier.’
Margery handed the key to Eden and moved aside to let her open the front door before following her in. As Eden entered, she was disappointed but also strangely relieved to find that it wasn’t as she remembered from her one visit.
She and Margery moved along the hall into the kitchen, Eden vaguely aware of Margery’s constant brisk chatter as they went but not really taking much notice. She was far too distracted by Four Winds itself. The low ceilings and small, sturdy-framed windows didn’t let in as much light as she’d have liked, but they did combine to make it feel cosy and safe. It was hardly the stuff of fairy tales, more a relic of a bygone era, traditional panels of dark wood and stone flooring with dried flowers and pots hanging from exposed beams in the kitchen and an inglenook fireplace in the tiny parlour. It was furnished in solid wood – every cupboard and dresser looked as if it had been lifted from the set of a period drama. But for all that heaviness, it was pretty, and its solidness had a sort of dependability to it that made Eden feel immediately comforted and protected.
She went straight to the windows to let the sea air and warmth in. Despite the fact that it must have been recentlyoccupied by someone on holiday and that the cleaner had obviously been in, there was a faint mustiness and a fine layer of dust on every surface, but nothing that couldn’t be blown out with a good gust and some furniture polish. Eden supposed it was an old house and next to the sea, and so perhaps it would get musty and damp from time to time.
Ten minutes later, Margery had gone, and the house was suddenly and profoundly silent. Eden was alone. Completely and utterly alone, perhaps for the first time in her life. She’d lived by herself in London for a time, building her career, enjoying what she now realised was a privileged life, but she’d always had someone to fall back on. She could go home whenever she liked with a ton of washing and her mum would do it, or drop in unannounced when she felt like it and her mum would always cook her favourite meal. Or if she needed to be at an airport somewhere or other, her dad would always chauffer her there. Those days were gone. Eden was alone now, and she’d have to get on with it.
In her jeans pocket, her phone began to vibrate. She lifted it out to note the name on the caller ID.
Caitlin, her older sister. Ten years older, in fact, and the age gap had always made her seem like a disapproving auntie rather than a sister. Eden watched the display. Just seeing the name hurt. Eden had done many bad, selfish things over the years, and many of those things had been done to Caitlin. The worst of it was, far too often Eden hadn’t cared. Caitlin interfered and lectured and chastised, and Eden had hated her for it. She couldn’t change any of that, but neither did she want to be reminded of it – she wasn’t ready to face her mistakes yet. Even then, her mind went unwillingly back to one of the last times, perhaps the time that had been the beginning of the end.
‘Eden…’ Caitlin’s expression was one of barely contained fury as Eden opened the door to let her into the flat. ‘What’s wrong with your phone?’
‘Nothing.’
‘Maybe you’d like to answer it once in a while then.’
Eden waited for her sister to be in the hallway before closing the door and folding her arms. ‘I take it from your tone this isn’t a social call?’
‘Did you take Grandma’s gold watch?’
‘I borrowed it; I didn’t take it. And Mum said it was OK.’
‘Mum would.’
‘What’s that mean? It’s her watch to lend out, isn’t it? Grandma left it to her.’
‘Yes, Grandma left it to her and it’s valuable. It’s also one of the few things Mum has left of Grandma’s.’
‘Mum said it was OK. If it was that valuable?—’
‘Mum also says you’ve had it for a month and not taken it back.’
‘If she wanted it, she only had to ask.’
‘She shouldn’t have to ask. You said it was for a wedding reception – you’d only be wearing it for a few hours.’
‘What is this –CSI? Yes, I wore it for a wedding and I haven’t got round to returning it. What’s it got to do with you? Mum’s not bothered.’
‘Of course she’s bothered. And it has everything to do with me. I’m her daughter too, you know. That watch is a family heirloom. One of us one day will pass it on to one of our children.’
‘Well, it won’t be you, will it?’
A sudden, sharp look darkened Caitlin’s features. ‘What are you trying to say?’
‘You don’t have kids.’
‘Doesn’t mean I’ll never have kids.’
‘You’ve got to get a man to put up with you for long enough first for that to happen.’
‘Classy as ever, Eden. I can always trust you to say the most hurtful thing and not even break a sweat. Do you actually care about anyone but yourself?’
‘You’re the one crashing my house to tell me off about something you’ve no need to be involved in – what did you expect? I’d just curtsy and be like, sorry, sis? If Mum wants the watch, she only has to say. And she hasn’t said, so how am I supposed to know? I suppose she did that passive-aggressive thing of not telling me but complaining to you so you’d do her dirty work?’
‘Don’t be so childish; of course not. I noticed she hadn’t worn it in a while, and I asked her. She did nothing of the sort, and I’m here because I know she’ll never ask you no matter how much she wants to. I love you both but, dear God, where you’re concerned, she’s a doormat, and you take far too much advantage of how much she adores you. Someone’s got to say it.’
