“Why did you even come here?” asked the niece, clearing away the untouched plate of food.
“Aunt Lydia, can I change the channel?” Emily didnt wait for an answer before snatching the remote and flicking through the programmes. “Ugh, what rubbish are you watching? Blimey, its already nine! Ive got an early start tomorrow.”
Lydia set aside her knitting and studied her niece. The girl had grown up, of coursetwenty-eight was hardly a childbut to her, Emily would always be that little girl who used to visit her gran in summer, tugging at her sleeve and pleading, “Aunt Lydia, tell me a princess story!”
“Whats so important tomorrow, then?” Lydia asked, turning down the telly.
“Just a meeting. Work stuff,” Emily muttered, eyes glued to the screen. “Honestly, your fridge is dodgythe milks gone off already.”
“Gone off? I only bought it yesterday!”
“Well, come and see for yourself!” Emily sprang off the sofa and shuffled to the kitchen in her slippers. “Look at this muck!”
Lydia followed and peered into the milk carton. Curdled. Oddshed checked the date at the shop.
“Mustve turned in the heat. Ill fetch another.” She reached for the fridge, but Emily stopped her.
“Dont bother! I dont even want it. Dairy mucks up my stomach. Just make a proper cuppa, yeah?”
“Course, love. Fancy a bite? Ive got some fried potatoes with mushrooms…”
“Aunt Lydia, Im on a diet!” Emily rolled her eyes. “No fried stuff. And nothing after six.”
“But its nine…”
“Exactly! Hence the not eating!”
Lydia filled the kettle and dug out a tin of biscuits. Emily wrinkled her nose at the digestives.
“Those are off-limits too. Got anything sugar-free?”
“Theres brown bread?” Lydia offered hesitantly.
“Still carbs. Fine, just tea.”
They returned to the lounge. Some American film was onEmily watched, unblinking. Lydia picked up her knitting but couldnt focus. Her niece had arrived that morning, announced shed stay the night, then leave. At first, Lydia had been chuffedEmily rarely visited, always busy with work in London. Now she sat there, silent, as if doing her a favour.
“Em,” Lydia ventured, “hows work these days?”
“Fine,” Emily said, not turning.
“And Daniel? Werent you two talking about marriage?”
Emily flinched, finally tearing her eyes from the telly.
“Aunt Lydia, we split up. Six months ago.”
“Good heavens! Why? What happened?”
“Just… didnt work out. Clashing personalities. It happens.”
Lydia set down her needles. So much for that wedding invitation shed been hoping for. She wanted to pry further, but Emilys expression said: Drop it.
“And work? Youre still at that firm, the… whats-it-called…”
“Quit,” Emily said flatly. “Last month.”
“Quit?! But youd been there three years!”
“Was. Now isnt. Job-hunting.”
“Howre you managing?”
“Aunt Lydia!” Emily spun round. “Why the interrogation? Im coping, alright?”
“Sorry, love. Just worried about you.”
“Well, dont be. Im a grown-up.”
Silence. Lydia stole glances at her niece. Too thin, too pale. Eyes dull. Emily used to be all spark and laughter, filling her grans house with chatter and plans. Now she sat like a stranger.
The kettle whistled. Emily bolted up first.
“Ill make it!” she called from the kitchen.
Lydia heard cupboards slam, mugs clink. Thenquiet. Too quiet. She went to check.
Emily stood at the window, empty cup in hand. Shoulders shaking.
“Em? Whats wrong?”
“Nothing,” she sniffed. “Just… tired. Really tired.”
Lydia hugged her from behind. Emily didnt pull awayshe leaned in, like she had as a child.
“Out with it, love. Whats going on?”
“Everything, Aunt Lydia. Daniel left because he said I was boring. Work was a nightmaremy boss hated me, humiliated me in front of everyone. I walked out. Now I cant find anything. Savings are gone. Cant pay rent.”
“Oh, pet! Why didnt you tell me? Wed have figured something out!”
“Like what? Your pensions peanuts. And Im supposed to handle my own messes.”
“Rubbish! Since when cant family help?”
Emily gave a bitter laugh.
“What family? Mums wrapped up with her new bloke. Brothersones in Germany, the others in Edinburgh, too busy with their own dramas. The rest? Havent seen them in years.”
“But Im here!”
“You are,” Emily admitted. “But what goods that? Youre barely scraping by yourself.”
Lydia said nothing. True, her pension was meagre. But this wasnt about money. Why had Emily cut everyone off?
They brewed tea, returned to the lounge. Emily calmed down, even ate a few biscuitsdiet forgotten.
“Remember,” Lydia said suddenly, “those summers at Grans? Picking strawberries in the woods?”
Emily smiled. “And you telling me fairy tales.”
“Baking pies. You always sneaked raw dough.”
“Gran would shout, Emilys eaten all the dough again!” Emily laughedproperly, for the first time all evening. “Then shed sigh and say, Fine, Ill mix more for my girl.”
“She adored you.”
“I adored her. Wish shed lived longer… I miss her, Aunt Lydia.”
“Me too, love.”
A quiet moment. Then, out of nowhere:
“Ever regret not marrying? Not having kids?”
Lydia blinked. “I was married.”
“Oh, rightUncle Kevin. But that was… brief.”
“Three years isnt brief.”
“Still. No children.”
“Couldnt,” Lydia said softly.
“And you regret it?”
“Course. But what can you do?”
Emily frowned. “I keep thinkingmaybe its for the best, Daniel and me. Wed have divorced anyway. He never really loved me.”
“How dyou know?”
“Obvious, wasnt it? Always criticising. Sarah from accounts is so fun. Hannah dresses so stylishly. Me? Youre dull.”
“Pillock,” Lydia grumbled. “Youre not dull!”
“I am, Aunt Lydia. No talents, no stunning looks. Just… ordinary.”
“Whats wrong with ordinary? Most folks are. Perfectly happy.”
“Dunno. Sometimes I think Im just… taking up space.”
Lydias chest tightened. Were things that bad?
“Dont talk daft! Everyone matters.”
“How? By waitressing for pennies? Dating men who dont care? Living in some mouldy flat-share?”
“Is that so terrible? At least youre free.”
“Free to do what?” Emily chewed her lip. “I used to thinkmarry, have kids, tick the boxes. Now? No clue.”
Lydia watched her, heart aching. Young, healthyand so lost. At her age, Lydia had been wed (briefly), dreaming big. Emily seemed afraid to dream at all.
“Stay here,” Lydia said suddenly. “As long as you like. Figure things out.”
“And do what? No jobs round here.”
“Who said anything about jobs? Rest first.”
“I cant mooch off you!”
“Mooch? Theres room, theres food. Well manage.”
Emily shook her head. “No, Ill go tomorrow. Got that interview.”
“Oh yeswhats the job?”
“Waitressing. I know, with my degree its… but needs must.”
“Nothing wrong with honest work.”
“Thats what I thought. Just need the cash.”
They talked awhile longer, then Emily yawned and headed to bed. Lydia made up the sofa, fetched an extra blanket.
“Aunt Lydia?” Emily murmured, already half-asleep. “Thanks. For listening. Helped more than you know.”
“Anytime, love. And ring me, always.”
“Will do.”
Lydia lay awake, worrying. How to help? No money, no connections. And Emily was too proud for handouts.
Morning came. Emily dressed quickly, skipped breakfast.
“Diet again?” Lydia asked.
“Not hungry. Nerves.”
“Far to go?”
“Other side of town. Long trip.”
Lydia shoved sandwiches into her bag. “For the road.”
“Ta.”
At the door, Emily paused.
“Why did you even come here?” she asked, clearing the untouched breakfast.
The question threw Lydia. “What dyou mean? You said you were visiting.”
“No, I meanwhyd you move here years ago? You couldve stayed where you grew up.”
Lydia hesitated. An old story, rarely told.
“Your gran fell ill. No one to care for her. Then… I just stayed.”
“But your life… you had work there…”
“Did. But family comes first.”
“Regret it?”
“Sometimes. But what choice was there?”
Emily absorbed this. “So you sacrificed everything. For others.”
“Not sacrificed. Lived as I thought right.”
“Were you happy?”
Lydia shrugged. “Who knows? Good bits, bad bits. Like everyone.”
“You couldve had a proper marriage. Kids…”
“Couldve. Didnt.”
Emily sighed. “Nothing works out for me either. Maybe it runs in the familyliving for others, not ourselves.”
“Whose life is ours, if not the one weve got?”
“Dunno. The one you choose, maybe. Not the one that just… happens.”
“You think folks get that choice? We muddle through, then call it choice after.”
Emily nodded slowly.
“Maybe youre right. Anywaybest go. Dont wanna be late.”
She kissed Lydias cheek and left. Lydia watched her go, hopingfor the job, yes, but more for that spark to return.
That evening, Emily rang.
“Aunt Lydia, I got it! Start tomorrow!”
“Brilliant! Boss decent?”
“Seem alright. New café. Said if it goes well, maybe manager later.”
“See? Things looking up!”
“Early days. But at least theres wages. Aunt Lydia… can I visit sometimes? Just… to see you?”
“Whenever you like, love.”
“Thanks. Its… peaceful here. Feels like home.”
“It is your home, Em. Always.”
After, Lydia sat with her tea, thinking. How time flew. Emilyonce a giggling child, now a woman carrying burdens. She longed to fix it all, but some roads must be walked alone.
Perhaps Emily was rightthey all lived lives not quite their own. Lydia came for her mum, stayed out of habit. Emily took that job, dated Danielnot by choice, but chance. Now waitressing, same story.
But maybe life wasnt grand plans. Maybe it was thiscaring, working, helping. Call it choice or circumstance. The doing mattered. The kindness.
That was enough.
