Chapter 6 #2
The room slowly returned to life as conversations resumed, while everyone tried to fit in a second cuppa before the end of lunch. Ellie exhaled a breath and turned to Alba, who was watching her with a smile. “Done. No more to be said about it.”
“I know it means absolutely nothing to you, but I’m proud of you for what you’ve just done.”
“If it hadn’t been for you, I wouldn’t have done it.” Ellie shrugged as she speared her fork into her salad. “So, what do we do about Colin?”
A grin spread on Alba’s lips. “I think there’s only one thing for it. You’ll have to come over and visit him.”
“Busy tonight?” Ellie raised an eyebrow.
“I am now. Just let me know what time we should expect you.”
Rushing around the house for what felt like the fifth time in the last ten minutes, Alba scooped several of Colin’s toys from the living room floor and shoved them hastily into the toybox tucked beneath the stairs. She nudged the lid closed with her foot and stepped back to assess the space.
Better.
While Ellie had already been here once, Alba still hated the thought of her walking into a messy house. It wasn’t that Ellie would judge—Alba was fairly certain she wouldn’t—but Alba herself couldn’t relax if the place looked like chaos.
Colin wouldn’t care if he didn’t have any toys to hand for the rest of the evening. Once Ellie arrived, he would be glued to her side like a lovesick shadow anyway. But it was hard not to warm to Ellie. Almost impossibly so. Which, if Alba was being honest with herself, was exactly the problem.
She turned around and nearly jumped out of her skin. Colin was sitting directly in front of her, staring up with wide, expectant eyes.
“What? I can’t make her get here any quicker. Jesus!” She laughed and crouched down, wrapping her arms around his neck for a quick cuddle. “But I know. She’s lovely.”
That was the understatement of the century.
After last night at Ellie’s house and today at work, Alba knew she was walking a dangerously thin line.
A line she absolutely could not afford to cross.
Because the moment she allowed herself to look at Ellie in any other way, there were only two possible outcomes.
Failure…or heartbreak. Alba had already experienced more than enough of both to last her a lifetime.
Neither option was on the table anymore.
She pushed herself back to her feet and took her phone from the back pocket of her jeans. Her thumbs hovered briefly over the screen before she typed.
Ellie is coming over this evening. I’m just letting you know in case you were planning to show up unannounced.
Lois rarely dropped by during the week, but Alba knew exactly what her best friend could be like. Now that Lois knew Alba’s first day at her new school was over—and, more importantly, that Ellie existed in Alba’s orbit—it wouldn’t be out of character for her to appear without warning.
Her phone buzzed almost instantly.
You mean you want to be alone with her. If that’s what you’re saying, just say it.
Alba rolled her eyes, though the corner of her mouth twitched. Was that what she wanted? In some small way…yes. But not for the reasons Lois would undoubtedly be imagining.
Ellie probably wouldn’t want to talk about her daughter again, but after everything that had happened today, it was hard to imagine the subject wouldn’t surface eventually. If anything, tonight just felt like a natural continuation of that moment.
I was over at her place last night. There was a development. I’ll explain more when I see you next. Just prepare yourself because I’m still struggling to understand how she functions each day.
As Alba sent the message off, the doorbell rang.
She physically jumped, and Colin exploded into motion at the same time, spinning in excited circles in the hallway. Alba felt the urge to do exactly the same thing.
God, you just don’t know how to leave well enough alone!
She clenched her fists at her sides and released a deep breath. Backing out now wasn’t an option. Ellie was counting on her. At work, as a friend, as the one person who didn’t look at her like she might shatter at any moment.
“Come on, Colly. Let’s let your friend in, hey?”
Alba hooked a finger around Colin’s collar before he could launch himself at the door and potentially flatten Ellie the second it opened. She turned the latch and immediately found herself staring into those overwhelmingly blue eyes.
“Hi.” Ellie beamed the most beautiful smile.
If Alba had thought she was in trouble before, it had just escalated drastically.
Ellie stood on the doorstep with her silky blonde hair tied up loosely and only the faintest hint of makeup on her face.
She wore glasses tonight—something Alba hadn’t seen before but would dream about tonight—and the oversized hoodie, faded jeans, and Vans somehow made her look even more disarmingly attractive than she did in work clothes.
Alba had a sudden urge to shut the door in her face and pretend this entire evening had never been suggested.
“C-come in.”
Ellie stepped inside, and Colin immediately claimed her full attention.
Typical.
“Yes, I know. You missed me or something to that effect.” Ellie crouched to scratch behind his ears, laughing when he threw himself down onto his back and rolled around the floor. “Ohhh. I see. You’re extra dramatic tonight.”
Alba stood in the hallway, watching their interaction unfold with fascination.
Even Audrey had never been this affectionate with Colin.
And Colin had always seemed content to keep a polite distance from her in return.
Unless Ralph was stealing everyone’s attention, he had rarely sought Audrey out.
Maybe Colin had known something Alba hadn’t.
Maybe he had been the one with the gut instinct all along.
“Have, um…have you eaten yet?”
Ellie glanced up from where she was still crouched beside Colin. “No. I wasn’t really sure what I felt like.”
“I have some homemade soup on the stove. It’s almost ready if you’d like some?” Alba swallowed when Ellie straightened to her full height again. “Or I can order in if you feel like something more filling.”
“Soup would be lovely. If you’re sure you have enough?” Ellie glanced back down at Colin, who was still wriggling happily on the floor. “And don’t mind sharing.”
“I batch cook. There’s plenty.” Batch cooking had become second nature over the past year or so.
It had been one of the many small routines Alba had built for herself after her divorce.
Cooking once and eating for days meant fewer evenings spent alone in the kitchen thinking about everything she’d lost. “Make yourself at home in the living room, and I’ll just turn down the stove while it finishes off. ”
Ellie gave Colin one last affectionate pat before following him into the living room.
Alba paused in the hallway for a second, taking in the quiet.
Over the weekend, she’d finally managed to unpack the last of the boxes from her move.
Now the house actually felt like a home rather than a temporary landing place.
She hoped Ellie had felt the same warmth when she’d stepped inside.
Because Alba had always believed that anyone who walked through her door should feel welcome.
She moved into the kitchen, flicking the kettle on as she passed it before lowering the heat on the soup simmering on the stove.
For a couple of minutes, she stood at the sink, staring out into the small garden beyond the window.
Was she making a mistake? Befriending Ellie felt natural and easy, but tonight, if Alba was being brutally honest with herself…
it also felt a little dangerous. Still, she would keep the lines clear.
She’d keep the friendship exactly where it belonged.
Her attraction towards Ellie was irrelevant, and knowing it would never be returned should make this easier. Right?
Yeah. You keep telling yourself that.
Sitting comfortably on the couch, Ellie lifted her gaze from the bowl resting in her hands and slowly looked around Alba’s living room.
The soup was warm and comforting, the sort of food that felt like it had been made with care rather than simply thrown together out of necessity.
But it wasn’t just the food that held Ellie’s attention now. It was the room itself.
Framed photographs sat scattered across shelves, side tables, and the mantel above the fireplace.
They weren’t arranged in perfect symmetry the way magazines suggested they should be.
Instead, they seemed to have found their places organically, as though Alba had simply set them down wherever they had felt right. Ellie lingered on them one by one.
In some of the photos, Alba’s smile was wide and unrestrained, the kind that crinkled the corners of her eyes and made her entire face glow. In others, she stood shoulder to shoulder with friends or family members, arms slung around one another with familiarity.
They were pictures filled with life. With connection.
With…joy. And looking at them stirred something unexpectedly tender inside Ellie.
They reminded her of so many things she had been missing lately.
Hope, love, and a laughter that came easily rather than being forced.
A connection to life itself, both past and present.
“Can I get you some more soup?” Alba’s voice broke through Ellie’s thoughts for the first time in nearly twenty minutes. “Or more bread?”