“You cheat!” Sandra accused, throwing the rest of her cards on the table in defeat.
I sent a beaming smile her way. “No need to cheat when I’m better than you.” I shot her a wink and gathered the cards to shuffle. We only played for money on occasion, mostly because I refused to take their money and they’d noticed how often I tended to lose whenever money was involved. They preferred to win honestly, so no money was on the table today.
“Pfft,” she muttered, taking the cards I handed her.
These days were my favorites. Working with old people sounded boring, but it was anything but. They had gossip, likerealgossip. Like how one of them had been having an affair with her husband’s boss, simply because he’d had one with her sister.
I played for another hour with Sandra, enjoying our teasing. Then it was time for lunch and after that I had to see Hilda, another one of the lovely ladies here, who had sadly lost her husband a month ago.
Walking into the break room for us workers, I’d only just opened the fridge to grab my lunch, when Kim came in. “Aiden! I need your strong arms.”
I rolled my eyes and followed him out of the room. I wasn’t strong looking, more on the lean side. But I could appreciate the compliment.
After helping out Kim—who was another worker here—I ate my lunch and found Hilda on the back patio. The outside area was my favorite, always filled with people just enjoying the sun, even in bad weather. Sitting down on one of the garden chairs, I handed Hilda a cup of tea. It might have seemed like a small gesture, but every time I made her favorite tea— a white tea with candied pineapple—she just beamed. Considering how low her mood had been ever since losing Carl, it was a privilege to make her smile.
“Thank you, Aiden,” she said, taking the cup from my hands. “So.” She sipped her tea carefully. “Anything new going on in town?”
Most of the elders living here rarely left the home, and considering how big the property was, it made sense why they preferred to stay here.
I shrugged. “You know I’m not much for going out.”
She gave me an understanding smile. “I wasn’t talking about going drinking and dancing, although I do miss it myself, I know it’s not for everyone. I meant more like activities and such.” She gave a one shouldered shrug, like it wasn’t that important. But it was.
“You’re ready to go back?” My question was whispered because I still couldn’t wrap my mind around it.
She sighed. “I think it’s time.”
I could only nod. Carl had lost his life when they went on a date in town. She hadn’t left the home since. It wasn’t an accident or anything, his heart had just… stopped.
After a few beats of silence, I offered, “Want me to go with you?”
She smiled at me. “I thought you’d never ask.”
I shook my head at her with a low laugh. “I can’t believe you’re guilting me into going to town.”
A lilting laugh escaped her. “I did no such thing! But I did overhear of a festival this weekend, if you’re up for the challenge.”
“Fine,” I relented. I was actually looking forward to it. Hilda would get tired sooner than my dads would, so the outing wouldn’t be too tiring for me. Always putting on a fake smile took much more effort than I’d thought, and it was draining being out for a long period without any personal breaks.
“Not to get too deep on this lovely sun filled day,” she began, her expression turning worried. “But how areyoudoing?”
I blinked, not expecting the question. Only my dads asked me that, no one here ever did. And why was it that as soon as someone asked me that, all I wanted to do was cry?
Looking away from her wise eyes, I gathered myself before I had a breakdown at work. That would be the worst.
“I um,” I started. “I’m doing okay.”
I shouldn’t have looked at her, but I did. Her gaze told me she saw right through my bullshit. Maybe the saying that hurt recognizes hurt was true after all.
“I’ll say one thing, and then I’ll drop it.” Her cold hand landed on top of mine and gave me a gentle squeeze. “When I was your age, I left my hometown and travelled the world. I had lost a lot, and at one point, I’d lost myself as well. Travelling brought me back to myself. It also brought me Carl.”
Still not knowing where she was going with this, I gestured for her to go on.
“I ended up spending two years outside of our country, spending the last one with Carl by my side. We eventually came back here and started working together in our own bakery. I needed to leave before I could find myself, and when I look at you.” Her eyes were grey and held so much wisdom in them I was unable to say anything. “...I see myself,” she finished.
After a short staring contest that I lost, I finally whispered. “You think it would help me?”
“I think you owe it to yourself to try. If you’re anything like me, it could be just the thing you need to live a happy life. Not that my travelling made everything else easier, but it made living worth it. You’re too young to be a shadow of yourself, handing out those forced smiles that never reach your eyes.” She truly saw everything. I was actually feeling a bit scared at the moment.
