Free Coincidences by Maria Savva Page B

to make up for
upsetting her. From the sound of the chat and laughter emanating from the
kitchen, she was fine. Alice smiled to herself. She decided she would leave the
roses in the lounge with a note. As she was looking inside her bag for a pen,
she heard a familiar voice. It was Rita’s. The memory of the recent meeting
with Rita in the café piqued Alice’s curiosity. This woman knew about her
father. Maybe it would be better to go into the kitchen and introduce herself.
If she got to know Rita, she could find out all she wanted to know about her
father, and she wouldn’t have to bother Stephanie about it anymore.
    Alice closed the front door
slowly, trying not to make any noise; it occurred to her that maybe her mother
and Rita would be discussing old times, which might include some stories about
her father. It was hard to make out what the women were talking about, so she
slowly crept towards the kitchen, glad she was wearing trainers as they didn’t
make too much noise on the wooden floor.
    When Alice was standing outside
the kitchen door, she heard Rita say: ‘I still think you should tell Alice. She
has a right to know.’
    Alice raised her eyebrows.
    ‘I can’t. Well, at least not
yet,’ replied Stephanie.
    Alice frowned. What was this
secret that her mother was keeping from her? Just then, her keys fell from her
hand onto the wooden floor, making a loud clanging sound as they landed.
    ‘What was that?’ said Stephanie.
    In a panic, Alice quickly opened
the kitchen door and said, ‘Hi, Mum.’ 
    Stephanie’s eyes widened. ‘Oh...
er... hello, darling.’ She was seated by the kitchen table opposite Rita.
    ‘Hello,’ said Rita, smiling.
    ‘Hi,’ said Alice, nodding at
Rita.
    She was kicking herself for
dropping her keys. What were they talking about?
    ‘Mum, I got you these roses.’
She handed the flowers to Stephanie.
    ‘Thank you, sweetie. They’re lovely.
My favourite.’
    ‘What a thoughtful girl,’
commented Rita.
    Alice couldn’t help feeling
tension in the air. She had walked in when they were discussing something, and
she had stopped them mid flow.
    Stephanie began arranging the
roses in a glass vase.
    Alice sat down next to Rita,
feeling slightly awkward.
    ‘Er... would you like a cup of
tea, Alice?’ asked her mother.
    ‘Um... okay.’ 
    Her mother filled the glass vase
with water and put it on the kitchen bench. She then took a cup from the
cabinet and poured Alice some tea from the pot on the table.
    Alice was only too aware of the
silence in the room. Her mother and Rita had been chatting away together before
she’d walked in. It was as if they were waiting for her to leave so they could
continue; at least it felt that way to Alice.
    ‘You were only a baby when I
left London,’ said Rita, breaking the silence.
    ‘Yes, my mum told me,’ said
Alice, smiling.
    ‘Your mother and I were just
catching up on old times. We’ve been out of touch for over twenty years.’
    ‘That’s a long time,’ said
Alice.
    ‘Darling, how’s your arm? Did
you go to the doctor?’
    Alice was sure that her mother
had interrupted to try to change the subject. She remembered Rita’s words just
before she’d dropped her keys: ‘Alice... has a right to know.’
    ‘My arm’s fine. Nothing to worry
about.’
    ‘Good.’ Her mother smiled, then
asked: ‘So, have you been at work today?’
    ‘Yes, I was there in the
morning.’
    ‘Have you had lunch?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘Good.’
    Again there was silence. Then
Stephanie looked at Rita. ‘Have you kept in touch with Helen and Gordon?’
    ‘No, I haven’t seen them since I
left London. What are they doing these days?’
    ‘I’m not sure. I did hear they
had three children and one of them became a doctor.’
    ‘Oh, that’s nice,’ said Rita. ‘I
always liked Helen.’
    Alice began to feel a bit out of
place as her mother continued to discuss old times with her friend. When there
was a break in the conversation, she stood up and said,