The Kindness Club on Mapleberry Lane - Part Two

by Helen Rolfe

Genres: Small Town & Rural; Women's Fiction; Contemporary Romance

Synopsis

A heartwarming new story about kindness and community, from the author of The Little Village Library A little kindness can go a long way. . . It's a season of change in Mapleberry Lane. Veronica Beecham's life has been turned upside down by the arrival of her teenage granddaughter, and with her estranged daughter Sam now living under her roof, she might have a chance to bring her family back together - if only they can learn to live with each other... Veronica's neighbour Charlie, and his bubbly little girl, Layla, have been her lifeline for the last few years - and when Sam and Charlie strike up a connection, it seems there might be fireworks this autumn. Could the handsome paramedic heal Sam's bruised heart? Meanwhile, Audrey is determined to find ways to help her gran reconnect with the world, even if she isn't brave enough to step outside her cottage. The kindness club they've formed is already doing good in the community, but is it enough to make Audrey feel that she belongs? Whatever happens, sparks are going to fly in Mapleberry... An uplifting story told in four parts, about the little kindnesses that make the world a better place. Perfect for fans of Cathy Bramley and Holly Hepburn! This is Part Two.

Release date: October 1, 2020

Publisher: Orion

Print pages: 96

Sample

Veronica’s daughter Sam had only moved in with her a week ago and already number nine Mapleberry Lane was fit to bursting with tension.

Seeing Layla coming down the front path now, pink backpack bobbing up and down, waving farewell to Bea, her childminder, Veronica felt a sense of relief – the little girl’s infectious enthusiasm was just what she needed after another day with her own family. To think that she’d been feeling so lonely a few months ago – but as the saying went, be careful what you wish for!

Veronica had the door open before Layla could knock and the little girl ran straight into her arms.

‘I missed you!’ she squealed.

Veronica hugged her tight. ‘I missed you too.’ Layla had no idea how special these hugs were. She was the only person Veronica got them from – Sam and Audrey might be here now, but they were all a long way off being able to show affection to one another. Sam had descended on Mapleberry and Audrey had gone from amicable to biting Veronica’s head off for no reason, schlepping around the place, leaving laundry on the bedroom floor, crumbs on the kitchen bench and unrinsed crockery in the sink. They’d been making headway before Sam showed up, and civility had even begun to teeter over into a friendship, but now Veronica had no idea what was going on, unable to read Audrey or Sam’s mood from one day to the next.

Some people might wonder how it was possible for so much tension to come between a parent and child, but Veronica knew more than anyone how easily it could happen. Sam and Audrey had been pleasant enough to each other on day one, but by day two they were less tolerant, day three they’d stopped talking, and now they could barely be in the same room. The only way Veronica was coping with the shift in the dynamics was to dig her heels in and stick with it because this might be her last chance to claw back some semblance of a relationship with her daughter. She longed to be the person who helped rather than the one who ruined everything.

Veronica had gone from living on her own and barely hearing from family, let alone seeing them, to having three generations all living under one roof, and to say it wasn’t easy was an understatement. But at least Sam had timed her arrival well, coinciding with young Layla being away on holidays with her dad, Charlie. It meant Veronica could focus on the changing dynamics, not that she hadn’t yearned for a distraction now and again when tensions mounted with her daughter and granddaughter.

Layla and Charlie lived at number twenty-five Mapleberry Lane, on the same side of the road as Veronica. Layla was only eight, but over time she and Veronica had become close and Layla visited most days. She loved to bring collections of fruit and vegetables from the veggie patch she’d cultivated with her dad, they’d spend time chatting or playing games, and Veronica had begun to teach Layla the piano. It was a secret from Charlie, at least until Layla improved. She wanted to be good enough to play Christmas songs as her mum once had before she died, and seeing her determination to succeed brought a tear to Veronica’s eye at the loss Layla had been through, as well as the memories she was trying to honour.

Before Sam turned up Veronica felt she’d begun to make some headway with Audrey, despite her granddaughter’s changing moods. Lord knows she’d had to work hard at it, tolerating rudeness and setting ground rules without seeming to be a total ogre, and all while hiding her own insecurities. One day Audrey had come right out with it and asked Veronica why she never left the house, and finally, Veronica had admitted her fears. But it had felt like a blessing rather than anything shameful, not that Veronica had given her problems a label in front of Audrey – she hadn’t needed to. Audrey got it, she understood Veronica had agoraphobia, and that day had marked a change in her granddaughter’s attitude. Audrey had become more pleasant to be around, more polite, and although she had her moments – she was fifteen after all – they were making progress. Veronica had even been starting to think she’d be able to send Audrey back to Sam a happier person; she’d have won at something and maybe it would be a path back into her daughter’s life too.

But now, with Sam around, Audrey was back to taking offence at the simplest of things. Yesterday it had been when Sam dared to ask whether she’d tested the walk to her new school around the corner to see how long it took. The way Audrey reacted was as though Sam had asked her whether she was going to do the walk naked. Although given Audrey’s reaction to changing schools when Sam had told her they were staying on in Mapleberry for the time being, and the way she’d frozen Sam out after she told her, Veronica supposed the filthy looks and huffs and puffs were a step up from the silent treatment. Mind you, this morning Audrey had slammed the front door so hard on her way out for a walk that Veronica thought she’d have to call a glazier to reinforce the glass ready for next time.

Layla’s visits brought a bit of normality for Veronica. She might be the weird lady from number nine, but she had a friend in Layla, and Charlie too. ‘What’s that tucked under your arm?’

‘The kindness calendar, of course.’

‘How could I forget something so important?’ Veronica smiled. The kindness calendar was something Layla had started at school well before the long summer holidays set in and the children were all tasked with carrying on with the allotted tasks during their break. ‘Now, how does chocolate milk and a slice of carrot cake sound?’

Layla followed her into the kitchen and sat herself down at the little wooden table as Veronica cut the cake. ‘Did you use the carrots from our veggie patch?’

‘Of course I did, you gave me enough before you went away!’ Veronica poured the chocolate milk and handed it to Layla. ‘I want to hear all about your holiday – how was Wales?’

‘I loved camping.’ Layla’s dark ginger bobbed hair swung as she animatedly told Veronica all about the muddy field they’d stayed in, the trek to the toilets in the middle of the night, the cows at the farm nearby who’d woken them with their mooing every morning. ‘They were so loud, worse than my alarm clock when it’s time to get up for school.’

‘It sounds as though you got plenty of fresh country air.’ She looked at the rolled-up kindness calendar Layla had set down on one of the chairs. She was a part of it now that she was teaching Layla to play the piano and being involved had lifted something in Veronica, it made her feel as though despite her limitations, the big wide world out there hadn’t been completely taken away from her. ‘Did you manage to do any of the calendar while you were away?’

‘I ticked off “Be a Good Samaritan”. That was easy. You could do anything.’ She didn’t leave a crumb behind from the cake. ‘We helped two people who couldn’t put their tent up. The wind made it really hard and they needed more pairs of hands. I got to hammer in the tent pegs with the big wooden mallet – I like doing that.’

‘It was very kind of you.’

‘The people let me take photos with daddy’s phone too because then I can show the class when we go back to school.’

‘Let’s look what else there is for this month?’ Veroni. . .