Oakbrook - The Portal

Lily makes bread

Lily makes bread

There were three boys sitting around the kitchen table, Tom, Andrew, and their friend from school, Rhys. The books needed for the latest school project littered around them. They murmured quietly to each other as they worked. The sound of giggling and happy playing drifted in from the living room where Susan was having a tea party with soft toys and dolls.

Kate chopped more assorted vegetables and threw them in the pot on the cooker. So far there was a leek, most of a huge onion, a couple of soft carrots and about half a swede, all alongside the chicken carcass that had been cooking away since mid-afternoon. She added a crumbled stock cube and poked the wooden spoon around it thoughtfully. The chicken was disintegrating nicely. She was wearing a snug fitting t-shirt along with her standard jeans. Her hair, although caught back in a loose ponytail, was escaping to drift delicate tendrils across her face. She brushed them back, pulled the ponytail free and caught it all back in the soft hair band again. Within minutes another strand had come loose and was falling in her eyes. She smiled and tucked it behind her ear. It promptly fell loose again.

"Mum?" asked Tom, getting her attention.

"Yes Tom?" Kate turned, tucking the stray hair back behind her ear again. She kept one hand on the spoon but stopped stirring the soup.

"Why is Christmas, Christmas? And why does Andrew do it on a different day?" Tom was curious.

"We don't!" Piped up Andrew indignantly, "We have Christmas on Christmas day same as you. We just do Solstice as well. Mum says she'll celebrate anything if there's an excuse for a party! Something to do with the sun and winter." he went back to his books. Kate smiled at him and shook her head slightly. Andrew simply accepted Lily's oddities as only a child could. Personally Kate found Lily a bit strange at times. But at least she didn't go dancing naked in the woods when there was a full moon. At least Kate didn't think she did.

"Why don't you ask her when she comes to pick Andrew up?" she suggested to Tom. "She'll be here in a minute. Are you both stopping for tea, Andrew? What about you, Rhys? There's plenty, and your Mum can stay too if you like."

"Oh, can I please?" Andrew's face lit up. "I love your soups. They all taste different." Kate grinned widely at the compliment. This was known as "Weekend, what is left in the fridge soup" Now and then Kate dragged out the soft vegetables from the back of the fridge and made soup from whatever she found. If they'd had chicken earlier in the week she boiled down the carcass as well. Andrew was right, every soup was different, made up from what she had.

"You lot get on and finish that homework. I'm going to see what sort of mess Susan is making." Kate popped the lid onto the pot and wandered to the living room doorway. The floor was surprisingly clear. There was a cushion carefully placed in the middle of the rug and Susan sat on one side, with dolls and soft toys arranged around the edges. The dolls and soft toys were cheerfully chattering away to each other. Susan was supplying the voices and every toy seemed to have a different accent. Kate watched her for a moment. Susan didn't seem to have noticed her yet. The game was very involved and Kate was constantly astounded at the level of imagination Susan used.

There was a soft tap at the back door, and she turned to see it open.

"Hi Lily!" Kate called, making the girls look up in surprise. "Is Sam with you?" She turned back to Susan, "You're fine; carry on with the tea party. I was just checking you hadn't made a mess." Susan went back to chattering, drinking pretend tea and eating pretend cakes.

Kate went to greet Lily properly. Lily was bending over the table, taking a look at Andrew's work. She made a point of looking at Rhys and Tom's too. She straightened up and folded Kate into a strong friendly hug. Sam hung back until Kate reached out and hugged her too.