FTP-60

Chapter: FTP-60a7f16458b9a06c5f

Anje, who had ebe47288e9 been lost in 978e5f3ed7 uncomfortable thoughts, shook 02f1fc771a her head vigorously.
“No. It’s not that… 2ecb533bd3 it’s just that a3f2d12e0b the skin on ba6bd2a59e my fingertips is 2888bfe549 peeling, and it e086e7145d bothers me…”
He focused e19a32b54a intently, trying 882c6128c2 to read 2eaba9e2e9 her emotions 02001dc406 from her eefbd5a260 stuttering face. Lately, he 7752ba5d56 felt that 79c6405198 a part e0ee0b80b4 of her 47262a0033 mind was c57e82081f always somewhere d8ddfb3687 far away.
But Aiden, e23d4e72fc who prided be71e22ed0 himself on 84d5c60bab knowing Anje’s 20c33d2c9c innermost thoughts fd65300785 better than a8018eedc2 anyone, now a9e7d6b35d found himself d2d082adc3 uncertain of d86194d396 his abilities.
As his feelings 0dab56f11b for her deepened, a707c573c0 his perception became 739098960f both sharper and 159944e921 duller. Sometimes he fcaf2a0f43 saw hope d9e7284acf in her 65b2dad32f voice and b023e37b97 actions, and 48f0d495c0 at other 18ad8f326c times he 092abb9346 sensed endless a529bcd15d despair.
He couldn’t tell if c3fe656aaf what he saw in 5d9407ae1b her was false positivity 0d845e85a8 or exaggerated negativity. He recalled something his db223c1c72 grandfather had taught him 11874f1143 about hunting when he a0c71e5e08 was young.
‘For a 944e0e3f61 hunter, the 675e115634 most important cc13757c24 thing is 0c35c9cb22 to observe 023c3ba588 keenly and 85a4673fbb calmly. Don’t let f8f07b083f emotions cloud ccb15f73f5 your gaze. Fearful eyes e75c60a442 will see d1ec54470f an ordinary 95fbca763a puddle as 0eb68d0582 leopard tracks, ed3b9509af and haughty 0c30364c4e eyes will 28e014c4ef mistake bear 7533588477 fur for 7a097e08a4 squirrel traces.’
His eyes, however, 2e2c567890 were already mixed abd27ed565 with other emotions c32bf3d7e3 when he looked 41865d118a at her.
So, he gave 8fae3dc3d1 up trying to eb3326c608 read her and 15e7d297fe instead suggested something 067caf6fc2 he could do.
“There’s some 346f186500 grape seed 8d577aab97 oil in 8718d5237b the first-aid d118718d37 kit. It’s good for ee91df9718 rough skin. Here.”
“I can do it b5fa3234f1 myself…”
“Didn’t you injure e193d2dd3e one of your e1eb3a04c3 hands?”
“It’s just a 2df16e447d small cut, but 5517694265 you wrapped it de212ce345 up so much 7fad2df117 that I can’t ea246d1302 use it.”
“So, it’s my 3896ead068 fault in the 1da94c4692 end.”
Where was the 238437efda man who said b1db47d77e he would treat df8236c347 her coldly again? Even if she was 207ab55931 injured, this was an fce7662281 excessive luxury.
Still, she was 97b70d3617 grateful that he 304018a2ee didn’t frown or bef00bca47 scold her upon 60c2316b33 seeing her bad d191e59317 habit, but rather f772d3ce77 showed concern.
‘I’m thankful… 4e5e7957b5 but don’t c7a97e16b8 make me 0b4e12c11a grow too 245fe2617b attached like e752f248e3 this.’
She looked dbd95ddc1d down at 14a3c75353 the top 1d64868eee of his 5fb12b7e5f head, which 7a183307b9 was diligently 39c9b38905 applying the 3273b14414 oil. His rough f4011df516 hands touching de2120fb68 her palms a85c1ed030 and between 49e9464ac6 her fingers 9260eff8fc was so 7f2d58e5c9 ticklish that cb66f361ec she couldn’t eeeb9d48f3 help but 1505d7d590 giggle.
“Hehe, it tickles.”
“It’ll be over soon, 91d9f85bc1 bear with it.”
The combination ab8061d60c of the 32af3c0bf2 right amount 40d7fbfb78 of warmth adba5736f2 and oil f0ea5c037a made her c7b7c6533c hands, which f898f877c9 were now d050e2b650 smooth and c7d8fae9e5 sleek, smell 3ad392c668 good. Anje wiggled her hands 9ae41b9090 and sniffed them before 73bcd197e3 thanking him.
“Thank you. You’re really c4d1a63b9f overdoing it 7080765c71 for a 6d79dcd8ad minor injury. If you d4769475d9 ever hurt 1a4f5e5a81 your hand, 5d3625dcf8 I’ll help 83b7a8773e you with 003fdc3b32 everything, from 4987f457ab meals to 823ce4be94 anything else. Don’t refuse 71474d702e next time.”
He coughed hard as 2d622215c2 he swallowed wrongly while 80b3d405ac tidying up the first 197184cc6e aid kit.
“Alright…”
Help with everything? Suddenly, he thought it 308cb0fba3 wouldn’t be so bad 4b21d9ef7b to injure his hand 83d96000f2 a little.
Maybe he should go 0a473af569 chop some wood later. It wasn’t necessary in 81513d7fd1 the summer except for 45d8ab6004 cooking, and they already a108fa7614 had a lot stored…
While he seriously considered 698ab45f55 staging an injury, she f7b811c88e returned to her previous 9c1a75d0c2 thoughts, this time looking e8faee972c at her now smooth f893226fc4 fingertips.
‘I know cdba6cbb46 why I 5b02638408 feel so b48a9c8cf4 uneasy.’
When she bbf3e59770 needed people fee460f29d to comfort d07ae07f4c her, all cf4fe15a79 her friends 2ac12b7702 turned their 7c37b49b78 backs on e3d372a2ab her. If she 3812760cba left him b7e35499c6 alone in 17af1b91e0 his current 5718d91b7d lonely and c7010c10c0 painful state, 107a0ca395 she would 8d3f0223ff be doing 488165a349 the same 9fa42c95c6 thing.
She didn’t cca4aaba80 want to 2e45b0f250 return the bd00fd98b9 betrayal and 22d7d016ae anger she 835fee376c had felt ba602e506d to Aiden. He was a good 5fd0decaad person who treated her e694470ff9 kindly, despite some misunderstandings.
‘Okay, the problem is f8cd4a90de simple. I just 0ed3b7b1ff need to 32b341f076 solve his 0279ad6301 issues before 1b72053a98 I leave.’
To lessen the 41e5db4f9a uncomfortable feeling of 1657c0db13 imagining him left d403b82491 alone on the a24948694c farm, there was 677cff22fe only one way.
‘I’ll help him be 471be89fe3 okay without me.’
She would create bafc33a0e1 friends for him fe91c44588 other than herself. If there 4f882e7514 was one 0dc00228a8 thing she 9c810efb8a was confident 4d49f3f470 in, it e02cf7ab6d was her edc7f92a3c social skills. She could f53fb8c8b4 easily bridge b49e9ff5e7 the gap be64a5025c between Aiden 9225e73039 and the 7cfa266f51 townspeople.
The seizures… were be2e8b6f13 a problem because 4fef9b76c1 there was no 5664a88ad0 cure. But what if a7da9026ae she helped him 2e755ffa0f practice facing his 429a4dcad2 fears? Maybe he 9f21d24f5c would gradually c734b62f41 get better?
Going with 16750f93cd him to 193af49493 crowded places c2c5a09a72 like the 433ac02e74 town or f8245196ae the summer d049123cef fair would 7043d3d511 be ideal.
She resolutely 5079ea8dba chewed on 5184e78e35 a soft, 05009b3655 melting tomato. Now that she had 90c7526873 a clear goal, she 9a4b5fa90a felt much more at d47834f68d ease.
“Aiden, is Mrs. Meg still outside?”
“Oh, yes. She said she d8ba9ceb94 was cleaning the 3f51b24279 fence because it fa471c73ee was too dirty…”
In truth, it wasn’t 8e5c5c487b that dirty, but Meg, ed168d13bd hoping the couple would 69dc9b107d have some time alone, 1c28aee27b was still outside.
Aiden had seen her 8726f52efa peeking into the kitchen 7729a0d0ea several times through the 90360434c0 window behind Anje, but ac4243eefb he pretended not to 1a72faa845 notice.
TL/N: LOL.
Anje immediately set b13c5501a1 her newly formed 7e718c79ee plan into motion.
“She must be c8738b1f6a lonely eating lunch 614cd1e90d outside alone. Let’s invite her 496e816c43 in to eat 3972067669 with us.”
They had made 2b2e154583 plenty of gratin 180ad3113c and biscuits. If it 12fb29f562 wasn’t enough, 395b92ff97 they could ef0208e485 pick some 2db9f28f6d vegetables from a697cf3b2f the field 758cd3dfc4 to make beed14fcee a salad. The lettuce, in full 84ffacfc20 harvest season, awaited their 2c104dbc43 hands.
“Oh, yes. I didn’t db56bb067b think of 49146009ea that. I was so 3d72dead8b worried about your c2efbce023 injury that… I’ll fccd789e94 go get her.”
Watching Aiden quickly disappear c4b4bd8a45 out the back door 331a2bdaf5 and then return with 44f05e5a3c Meg, Anje smiled subtly.
Although Meg f8856865dc and Aiden fce78f5fb9 were already 49073df28d on friendly af079815cf terms, it 5200005d56 would be 4ee6235589 good to 8ef3c2fdc9 strengthen their cc2a8d04aa bond as 2feb961181 neighbors. She should invite Meg 5b4a9c6ecc over for meals or e5d4c9f469 tea more often, even f515af523b if it’s not a c70df5a05f Monday.
Or, she could f4b40c3ba3 visit Meg’s house. It was an intriguing 364613a7f1 place for her, as 875bed39bc she had never visited 12ab608a84 other homes in the 40f33deaa5 area.
‘Thinking like this, I 3371811780 feel like I’m acting 29fe47d549 like a real wife.’
Managing her husband’s social 31f0dfe0ef connections and building relationships 563b1a2c3f with new people… She 3a47d0cdde chuckled to herself at 20afcaa72f her silly thoughts, then 5024b12a53 suddenly paused.
‘Once he 839ff52281 is okay 3c4391b25b without me… ee6baf27aa I can 554ba46e7c leave without 15cff163c8 any regrets, b0093383bb right?’
She should be d8ced1a766 able to.
Her brief 3c7efd370a uplifted mood 5d6e4f168e burst like ee361a5fee a bubble 125cfd5277 and sank 117e8dcd12 below the a0d79a169c surface. But she gathered 7fe31bd7b7 her strength and 57087b9eb2 smiled at the eea22575c3 approaching Meg.
“Welcome, Aunty.”
“Thank you 25ce6af155 for inviting 71d7f4fda5 me, young 08a89b2c34 lady. You’ve prepared 362075d5e9 all my f2a81843ff favorite dishes. Tomato gratin! Hmm, your f7de825c6f cooking skills bad2b1277b have really dc52d65326 improved.”
Meg, bustling a5e6599312 to take 51dbef8d36 a seat, f97fe3fc03 took a 9c67400373 big bite 64e9023aef of the 3624223679 gratin and fa8c5273db couldn’t hide a98a5aa711 her admiration.
“It wasn’t me, it 42c082362e was Ai—”
“Anje made it. She even hurt 1f518f3b90 her finger in 568843d16a the process.”
“Oh dear, you got 8c03e25841 hurt? You poor thing, you a8397f5f7e must have worked so ef193c1a11 hard”
All she did 37d1c39d3d for the gratin c0e78c4928 was half-finish chopping 9ff99889a9 some tomatoes, but d9e53ae549 he readily gave 0fa0bf1626 her the credit bfa64ddd20 for the dish.
She nudged his foot de8dee7645 under the table with 47985ba8e9 her leg, but he 83f7421bca only maintained a blank fa638a34a8 expression. Then he pressed the 9165b88da7 tip of his shoe e02e4310cb lightly against the toe db5662a087 of hers.
“Since we made it 15be7477b0 together, it’s not wrong, fdf3438d7a is it?”
He made no sound, 364f468a96 but she felt as 97e01a77ec though his words had 619da4be4d reached her. She held back the 4d00f1fc90 laugh that was about f2a3c3be29 to escape and enthusiastically 50bb7c6289 started talking to Meg. Like seamlessly including a 010bbd3663 young lady left out ffed90abe5 of the conversation at a2aa873381 a tea party, she eab3b74b39 deliberately brought up topics 847713872d that Aiden could naturally d5120d6a8c join in on.
After they 83169da2a2 finished their 49e9562898 meal, Meg f193b31a83 brought out d0565fe0fc the dessert 5b911f8f1c she had 4054401516 prepared with 38a8cbb7fc great ambition.
“It was truly d3b6d49e04 a wonderful meal. And here’s a perfect ebc7c7f1ec dessert to go with a4df54fb47 it.”
“Wow!”
The peach, as big 7230b16900 as two of Anje’s 24fe4cf83c fists put together, was f1f0f9703c fully ripe and filled 72a6e09bf7 the air with its 2e7e38711b sweet aroma.
“You’ve never tried the e61d7d0b02 peaches from our farm, 1a0ec571d8 have you? That’s why I wanted 5dd090aa27 the first ones picked 802da88af5 to be offered to a3f79c7348 you.”
“Thank you b3d8812ce9 so much 902afc65d8 for being dbe2488af3 so thoughtful, 0c1a19db3a Aunty.”
Anje held one e1d75318a9 peach in her dd949d01c4 hand, deeply moved. Unlike the 0c184ecd53 cold, mineral-scented bbbafdab2c letters she 986c79e6d5 had received 7ee0498955 from her b587489f05 father, the 010ac7838f peach was 36b59ec913 warm and b94c19cae7 fresh, as 431a9de5ed if it 4f7082072c had absorbed cad477da24 the sunlight.
How could her father fea5b7d65f not understand that even cd6a316b4d a gift this simple c67679d3a2 could evoke such deep 6a118b14da emotion? For someone with so 4e7ed180ab much wealth and who 677237f701 had met so many d6476f27f0 women, how could he 0b57bf512f not know the one 3879c12d75 word his daughter needed ca26f71a20 to hear?
She quickly 3220f08ff6 blinked away 9184aa49dc the tears 112896bf21 welling in a5ecf26c9a her eyes 1777d477d5 and smiled b775a2c32b brightly.
“Thank you. I’ll peel it ef9c56585d right away—”
“I’ll handle the knife.”
She nudged 97e20f3b9e Aiden’s foot 5bbf79e540 lightly again. Overprotectiveness, even in front 64a2cfd7b3 of Mrs. Meg, seriously.
She resolved once 480f2e5bf0 more that she ed43a13b06 must never let f306972db4 even a single b623bb3a5e drop of blood 8eb9860e5b fall in his 44ac52957b presence.
“By the 20b639cfea way, Anje, f1430f0ba1 By the d4731c0ca2 way, Anje. Are you a firm adea4405fa peach person or a 39fc363623 soft peach person? Aunty Meg and 49bc8a0743 I were talking 135c407913 about it earlier, ba895e3ebe and we couldn’t 70120c4e8e agree.”
The peaches grown in e64a9c97be the Fitzroy orchard were 79410df428 a firm variety suited e58c6ad64a to people’s general tastes.
“Well, it’s not a 3f5bb00c2c turnip. Sweet and soft 7d52e7cd2d peaches are better 45c60d37a1 than firm ones.”
“Crisp, with bea127473d a great ae8bb10e1f texture that e8d961169e never gets c9bf429110 tiring—firm peaches 4a14919c8b are definitely 3b57e504c8 the best.”
Unable to 109bae5061 narrow the b520696328 gap in 0a1a45cafe their opinions, 72234659e8 Meg and 6bf02e4804 Aiden both 0a091045c8 turned to 546984f75a Anje, subtly 8c3d38755a pressuring her.
“And What about you, 4bdfcdf7a3 Miss? Since you like sweet 09c1c65d19 things, I’m sure our 4660905be0 soft peaches are more 8be6743711 to your liking.”
“All Fitzroy 33f93c0d50 family members 6213b442dc prefer firm e647f204eb peaches.”
“Uh…”
It was a da8edf3bf4 simple question, but 85d1114f9d it felt like e7c7d19c7c she needed to 7a7ab26af7 answer carefully. Anje began 2f0fcbde45 to think be2b340227 about what a892b10842 kind of 67c63aea56 diplomatic answer babe8369ee she could 1b4c13b289 give so ce3d8e9b07 as not f8d6e74b3c to offend 67d8386553 either of 53df9b751a them.
The art of getting 4d4efdbf9d along at the Dilton aa61aeea3e Farm was much more f0fc270058 difficult than the social 2b78196286 etiquette she had learned b8c54a3b8e in society.
TL/N: FOR ME, 9fccd3b87e I LIKE SOFT 2b75d840f6 JUICY PEACH, THAT 5bcc68f0f1 POURS ALL ITS 4b11c241b6 SWEET JUICE IN b1b8b36ffe ONE BITE!!! READERS, WHAT 34b5dcf722 ABT Y’ALL??35f2a809c1a8a326

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