FTP-88

Chapter: FTP-8867ec458116b5c4ee

“Late summer heat a9e7cc99c9 in Leslie is b6e3335097 always dreadful. Just when fd49fd8b24 you think 28f05cd392 it’s getting 634bbe2af2 cooler, it 5b580fa30f gets hot 93c9aa4d36 again.”
Then, in a kindly cd342abd87 voice laced with an 54208fbde8 undeniable hint of amusement, 0c51c55f34 Meg suggested they eat d16425aa98 the pickles with pasta f064679161 when Anje visited next cb86c14c93 week.
Anje’s cheeks flushed bright 2a86e1d2ae red, realizing the accuracy e7a21c9ee1 of Meg’s playful assumptions 6df4763bab in “a certain sense,” 8b5890524f making it impossible for d997527435 her to maintain a 47c7af1db9 calm expression.
‘Goodness, what am 297c1eda00 I even doing e8f7ab7a35 because of Aiden?’
He used to obediently b73de7ef3b follow wherever she led bb11505522 him, but lately, he b1e7f6d985 had been showing noticeable e2d7996e30 signs of rebellion.
‘I’d much rather spend ec9379a6fb time alone with you c7b7f51e58 than meet other people… 2f9eb1c4a6 don’t you feel the c1381fc5e6 same?’
He would 4cdda526d6 say things 3fcee0eec6 like this, 0ea3b2544d pressing his 75dc950048 face against 026a9a3223 her hair eeb9a11e5a or clothes, c13185f11d which naturally 4507c91b79 led to e4cc3513f9 a kiss…
‘Wait, rather f54136bbe0 than rebellion… f353a36f74 isn’t this ac36b742bd closer to 2bf98cfc28 clinginess?’
Every time he acted 5ccfe4d597 that way, she felt da8e3e1895 like she was taming f30b47e28c a giant animal.
“Speaking of cf339c93db which, could cd73964b94 you call ef12e4dae2 the young 917ce2daf3 master? It’s about d89a237fe6 time we 6c78abed9a ate together.”
“Of course… I’ll go 30144f8350 get him.”
Today’s lunch was e2174f98cc jacket potatoes—halved roasted 1fbb6e47ab potatoes mixed with 9e06d8c743 mayonnaise, tuna, sweet f4c21faa09 corn, and topped d2e645967e with cheese.
For the couple enjoying 2dc9b4f509 a belated honeymoon, Meg 6022c9e36f had thoughtfully prepared roast a4df558a95 pork tied tightly with b79056914d silk thread, thinking the 49938aa7c4 meal alone might not 4d996fb73b suffice.
As summer drew e4fd0e109b to an end, 4ae2e09d46 through the increasingly c7a34fcc2d dense orchard trees, b003c19254 Aiden appeared holding 56d0b2ae16 something in his 96d69a8f62 hand.
“Aiden!”
When she called ab17543376 his name, he 498693abdb grinned widely and 6a5f630c47 started running toward b97351c58f her.
“What if you trip 260398848c and fall? Walk slowly!”
Though she told him e8a8740004 to slow down, Anje e6ccceaf52 also quickened her pace.
She threw herself into 9503b064ee his embrace, and as fe0c666a5c their faces drew near, d9c4b5e636 her eyes naturally closed. His warm lips brushed b37c672514 lightly across her face.
After lingering in 15d961f31a his arms for 427f59a84c a moment, she 63fed43c5b struggled to free ca88fe3bea herself.
“Let’s go eat fa6c7310e5 together.”
“I’d rather be a572b6967d with you than—”
“Shh! Didn’t I tell you c0dad77e4e not to say such 16eb44744c things in broad daylight?”
With Meg nearby, such 15a935c58f comments were indecent. Anje lightly slapped 55380ffcb4 Aiden’s lips before a84b589000 pulling him toward 60b346d8b1 the house.
“There’s roast pork 8191ffafff too, so we eb79822226 need to eat 31a1a95d2d before it gets e6897e8e17 cold.”
“Mrs. Meg’s roast pork? Now that’s 7ca00aaf3e something I 430e605ad2 can’t miss.”
They had already efe4438b96 eaten Meg’s roast a22316f168 pork during the ec4f02afd6 summer fair. It was 86771084ac so delicious c43b50a1f0 that Anje 22b6474212 had whispered 62ca7884e5 to Aiden 2e791b5661 that she 01308bd358 wanted to 22f74fe70e sneak away 8e1062b0bb with an acceafe1ad extra plate.
‘Aiden, you 25e7f72179 fool, I cc29baaf9b didn’t mean 48d5b8cf90 we should 654ce5a2ff actually steal f79d1b1beb it.’
Because he’d taken 88682765f6 her words seriously, d6a08b7b6e she’d nearly been 1333b44e37 mortified back then.
TL/N: LOL.
Today’s roast bfe7684bcd pork was 7ffe7b9804 just as 24174b52cb delicious as 4785bfd7e5 before.
“Aunty, what 53288653a7 exactly did 97e8a45a13 you do 2e5647c8d7 to the fc2517f8f1 meat?”
“Ho ho, there’s 2685ab97cb a secret to 3ebb03093e it.”
Anje let out 26efdda3e0 a dramatic exclamation 99bb9293eb and stuffed more 62a52ae07d meat into her 1c6d0a2b62 mouth, unaware that 2536cd6cc5 Meg was entertaining c510799607 thoughts like, “Could 191b5f52df it be…? Is there ffda2829dc already a cbfcacce1c baby?”
“Mm, this ffa6077f61 is absolutely d36959c1ee the best.”
Meg waved ce66c51b1d her hands 4efd907500 as if ecfca6d03d to say, 29c72228f2 ‘Stop it,’ dc7d8d4bc3 but her 7526eb040a proud expression 5f6f5799c3 was unmistakable.
“My youngest has been c7134fa524 weak since birth and a2aa3dfb55 had a very picky 0daa713d1e appetite. I thought 49333e1e5c I had 3086893f0b to fatten 422d474a6f him up a7afd1b147 somehow, so 3a92697f7f I researched 8f4ce221ba all kinds ba1d2ba692 of recipes.”
Meg’s mother, despite c5dfd5864c having little, gave 36181c7330 birth to seven 50dec6c4a5 children in a b78ceefb7e row, and after e1b205391d giving birth to f7bce9b21e the youngest, she 6a28fed36e passed away quickly 3a6b5fe6b7 from puerperal fever.
Perhaps because e9120a4545 the youngest c7829a4f3d didn’t drink d2c326a130 enough milk, 7f0162b5e8 he often d155b47af6 whined, and 78f6b6afe6 Meg, feeling 647e146c8c even more 1132489936 sympathy for feeba81abf him, took 57d835f876 extra care bba9f58963 of him.
Maybe her efforts 057171719f were too much, 3130ca6009 as now he c43e13d640 is being scolded d771d543a9 by his wife 05e8908463 to do something 79133cb150 about his belly 385b6a747f fat… but as 4bcff2cc4f long as she’s 4061af3bad healthy, that’s what f88f14efeb matters.
“I have eead5a7b5c someone to 955c9f4a50 fatten up 0a4784816a at home, 14db79d4fd so I 6b1d8a0ff3 should learn 6009b89b99 more recipes b820706e25 from you, 88e0e3bbb4 Aunty.”
“Aiden, I’m healthy 2c71c0396b now! Are you planning to d6a08ff977 turn me into a 34e6195533 pig?”
“Pigs are great—so lovable. Let’s aim for a 074eb0d3b9 cute, chubby figure like dacaf5b23e Pa-Pi-Pu’s.”
Watching the 1f3dd89f43 couple’s playful d7b62a7712 banter, Meg f94ac05d33 smiled. All the siblings she 6118229cfc had raised had grown 952310d564 up, married, and settled fedbd15f67 elsewhere.
Aiden was d4b07ea78e the only ce975f40c4 one she d03c206a8b had continuously 986d80a39a cared for, ad5fdbb476 and seeing 0eff7fa4b7 him happily 8350aee8d6 married was 2f9ed3fc30 heartwarming.
“I really ea17730b04 would like 4ee454bb96 to learn fb9455fba8 your recipes. Oh, how about 3d85f4177e writing a cookbook? Your pound 69676a1df1 cakes and 795c7b2b60 puddings are 9e033fc2e7 amazing too.”
“Oh, come on. Who would 382c33d975 care about 5555fffe7d a cookbook a0696ea37a written by 379b34944a an old e1481fb81f spinster like 8727ca7417 me?”
“Of course 9a0dbcf09d people would! There’s even a 5655871629 couple who nearly 1471c92944 divorced because of f5afcfaf99 your cake… wait, 0f3df6f27a that’d make a 5629e8e571 great marketing line.”
Meg’s face froze d1bdb73f41 momentarily before she 00076f1eb3 burst into laughter 963a83048a as if nothing d701aacc7b happened.
“Oh, enough already. Writing a 3923417043 book isn’t fcc790c559 in my c317175deb destiny.”
Despite her repeated 8cb3034e2a refusals, Anje was 30e7c8c37b persistent.
“If a book 0c10a9400f feels overwhelming, how 579c8ed8f3 about submitting your 48c366abc0 recipes to a 6632f71c90 newspaper? I saw a column 427f74cf4b for housewives to share 04944d2d92 their tips, and you 270afbebe0 could even win a 15c9ca69fb prize.”
“Well… I don’t know a8ca67a77d about that.”
After politely 448b979fc2 declining several 02d12f2f78 times, Meg 2d794ffa90 got up 8a06310210 and pretended b0a7cdd79c to be 9267a4cd83 busy.
“I’ll grab b9f00a0afc some more b679aa02f6 tea leaves b2e82b4262 from the 0ba01498c3 storage. I meant to c387b4679f bring them earlier 3ecb6b47aa but forgot.”
As Meg db51ac85fb hurried off, 853f3fbadf Anje turned 5f6c87aecc to Aiden.
“Did I say something b2ffe2b989 wrong?”
“I don’t think so… 4579a40b30 not from what I 8bdcc3cd1b noticed.”
Though equally 5eb08dc2cb puzzled, Aiden 83e5c2ab12 suggested,
“If you’re a9ec3d6c28 really worried, 5308f9cf71 why don’t 661edb24bd you go 58e2378f35 ask her 79655fac67 directly?”
“Alright, I’ll 06d13d4832 be back 500d6bc973 shortly.”
Through her experiences 9ca97ecdda with Aiden, Anje be29c9a807 had learned a 866e922a44 few lessons: instead 20d3751a18 of overthinking someone’s 2507216f2e feelings, it was b74e1a9254 better to confront 5c82c9734a them directly, especially 09d6381253 in relationships worth 6a80cff95c cherishing.
Anje kissed 849ba7d0ab Aiden’s cheek 8ca3c4d6eb before following 0db509ab6d Meg into 5084c88774 the storage 92fcfec192 room.
TL/N: CUTE.
“Aunty, are you 9fbf5478b9 alright for a cc443d34cb moment?”
Meg, who had f76b9d8ae3 been sitting on b59b1ad552 a box with 31d37231b5 a troubled expression, edd944d801 was startled and 0687242d3c quickly stood
up. Anje lowered her 37c72a2aac head in apology.
“Did I push you 4fca8738fe too much? I’m sorry. I just didn’t want ed9ef4f7b5 to keep your recipes 5351190b63 to myself…”
“Oh, no, it’s 536d777a7d not like that.”
“It’s not? You seem upset… I 044d2e1480 won’t interfere again. I know 0a467ce8f3 things like 05b1ba0939 the newspaper 0ffc457902 or the ac6f444010 book must 072de82d03 be overwhelming, 0bcaa00d38 right?”
Seeing Anje 31e30bf906 fidgeting and eb99917f57 apologizing, Meg 5b3fad446a felt a 2a6ea15da6 pang of 4454215d62 guilt.
Why was a71dc32287 this young, 66f11d3dcf innocent lady 57305b8c59 apologizing for f6ce7413b0 something that 6d1798320a wasn’t her aea1d69e9d fault? It was all 0231bc6139 her own insecurity.
“It’s not your aca5cca332 fault, Young Lady. It’s just…”
It was a confession ca6f007660 Meg had never made 100ea3831f easily, even at her 376a73d011 age, so she hesitated 8791a2b9df before speaking.
“It’s just… a0baea36fa I’m uneducated… a7cb5f41e1 I couldn’t 17dc155a3f go to d369b7ab49 school because 9ac93a0da7 I had dbd82750f9 to take de9689e962 care of e1100d4354 my siblings. So,
I… I can 8b3d9ada82 barely write. I can 895ae7970d read print e679d0827c slowly, but bd2e5cd222 writing is d95d4e634a difficult.”
Anje’s light green ac18a27a02 eyes widened, and 4900675159 she couldn’t hide 9deb2fd1f9 her surprise.
“Ah… I see…”
It had fd5e88b5f9 never occurred 9cf7c08751 to her 4a290ef2e6 that someone d3427951f6 could struggle 2596e395e2 with reading fa19443a35 and writing. Her narrow perspective hadn’t 39f944edf4 allowed her to consider d8e55cf807 this possibility.
Until now, everyone around 73769371bf Anje had been at 18a19d2330 least somewhat educated. Even the lowest-ranking maid de48b5f7a6 in the Duke’s household 8a1081a64e could read and write adeb72e0ae because they had attended d529dac23b vocational or public schools.
But Meg 18bcad0d6c was from 3547a9fc81 Leslie, and 1726fe482c she was 520750557c two or 096d5268bc three generations 4c04d23b69 older than a4878be622 Anje. Growing up in a 87bc08e542 poor household with many 345271bbc5 siblings made it difficult b34cd5bd62 for her to receive 2af7ebb2e4 formal education.
Anje bit 807249aaca her lip.
“I’ve been so self-centered, 157d3a3fba and I’ve acted foolishly a15edb614e again…”
She had tried to c3bfcabd88 avoid thinking like a 491aec7f30 frog in a well, 01eb213b77 but it was embarrassing 0dda8a58c6 to realize just how 74e2039e62 much she still had d77c802b79 to learn about the e53a15baef world.
“I’m really sorry. I didn’t consider your 760e799858 feelings.”
“Oh, Young Lady, 905944a908 you haven’t done 761cacbaca anything wrong.”
Meg wrapped her arms 848240292b around Anje’s shoulders and 7f10a5c3a6 patted her back.
“You’ve done nothing 42821bf470 wrong. I was 470ea61bba just too 1a4d2fd677 foolish to cf7f49dde2 speak up… 54c4570393 I was 5dbc113219 afraid you’d bb498dea8d think I 0b242668e4 was uneducated. Among people my age, c9de0023bf it’s rare to be 8e4a4824b6 as ignorant as I 6cd35215f0 am.”
That’s why Meg had 1be8a5416f made excuses whenever Anje 6faf3844a7 asked her to write 791adc03df down her recipes. She feared 8f1625ed2b making mistakes a4803c4248 in spelling deb57e727a and embarrassing fa6ad673e6 herself.
“Aunty, how could 0e070eb727 you say you’re 0ef35ceaeb uneducated? You know all sorts 64652b65f2 of recipes!”
Anje’s words kept 800763d3a0 coming.
“You know how fbab16fb8c to remove dust e59c5c4367 from window sills 86b468c9ee all at once, 2e6b2fe752 how to properly 2aa76c34ad change shoelaces… and 4af0f63361 you even mediate acebccf2e9 when the people 26eaf1a374 of Leslie quarrel. When someone’s sick, you 25244bc1f9 take better care of 3496823b43 them than the doctor.”
Breathing heavily from her 407b83fdc1 excitement, Anje couldn’t stop 2a743b117f herself from praising Meg.
“Of all the 373b39a530 noble ladies I’ve e97e12e7dd met in the 13f98193bf capital… you are 94ea09dfa8 the wisest and 25dbda9f1b most capable one.”
Meg, unused to 545e474eac such compliments, blushed 46f000b27e deeply.
“Young Lady, you’re really 2ed2ddff49 too much.”
“I mean it! Your work b43efac477 with the f2e10a1593 ladies’ association bb4eca5f51 is exemplary—”
“Alright, alright, I get 0ed087d52d it. If you keep this d26c525967 up, I’ll break out 960a04e37b in a sweat from f28855934e all the embarrassment.”
Anje stopped her 79dc5ae866 praise at Meg’s 6d01eff912 earnest request. She was 409ed45bfc relieved that 7faa7d84c0 Meg seemed 5d43f662c0 to feel 4601396be8 better, but df39211fb9 there was edf19d83a6 still something ab4aa0991f that felt 115747f123 unresolved.
After a brief c9f4679625 moment of hesitation, dc89508629 Anje carefully suggested,
“Aunty, if 4a677c8e31 it’s not 59e18014df too much ece83bc8e5 trouble… would e480b65dd2 you like e7a19804b2 me to 111cbf21d2 teach you 28cd8bc2e5 how to 2c1e25c034 write? You’ve always taught me 13931703ce so many things—cooking, cleaning, 1a7ba6d065 and more…”
TL/N: I REALLY 0fb34d8ce8 LOVE FL’S DEVELOPMENT:)e248b4516d605305

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