The Echoes of Solitude

Chapter Fifteen

Typical," Cora snorted and shook her head in disbelief, "My mum is terrible in the kitchen which is quite surprising since my nan is an amazing cook. My dad tries to keep mum out and that normally results in him physically carrying her out in his arms, it's quite the sight to see." I laughed at the picture that formed in my head of her dad carrying her mum out of the kitchen. "Normally it's Noah, dad, or me who will cook, though I am only a little bit better than mum. The boys, can both cook amazing meals. My dad took a chef course when he left high school." She tilted her head to the side and her brow furrowed, "he left because he hated cooking? Yet, he loves to cook at home." She shrugged her shoulders and shook her head, "He's confusing sometimes."

I giggled at her confusion and then nodded my head as I took another sip from the bottle. "Maybe, you could tell your mum that she can make these more often... I would never complain."

Cora threw her head back and laughed. "I feel like if I said that to her, we would never get her out of the kitchen. I couldn't imagine the concoctions that she would try to create if we gave her free range... Though, if I said that Ally asked, she would do it in a heartbeat. She absolutely adored you. You were all she could talk about this morning after you left. It was 'Ally this, Ally that'. She told me to tell you that you are welcome to come over at any time."

I smiled shyly at the compliment. "Your mum was really lovely and so welcoming. You can totally tell that you two are related, you are scary alike."

"You wouldn't be the first to say so," Cora giggled, "we get that so often. Mum likes to believe that we could get away as being identical twins, however, she just forgets to take into account that she is shorter than me, has brown hair, and looks a bit older."

I thought back to Janice, Cora's mum, who I had met the night before.

After I had told Cora everything about the crash that had killed my parents and told her about a couple of the past homes I had been in, we left Marie's house and rushed back through the rain to her house. Janice was there to meet us at the front door with flour rubbed against her rosy cheeks, a spatula in one hand, and a takeout menu in the other. She handed the menu over to Cora, told us to order from it, and then to head into the dining room when we had done so.

She had wanted to meet the 'girl' that had become the centre of her children's attention, and throughout dinner (which ended up being take-out as she burnt the meal she was going to cook) she kept the conversation alive. She asked plenty of questions but was mindful of all the topics she brought up. It was evident to see that Cora took after her. She was very lovely, kind and actually listened to what I had to say. We ended up watching our movies much later than we intended as we were just too busy talking about Cora and Noah's childhood. Janice was more than happy to tell me stories about Cora as a child, much to Cora's dismay, and I feel like if Noah had been there he would have been just as embarrassed.

In a way, Janice reminded me a lot of my own mother. It was in the way that she acted and behaved, she just had that aura around her that made you feel comfortable and safe. There were so many similarities between the two women, the kindness, the smiles, the way she treated everyone, the terrible cooking...

Like Janice, my mother wasn't a great cook, I could remember one time that she tried to roast a corned beef. My dad and I had looked at each other in shock., especially as mum wanted us to eat it. We both pretended to eat the meal to please her, and then, later on, that evening dad snuck down to Mcdonald's to get me a happy meal to make up for the terrible tea.

Last night, I had seen all these similarities in Janice that made me miss my mum.

I looked back at Cora and smiled. "But it's nice that you are able to have that relationship and that you get along so well." I dropped my head and let my hand run along the leaves of the bush that we walked alongside. "I feel as though if my mum was still here, I would have the same relationship that you and your mum have."