The Villainous Children Retire

Chapter 7

Esther began her descent down the hill and to the grocery store. She was glad the weather was still nice out. It would've been a tedious walk had it been cold.

She went into the closest of the two stores and wasted no time in getting the ingredients she needed, or rather, her grandfather needed.

After checking out with a total of seven dollars and seventy-five cents, she took her bag of tomatoes and olive oil and hurried out of the store.

She stopped once she was outside and out of everyone's way to double-check her bag before heading home.

"Three tomatoes and some olive oil," Esther muttered while looking down at the bag. "Looks like that's everything." She turned to leave when the automatic doors opened, and a small crippling old woman came out.

It wasn't unexpected; the town was made and populated with older people. Esther watched as she walked very slowly while tugging two heavy-looking bags in each hand. Esther wondered if her knees had caught her on a bad day like her grandfather's.

She really didn't want to ask, but it seemed like the old woman was struggling just to make it out of the store.

"Um," she called, hurring over and tugging on the woman's pink skirt. "Do you need any help?"

The woman smiled. "Well, aren't you kind?"

Esther flinched; she wanted to tell the woman she was wrong. Instead, she settled for a small smile.

"I didn't think I would need my walker to go to a*****e that's not that far from home, but turns out I was wrong."

"Do you need help?" Esther asked again.

The old woman smiled as she answered, "That would be nice."

Esther took two of her bags, cutting her load in half and immediately easing the woman's struggles.

"My house isn't far from here," she said. "By the way, what's your name?"

"I'm Esther. Esther Reece."

"Reece, huh?" Esther looked at the woman who seemed lost in thought. "Like Robert Reece? Are you Robert's grandchild?"

"One of them, yes."

"Ah, so you are one of the twins."

Esther tightened her grip on the bags as they continued to walk down the sidewalk.

"Esther and Eli. . . right?"

"Right."

"You're the twins who he's so fond of. You two have only recently come to live with him in this little town, haven't you?"

"Yeah," Esther answered.

"Hm? What's that, dear?"

"Yeah," Esther said, raising her voice. "We have."

The old lady smiled and laughed, "Thought so." She looked around at the small apartment complexes as they passed by. "So, how do you like it here in our little town?"

Esther thought about the day they had been dropped off at their grandfather's house. It had only been a few months since then, but Esther found the little town to be far better than her own hometown. She was certain her brother would agree. The little retirement town felt more like home than their old one with their parents.

"I like it."

"Your brother, too?"

"Yes, we both like it here."

The woman eyed the small girl walking beside her. "Don't you two ever get lonely?"

Esther turned to look at the old woman. She hadn't expected to be asked that question. "No," she answered. She didn't understand why they would be. She and her brother had each other. They always did. Always would. She didn't see a single reason for being lonely. Esther wondered what prompted the woman to ask that.

"I have a grandchild myself, but only one," she suddenly said. "Have you and your brother started school yet?"

"Yes, we have."

"What grade are you in?"

"First."

"First, huh?" The old woman paused before continuing, "Then you might know my granddaughter."

"Your granddaughter?" Esther asked. She began to hope that they were almost at her house. "Who is it?"

"Cheryl Ingraham."

Esther immediately felt the irony. She just couldn't seem to get away from the girl no matter where she went.

"Consequentially, my name is Cheryl too. She was named after me, you see."

"Uh-huh," said Esther in the least enthusiastic tone. She didn't even bother telling the woman that she was well aware of who her granddaughter was.

"She's a cute kid, like you yourself. I bet you've made a lot of friends already."

Esther sighed, "Not really." She really didn't want to either.

"My granddaughter is the same way. She's rather reclusive that girl is. She's always been that way. I was hoping her coming here would change that, but it seems she's remained the same."

Esther wanted to ask who the woman was talking about. From her perspective, she felt like she and the old woman were thinking about two different people.

The old woman suddenly stopped, causing Esther to have to stop to wait for her. "Well, now," she said. "I think she has made some friends. She comes home more lively than she used to."

"Really?" Esther didn't think she had to say anything. She was certain the old woman would continue talking whether she responded or not. She just wished that the old woman would walk and talk.

"I'm glad she's finally found some friends. . . I just hope that she won't get used again."

Before Esther had time to be surprised, the old woman looked at her and smiled a sad-like smile as she said, "Kids can be quite ruthless, you know?"

Tell me something I don't know. Esther wanted to respond, but she settled for a blank expression instead.

"You wouldn't expect it from such young kids, but there it was. Cheryl would always come home asking for money to buy things for her friends, or she'd take her stuff from home to school, only to not return without it, and she would often come home tired from carrying the other kid's things for them."

Esther realized that Cheryl's habits hadn't changed. She was offering to do those things for her and Eli. The only difference between the twins and the other children was that they refused her offers every time.

"I learned she was doing the exact same thing she did back at her house with her parents before they got busy with their work." The old woman looked disgusted-like she wanted to retract that statement. "Work. . . but then again, when you're lazy and don't want to take care of your child and pawn them off on somebody else, I'd bury myself in my work too."

The woman resumed walking, but Esther was too stunned by the woman's words to realize.

She wondered if Cheryl had lied when she was warmly talking about her parents. She began to ponder about who the one was that told the lie.

"Always eager to please," huffed the woman. "I took her to a child psychologist once I discovered what she was doing and why she wouldn't stop. It turns out my granddaughter suffers from abandonment issues. Of course, my loser son and his wife caused their daughter to develop that. He wasn't much better when he was a child, either. Seems like he didn't mature one bit from his childhood if you ask me."

Esther turned to the lady, who had gone a far distance from her. She rushed to catch up to her; it didn't take long before she did.

Esther thought it was weird for the woman to tell such personal information about her family member to someone she had just met, but she was glad that she did. It made her feel like she had come to understand the child named Cheryl just a little bit better.