ZOE

CHAPTER 04

After dinner, everyone went to the living room. It wasn’t very big, but it was cozy. There was a large fireplace, a few wooden chairs, and an old piano.

Kristla’s father lit a fire in the fireplace, and everyone sat down. Kristla’s mother took her place at the piano and began to play. The music was beautiful—the lady truly knew her craft.

Zoe looked into the flames and drifted into thought.

“Hello, is anyone home?” she heard, as if from a great distance.

She came back to reality with a jolt. “Oops, sorry. I got lost in thought and somehow stopped noticing my surroundings,” Zoe apologized.

“Well, I noticed that you weren’t noticing—and not just me,” Kristla pointed out.

“And who else noticed?” Zoe asked, surprised.

“Dad winks at you sometimes, and Adam’s been staring at you all evening. You didn’t even notice.”

Zoe blushed. Kristla understood that it was an excuse for her friend’s wandering thoughts.

“Okay, let’s go to bed!” Kristla’s mother ordered. Kristla took after her mother in that commanding tone.

Zoe didn’t wait another moment. She said goodbye with a soft, “Good night,” and went to the room where her bed was ready. The others went to bed less than five minutes later; everyone was tired after a full day’s work.

Zoe woke up early in the morning. Kristla was no longer in the room. Zoe changed into the dress she had brought with her—a blue one with short sleeves. It suited her perfectly.

She went straight to the kitchen, where Kristla was already sitting with her mother and father. Adam and Kristla’s siblings were still asleep.

“Good morning,” Zoe greeted cheerfully. The sleepy faces around her answered the same. Zoe took a piece of bread with honey from the table and bit into it with delight.

After about ten minutes, Adam appeared with the twins—Nika and Petr. They looked as if they hadn’t slept all night. They didn’t even bother to say good morning, but everyone understood. The twins were only seven, and Adam wasn’t used to waking up so early. At their house, it was rare to sleep in this late.

They had breakfast together, and afterward Kristla, Zoe, and Adam went to the market to buy food, ingredients, and fabrics.

“Come on!” Kristla said impatiently.

“Yeah, let’s go,” Zoe and Adam answered in unison.

They arrived at the market in silence, but in good spirits. They bought everything in less than an hour. Kristla glanced at Zoe, then at Adam, but didn’t notice anything unusual.

It wasn’t until they were heading home that Zoe suddenly began to sing, “I’m in love!”

Kristla and Adam both looked at her in surprise. Adam wondered who she was talking about. He no longer believed it could be him; Zoe only saw him as a friend—or so he thought. She had seemed withdrawn lately, and he assumed she must have fallen for someone else. He was curious to know who it was.

Kristla couldn’t take it anymore. “Oh my God, Zoe, tell us who’s the lucky one!” she demanded eagerly.

“That’s not a good idea,” Zoe tried to dodge the question, but she knew Kristla wouldn’t let her off easily.

Zoe didn’t know what to do. She looked at Kristla, then at Adam. Finally, she walked up to him and kissed him—a long, warm kiss. When she pulled away, she looked into his eyes and blushed—no, she was red as a tomato.

Adam didn’t know what to do at first. He was completely thrown off. “What’s this supposed to mean?” he stammered, embarrassed and blushing as well.

“Well,” Zoe began, “the one I’m in love with… is you, Adam!” she said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Adam’s face lit up. He and Zoe stood next to each other now, and he gently took her hand. Zoe didn’t pull away—she just smiled and kissed him again.

Everyone returned to Kristla’s house in high spirits. They put everything they had bought back in its place.

Zoe suddenly remembered that she should be going home. She said goodbye to everyone and headed toward the stable to get Darko.

“Zoe?” Kristla’s mother called out to her. “Kristla and I are going to sew dresses and clothes from the fabrics you bought. Will you come?”

“I’d love to! When?”

“In two days. Does that suit you?”

“It suits me,” Zoe replied.

Zoe was excited. She had been sewing clothes with Kristla and her mother for a long time, and she was happy for the invitation.

Kristla went to check on lunch. Meanwhile, Zoe saddled Darko and said goodbye to the others. Kristla arrived just as Zoe was saying goodbye to Nika.

“So be nice and come,” Kristla said sadly.

“I’ll come, don’t worry,” Zoe reassured her.

Finally, she turned to Adam and kissed him. Adam kissed her back.

“See you soon,” she said softly. Then she mounted Darko and rode home.

She arrived home quite quickly—it always seemed the return journeys were shorter than the trips there.

At home, she happily greeted her father and took Darko to the stable.

“Good afternoon, madam. I’ll undress your horse,” Mark said politely.

“Okay,” Zoe replied, “but I’ll undress Darko myself. I’m not so stupid that I can’t do it,” she snapped sharply.

“Don’t be upset, madam. I just wanted to help,” he said apologetically.

“That’s fine. I’m just a little upset,” Zoe admitted.

“Yeah, and I don’t think you’re so stupid that you can’t undress your horse,” he added, trying to apologize further.

Zoe suddenly felt bad. She was in love with Adam, but she couldn’t deny that the stableman, Mark, attracted her terribly. She was angry at herself for it.

Mark looked at her for a moment. He liked her terribly! But unfortunately, she was his mistress, and he wasn’t of the same status as her.

Zoe left the stable and went straight to the kitchen—she was terribly hungry. There, she met her father, and they had lunch together. Over lunch, Zoe told him what she had done at Kristla’s, though she didn’t mention Adam. She wanted to wait until their relationship had cooled down.