The Accidental Family
“Well, this is quite the mansion,” said Emily, Lenas old university mate, as she wandered through all four rooms. “Turns out youre a wealthy bride after all.” Lena sank weakly into an armchair. “Why are you here? The deans office knows I was ill.”
Emily flopped onto the old leather sofa, which let out a pitiful creak. Lena winced. The house was full of antiques her family had collected over decades. “Well?” she pressed, eager to lie downshe felt dreadful.
“Right,” Emily drawled. “Our class rep, James, asked me to check on you. He heard I live nearby. You know what a stickler he is. Wanted to know if you needed anything, since youre all alone now. Though, in a flat like this…” Her envy was barely disguised.
Lena struggled to stand. “Thanks for dropping by, Emily. Tell James I appreciate the concern, but Im fine.” Emily rose reluctantly, following her host to the door. But she couldnt resist one last jab. “I wouldnt mind living in a place like this. Throw some proper parties. Youre lucky.” Lena, uninterested, asked, “Whos you?” Emily blurted from the doorstep, “The blessed. Not of this world.” With a curt “Goodbye,” Lena shut the door.
She lay down, but sleep wouldnt come. For as long as she could remember, shed lived here with her grandmother, Margaret. Gran had been a strict woman. From childhood, Lena was drilled in etiquette, French, German, and, of course, English. Gran could switch languages mid-conversation, and Lena was expected to keep up.
She had no memory of her parents. Gran rarely spoke of her “ungrateful daughter,” as she called her. Lenas mother had fallen for some bloke named Alex, whod lured her into a commune. Three years later, news arrivedtheyd died in a fire during some ritual or other. The details were spared Lena, not that she cared much. Shed never known them.
Few people visited. There was Zoe, the seamstress who dressed Gran and Lena; Dr. Edward, an elderly physician; Grans friends, Elizabeth and Archibald; and Peter, her long-time suitor, a retired jeweller.
That was Lenas world. School had terrified her at firstso much noise and chaosbut shed learned to live in two worlds: Grans and the ordinary one outside their flat.
Then disaster struck. Gran, whod never bought street food in her life, suddenly brought home mushrooms. “I walked past them and fancied a mushroom soup, like the one our old cook, Sarah, used to make at the cottage.”
The soup was delicious, divine even. Lena had seconds. Gran fell ill first, then Lena. They called Dr. Edward, but his phone was offhe was at his country house. Gran, stubborn to the end, refused to call an ambulance. Shed only ever trusted her own doctor. But when she lost consciousness and Lenas vision blurred, she dialled 999 with the last of her strength, stumbling to the door to unlock it before collapsing.
Now it was all behind herexcept the loss. But how to live? Her stipend, even with the raise, wouldnt cover the flats upkeep, let alone food. And returning to uni? Nearly dying took recovery time. And money.
Peter helped at first, buying a few antiquescheating her, admittedly, but it kept her afloat. Still, the flat demanded too much. Then she remembered Grans stories: this had once been a shared flat, later granted to her great-grandfather for his service to the country.
Lena decided to take in lodgers. Shed keep her room; renting out the other three would cover the bills. Decent people, preferably women.
She posted an ad online. Calls poured in, but none were right. Migrant workers, families with kids, giggling students asking if they could “bring friends over.” When the calls dried up, she considered an agencysurely theyd vet people properly.
But on her way, she saw a young woman with two small children. A girl, about five, gnawed on a stale biscuit. A toddler sobbed quietly in his mothers lap. The woman was yelling into her phone: “Mike, how could you? The kids are starvingIve lost my milk! Where are we supposed to go? I dont have friends whod take us in. Let your precious Vera live with us, just give us a roomwe wont bother you. Mike, dont hang upMIKE!” She burst into tears.
Lena couldnt walk past. Heart aching, she knelt beside her. “Sorry, I overheard. Do you need help?” she asked, handing her a tissue. The woman sniffed. “Not methe kids. My husband threw us out. No money, no food, nowhere to sleep. I dont know what to do.”
An hour later, the children were fed and asleep, and Lena listened as Natalie (that was her name) poured out her story. Orphaned at twelve, raised in care, shed returned to her parents derelict flat, sold it for a pittance, and ended up renting a room from an old ladyuntil the womans grandson, Mike, swept her off her feet. Charming, weak-willed, and now entangled with a woman who wanted himand his flat.
Lena offered them a room. “Well figure something out. The other two Ill rent out.”
But plans changed. Next came Arthur, an old man evicted by his sons widow after she tricked him into signing over his house. Hed been sleeping in Lenas stairwell until a neighbour dragged him into the cold.
The last room went to Paul, a blind young man. His guardian had swindled him blind (the irony wasnt lost on Lena) and kicked him out. She found him being taunted by lads tossing breadcrumbs like he was a pigeon. His lips trembled, but hunger kept him reaching.
Now Lena had a family. Natalie cleans at a local shop. Paul minds the childrenno better nanny exists. He spins tales they adore. Arthur, once a chef, turns simple ingredients into feasts.
And so Lena lives, without a single regret. She comes home to a house full of loveher accidental, found family.
