The kitchen was a hive of activity when Kaitlyn made her way out of her room the next day. She wasn’t sure about whether she should jump in the shower without asking first so she simply pulled on some clothes and did her hair the best she could.
“Ah, sleeping beauty awakes”, Dan said with a grin as she entered the kitchen. Kaitlyn gave him a slightly sleepy yet puzzled look and then glanced at the clock on the wall. Her eyes widened in surprise. “Is that the right time?” she asked in horror. “It sure is”, Dan told her. “You’ve slept half the day away”, he told her. “The best half at that”, he added.
“Stop teasing her Dan”, Jennifer admonished him. “You know how tiring traveling can be”, she added and then turned to Kaitlyn with a smile. “I’m Jennifer”, she said. “Did you sleep well?” she asked her. Kaitlyn nodded. “Too well by the looks of the time”, she admitted ruefully.
Jennifer smiled kindly. “Well I’m really pleased that you did”, she told her. “I was bewy qwiet”, a tiny voice from the table piped up. Kaitlyn turned and found herself looking at the most beautiful little angel she’d ever seen. Isabella’s chubby round face was alight with the purest of smiles and her cheeks dimpled cutely on each side. Her lips were the reddest little rosebud lips Kaitlyn had ever seen on a child and her eyes were as blue as cornflours and sparkled brightly. Every time she moved, the golden ringlets hanging from her head bounced in the most adorable way.
Kaitlyn thought she could just wrap her arms around the child and pack her away to take home with her. Instead, she gave her the widest smile. “Now let me think”, Kaitlyn said aloud. “Could this be Rory?” she asked Jennifer with a wink. “I Bella”, Isabella told her with a laugh. “Of course you are”, Kaitlyn said to her. “Now, why didn’t I think of that?” she asked her. Isabella rewarded her with the most melodic giggle that she’d ever heard.
“You must be starving”, Jennifer said to Kaitlyn. “Can I get you some breakfast?” she asked her. “I usually just have coffee for breakfast”, Kaitlyn admitted. “Gosh, I couldn’t cope if I didn’t eat breakfast”, Jennifer said to her. “I can’t even remember the last time I ate breakfast”, Kaitlyn admitted. “Well remind me to give you my ‘breakfast is the most important meal of the day speech’”, Jennifer told her with a smile. “I won’t overwhelm you with it on the first day we’ve met though”, she told her. Kaitlyn smiled but didn’t respond. Her mother had tried for years to convince her that she should eat breakfast. Kaitlyn just could not get her stomach to agree. It seemed to like to wake up slowly, a bit like Kaitlyn herself.
Jennifer moved to make her a coffee. “If you tell me where to find things, I can make my own”, Kaitlyn offered. Jennifer smiled kindly at her. “I will show you around”, she told her. “But first I’ll make you a coffee”, she added. “Who knows if and when I’ll get another chance to wait on you”, she told Kaitlyn with a smile. Kaitlyn returned the smile gratefully, if somewhat wistfully. She wished there wasn’t such an awful reason that had brought her here to this family she hardly knew.
“I gotta get goin’”, Dan said to his sister as he gave her a peck on the cheek. “You’ll be back for lunch?” Jennifer asked him. “Nah, I’ll grab something in town”, he told her. Jennifer nodded. “We’ll see you a bit later then”, she said to him. Dan smiled and nodded. “See ya pipsqueak”, he said to Isabella as he walked past her and ruffled her hair. “Kaitlyn”, he said as he was almost out the door, barely remembering his manners.
Jennifer stood looking at the back door where her younger brother had just exited, a concerned look on her face. Kaitlyn felt slightly uncomfortable and wasn’t sure what to say. It was clear that Dan had only acknowledged her out of a desire not to be cold-heartedly rude to a guest, rather than out of a heartfelt desire to include her. The kettle boiling brought Jennifer back to the present with a start.
“Why Unca Dan cross wif Kaitin?” Bella asked her mother. Jennifer’s head flew up in surprise. “He’s not cross with Kaitlyn darling”, she told her daughter. “He’s just busy and not really thinking about anything but the harvest”, she explained, her words as much for Kaitlyn as they were for her youngest child.
Jennifer carried the 2 mugs of steaming coffee to the table and placed one in front of Kaitlyn before sitting down herself. “He’s not taken the news of my health well”, she explained quietly to Kaitlyn, attempting to speak in code so that Bella wouldn’t understand what she was saying. Kaitlyn simply nodded her head.
“I really appreciate you coming Kaitlyn”, Jennifer said to her after they had sat in silence for a few moments. “Especially at such short notice”, she added. Kaitlyn looked up at Jennifer and smiled. “I’m sorry about the circumstances”, Kaitlyn told her gently. Jennifer reached out and covered Kaitlyn’s hand with her own. Her dark brown eyes sparkled with unshed tears.
“I’m determined to beat this”, she said to her. “And it helps knowing that you’ll be here to help care for the kids and the men”, she added. Kaitlyn had only just met this remarkable woman and yet she found herself fighting tears of her own. It just didn’t seem fair that somebody so young and so caring could have to face such a devastating disease.
“Has Ben explained to you what is happening with my treatment?” Jennifer asked her. Kaitlyn shook her head. “I was pretty tired last night”, she explained to her host. “I think he felt a bit sorry for me and sent me off to bed”, she added. Jennifer smiled in response.
“We have an appointment with the specialist in Middleton tomorrow afternoon”, Jennifer told her. “The plan is that they’ll do exploratory surgery the day after tomorrow”, she went on. “We’re expecting that they’ll need to do at least a partial mastectomy”, Jennifer explained quietly. “And we won’t really know exactly what we’re dealing with until after that”, she went on.
“Do you know how long you’ll need to be away?” Kaitlyn asked her. “Not really”, Jennifer admitted. “But I’m sure Ben will be in constant contact with you and Dan”, Jennifer told her, her brow creasing slightly with worry. Kaitlyn gave her a reassuring smile. “I’ll do the best I can to keep things running smoothly while you’re gone”, she told her. Jennifer smiled. “I know you will Kaitlyn and it really….”, Jennifer’s voice cracked slightly as she choked back a sob. “It’s hard for me to express just how grateful I am to have you here”, Jennifer managed to tell her. “That’s what family is for”, Kaitlyn said to her, feeling very emotional herself.
“Now”, Jennifer said brightly, making a concerted effort to change the mood in the room, “why don’t I give you a quick tour of the house and then you can shower or whatever you’d like”, she said with a smile. Kaitlyn gave her a weak smile, her head almost giddy from the pace at which Jennifer had changed tracks.
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This is the second chapter of my novel "Comfort Zone". If you've yet to read Chapter One, you might like to do so before continuing here.
Having spent 10 hours in the cramped confines of the bus, Kaitlyn was more relieved than apprehensive as she walked down the steps into the fresh night air.
She had watched out the window as the bus pulled into Minton. Everything was quiet at this time of night. The first thing she noticed as they pulled into town was an old service station. The building had been all boarded up and the petrol pumps removed. It spoke of days gone past and an era of change.
Most of the houses they drove past looked like they had been built many years ago. Some had been modernized and restored quite nicely while others gave a more unkempt, ramshackled appearance with overgrown gardens. Climbing roses that seemed to have overtaken the garden and some of the house as well as they grew, uncontrolled, all over the place.
As the bus pulled up in the main street, Kaitlyn realized that she couldn’t remember what her mum’s cousin looked like. She hoped that he would be able to recognize her. Perhaps she would be the only one getting off here. It wasn’t like it was a large town.
Kaitlyn was surprised at how many people seemed to be getting off the bus. There had to be 20 or more trying to get out the doors and quite a few people milling around. She felt somewhat overwhelmed as people crushed her on all sides, all caught up in joyous reunions.
The crowd quickly thinned and Kaitlyn walked over to claim her own suitcase, all the while looking around hoping to spot someone who *might* be Ben Cartwright.
A tall young man wearing a hat that shaded most of his face approached her. Kaitlyn glanced around, instinctively searching for an escape route, should one become required. “Are you Kaitlyn Montgomery?” the gentleman asked her.
Dan stood and watched the young lady as she tilted her head back to look up into his face. If he was considered to be above average height she had to be classed as below average. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever seen an adult quite as tiny as she was. She looked as though she’d break into pieces without very much effort.
He continued to study her as a gamut of emotion ran across her face. Surprise, alarm, fear, confusion. Not that he’d consider himself even CLOSE to being an expert when it came to understanding women’s emotions.
“Um….yes”, Kaitlyn finally managed to respond, still unsure about the intentions of the man before her. The fact that he knew her by name had completely alluded her. She heard the bus pull away and a quick glance around her showed that they were standing in a completely deserted street. Her heart quickened in her chest, thumping so hard Kaitlyn wondered if it would burst its way through her chest at any moment.
“I’m Dan Harrison”, he said to her. “Ben was held up at home so he sent me to collect you”, he explained to her. “I’m Jenni’s younger brother”, he went on. Kaitlyn looked visibly relieved as he explained.
“You were worried I might be some weirdo, weren’t you?” Dan teased her. Kaitlyn felt her face flush slightly and then she stuck out her chin indignantly. “Well, you do look rather strange”, she told him frostily. Dan chuckled and Kaitlyn shot him a venomous look, her blue eyes flashing.
“I’m sorry”, Dan said to her. “I shouldn’t tease you when we’ve only just met”. Kaitlyn didn’t dignify him with an answer. It was obvious to her that he was a total yobbo. Complete with dirty brown boots, stained jeans and a filthy looking broad-brimmed hat. She wondered to herself how many animals had to die in order to dress this man. At least he didn’t have corks hanging off the hat like she’d imagined country people might.
There was a frosty silence in the ute as Dan drove out toward the farm. Dan decided not to persue Kaitlyn over her reaction to his teasing. He figured she was probably tired after a long bus trip. He preferred to be alone with his thoughts anyway.
“How long does it take to get to the farm?” Kaitlyn said, breaking the silence about 10 minutes into their trip. “About 25 minutes”, Dan told her. He saw Kaitlyn’s head bob out of the corner of his eye but didn’t turn to look at her.
Seconds later he was thankful that he’d kept his eyes on the road. A kangaroo jumped out in front of the car and he had to slam on the brakes, hard. Kaitlyn screamed as she was thrown forward. Dan pulled the ute to a stop, just short of the kangaroo. The kangaroo was frozen in the headlights for a second and then bounded away into the scrub.
“You okay?” Dan said to Kaitlyn, looking at her for the first time. It wasn’t easy to see her face in the pale moonlight and Dan silently cursed the fact that his interior light didn’t work. Kaitlyn nodded but didn’t speak. “Bloody roos”, Dan said, more to himself than anything.
“How can you blame the poor kangaroo?” Kaitlyn said loudly to him, her voice quivering slightly. “It’s not his fault some idiot put a road through here”, she added. Dan sighed. He could tell she was a typical city chick. Head full of opinions but very little knowledge.
Kaitlyn’s own thoughts of Dan were no more complimentary than his were of her. She couldn’t believe he could be so arrogant as to blame a poor defenseless animal for being in HIS way. After all, the animals were here first.
“We almost hit a roo on the way home”, Dan told him. Ben placed both hands on Kaitlyn’s arms and looked at her carefully. “No wonder you look so pale”, he said to her. “Come and sit down and I’ll make you a warm drink”, he said as he ushered Kaitlyn into a nearby chair at the dining table.
“I won’t stay”, Dan said to Ben. “Early start in the morning”, he added by way of explanation. Ben felt there was more to it than that but accepted things at face value for now. He would quiz Dan later when they had a chance to be alone. “No worries”, he said to Dan. “I’ll see you in the morning”, he added.
“Night”, Dan said and disappeared through the glass doors into the blackness of the night.
“Would you like to give your folks a call?” Ben asked Kaitlyn as he set about making them both a hot chocolate. “I’m too tired to talk to them tonight”, Kaitlyn admitted. “I’ll just send them a quick text to let them know I arrived safely”, she said as she whizzed her mobile phone out of the pocket of her bag.
“Those things don’t work out here”, Ben told her as he set a mug of steaming hot chocolate in front of her. Kaitlyn looked up at him in surprise and then back down at her phone. There was indeed no signal and the look on her face conveyed the fact that it had never occurred to her that mobile phones didn’t work everywhere you went. She was starting to have some very grave doubts about the wisdom of what she had gotten herself into. It was clear to her that she’d landed herself in a very foreign land with no idea what might be around the corner and doubting her own self confidence that she could handle any challenge thrown her way.
“How about I just give your mum a quick call to say you’re here and that you’ll call her tomorrow when you’ve had a chance to rest”, Ben suggested. Kaitlyn nodded mutely, feeling somewhat displaced and strange. The familiar aroma of sweet chocolate assailed her senses and brought with it the comforting feeling of home. All that had happened in the past 24 hours seemed to suddenly hit her and Kaitlyn knew that just the sound of her mother’s voice would cause her to dissolve into tears. A sharp pang of homesickness shot straight through her stomach.
Ben returned to the kitchen just as she was taking a sip of the hot chocolate. The sweet creaminess melted on her tongue and she felt the warmth spread throughout her whole being. It was by far the BEST hot chocolate she had ever tasted. “This is good”, she said quietly to Ben as he sat opposite her at the table and took a sip of his own cup.
“There’s nothing quite like tasting real food”, he said to her with a smile. Kaitlyn wasn’t sure she understood a word he was saying and yet she was too tired to try and make sense of it.
“Your mum sends her love”, Ben relayed to her. Kaitlyn nodded and tried hard not to think about home. A second wave of homesickness washed over her. A very large part of her wanted her mother to appear and tuck her into bed like she always had when she was a child. Kaitlyn couldn’t remember when her mum had stopped tucking her into bed at night. Somewhere along the line she’d stopped being the little girl and become her own person. But the little girl inside of her was still there and tended to make an appearance when she was particularly tired. Like right now.
“I won’t try and fill your head with too many details tonight”, Ben said to her.
For the first time since she’d arrived, Kaitlyn looked at her mother’s cousin. Looked at him with eyes that were actually seeing what she was looking at. She realized he had kind eyes, very much like her own grandmothers which wasn’t all that surprising given that his own mother was her grandmothers twin sister. His hair was a light brown colour, with tinges of grey showing at the sides. It didn’t make him look old though. It made him look kind and wise and gentle. Like the kind of person you knew you could depend upon no matter what.
The sweetness and warmth of the chocolate seemed to be working its magic on her nerves. Kaitlyn could feel her whole body relaxing, like a tightly wound spring slowly uncoiling itself. “We want you to know that we deeply appreciate you being willing to come and help us, particularly at such short notice”, Ben continued. “And we hope that you feel you can treat this place like home”, Ben told her. “If there is anything at all you need”, he continued, “please don’t hesitate to ask me or Dan”, he went on.
Dan. Kaitlyn’s mind swerved off on a tangent at the mention of his name. Visions of him laughing at her swept through her mind, followed by visions of him cursing a poor sweet defenseless kangaroo. In her mind he was a total bohemian and there was no way on earth she would want to ask HIM for anything.
“Were you hurt at all when Dan nearly hit the kangaroo?” Ben asked her, his concerned tone bringing Kaitlyn’s focus back to the present. “No”, she told him with a smile. “Just a little startled”, she admitted. Ben nodded and smiled. “Unfortunately they’re a part of life out here”, he told her.
Ben could tell Kaitlyn was extremely tired so he ceased talking. “C’mon and I’ll show you to your room”, he told her kindly. “Otherwise you might fall asleep right there at the table”, he added with a smile. He picked up her suitcase and Kaitlyn stood to follow him.
“Would you like to take a shower?” he asked her. Kaitlyn shook her head. “I think I’ll be doing well to change out of my clothes”, she told him with a smile. Ben nodded his understanding. “Well the bathroom and toilet are just down the hall there”, he told her, pointing as he spoke. “We leave the toilet light on so the kids can find it during the night so you shouldn’t have any trouble finding it”, he told her.
“Thank you”, Kaitlyn told him as she stifled a yawn. Ben chuckled. “I think I’d best leave you to get some sleep”, he said to her. Kailtyn nodded but was too tired to say anymore. True to her word she barely managed to climb into her pyjama’s and was asleep almost the second her head hit the pillow.
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This is a novel I wrote for Nanowrimo in 2007. It's not highly polished. I keep thinking I should go back and edit it. Thing is, it's now 2010 and I still haven't gotten "round to it". I'm figuring, it can sit on my thumb drive and never be read. Or I can publish it here and hope that someone gets a small amount of enjoyment out of reading it. Feel free to leave feedback (but please be gentle - I know I'm no "author"). :-)
Tiny droplets of water trickled down the window. As the sun tentatively broke through the clouds, it lit up the droplets like sparkling diamonds. The weather seemed to do strange things lately. It was hard to know from one day to the next what to expect. Showers of rain during November were unheard of once upon a time. Now it seemed best to expect the unexpected.
Kaitlyn stretched out her legs in an effort to make herself more comfortable. It had only been 5 hours and yet she felt like she had been on this bus for a lifetime. Outside the scenery remained unchanged. Small scrub-like bushes with a slight blue tinge to them dotted the landscape for as far as she could see. How anyone would choose to live in such a barren place was beyond her.
She closed her eyes and allowed her mind to wander back to the events that had led her here. Kaitlyn had just arrived home from a day out celebrating her freedom with her newfound university friends. Exams were over and it was a whole 3 months before they had to think about study again. The days were getting warmer and there were plans to spend lots of time lazing on the beach together.
Her parents were early birds so even though the hour wasn’t overly late, Kaitlyn wasn’t expecting them to still be up. As she entered the kitchen she stopped when her parents both looked up at her from the table where they were sitting. The sight of her mother’s bloodshot eyes alarmed her. It was obvious she had been crying.
“Take a seat Kaitlyn”, her father had said to her. “We need to talk to you about something”. Kaitlyn had sat down opposite them at the table, her palms damp with nerves. Her father looked so serious. It HAD to be bad news.
“We’ve had a call from your grandmother”, he said to her.
Kaitlyn’s eyes widened in shock. Her mind raced with all the possibilities. What could possibly be wrong with her Grandmother? Then she realized that if Grandma were the one calling, things couldn’t be too bad. In a matter of a split second the emotions of shock, fear and then confusion crossed her face.
“I don’t know if you’ll remember your mother’s cousin Ben”, her father said to her. It had been a number of years now since they’d actually seen Ben and his family. Kaitlyn had tried to remember just how long. They had been in town because his wife had had trouble giving birth to their first child. It had to have been at least 5 years ago she thought.
“Ben’s wife Jennifer has just been diagnosed with Breast Cancer”, Kaitlyn’s father told her. “She needs to start treatment right away”, he explained, “and they need someone to help them look after their 2 children”, he said to her.
“Given the sensitivity of the whole situation, your Grandmother thought is would be nice if they could have family around rather than hiring a stranger”, David told his daughter. “And she knew you were saving up for this trip you want to do when you finish uni”, he said. “Naturally, you were the first person she thought of”, he continued.
Kaitlyn looked at her father in shock, trying hard to absorb all of what he was telling her. “But they don’t even know me”, she said to him. “Surely there is someone local that could have the children. Someone that they know”, she added. Kaitlyn didn’t have the first clue about how to look after children. After all, she was an only child and didn’t have any cousins of her own.
“You don’t have to do this”, her mother told her. “No-one wants to force you into anything”, she explained. “Your grandmother just thought you might be the best one for the job”, she added.
“Me?” Kaitlyn said, her voice conveying her disbelief. “I don’t know anything about looking after children”, she said to her mother. Her mother smiled at her. “I think you’re selling yourself short”, she told her. “I’ve seen the way children are drawn to you”, she added. Kaitlyn’s huge blue eyes widened even further. “They are?” she said. Susan nodded and smiled.
“Do you remember holding Rory as a baby?” her mother asked her. Kaitlyn took a moment to recall the last time she’d seen her mother’s cousin Ben. “Just vaguely”, she admitted. “He was a very unsettled baby and yet every time you held him in your arms, he would stop crying”, her mother told her.
“I don’t remember that”, Kaitlyn admitted. “Well you were only 13 at the time”, her father explained to her. “You guys really want me to do this, don’t you?” Kaitlyn said to them.
“What we don’t want”, her father responded, “is for you to feel pressured in any way”, he said. “I think your grandmother was hoping it would be a solution where everybody wins”, he explained to her. “You would get some money for your trip and Ben and Jennifer would have family around to help them through this time”, he told her.
“We realize that you have made plans with your friends for the summer”, he told her. “But they only really need someone to be there until Christmas” he told her. “Ben is busy getting the harvest off and can’t always be around to help Jen with the children. Plus they have to go away several times in the next few weeks for the treatment”, he explained.
Kaitlyn nodded her understanding. It didn’t seem so hard to her if she were only to be away for 4 weeks of her 3 month uni break. “Okay, I’ll go”, she agreed, knowing how much it would mean to her mother and grandmother. “When did they need me to come?” she asked them.
“Straight away”, her father told her. “There is a bus that leaves at 1pm tomorrow”, he told her. “Do you think you could be ready to go then?” Kaitlyn’s eyes opened wide in surprise. “Tomorrow?” she asked them. Her mother nodded. “They want Jennifer to have surgery as soon as possible”, she explained to her daughter. “If they can make arrangements with the children, there is an opening in a couple of days time they could take advantage of”, she went on.
“But I’m a complete stranger to them”, Kaitlyn said. Susan smiled at her only daughter. “I think that’s why they’re thinking tomorrow’s bus would be a good option”, she explained to her. “That way you’d be there for a little over a day before they had to leave”, she went on. “Young children are pretty amazing at how quickly they’ll accept someone new into their lives”, she told her.
And so it was that less than 24 hours later, Kaitlyn found herself taking a 10 hour bus trip to meet up with family she barely knew. She had no idea what awaited her at the other end and whether or not she’d be able to cope with whatever was thrown at her.
But Kaitlyn wasn’t one to back away from a challenge. She lifted her head and tried to convince herself that she was capable of whatever the next 4 weeks were to throw at her.
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They say that everyone has a writer within. How effective that writer at communicating their "story" is another matter. I've always wanted to write. I'm not saying my writing is "print worthy" or that it makes me a "writer". This space is for me to share some of my creative writing efforts. Read at your own risk. ;)
