Comfort Zone Fiction

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.