✅ My Cousin's Keeper [NaNoWriMo 2021]

111. My New Best Friend

The drive down to Greater Ashfields was a long one. It wasn't actually that far, but I knew that the traffic through Raybridge would be bad because they'd been digging up the main street the last time I passed through. It wasn't normally something I would think about unless I was in a hurry, but somehow I didn't want to be held up here. Some part of me was worried about some rabid fan seeing Kernigan, even though I knew how irrational the fear was. The man was a recluse, after all, and even a fan as obsessive as Ffrances didn't have a clue what he looked like. Still, I didn't want to be sitting in traffic with him in the truck. Reaching the bottom of Oak Road I could already see a chain of brake lights in the distance, even at this time in the evening. I muttered something under my breath that I wouldn't want to repeat, and then turned off towards Crooklands Village.

"It's a busy town?" he asked, brought out of his reverie by the suddenness of my movements.

"Not really. Greater Ashfields is the main town in these parts, but I think if you wanted a serious day out shopping you'd go farther afield. It's getting pretty late now, I'd think we already missed all the commuters going home, but it seems some people didn't manage to escape gridlock in Raybridge. They're rearranging the roads, putting in new lights or something, so it's down to one lane on the main street. And I guess they managed to get in the way of a lot of young professionals heading to Greater Ashfields for a dinner date or something. Don't worry about it, the country roads will get us there in no time."

"Time enough to tell me more about your mysterious quest?" he asked. "I don't think most people would go to such lengths to get a new comic, and I knew there must be more that you haven't told me. So perhaps we could pass the time by sharing the story."

I wanted to say that it was my business; but I knew that he was doing me a big favour here. Even if I'd gotten him the cheese, he was still under no obligation to help me. He was a major celebrity, and I'd come to him asking for help without even being a real fan. So I tried to tell him everything this time. He'd spoken to Ffrances before on some of the online forums related to his work; of course he had. I mentioned that I thought she would be using the username Ephemeral Addict or some variation, and he said that was a name he knew, but he'd thought she was a guy. That made me think a little about how people present themselves online, and I started wondering if that kind of misunderstanding really mattered. But he still wanted to know what I was actually planning; what I had asked Isaac for, and why he might have asked for Kernigan's autograph in response. So I vaguely outlined the structure of our lives at home: my relationship with Ffrances, and the sudden arrival of Tess when her parents left the country. How we'd been doing our best to act like a family, even when circumstances made it difficult. Feeling that I could trust this man, I even mentioned that Tess was being pursued by a young man with a troubled background, who could only be a danger to her. And then, as we got closer to Greater Ashfields, I told him that I wanted to make sure we were a family; a step towards the life I had dreamed of.

There was a long moment of silence, and I didn't even know what I could say then. But after stroking his chin for a minute, Kernigan nodded. He understood. And with the biggest hurdle overcome, I told him what I was hoping to achieve, and how he could help to bring our family together. He actually laughed when he heard the first plan I'd had in mind; and then he said that it sounded like I was a very thoughtful and caring person.

I still couldn't stop worrying about Tess and that boy; not knowing what had happened yesterday was hurting me. I hoped that he hadn't upset her too much, but after all my conversations with him I was sure that he would end up hurting her, pushing her into things that she wasn't really into. And I thought that the sooner that happened, the better it would be for all of us. But I couldn't say anything about that now. It came to my mind every time I told someone about our family, but I had promised myself that I wouldn't mention Tess's desire to be a baby unless I knew that it would be good for her. That was something best kept private, so I omitted any mention of regression as I told Kernigan about the efforts I had already made to bring our family together.