✅ My Cousin's Keeper [NaNoWriMo 2021]

124. My Family

Tess was in the kitchen when I came down, moving rather forcefully. She clapped a chopping board down on the counter with a distinct thud, and then started chopping tomatoes as if they had done something to personally offend her. I wondered for a second if she was upset about something, but there was still a smile on her face. After watching for a couple of seconds, I wondered if her sudden movements might be a sign of energy rather than anger. Some kind of determination, perhaps, that was driving her to stamp her personality onto the environment.

"Oh, Gabby!" she said as she turned enough to see me standing in the doorway. "I thought you were busy tonight. I was just getting dinner early because I'm hungry already, but if you're–"

"Don't worry," I said, waving off the half-formed questions. "I've not got anything planned, you can make whatever you want. Just wanted to check that you're okay. I know you've been a bit down over the last couple of weeks, and I don't want to leave you alone if you need some company. I mean..." I thought for a second, organising my thoughts, and continued: "I'm trying to give Ffrances my whole attention this evening, and to show that I want to understand her. But I still want to catch up with you, and if you'd like company I hope that I can find some options that work for everyone. Okay?"

"Thanks," she said. "But I think that's... kind of resolved, I guess. The things that have been bothering me."

"About that boy and his incessant messages?" I asked, hoping I wasn't pushing too hard. I was confident that the little punk would stop bothering her now, so I didn't need to probe too deeply into the details of her discomfort. But I still wanted to show an interest, and I wanted her to know that I was there to listen any time she had a problem. And I thought that if she'd already gotten over it, I must be really lucky. He wouldn't bother her again, so there would be nothing to remind her about the worries she had so recently dismissed. I had to ask. "Did he stop?"

"I just..." she said, and I saw her hand tighten around the handle of her knife, knuckles whitening for a second. "I've been worrying about it for weeks. It's not something I really need to talk about now. But I talked to some of my friends today, trying to sort out some issues. Like... Mindy's been stuck trying to get over some bad things she's been doing in the past, and I was trying to help her. And it's made me realise that it's not worth getting hung up on some things. I'm not going to keep on hiding from decisions. I know what upset me, and I know how to deal with it. Putting it off doesn't get me anywhere. I'm not hiding from his messages anymore. Tomorrow I'm going to tell him why I was so upset. I can at least be honest, and hope he's not too disappointed."

"You don't have to talk to him," I reminded her. "Did he make you uncomfortable? But if you feel up to telling him what he did wrong, so he's sure, then–"

"It's okay," she said. "I know what I need to say. I got this. Anyway, you're looking after Ffrances tonight, aren't you? Will you two be coming down for dinner, or..."

"I didn't really think about it," I admitted. "I was coming down to get some finger food. Maybe we can still all eat together if you don't mind, but Ffrances is my baby tonight. As much as I'd love to have two little ones to care for, I want her to know that she's the centre of my world tonight, so–"

"No problem," she said. "I'm making some sweet tomato sauce, I was going to add peppers and make... Actually, there's a thought. If I do some Japanese-style pancakes, you've got something new to give the baby and see if she enjoys it. And then I'll put together a mix of different things. So we've got some snacky stuff, and then a proper hot meal later. So I'll get you something to serve as an appetiser. Leaves it flexible. Like, if I give you a couple of the things I can do quickly, you can have those now as like an appetiser. Then in hour you've got the choice, or you could ask Ffrances. You could come down for a mix of buffet-style stuff, or I'll box some up like a packed lunch. Most of the bentō stuff I know how to make can be served hot or cold, and whatever's left over can be lunch for tomorrow."