A Lifetime

A Lifetime / Chapter 5 - Part 1

As she slowly left her slumber, she began to recognize the smell of coffee and something sweet in the air. She wasn't sure what it was but hoped somebody saved her some.

She got up and managed maneuvering in the bathroom a little awkwardly but well enough. She would've preferred leggings and an oversized sweatshirt for lounging today but the smells indicated she had company. And she didn't know how many. She opted for looser athletic pants and a casual shirt covered with an oversized sweater. When slightly satisfied that she could greet her guests, she made her way to the stairs. As she approached the first step, she paused. Her crutches clumping towards the stairs must have been heard because a crowd gathered at the bottom of the stairs.

"Good grief!" she gasped, "Who let you all in?" She giggled at the crowd.

"The kids," someone said.

Standing at the bottom of the stairs were her mom and dad, her children, her sister, and two brothers along with Brett. Josh ran up the stairs and carried his mom down while Sophie met them at the top and carried her crutches behind them.

Sophie and Paula had agreed on their meeting time the day before. They arrived earlier than the rest and had cooked a huge breakfast. Everyone stayed to eat and talk about the security footage, that everyone had seen by now. Katherine felt a bit foolish when the security guard, at the front gate, called to let her know that he was having to turn away news channels from coming into the gated community. She emphasized to the guard that no one was being added to her guest list for entry.

One by one, her guests began to dwindle when each felt a sense of relief with their own eyes. She was going to be alright and for today, she could use fewer people and more sleep.

Katherine took that opportunity to strongly urge her children to return to school. She knew how neither liked playing catch up on schoolwork. Especially so close to final exams. They had been "A" students all their lives. That's because they worked their butts off. But neither felt confident when they faced catching up on schoolwork. She reinforced that she was fine, and they needed to get back to school.

"You'll have other weekends to come see me. Spring break is just around the corner. Call me every day even. But get back to school."

The two pieces of her heart reluctantly agreed.

"Mom, Dad, you too. Go home. I appreciate you so much. But you must be behind on things after tending to me at the hospital for so long. As soon as I convince Brett to do the same, I'm going to rest for a bit anyway," she explained.

Her family was saying their goodbyes to her and the kids as Chance and Kyle approached the door.

Brett gave a look towards Kat. She acted as though she didn't see it.

Josh opened the door for them as everyone continued to leave but greeted them in passing.

"Is this a bad time?" Chance asked after stepping through the door.

"Not at all. I finally convinced them to get back to their lives," she laughed.

Brett had stood to leave with the others but as the two men came through the door, he took his seat again near Kat.

As the last car pulled out of the driveway, it left the three men sitting in the living room with her.

Introductions were made but that did little help for Kat. Everyone seemed at ease but her. She luckily could blame it on fatigue so that put little stress on her. The men made small talk while she listened, wondering if this was how all men talked or only those who were trying to fill the air to avoid awkward silences.

Clearly, Kyle prevailed at salvaging situations such as these for he snapped into gear with business talk. Perhaps it was his way to solidify their purpose for being there to the other man in the room. In any case, it worked. Kat could tell that now Brett felt like he didn't belong. It partially made her feel bad for him but at the same time, she had agreed to do this job before any of this happened. She would have to talk about it eventually. She would feel up to working soon and they needed to start planning. So the timing of the discussion wasn't exactly poor.