Chapter 14: Caitlyn
I stretch like a cat across the bed as I wake up. Light comes in through the windows of the cabin. Sitting up slowly, I try to remember how I got back to the lower bunk. Sara had fallen asleep while I was playing with her hair, and I had kept going for a while anyway before climbing down. The top bunk didn't seem so bad anymore. Jon is awake, lounging on the bottom of the other bunks. Jo is still asleep on top. Yesterday was long for me so I can't imagine how they feel. I get up and tip-toe to the table, but the creaky floor is annoyingly loud.
“What can we do today?” I say softly out loud, spinning around and forcing a smile on my face. We all slept inside last night, which should make them happy. Those two nights on the sidewalk were awful. Sara stirs, but quickly settles and lays back down, facing the wall. Jon opens his eyes, rolls his shoulders back, and looks at me. It seems like only the bottom half of his face is smiling.
“I guess you are all energized. Are you hungry, Caitlyn? I'm sure I can manage something for our first meal.”
I nod a few times, keeping the forced smile on my face. Breakfast has always been my favorite meal. Sara and I didn’t have to get cleaned up, or change out of our pajamas. We just threw our covers back and walked to the table. The smell of bacon and pancakes always helped. Mommy and daddy make, or made, the best breakfasts.
My smile stops, and I don’t inhale for a little. I watch Jon walk toward the big cabinets next to the stove on the back wall. As he opens the door, a few cans fall from the shelves and hit the wooden floor. The sound is really loud. He quickly turns to me.
"Who packed this?" he asks. I roll my eyes.
Sara stirs a little bit at the sound. She rolls over and opens her eyes.
“Sleep better?” asks Jo, now sitting up. She reaches over and runs her fingers through Sara’s hair. Sara nods and my sister and I share a smile.
I feel my eyebrows rise. Thinking of mom and dad took away my appetite. I think I had forgotten when I first woke up. “I take it back. I’m not hungry.”
“I know; I don’t think any of us are.” says Jo, turning toward me but not lifting her hand from Sara’s head. “But you have to eat.”
I don’t say anything back. My head just sinks and my eyes fall to the floor.
“I know things are kinda rough, but they will change,” says Jo, quietly. She stands up, hops off the bunk, and walks over to me. I feel her hand under my chin, so I look up to see her kneeling in front of me. That same bottom-face smile that Jon had is on her face, too.
“I really miss my dad too,” she says. “But he wanted me to get through this. So I’m going to have to do some things that feel hard for a while. Can you do them with me? Besides we have quite an adventure ahead of us. Also best yet: there will be no school.”
"No reading?" Sara nearly falls off her bunk. Jon lifts his head from his search for food.
"Oh no, young lady. You’re not going to give up learning on my watch," Jon says with a laugh. I’m not sure if he’s serious, but Sara thinks he is, and she is not amused.
“Anyway, Jo’s right,” he continued, setting some things on the table. “We all have an adventure on our hands. This first one’s easy though! We have to eat, and you can choose whatever you like.” He throws four unopened bags of mini-muffins on the table. “As long as it's muffins”
“What kind of muffins?” Sara pipes up.
“For your dining pleasure, we have blueberry and banana nut.” Jon answers. I remember dad getting them out of a vending machine once for me.
"You’re a nut." Jo jokes as she slightly slaps the back of Jon's head. Jon flinches and raises his hand to the spot that she hit, and playfully throws one of the bags of muffins at her.
She catches it just before it hits her in the nose. "Now Jon, don't throw your food." We all laugh.
Sara reaches for a bag, tears it open, and nibbles at a muffin. She never cared for them. Mom's were the only ones she ate.
“Come on over, Caitlyn,” says Jon, patting beside himself on the bench.
I don’t want muffins. I don’t want anything. Jon just continues to look at me as I shake my head.
“How good are they?” asks Jo, looking toward Sara at the table.
Sara doesn’t say anything. She doesn’t even change her facial expression. She just turns toward Jo and nods with an entire muffin in her mouth. She goes to say something and it almost falls out.
“See? They’re good,” says Jo. Soon enough, we’re all chewing away, except for my sister who is chewing loudly. I hate it when she does that. Daddy would never let her get away with it. Jon passes out some glasses with bottled water poured in them. I drink it down.
Jon crinkles up all the empty bags and sighs. I bet he wishes there are more we could eat today. “I promise breakfast will be a little more creative in the future. I’m going to get back to the trailer. It shouldn’t take too long. Plus, I’ll see if I can gather anything else from inside.”
The smile fades from his face quickly. I’m going to be twelve years old soon, so I can tell when someone is faking. Sara hops off of my bench and runs over to him as he turns around to walk to the door, and I follow. He jumps a little bit as I wrap my arms around his waist.
“Come back soon!” Sara says, doing the same.
This time, his whole face smiles, even if it is just a little one. As he turns away, I feel an odd tingling in my throat and clear it quietly.