Renewal; A Tale of Katrina's Kitchen

Arrival

Jonah crept out of the ragged forest as the sun began peering through the trees behind him. He would have liked to have the cover of leaves, but autumn had set in, and the trees were all but naked. He looked back at the trees, soft pastels, muted further by early morning fog silhouetted the bare trunks with the promise of light.

In the encroaching dawn he saw the road leading to a cluster of buildings. The last thing he expected out here was a town. He stopped at the outskirts, indecisive. Hunger rejoiced at the thought of finding food. Fear of contact with people said turn back.

Hunger won, it had weeks since he'd had a real meal. The last real meal he'd eaten had been at an isolated farm. He'd stolen food from the unoccupied kitchen, the residents being absent. Since then the only food had been questionable berries in the forest and a newly dead rabbit stolen from a fox.

He began the walk toward the still dark road. Before he reached the town proper, a large plaque proclaimed, "Welcome to Renewal". He snorted to himself, if anyone needed renewing is was him.

The last week had taken its toll. Finding food and somewhere warm to spend the night had been exhausting. It didn't help waking each night after dreaming again and again about Tammy.

Sometimes the dreams were of good times spent together. More often he dreamed of her death.

He dragged her corpse into the brush, then knelt, savoring the smell of her. An intoxicating odor, he began to drool uncontrollably.

He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block the visions. Then opened them quickly as they became clearer behind his close lids. Instead, he concentrated on the road beneath his feet.

The road passed a few small homes, the windows dark in the last hours of sleep. Beyond those the road became a street. Sidewalk edged, it opened to a retail area. The few shops in the old fashioned strip were dark.

The first was a dollar store, the blinds pulled, hiding the merchandise behind them. Signs inside the windows told of "Awesome Deals!" and "Slashed Prices!"

The next shop didn't need blinds. The windows were so dirty on the inside he could barely make out the display on the other side of the glass. Faded paint on the outside named it "Harrison's Hardware".

The next in line was the town diner. A wooden sign above the door proclaimed it to be Katrina's Kitchen. He peered beyond it at the last building, "Renewal Post Office". He turned his attention back to the restaurant.

He looked through the large front window, a faint glow behind the counter told him someone was getting started. As he lingered on the sidewalk, debating his next move, the door unlocked behind him. He jumped at the loud click of the thumb key. The door swept open, odors of brewing coffee, frying bacon, and oven fresh biscuits caressed him on their way out.

"Good morning, sweetie! C'mon in, you're just in time for breakfast." Jonah stood a moment, assessing the owner of the invitation. Average in height, not chubby, but not thin either. He judged her to be about forty. Her light brown eyes lit by the first rays of sunlight. She smelled of flour and butter and soap.

"Don't just stand there, son, get inside. Welcome to Katrina's Kitchen. I'm Katrina. But, don't you call me that! You call me Katie." She snagged one of his elbows and steered him through the door. She walked him to the counter where he sat hesitantly on a stool.

"What'll it be for breakfast, sweetie? Omelet, biscuits and gravy. Pancakes?" She danced around the dining area, flipping switches, filling the room with light. On her return to the counter she filled a mug with fresh, hot coffee and set it in front of Jonah. "Don't talk much, huh?"

"I guess I've just gotten out of the habit. Been traveling alone." Jonah sipped the coffee. The mug was pleasantly warm, the coffee just the right drinking temperature.

"Breakfast sounds good, but I'm short on cash. I can probably just buy my coffee." Sometimes that admission got him a free meal. Sometimes it got him an invitation to leave.

"Down on your luck, huh?" Katie continued moving about the dining room, an unconscious routine playing out as she spoke. "I can spare a meal now and then, for someone I know. What's your name, son?"

"Uh, Jonah. Pierson."

"OK, I know you now. What sounds wonderful this morning?"