Given Up

Chapter 1

She wasn't so much a force of nature as a natural disaster.

The room was tiny yet she blustered from side to side, like a tornado trapped in a tin can.  Her dirty blonde ponytail swished as she did, long strands strewn around her face.  She started to make up the bed, not pausing for breath as the strands caught in the side of her mouth. 

"It's so strange being back....this place is pretty different from my place in Thailand...did you ever see it?"  Auntie Kate didn't wait for me to answer.  "Not in person, of course you never came, but on FaceTime?"

I nodded.  She spoke so fast it was hard to keep up:  her voice jittery.  I guess nerves was something we had in common right now.

"I missed seeing you both, but the diving school took off and I just couldn't find the time to visit.  I guess I should have..."  Her face flushed bright red and I looked at the floor; not sure whether for her comfort or my own.  She carried on speaking again; still working as she did: her constant movement matching the constant talking. 

"I'm sorry it took so long to sort everything out over there."  She finished putting the duvet cover on and straightened up.  "But I am here now and I found a job, thank God.   Who knew those years working in a cafe would pay off..."

Is she talking to me or herself?

She was quiet for the first time as she tucked the new duvet cover under the mattress.  She stood and surveyed the room; her face turning into a frown.

"We can do better than that."

She bent down and started to lift one end of the single bed that was pushed up against one wall.  Her legs started to buckle under the weight of it and I lurched forward to help.

"I got it Auntie Kate." 

"Cheers Kyle."  She pushed some stray hairs behind her ear where they would only stay for a few seconds before working themselves loose.  "I think maybe under the window would give you a bit more space."

She didn't leave me time to agree or disagree and I moved with her as she turned the end of the bed.   There were only so many places to put the bed in this small room but she was right, this did make the best use of the space. 

"Oh Lord." I turned to see Auntie Kate staring at a mess of dust and discarded items that had evidently been under the bed we had just moved.  My eyes were drawn to a rotting apple core in the centre of it all.  Nice.  Auntie Kate drew in a deep breath and rubbed her brow.

"I'm sorry this place is such a mess.  I will have to have a word with the landlord.  And this room is so much smaller that I thought it would be.  The whole place is."  A heavy sigh racked through her petite frame.  "I shouldn't have gone by the online photos alone."

Her shoulders slumped and the urge to sooth her was strong. She had sacrificed so much for me already; I didn't want her to feel bad.

"It is more than fine.  Really." 

I'd spent the last month sharing a room with four other lads: that had involved dodging fights and trying not to get my stuff nicked.  Having been an only child growing up, it had been a big change.  Going back to having my own space, without ODing on Lynx or unidentifiable body odours, felt like my idea of heaven right now. 

She looked up at me.  Her deep blue eyes shone like an ocean and I watched as a wave slipped over the edge and trickled down her tanned cheek. 

I froze:  what am I meant to do?  I was used to dealing with tears but not with Kate.  How do you comfort your crying Auntie that you barely know?