Hanna walked over to the kitchen table noticing the multiple place settings. She turned to her grandmother with a quizzical look. "If you aren't staying to eat then why are their two plates on the table? Who is the second for?"
"That would be for me." A voice came up from the hallway. She didn't need to meet their gaze to know who it was. Not that she was surprised after the possible glimpse of him at the funeral yesterday. She raised her head to finally look at him, only to find his expression full of sadness and remorse. The same demeanor that had haunted her face for days.
Both of them stood there in silence, unsure of their next move, until Regina spoke up to explain the arrival of the the visitor. "Your friend, Caleb, came by this morning to offer his condolences. Wasn't that of him?"
"Yeah" Hanna muttered.
"I stopped by yesterday after the funeral but you guys weren't home yet, so I just left the flowers on the front step," Caleb commented.
"Those were from you?" Regina exclaimed. "They were beautiful. I am so glad Hanny has someone with her now. I was so worried with leaving her alone to go back home."
"Don't worry Mrs. Marin, Hanna is in good company with me." Caleb reassured her.
"Oh please, you know you can call me Regina."
Hanna's heart stung to hear Caleb called her grandmother "Mrs. Marin". Back when she and Caleb were in high school, Ashley would insist to him that he call her by her first name with no prevail. To hear him now, saying those words, knowing he wasn't talking about her mom, it pained her. Hanna wanted nothing more than to go back upstairs and hide in bed. She wasn't in the mood to play catch up with Caleb or hear his sympathy over her mother's death. Hanna's grandma was leaving and she was going to go back to school in a few days. Caleb showing up was not part of her plan.
"Well that's my cab." Regina announced, breaking Hanna from her thoughts. The older woman moved to the front entryway with Hanna following close behind. Regina turned and embraced her granddaughter, "I am just a phone call away if you need anything.", she whispered in her ear.
"I know. I love you, grandma.", Hanna responded as she pulled away from the hug.
"I love you too." Regina placed a quick kiss on Hanna's cheek before exiting out the door.
Hanna closed the door slowly behind her but didn't back away. She glanced down at her hand that still held the doorknob. If she let go, it would mean she would have to face the coming days alone.
"Did you want me to heat up your breakfast? It's getting cold."
Well, not completely alone. When she had thought she'd seen him at the funeral yesterday, she wanted to talk to him. But now that Caleb stood in her house for the first time in two years, Hanna didn't know what she wanted.
"Grams is gone now. You don't have to stay," she finally spoke, still facing the door.
Caleb shrugged his shoulders as he stepped towards her, "Yeah, I know but I figured you'd like the company."
"Thanks, but I'm fine," Hanna said, turning around and walking right past him into the kitchen. Much to her dislike, he followed right behind her.
"Well, she cooked this nice breakfast for us. We shouldn't let her efforts got to waste." He thought he had finally got a positive response when Hanna walked towards the table but was immediately disappoint when she began picking up the unused plates and utensils.
"I'm not hungry."
He once again moved closer to her, tired of having a conversation with the back of her head. "Regina said you didn't even touch your dinner last night. You should probably eat something."
"What are you best buds with my grandma now?" Hanna snorted as she maneuvered around him to put the plates back in the cupboard.
"Hanna, we're just looking out for you."
"I don't need your concern."
"Then what do you need?"
Hanna stopped short of counter and tossed the dishes into the sink, undoubtedly breaking one, if not more, of them. "I need for you to leave!" She turned around to finally face him and folded her arms firmly to her chest.
Caleb instantly felt bad for pushing Hanna so hard. Growing up in foster care, he learned how to guard himself from the sadness of someone leaving or dying. He didn't know the right things to say to comfort Hanna and with the wall she was currently building around her, he would have to work extra hard to get her to let him in. But for now, he decided to give her some space.
Hanna saw Caleb's head drop in defeat. She hadn't meant to shout at him. Her emotions were understandably all over the place and his nagging questions had pushed her over the edge. She had forgotten how persistent he could get. Hanna watched as Caleb scribbled something down on a post-it on the desk.
"If you do decide that you need me, even if it just to talk, this is where you can reach me," he held out the pale yellow paper for her to take.
Hanna uncrossed her arms and retrieved the note from his grasp, never meeting his eyes that fell upon her. She didn't want him to see the tears that were beginning to cloud her vision.
Caleb reluctantly left Hanna's side and made his way back down the hallway to the front door. He prayed that Hanna would realize she needed someone to help her through this and he would be back here by her side in no time. He had almost made it to the door when he heard the ringing of the house phone. His gaze followed the sound back to the kitchen to see Hanna still in the same position that he had left her in. It had taken four rings for her to snap out of her trance to go answer the phone.
"Hello…yes, this is her…...that's correct … I'm not sure. I'd have to ask my mom …." Hanna froze at the last statement she made. It had just spilled out of her mouth out of habit. She didn't know how to respond after that. While Hanna was still processing what had happened, she felt the phone being removed from her ear. Caleb now stood back in front of her and placed the phone to the side of his head.
"I'm sorry, Hanna is not feeling well at the moment. Can I have her call you back? …. her mother just passed away so I don't think that's going to be possible …. I will pass on your condolences, thank you …. uh huh …. goodbye."
Caleb sat the phone back on the cradle, suddenly noticing that Hanna had slipped away during the call. Her jacket still hung by the front entrance so he knew she was still somewhere inside. The sound of the old pipes rattling in the wall told Caleb that Hanna was in the upstairs bathroom. Looking around the kitchen he figured he might as put away the food and make himself useful, whether she liked it or not.
Thank you to anyone who is still following this story. I wanted to write a chapter I was proud of for you all.
Thank you to Katja for never letting me stop writing and Jane for motivating me to continue a story I thought I had lost all inspiration for.