Part 5:
The rest of the day passed as if in a dream. At nightfall, Gaele found herself
looking at the little house at the other end of the garden, waiting for the
lights to go on, indicating that Don was up, but the windows stayed dark.
Finally she went upstairs and got ready for bed. She got in, and lay there,
unable to sleep. The moon rose, nearly full, and when its light shone across
the bed, turning her yellow covers to platinum, she got up and pulled on
a pair of scuffs, and tiptoed downstairs. Her mother and father were sitting
in silence in the kitchen, a teapot and cups on the table between them, their
heads closer together than usual. The scene touched Gaele deeply, and she
stood watching them a moment, then slipped out the back patio door, and down
the path to Don's. As she gathered herself to give the door a tentative rap,
she noticed it wasn't quite closed, so she pushed on it and it silently swung
inward. She closed the door quietly but not too quietly, as she had been
taught not to sneak up on anyone.
"Don?"
There was no answer, and she saw a faint glow coming from the kitchen. She
looked and saw it was only the stove's hood light left on. A cup, plate and
fork were in the sink, recently used, and Gaele's heart sank. He must have
been up, but gone to bed again. She should have gotten here earlier... She
thought of leaving again, until she heard a sigh, and a stirring of bedclothes.
He appeared in the doorway of his room, still tying his bathrobe.
"Hi," she said tentatively.
He didn't reply right away, but absently looked off across the still dark
living room.
"Kind of late for you to come visit, isn't it?"
"Couldn't sleep, and I was just wondering if you were okay..."
"I'm fine." He then noticed her
nightgown. "Where's your housecoat? Aren't you chilly?"
"No," Gaele lied, as she shivered a little.
"Here..." Don went to the closet. "Put this
on. This kind of silk is quite
warm."
He helped her put on the robe, and grinned when he saw how the sleeves
hung past her fingertips, and the wrap itself went nearly all the way around
her before it could be tied off with the sash. She let him roll the sleeves
until they were a more managable length.
"Thanks," she said, smiling at him.
"No problem," Don said and then stretched a little. "Might as stay up for
a while. Have to do a bit of washing up."
"I'll help," Gaele offered.
"All right," Don said, with a faint smile. "I'll wash, and you dry."
It was barely light when she awoke, and she found herself in Don's bed, rolled
up in the comforter. She didn't remember falling asleep in here... Don was
not anywhere to be seen, so she dragged herself out of bed and padded out
to the kitchenette. Don was sitting quietly at the kitchen table, reading
a newspaper, a cup of coffee at his elbow. He gave her a distracted little
smile when he noticed her.
"Looks like you could use that housecoat, kind of cold this morning, isn't
it?" he said.
"Oh yeah, I guess so," Gaele said, rubbing her arms absently, as she went
back to put on his kimono. As she re entered the kitchen, she glanced at
the clock. 5:40.
"Uhm, do you usually get up this early?"
"Mmhm," Don said to the paper.
"A habit of yours, then, too, huh?"
"Yep."
Gaele watched him read, and suddenly felt out of place. She was about to
get up, when her stomach rumbled audibly in the silence.
He laid the paper down, and turned
to look up at her. "Sounds like you could use some
breakfast."
"Yeah, I guess," Gaele said, feeling a bit embarrassed. "But uhm, that's
okay, I have to get back to the house. And uh... didn't mean to fall asleep
while you were talking last night... not that it wasn't interesting, just...
I guess I was more tired than I thought."
"That's fine," Don said, taking a sip from his mug. "The main house looked
dark, so I didn't want to make a disturbance. Thought it would be easier
if I just tucked you into my bed. I stayed here on the recliner, and
caught up on some reading. Since I travel so much, I'm in so many different
time zones, so my sleeping hours are bit different from yours."
"Look, I'm sorry if I imposed in any way-"
"Oh. No, Gaele, not at all, I
didn't mind the distraction in the least," he said softly. "Your company
is the best I could have asked for, considering the circumstances. You have
always had that... knack for... hmm, feeding my essence, as in, recharging
the batteries?"
"I do?"
"Oh yes..." Don stared at the paper, no longer interested in it. "It saved
me a lot of emotional rollercoasting... keeps me focused outside of
myself."
"Uh, yeah," Gaele said, looking at her nails. "I thought later that maybe...
you might have wanted to be alone, to... you know..."
"Cry?"
"Well, sure. Seems like I wanted to, at times, when you told me about your
master..."
"Splinter had told us many times
not to cry too much at his passing, or he would come back and really give
us something to cry about." He smiled a little at his joke.
Gaele shivered as she glanced around nervously.
"What's the matter?"
She shrugged. "Dunno, just felt wierd. Just wondering... "
"What's that?"
"Well... uhm- never mind, it's kind of dumb. Forget it."
"You going to be okay?"
"Me? Sure... I was just wondering the same about you. And I was kind of wondering
how Daddy and- well, if everyone was going to handle this
okay."
Don immediately reached
out and reassuringly patted the side of her face. "Hey, don't you worry
about that. Everything is going to be all right. We are going to get through
this just fine."