World View
Chapter 13
Michelle walked into Mike's house to see about the room that Kaitlyn would be occupying. She felt sorry for the young woman. She was sweet enough, but she had been through hell. She really needed to be settled, so she could recover. Michelle walked to the room that Kaitlyn would occupy and looked around. She looked at some paint chips and thought. Suddenly, Tom appeared.
"Hey, I thought I would see what needs to be done. I can paint or put furniture together." Tom offered.
"The house is done pretty much. Just figuring things out for Kaitlyn's room." Michelle remarked.
"I think she'd be happy regardless." Tom said.
"I think so too, but I want this room to be special. Only problem is, I know next to nothing about her. I can decorate a room for my daughters because I know everything about them, but Kaitlyn is a mystery, even to Mike." Michelle replied.
"Make it a sanctuary. She used to love to read. Maybe get some books for those shelves." Tom suggested.
"Mike said the same thing. I asked Kaitlyn what she liked and she said we didn't have to do anything special for her." Michelle said.
"Kaitlyn is very traumatized and I think feels really guilty about that last fight with Mike." Tom remarked. Michelle was looking at the paint chips in her hand, trying to come up with a plan.
"She is. I left her home alone with Mike today. He needed to rest and she slept so hard last night. It was almost ten before she woke up. We'll have to get her some clothes too. She doesn't want to ask for anything." Michelle said.
"She won't. She's like her dad. My advise is; make do. When you move in here, have the closet stocked. I imagine your girls can help. You'll figure out what she likes. Show her some magazines or something to figure things out. You'll figure it out." Tom said.
"I suppose. She and my girls are already close." Michelle said.
"Have them help you. Once you figure out what she likes, I can paint and help put this together." Tom answered.
"Thank you." Michelle answered. She patted Tom's shoulder and followed him out. He had a good suggestion. Have the girls figure things out. She drove to her house, where Mike was relaxing in the recliner and Kaitlyn was looking at one of her design magazines. "Are you finding anything you like?" Michelle asked. She gave Mike a kiss and sat down next to Kaitlyn.
"I kind of like this bed." Kaitlyn said. She pointed at a simple wrought iron bedframe. It did have a scallop detail but otherwise was simple.
"Its cute. What color walls?" Michelle asked as she handed her the paint chips. Kaitlyn immediately looked at the blues. She pointed a dark blue with a smoky undertone.
"I like that one, but with white furniture, bedding and curtains. Would that look right?" Kaitlyn asked. Mike nodded at Michelle.
"I think so. Kind of a farmhouse chic look." Michelle said. Kaitlyn gave her a confused look and Michelle remembered Kaitlyn was just recently homeless. "I will pull it together. Is there anything special you want for clothes?" Michelle asked.
"She used to like jeans and t-shirts." Mike supplied and Kaitlyn nodded.
"Anything is fine." Kaitlyn answered. She was wearing a pair of Holly's sweats and one of McKenna's t-shirts.
"We'll get it all figured out." Mike said. Kaitlyn gave him a sweet smile. Despite their history, it was obvious how much they cared about one another and were slowly patching things up. For Michelle, it was a beautiful thing to watch and she was falling even more in love with Mike because of it.