Grace awoke the next morning to a clanking sound in the kitchen. She assumed that it was Will making breakfast, and she excitedly got out of bed to see what they were having. She walked past the couch to find Karen in her kitchen trying to figure out how to turn the stove on. She was in a pair of Will's pajamas, with glasses on and her hair completely frazzled.
"Karen, what are you doing here?" She jumped at the sound of Grace's voice and quickly locked eyes with hers
"Good morning, Gracie. Did you sleep well?"
"Yeah." She walked over and twisted the knob to turn on the stove. Karen nodded in satisfaction and used a fork to place strips of bacon on the pan. "What are you doing here?"
Karen licked her lips and continued with her task, wishing she knew what exactly she was doing. She had no idea how to make bacon and she was having trouble figuring it out with Grace's questions. She knew that Grace would eventually ask her what had happened, but she and Will made an agreement. Neither one of them would speak the truth.
"Well, somebody broke into the manse last night, and I am not going back until somebody finds him."
"Oh, my gosh! Are you okay? What did he take?"
"Honey, stop panicking like that, it makes you look stoned." She flipped a strip of bacon over and silently applauded herself for making the process happen "He just took some of my jewelry. Everything is fine."
Grace took her response at face value and poured herself a bowl of cereal. It wasn't uncommon for her to awaken to Jack walking around in her apartment, but Karen was never there so early She shrugged and sat down at the table, waiting for Will to wake up and hopefully explain the situation a little bit further.
----------
Will's eyes opened and he came to face the sun, blasting through his window. He felt cold and bare, and he suddenly sat up at the realization that Karen wasn't in sight. He jetted out of bed and burst through his door. He sighed in relief when he saw Karen and Grace making conversation. He had to give her credit that she was hiding everything a lot better than he would be able to.
"Good morning, Ladies." Will walked over to the table and looked to Karen. She smiled and handed him a plate of toast and bacon. "Since when can you cook, Kare?"
"Oh, honey, I can't." She walked back into the kitchen and began to clean up her mess. "I just figured it's the least I can do after you helped me last night. You know, with the police and all." She winked and he got the message that she had already told a particular lie to Grace.
"I told you it wasn't a problem, but thank you." He sat at the table and began to eat. Grace only stared in between them, a confused expression playing with her features.
"What the hell is going on with you two? Karen, why did you call Will last night? I was here too." Karen sat two glasses of orange juice on the table, one for Will and one for Grace.
"He is my lawyer, honey."
"Well, I'm just glad you're okay."
They left the conversation alone. Grace didn't push anything and finished her bowl of cereal. It was after she went to take a shower that Karen finally sat down next to Will at the table, a grapefruit on a plate in front of her. He placed his hand atop hers, and their eyes met.
"How are you really?" His whisper sounded sweet, gentle, and she appreciated the gesture.
"How do you expect me to be, honey?" She took a bite off of her fork and continued to loosen the inside of the fruit.
"Well, most women would be falling apart right now."
"Those women don't have to keep up appearances, honey."
He watched her eat; seemingly unfazed by anything that had happened the night before. He knew that she was a strong woman, no doubt about it, but he also knew that her feelings were deep. He saw examples of that the night before, and he only hoped that she would be able to deal with her current situation in a healthy way. But by the looks of it, he wasn't exactly sure.