It had seemed like a sensible idea to allow Lynn to go to the funeral and leave her alone for the rest of the day. It couldn't be that bad, she'd reasoned; she was not completely helpless. Staring up at the faraway ceiling in the growing evening dimness, she began to doubt the reasonableness of her decision.
Lynn had promised to be back well before nightfall. Blanche couldn't bring herself to mind that she'd broken her word; the girl obviously had other things on her mind.
Blanche had also not minded preparing her own supper, a meagre one but, nevertheless, a meal. She'd actually quite enjoyed the independence, and had been quite proud of her accomplishment of doing the dishes, never mind the uncomfortable position she'd had to perform the task in.
That proud feeling was replaced by an annoyed and forlorn one as she pressed her hands against the floor and pushed herself up to a sitting position. She looked with dull resentment at the wheel chair she'd managed to knock over, trying to pull herself up from the floor. She'd sincerely believed that she'd be able to get up on her own; however, she had failed rather miserably.
Resting her back against the kitchen cupboard, Blanche glanced over to the clock way over in the hallway. It was nearly ten. With a sinking feeling, she reckoned that Lynn would probably not be coming back tonight.
Blanche let her aching head roll to one side and her hands fall powerlessly into her lap. She was quite breathless after her futile efforts to improve her situation. After a few minutes of careful contemplation of her choices for the moment, Blanche saw her vision blur as her eyelids fluttered shut.
Lynn returned home in a relatively good mood. On her way she'd decided to spend the better part of the morning baking. Blanche always said she loved the scent of freshly baked pastries in the house. It would be nice to spend some time with her in the kitchen. The older woman always made her feel so happy. She could really do with a proper dose of joy after the proceedings of the day before.
Lynn made sure to make a minimum amount of noise when she entered the house. The light in the kitchen caught her eye, and she wondered briefly if Blanche could have forgotten to switch it off the night before. Leaving her coat on a peg in the hallway, Lynn made her way further into the house, and then dropped her purse in sudden and overwhelming fright.
The wheel chair was on its side in the middle of the kitchen. Blanche's slouching figure was sitting against the cupboard in what Lynn considered to be a very uncomfortable position.
"Miss Blanche!" she exclaimed with alarm, hurrying to the actress's side. "Miss Blanche, are you okay?" She knelt down next to Blanche, whose eyes had begun to flutter open. She turned her head slowly to acknowledge the younger woman. As soon as Lynn caught the other woman's eye, apologies started pouring from her mouth.
"Oh, Miss Blanche! I am so sorry! How could I have left you alone like this? I should have never gone; I should have been here. If something had happened to you..."
As she adjusted the chair and ranted on, Lynn ignored Blanche's expression of restrained dismissal, disabling her from replying. The young woman wrapped her arms around Blanche's upper body, pulling her into a close embrace and carefully lifting the older woman from the floor.
"I would have never forgiven myself. I was so angry with myself for falling asleep on mommy's couch last night; they should have woken me up. I'll never do that again, Miss Blanche. I promise."
Tentatively setting Blanche into the now retrieved wheel chair, Lynn stopped momentarily to catch her breath. She had every intention of continuing as she straightened up, but the sensation of Blanche's hand clasping hers made her reconsider the notion. Lynn looked up at the older woman and very nearly beamed.
Blanche was watching her with a reassuring smile in her eyes and on her lips. "It's all right, Lynn," she spoke gently. "It was not your fault. It was stupid of me to fall like that."
Lynn was squatting next to the oven when Blanche returned to the kitchen. She didn't look anything like her usual merry self. Of course, that was to be expected. But she looked so desolate and miserable, crouching there, that Blanche felt a familiar stabbing ache in her chest.
"Lynn," she said softly. The girl jumped at the sound and rather than facing the actress, she turned and looked into the oven. Blanche could tell that the cake was nearly done—the whole house smelled pleasantly. Lynn would spoil her like this. But it was no good to have a treat if the person sharing it was not in high spirits.
"I shouldn't ask this—not today anyway—but are you feeling all right?" Blanche enquired carefully. She was met with a half-hearted smile from the younger woman, and it discouraged her greatly. Lynn had never before shielded her emotions from her, not even in her grief. In the most uncharacteristic way to her, she stood and remained by the oven—quietly.
"I'm just..." Lynn faltered, averting her gaze and wringing her hands. Blanche waited with baited breath for her to continue. "I really am so sorry, Miss Blanche," the young woman finally uttered. She hung her head, lowering her voice drastically. "And I do understand if you want that "one day" you were talking about yesterday to come earlier than planned..." As her voice died down, she kept her eyes nailed to the floor.
Blanche felt a weight lift off her chest in the relaxed realization that Lynn's insecurity was not caused by something truly worrying. "Oh, Lynn..." she sighed with a weary smile. Lynn looked up at her, slightly surprised at the actress's tender tone. "All this time," Blanche said with a gentle air of disbelief, "you were afraid I'd dismiss you?"
In the brief silence that followed Lynn gave the smallest of nods. Blanche couldn't help letting out another sigh, this time one of pure relief. She flung out her arms in front of her, reaching towards the insecure girl standing in the middle of the kitchen. "Oh, darling, come here..."
After hesitating only momentarily, Lynn stepped forward and towards the offered embrace. Wrapping her arms tightly around the younger woman's back, Blanche whispered warmly, "I'm sorry I brought that up in the first place. I don't want you to leave, you silly girl." She experienced that already familiar feeling of unique closeness. This time, however, it didn't scare her. It felt completely natural to share a hug with a friend. "You can't imagine how much your friendship means to me." Saying this, she tilted her head closer to Lynn's to make sure her words would not be lost to the girl.
"Friendship?" Lynn muttered in stunned disbelief, after a short while pulling back hesitantly to look at the older woman. "You think of me as a friend?" Blanche found the insecurity in her eyes completely endearing.
"Of course," she assured her, nodding to add emphasis to her words. "Actually," she added with a wry smile. "You're like family to me."
"There's really no need for you to come with me," Lynn said, helping Blanche into her coat. "I can go to the market on my own."
Blanche smiled up at her brilliantly. "But I want to get out of the house," she explained. "Jane never let me," she added thinly.
Lynn looked at her with a sinking feeling in her stomach. It was not uncommon. Lynn always had an awful feeling when the subject of the actress's family was mentioned. The girl even felt a tiny twinge of guilt as she thought about her own and much more pleasant childhood. It had not been absolutely perfect, mind you, but it had definitely been better than Blanche's. Lynn watched compassionately as Blanche settled back in her chair. The young woman had learned by now not to say anything each time she felt bad for the actress, for it would do neither of them good to ruin their mood.
"Maybe now would be a good moment to ask you," Lynn said, picking up her purse and hanging the shopping bag on the back of Blanche's chair.
"Ask me what?" Blanche replied with quick interest.
"My family would really like to meet you someday," Lynn explained, pushing Blanche's chair through the hall and the front doorway. "They're big fans, you know. And they're very curious about where and how I live, and what I do all day."
"Well, naturally," Blanche agreed, leaning back and tilting her head to meet the pale morning sun. "I'd love to meet your family," she added as soon as Lynn had returned from locking the door.
"Oh, that's good, because I've already told them they could come over for tea sometime next week."
"You sneaky little devil!" Blanche laughed.