Taking a vow

Lillian Grey finally convinced Jenna to stay at her place and not dwell on her own to drowning tears. Examining the bag she packed, Jenna's face cringed from the way clothes are dumped inside on one go in a hurry. Retrieving the bag from the terrible hands, Jenna walked to her room and came out after several minutes with a neatly arranged bag, tightly zipped without making it appear lumpy. She went to the picture wall, and grabbed the photograph she took with her parents and Jade when she was young, along with a single portrait of Jade, added it to the front pouch in her travel bag and was ready to depart. Lillian waited, giving Jenna all the time to pack whatever she needed during her time at the author's dwelling.

Afterward, they both left together. Lillian feeling relieved from making the right decision. Their tummies let out a growl together, boarding a cab.

Both glancing at each other with a questionable gaze, Jenna suggested that they get something on the way, but Lillian denied a straight face.

Reaching the spacious, comfortable shelter, Jenna found it different than usual as her stay is not temporary. She waited near the foyer, hesitating to enter, and when Lillian gently pushed her from back, she leaped to the living room, still amazed by its architecture.

"You've been into my home for a lot of times. Why are you weird by acting all shy now?" Lillian commented, acting her usual with her favorite guest.

She waited and waited, but Jenna's resisting behavior pushed her patience poorly.

Dragging the delicate figure to the extending couch, Lillian helped Jenna sit down to settle for a while.

"Stay here, and I'll fix you with breakfast!" she added.

Jenna was still lingering in reluctance that she ignored, Lillian mention about cooking her a meal.

The author finally darted from the spot to enter her kitchen and realized how helpless a situation she got stuck at the moment. It was always Lillian alone in her home, and she rarely had guests to host. However, after daringly took in Jenna under her care, she faced the responsibility to attend to the visitor with devotion and careful consideration.

There was no useful breakfast material appealed to her sight at first glance, searching through the cabinets. Not many ingredients were even available in the beginning.

"Pasta-" Lillian murmured to herself while hunting down the pantry.

"White rice- nice, I can cook rice for her. Honey- great,"

She grabbed the honey and put it on the counter.

"Baking powder! Why do I have it?"

A deep sigh escaped her mouth as she continued from the surprise of playing treasure hunt in her kitchen.

"Salt and Sugar! That's alright! What else do I have in here?" Lillian squatted to the low half of the store and looked piercing.

"More pasta- spaghetti to be precise. What else-"

Lillian let out a shrieking cheer from finding an old staple rotting down on the last rack. A satisfying sweat dropped from her forehead, crouching down herself to pick the rolled oats,

Honey, Oats, and what she needs next was- Milk!

The last time Lillian did grocery shopping from Anna's insistence, she added a few extra things to her list. The milk was still surviving to her relieved smile as she marched to the fridge.

Now that she got all the ingredients, Lillian tried her best to make simple oatmeal for Jenna. She put her in the best effort and came out victoriously.

"Here, made with- Just eat it!" Lillian served Jenna the hot oatmeal.

"Ms. Grey! You cooked?"

"Oatmeal is not actual cooking, Jenna. I can at least do this for you."

Lillian noted to herself to stock up the pantry and fridge with food products and learned to cook simple recipes for the two while ordering less often.

Grateful from the service, Jenna took a spoonful to eat whole-heartedly.

'Too-much sweet!'

The overpowering honey dominated the bowl, yet Jenna finished it to respect Lillian's kindness.

Following the light meal, Jenna fell asleep on the couch from physical exhaustion. Lillian stayed by her side and covered her with a blanket to rest before waking up to a whole busy work ahead.

***

"Where are you?"

"I'm on my way to work."

"I got bad news," Lillian stuttered.

"What is it?"

A brief moment of silence extended the phone call, and the impatient receiver on the other line exploded in haste.

"Spit it out, Lilly,"

"It's Jenna-"

"Yes, Jenna. What happened to her?"

"She- She lost her grandmother, Shane," Lillian revealed.

Shane froze for a good minute to reflect on the words he heard from Lillian Grey. Through Lillian, he was aware of Jenna's only family, her grandmother. He never met Jade but knew that Lillian met her a couple of times.

"I'm sorry for her loss," he said in his most sincere tone, expressing his grief over Jenna's sorrow.

"Where is she? Wait, how do you know-"

Lillian explained Shane about the hospital visits and how she only came to know of it through the chief editor at KeyLine.

"I was not aware of it at all,"

"She probably begged the chief editor not to share the news or so,"

"When did- it happen?"

"Early morning, around 3-4, I met her the previous day and felt uneasy that I couldn't sleep well at night. So I woke up early to visit and found Jade, her grandmother, breathless on the bed. We summoned the doctor, and they called it!"

"How is she doing? Where is Jenna?" Shane inquired.

"I brought her to my place, didn't want to leave her alone in her home. She ate breakfast and finally tapped out to sleep. She's been up and to to the hospital since Monday. And all that exhaustion finally took a toll on her. She's sleeping soundly downstairs on the couch,"

"On the couch-"

"Wait, Mr. Ricardo. I did not expect her to doze off on the couch while I moved away for a minute," Lillian raged to argue back.

Shane relaxed, knowing that there is someone to care for Jenna during this sad time, and it was his friend, Lillian Grey. It surprised him, but he personally made his request to Lillian to take care of Jenna properly.

"Excuse me, she is my editor, and I know her better than you,"

"Frankly, she met me first, and I gave her the job. If not for me, she wouldn't be your editor in the first place," Shane returned pointedly.

The two went back and forth to debate, and Shane's final comment ended their undesired dispute.

"Nonetheless, she is a hard-working girl and the only one who can manage you. Because she is your editor, Jenna is familiar to me compared to others," he observed to Lillian agreeing.

"I hope she stays strong and not get broken for too long. You two take care and let me know if you need any help,"

Shane inquired about the funeral, and Lillian revealed to him about her family situation.

"She is planning to have a graveside burial service with only family members," Lillian shared.

"That's good. I think no one is aware of the news yet. I'll inform the team today," Shane said.

The conversation ended with Shane insisting on reaching out to him in case of any support. He let Lillian give him updates and informed that he would later call to Jenna to express his grieving.

...

The house was dead calm in silence, and Jenna's snores only echoed in the living room. Lillian remained upstairs in her room, cleaning and changing sheets to let Jenna stay there during her residence. Amid her hard work to quickly set up a neat place, she heard a shrill shriek suddenly.

Rushing out to investigate it, Lillian found Jenna woke up crying in fear, and she ran down to calm her.

"It's alright. I'm here, Jenna. Breathe slowly," Lillian patted Jenna's severe pants and hushed her back to normal.

It is natural to feel terrified from the loss of a family member, and when it is the only relative that is close to you, the impact of harsh solitude can result in nightmares.

Throughout the day, Jenna fell to tears from the memory of her grandmother. Lillian remained by her side to comfort.

It is as predicted by Lillian that Jenna might fall into depression if left alone in the house, and she felt thankful to have made the right decision to take her under her care. From now on, Lillian vowed to be Jenna's guardian and support her through thick and thin.