19.
Second Winter at Fire Lodge
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After Chaeyoung and Jisoo had left to go to town, Jennie made sure that Lisa and Sunmi had gotten started on their duties for the day, then retreated to her room. She pulled a chair so she could sit in it and look out the window, then wrapped a blanket around herself and sat down. She looked out over the valley, thinking of all the things that were her responsibility. She'd expected that someday she'd end up running the lodge, but she'd never expected that it would happen when she was this young. She'd also expected to take over because her parents had retired, not because they'd died. Times like this she could really use a comforting hug from her dad, or some good advice from her mom, but instead she was left alone to manage everything. She looked out the window, watching the trees sway in the breeze, and didn't even notice when tears started rolling down her face.
She didn't know how long she sat there, but it must have been a couple of hours, because the next thing she knew, Lisa had found her and was leaning over the arm of the chair to give her a hug.
"What was that, Lise? My mind was a million miles away." She sniffled and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
"I was saying," Lisa said, "that you should come down to the kitchen because Sunmi and I are making ramen for lunch. Then I started telling you that there's no need for you to sit here and cry by yourself, that I'm always here for you, and then I gave you a hug and you came back to earth. So what's going on?"
Jennie managed a weak smile. "I'm just really missing my parents this morning. I never expected to have to run the lodge all by myself."
Lisa knelt in front of the chair, clasped Jennie's hands, and looked up at her. "You don't have to run the lodge all by yourself. I'm here with you. We're a team, just like your parents were."
Jennie sniffled again. "Thanks, Lise. I don't know what I'd do without you."
"Well," Lisa said, standing up and then pulling Jennie to her feet, "if this morning's any indication, you'd get locked up inside your head and forget to come out for lunch. So let's not let that happen again, okay?"
Jennie nodded. They stopped for her to wash her face, then headed down to the kitchen to help Sunmi with lunch.
Late that afternoon, Chaeyoung and Jisoo got back from shopping. As they brought all the groceries into the kitchen, Chaeyoung showed Jennie a giant jar of kim chi that she'd gotten on sale. "I'm trying to stock up," she was saying, "so that if weather keeps us from going to the store one week, at least we won't starve."
Jennie agreed that this was a good idea, and she and Lisa got so involved with planning their emergency food supplies with Chaeyoung that no one noticed Jisoo handing Sunmi a small package or Sunmi disappearing up the stairs with it. Aft
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