Chapter Three Jenna
Chapter Three
Jenna
A– a-tishoo!’
Jenna grabbed a handful of Kleenex from the box.
She’d decided to do the meeting from home, to avoid passing on her germs to her colleagues.
She’d missed a week of Cam-cam calls because she’d been on holiday to Crete with Nate.
If she was honest, she’d felt guilty about swanning off on holiday, but Nate had booked a suite in a top hotel as an engagement present.
At least she could trust Cam to get things rolling with the Kilt Challenge.
‘Soddy, soddy. I must look and sound disgusting. Bloody summer cold. Thank your lucky stars we’re so far apart.’
‘You don’t look disgusting,’ Cam said. ‘But I must admit, that sneeze was probably picked up by the Scottish Geological Survey. How was Crete?’
‘Oh, nice . . .’ Jenna said, and she blew her nose again, remembering how Nate had kicked up a huge fuss over their hotel room and a taverna meal one evening. She wouldn’t be sharing that with Cam. Wasn’t an engagement-moon (or whatever Kerry kept calling it) supposed to be romantic?
‘I probably caught this from the plane.’ There were raised voices from outside the room. ‘Soddy about the mess too. I’m in my bedroom because Nate’s on the phone to the builders in the sitting room.’
‘Oh?’
‘Yes, it’s about the Glass House, our new home. The builder can’t get the bifold doors we want. But that’s boring . . . you don’t want to know.’
‘Bifold. Sounds fancy.’
‘Oh, they’re only big doors,’ she said, enjoying the way Cam said ‘bifold’. And ‘fancy’. And most of all, the way he said ‘Jenna’. Immediately, she felt guilty, aware a newly engaged woman shouldn’t find her colleague’s voice so attractive. Clearly, her stinking cold was affecting her judgement.
‘Is your house completely made of glass?’ Cam said, cutting into her uncomfortable thoughts.
‘No. No.’ She laughed, embarrassed. ‘It’s just designed to let in as much light as possible and showcase the views over the coast.’
‘At Land’s End?’
‘No, near St Ives. It’s wild there but—’ She almost said ‘a lot posher than here’ and checked herself.
‘It’s a nice area and there’s a little village below but we’re on our own up on the cliffs looking down on them.
Not literally looking down, though I suppose we do.
Anyway, you don’t want to hear about it.
’ Meaning she didn’t want to talk about it.
On holiday, ‘wed-min’ had been pretty much all she and Nate had talked about. He’d already been suggesting venues and photographers, even hinting at a style of dress that he knew she’d look great in. It was far too early in Jenna’s eyes.
‘I’m picturing it now. Sounds perfect for storm watching.’
‘Hmm, kicking up a storm.’ The planning permission had caused a lot of ill feeling with the locals.
There had been many objections. The place was too big and would shine ‘like a lighthouse’ after dark.
They said it overlooked the village and didn’t ‘respect the vernacular architecture’.
Jenna had agreed and persuaded Nate to modify the plans until they passed.
He said it was how he wanted it anyway and had just gone over the top to give himself plenty of wriggle room.
She broke off to blow her nose, knowing how red it must look.
‘It’s a small community round here. Not as small as yours but – anyway, “house-min” is boring.’ She added, ‘You OK? How was the flinging at the ceilidh?’
‘It was – busy.’ There was a sudden glimpse of real pleasure in his brown eyes, like a curtain being drawn momentarily and revealing a cosy home with a warm fire. Memories, she decided. Happy memories. ‘Great band.’
‘So, you and Iona enjoyed it?’
‘Me and Iona?’
‘Yes. Did you do a lot of flinging?’
‘Oh aye, she enjoyed it all right.’ He smiled again.
‘Shall we talk about the Kilt Challenge? I’ve been thinking about what you told me the last time we spoke.
I’d no idea your brother had died. If I seemed shocked, it’s because – well, aye, I was taken aback.
I might not have come across as sympathetic – been a bit cold, even.
I want you to know that the opposite is true.
I was – shocked. It never gets easier to tell people about a loss. ’
Jenna’s heart warmed, and she could feel the sincerity in his voice.
He truly understood and she wondered if that was because he too had experienced such a loss.
She was on the verge of asking him, then remembered that he might consider it prying – and she would be dangerously close to the edge of getting too personal with him.
‘It’s fine, I’m used to it now, or thought I was. I guess this challenge is so close to my heart that . . . I thought I could process it and deal with it at arm’s length like any other, but you know . . . it’s hard.’
‘Of course it’s hard. To lose a brother at such a young age is – unimaginable.’
‘It was . . . it still is, and I felt I had to be strong for my mum and dad. I still do, but I was screaming inside. I used to go out on to the cliffs or a lonely beach and scream at the waves, tell the sky and the world how much I hated it for taking Luke . . .’ She lowered her voice. ‘Does that sound mad?’
‘Nothing is mad when you’ve lost someone,’ Cam murmured, seeming to lean forward, almost as if he wanted to hug her through the screen, and Jenna found herself imagining how that would feel.
Warm, a little tentative, but heartfelt.
A hug like the glow of a cottage fire on a stormy day at the very ends of the earth.
‘Jenna. Can I ask something? You don’t have to answer if it’s painful.’
‘Of course you can ask something. Ask anything.’
A brief smile came and went on his lips, but there was no amusement or happiness in it. ‘If your brother had – this condition – are you . . .’
Jenna shook her head. ‘No, thank goodness. After we lost Luke, my parents wanted to do something to help other families, so we took part in a research study. It looked at genetic conditions, including the one that caused his sudden, catastrophic heart attack . . .’ She paused for a breath before continuing, because even though she had answered this question a hundred times before, telling Cam felt more emotional.
‘Well, one of the good things we found out was that I didn’t carry the gene. ’
‘Oh, Jenna. I’m so sorry about Luke, but it must be a huge relief.’
‘It is. It’s one thing my parents and grandparents don’t have to worry about.
Once we discovered how easy it was to detect, we knew we could make a difference to other families.
It’s just that most people don’t get checked.
The Kilt Challenge will raise money to help make this testing more available and visible so more people can find out.
The heartbreaking thing is realising it is detectable and, once detected, people with the condition can be monitored and given advice. ’
‘Nate must be so relieved that you’re in the clear,’ Cam added softly, leaving Jenna wondering why she hadn’t included him in her list.
‘Of course,’ she smiled. ‘I was actually single when Luke died . . . it was about a year after we lost him that I met up with Nate again. He’s been very kind to my parents – put a new kitchen in, had it all redecorated and did all the repairs.
Just stuff that needed doing that they didn’t have the energy or heart to do.
He fixed all the problems and turned the house back into a home again – a fresh start.
I owe him so much.’ She didn’t really know why she’d gabbled on, especially as it made her throat sore.
‘Practical help like that means a lot. Actions speak louder than words and all that.’
‘Yes . . .’ She suddenly remembered herself. ‘Soddy, hold on.’ She grabbed a handful of tissues, grateful that a cold at least had the bonus of disguising tears. ‘Why am I telling you all this? This is meant to be a business call.’
‘Och. I think our calls ceased to be purely business a while ago.’ He spoke with such an old-fashioned gravity, but he was right.
She’d been able to tell him things she’d kept from every other living soul, even Nate.
She’d mentioned the Kilt Challenge a couple of times, but Nate didn’t seem to have picked up on how much it meant to her so Jenna hadn’t pushed the issue.
Jenna started coughing so hard she couldn’t reply.
‘You OK?’
Jenna’s coughs subsided but tears were still running down her face. Cam’s brow furrowed in concern and Jenna realised that he’d asked her the same thing at the exact same moment as Nate, who was standing in the bedroom doorway.
‘Jenna?’ Nate stepped in carrying a steaming mug of something. ‘I brought you some honey and lemon, didn’t realise you were still on your call. Sorry to intrude.’
‘You’re not intruding,’ Jenna said hastily, brushing away the tears. ‘It’s only Cam. I mean, Cam and I had almost finished.’
‘Yes, we had. Look, you go and rest,’ Cam said through the screen. ‘I’ll email all the confirmed PR so far about the Kilt Challenge.’
‘Good idea,’ Nate said, peering down at Cam. ‘Bye, Cam. Nice to have met you, at last.’
‘You too,’ Cam said and lifted his hand in farewell. ‘Bye, Jenna, get well soon. Maybe you should add a wee dram to the honey and lemon.’
‘Maybe I should. Bye for now.’
He flashed her that lopsided smile once more and then disappeared.
Lowering her laptop lid, Jenna gratefully accepted the mug. ‘Thanks, Nate.’
Sitting on the bed, Nate stroked her cheek with a sigh. ‘You shouldn’t be working and he definitely shouldn’t be calling you, knowing how rough you’re feeling.’
‘I’m not that bad, and I did need to have this meeting, with this big challenge coming up,’ Jenna said firmly, not wanting to be mollycoddled by Nate even if he did have the best intentions.
‘Hmm.’ He pulled her in for a hug. ‘Nothing is as important as your health and I don’t think you are well enough to work. You look terrible and that cough is getting worse. Good job I’m looking out for you, isn’t it?’