The next day, the reality of falling from Jigsaw hit me.

Everything ached. I struggled to even get out of bed because it hurt to move and I spent a good fifteen minutes just lying there before I plucked up the courage to roll to a standing position. Not wanting to aggravate anything else, I didn't bother getting dressed and simply slipped on my dressing gown and made my way downstairs. Every step hurt my hip and even my knees had decided to join in the fun, but I gritted my teeth and hobbled down the stairs.

"How are you feeling?" Jonathan asked when he saw me heading down the stairs.

"Sore."

"I'm not surprised." He chuckled. "Come on, come and get some breakfast."

"I won't say no to a bit of food."

I limped the rest of the way downstairs before hobbling across the room like an old lady. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Jonathan trying to hide his face and no doubt his laughter at the sight of me walking like a grandmother. Barbara, upon seeing Jonathan's poor attempt to suppress his laughter, gave him a clip round the ear and he abruptly stopped although I could still see a slight smile tugging on the corner of his lips.

We settled down to breakfast with Barbara handing out plates of toast and eggs gathered that morning and then boiled. I tore strips off my toast and dunked it into the yoke of the egg with Jonathan and Barbara both eating the eggs with spoons. Dad ate his eggs the same way I did. The early morning sunlight streamed in through the kitchen window as we ate and I could hear the chickens clucking nearby along with the occasional sheep. Jonathan turned the page in his newspaper and scoured the pages for any new information on the war front.

Our mornings were always somewhat similar, although usually, I would do my own chores before we ate. The night before, Jonathan had said he would do it since we all knew the likelihood of my bruises once the sun came up. Still, there was a routine in place on the farm and I grew to like it since I knew what to expect. Back home, life could sometimes be chaotic since we never really knew what time Dad would be returning from the docks or whether I would be late for school or not. Mum always tried to keep order, but she wasn't all that successful.

"I take it you have no intention of getting dressed today," Barbara said, nodding to my nightdress.

"If that's alright. I struggled to get out of bed so putting on other clothes just feels out of the question."

"Well, since you're not going anywhere, I don't see why not."

"Any plans for your week away from the treehouse?" Jonathan asked, tearing off a chunk of his toast in one quick bite.

"None. I'm not very good at sitting still for very long so this will be a fun week."

He chuckled. "You proved that when you had a cold. I'm sure we can find you something to do, within reason, of course."

"Such as?"

"I'll get back to you on that one."

Jonathan winked and peeled a piece of shell off his egg. I shook my head, suppressing a laugh and finishing the last of my yoke with a piece of toast. Across the table, Jonathan turned the page of his paper and I craned my neck a little to see if I could see anything, but I struggled to read the small print and, to be honest, I didn't really know what I was looking for. Even with my non-existent reading skills, I still tried to read parts of the paper just to see how the war was progressing. Not much had happened since Italy had joined in.

The war felt like it had been moving at a snail's pace, even with the fall of France and the evacuation at Dunkirk. There were large gaps of unknowns, things that were happening that weren't being reported in the paper or discussed on the radio. I had no idea what was happening in the English Channel since the evacuation or whether or not Dad was still out there. His current location remained a mystery, although I assumed he would be stationed in the channel to hold off any potential German invasion.

After breakfast, Jonathan went outside to check on the animals and to complete his usual farm chores whilst Barbara started the indoor chores. I shuffled my way over to the sofa and sat down, tucking my legs underneath me. Goose ran up and jumped onto the chair beside me, placing her chin on my knee and demanding that I fuss her, which I did. I scratched her behind the ears and she closed her eyes. It wasn't long before she started to snore.

"You look like you're having fun," Barbara said, wiping a cloth along the top of the mantle.

"The time of my life." I grinned. "I don't like not having anything to do. It's boring."

"You're the one who decided to try and jump Jigsaw without the proper supervision and no, Alec doesn't count."

"Try telling him that."

Barbara laughed. "I would if he were to listen to me. Everything goes in one ear and out the other with that boy. Still, he managed to ride down to us pretty quickly yesterday so I'll give him that." She dropped the cloth onto the table and perched on the edge of the sofa. "He seemed pretty worried about you, though."

"Probably because he thought it was his fault. It escaped his notice that I'm the one who attempted to make the jump, not him."

"It just means he cares about you."

"In a friendly way."

"I didn't say anything to the contrary."

"You're the only one who doesn't."

"Maybe this week will give you a chance to really think about it all."

Barbara smiled and picked up the cloth, standing up from the sofa she disappeared into the kitchen to continue on with the inside chores. I sighed and pressed my back against the sofa, running my hands over my face and trying my hardest not to disturb Goose who snored softly beside me.

I knew Barbara had a point, but I didn't want to think about the story that Eva and Jonathan were convinced of. Alec had been the only person my age from the village that I had really met and he became someone I could spend time with when Eva and the others were indisposed. Despite what everyone else thought, I didn't want to think about Alec in any other way than a friend, but I knew Barbara had a point in me thinking about it. There had to be a reason why they all thought Alec might like me and I wanted to know what that reason was.

Eva was most likely doing it just to wind me up since that wasn't an unusual action for her and happened a fair bit back in London. Jonathan, however, remained a little bit of a mystery when it came to his comments. At first, I thought he had only said it because I told him about Eva and her comments, but it had to be more than that. I didn't know Jonathan as well as Eva and I had my doubts that he would say it unless he meant it. Maybe he did.

Goose stirred a little on my lap, but she didn't wake up. I rested my hand lightly on the top of her head and scratched my short nails through her fur. She snored and pressed her chin a little harder into my thigh. At least someone was content. I couldn't stop thinking about why Jonathan would go along with Eva's idea about Alec. He had no reason to tease me like she would, even though he had enjoyed teasing me before, but that had all been in jest. I doubted this was. Either they were both determined to wind me up, or I couldn't see what was right in front of my face.

"I've thought of something for you to do!" Jonathan said, swinging open the front door and waking Goose who jumped and looked around the room in alarm. It snapped me out of my reverie and I turned to look at him.

"Which is?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"We have a jigsaw puzzle hidden in the attic. It's one thousand pieces and we've never had the chance to finish it, although it's been started several times. Now might be the only chance we have."

"You want me to do a jigsaw?"

"Why not? You were good at the smaller ones we did at Christmas and it gives you something to do for the next week whilst those bruises clear up." Jonathan smiled like he had just had the best idea ever. "That, and it can be a fun family activity."

"Alright, I'll do it. We'll have to be careful with Goose, though. She'll try and eat the pieces."

"Goose will be fine." He kicked his boots off at the front door and shed the light jacket he had been wearing. "Barb! Put your cleaning supplies down and pick up your jigsaw hat! We're finally going to be completing that large one!"

"What are you going on about?" Barbara called from the other room.

"Just get in here!"

With that, Jonathan bounded up the stairs like a small child, Goose following him to see if she was likely to get anything from the excitement. Barbara plodded into the room with a cloth over her shoulder and looked at me, an eyebrow raised. I shook my head and bit back a laugh as we listened to the sound of Jonathan moving around upstairs in search of the jigsaw that would consume the next few days of my life.

Even though I didn't think completing a jigsaw would be all that exciting compared to working on the treehouse, it would give me something to do. I would rather that than spend the next week sitting around, bored out of my mind and with nothing to do. For as long as I could remember, I hated those days where there was nothing to be done. If it rained, I would try my hardest to search for something to do and sometimes it involved heading out in the rain. I liked to move, to be busy.

"I found it!" Jonathan said, returning from upstairs. Goose trailed behind him, her tail wagging.

"What is all this about, John?"

"Something for Sybil to do for the next week. We've always wanted to complete this jigsaw, now we can!" He held up the box, the small pieces inside rattled about. "Now, help me move the furniture so we have somewhere to put this thing together."

"You want to rearrange my living room?"

"It's for family activities! Besides, you don't want to see Sybil spend the next week being bored, do you? Come on, Syb. Back me up."

"I'm staying out of this one," I held my hands up and laughed.

"Alright, fine, but it goes back the moment this jigsaw is finished."

"Scouts honour."

"You weren't in the scouts."

Barbara shook her head and laughed, but she relented to moving the furniture nonetheless. I climbed off the sofa, shuffling out the way so they could grab it and drag it backwards. Once the sofa had been cleared, Jonathan moved the coffee table which gave us a massive square on the floor which would be perfect for our task. It took me a few seconds before I could sit down, my hip groaning at the movement; I knew I would have trouble standing up again.

In all his infinite wisdom, Jonathan decided that the best way to start the puzzle would be to tip the entire box of pieces on the floor. They spread about the wood, travelling outside of the designated square so he had to crawl away to grab them. Goose appeared rather interested in the pieces, but she gave up once she realised they weren't food. Beside me, Barbara clicked her tongue.

"Family activities sound a lot like making a mess."

I frowned at her and then widened my eyes when the realisation set in.

I hadn't noticed that Jonathan had called us a family.

~~~

A/N - Chapter Forty-Three is here! Still several chapters to go with this one which might be a good thing since I'm already struggling with the sequel and I haven't started yet xD

Question! Do you think Jonathan was right to call them a family?

Comment below!

First Published - January 5th, 2022