Chapter Five
Mom had the chore of seeing that Annie was well taken care of during the day. Mary and Ginny did nearly as much. Annie was good and never asked for her mother. She and I lived in the house alone. I think I was lonelier than Annie for she had Tippy to cuddle with. I cooked at least half our meals. Mom worried that we weren’t eating correctly. We did eat out, but I was very careful to make sure our meals were nutritious.
I think what made Annie such a joy to care for was that she always listened to me. If I instructed her she would do as I asked. I did buy her some board games to play with, and spent much of any spare time I had playing them with her. We subscribed to Netflix, but other than that we didn’t watch much television.
Halloween arrived the week after Sandy left. Ginny and Junior came and got Annie into a costume and we all went trick or treating. We walked as far as Mom and Dad’s and had cider and donuts with them. I had to carry Annie home, but when we came into the house she declared she had a wonderful time.
I was working everyday and Annie got into a routine where she appeared to be reasonably happy. Sandy called quite often expressing her guilt at leaving me and Annie. This was usually after Annie had gone to bed. I assured her we were doing fine. I suggested Sandy talk to Annie on Saturday mornings when I was home. With her the conversation revolved around the kitten and was always short.
At this time, Sandy would tell me about what she was doing and how happy she was with her duties. She was shown a lot of respect from the other agents because they knew of her history and the close calls she had had. I came to the conclusion that this was what Sandy should be doing and I was glad she had found herself.
Sandy called the Saturday before Thanksgiving. “Johnny, I was talking to Gordon yesterday. He was wondering if he could stop in either the day before or the day after the holiday. He is visiting his aunt in Putney. I told him I’m sure you would like to see him.”
“Of course I would. You won’t be coming with him?”
“No, I can’t, I’m sorry. Gordon will have a friend with him. Someone who is getting out of the bureau shortly. You are always good for coffee and I said I didn’t think you would mind.”
“If they come the day after, I’ll have some of Mom’s leftover pie. I wish you were with him.”
“I know you do. I promise I’ll be up for Christmas and spend a few days. How is Annie?”
“She’s fine. Today she is playing with Ginny. Everyone loves to have her around. On a different subject, can you tell me anymore about the terrorist investigation? I never did see my van at all.”
“I was talking with Bill the other day. The investigation is complete. When the FBI took charge of it due to Abdul being identified, it was wound right up. The papers and pictures found in his hotel room opened up a window into the new cell he was connected to. They are being tracked now. I do have pictures of our van. I’ll bring them with me at Christmas time.”
We hit a dead spot, thinking of nothing to say. “Johnny, have you gone on any dates since I left?”
“No, not yet. To be honest I haven’t even thought about it. Have you?”
“I’ve been out a couple of times. No one from the office, just a couple of men I met socially. Johnny, make the effort. You need someone to cuddle with and Annie does need a mother. Some woman who is satisfied with being a homemaker and who will love both you and Annie.”
“I will, Sandy, I will. Hey, keep in touch. I’ll never forget you. It was pretty damned exciting while you were here.”
“Bye Johnny, I’ll call again soon.” I smiled, thinking the dating pool was much bigger in DC than it was in Brattleboro, Vermont.
———————
Gordon called me on Tuesday at the compound, “Johnny, I’m in town. Will you be home tonight?”
“Sure will be. Come on up.”
“I’d like to take you and Annie out to that place up the road from you. The New England house I think it is. Bring a lady friend if you like.”
“Annie likes to eat in a restaurant and look at the people. So far she is my only lady friend. Shall we meet you there or will you come to the house first?”
“I think we’ll swing by your house first. Five okay?”
“See you then.”
I collected Annie from her Aunt Mary’s and took her home. “Take a bath, sweetheart. We are being taken out to dinner. Pick out a pretty dress. Can you put it on?”
“If you would button me up I can put it on. Can I wear my earrings and shiny shoes?”
“Of course you can.” I was in the closet getting my jacket when I heard the car door close. “Annie, go to the door and let Gordon in.”
I had two wool jackets and it took a minute to decide which one to wear. I was shrugging into the grey one when I looked up. “Caitlin? Caitlin is that really you?”
“In the flesh, Johnny. Both Sandy and Gordon told me you would be glad to see me. Johnny, I wanted to see you too.”
“I’m so glad you came up. Is your husband with you?”
“Johnny, that’s one question you didn’t get to ask and I didn’t get to answer. There hasn’t been a husband for a few years. I’ve always said I was married to keep the wolves from the door. That is until I get to know someone. I know you well enough now to tell you about my life.”
“You’ll spend some time here with me, then?”
“We’ll talk about it later. I think little Annie is sick of playing hostess for Gordon. It’s been a long day and I’m hungry.”
“I made reservations, thinking you might be with us. That way Annie won’t have to sit too long.”
Caitlin laughed. “Sandy said that Annie is first with you in everything. I can see what she means. Johnny, when I chose Annie for you, I had the wish I was still married so I could adopt her for myself. I didn’t know about you and I knew something about Sandy to make me have reservations. She did well by Annie, though, didn’t she?”
“Yes she did, but it turned out that any child would have been the same for her.”
Annie was tugging Gordon toward the door and I hadn’t even had a chance to say hi to him yet.
We were seated right after we reached the restaurant. Our drink orders were taken and menus brought. When the drinks came Gordon said, “You may order anything you like, Annie, I’m paying.” I nodded my head that she could.
“Annie you go first.”
She looked at Caitlin. “Nice lady, would you help me, please. I can’t read yet. This looks very good.” She pointed to a picture of the entrée.
“That is breast of roasted chicken. It comes with mashed potato and gravy and you can get two vegetables with it. Corn, beans, peas and cold slaw are the choices.”
The waitress asked if she was ready to order. She was. “I’ll have the roast chicken, the potato and some corn. That will be enough to fill me up.”
When the waitress turned away with our orders, Annie asked Caitlin if she would take her to the bathroom. “Mommy used to take me and she said you should always go with another lady for protection. If we go now, we won’t have to go while we are eating.”
I looked at Gordon and burst out laughing. “And now we know why two women always go together.” Caitlin was laughing almost as hard as we were. It was a pleasant meal and for me more so with Caitlin there. No one wanted dessert and I said I would make coffee when we reached home. Gordon said he was going to head for his aunt’s house. He was having Thanksgiving with her and his cousins.
Caitlin said, “Johnny, I’m being bold, but may I have your guest room for tonight?”
“Certainly. Actually you can have it until Gordon picks you up. Annie and I would love to have you join us for Thanksgiving. Lord knows there will be food enough. I’d really like to insist on it, but I don’t want to disrupt any plans you may have made.”
“Being bold again, I was hoping you would invite me. I’ll even bake a pie. I have pecans and the syrup for it in my suitcase.”
“That’s all settled t
hen. Gordon we haven’t had much chance to discuss the night that Abdul died. I would like to know a little more. I’m curious how the FBI got the chance to take over from our state troopers.”
“I’ll fill you in Friday. I think I’m going back on Saturday.” Before he left, I retrieved Caitlin’s two suitcases from his car. I had a moment out of her hearing. “Johnny, Caitlin quit her job the first of November. Sandy is feeling guilty about leaving you alone to care for Annie. You might consider hiring Caitlin temporarily until she finds something to do.”
“What’s her financial situation?”
“I have no idea. She has always been secretive about her personal life. Anyway, it is a thought.”
“Thanks.”
Caitlin was playing with Annie and the kitten. I sat in the living room thinking about Caitlin Bluth. I had liked her from the first time we had met back at O’Hare several months ago. I thought she was a nice lady then and I did now. Tonight she was totally different than I had ever seen her. Some of it was how she wore her hair. Before it was fairly long, but never had I seen her with it styled in any way.
Also she almost always had on a business suit, grey or blue and worn with a white blouse. Tonight she had on a colored wool skirt and a colorful top and the outside jacket was chic, a warm tan color and definitely expensive. Her eyes sparkled when she talked and laughed. It was like she had one persona and had shed it before she arrived here to gain a new one. I liked this one.
I was in my reverie when Caitlin appeared in front of me. “What’cha thinking?”
“Deep thoughts.”
“Good ones I hope.”
“They could be.”
“Do they have anything to do with a bold and brassy hussy who inveigled a room from you?”
“Maybe, but I assure you they are all good thoughts.”
“Hold that for now. Annie wants a kiss good night. You know, I’m a bit surprised that you haven’t had her sleeping with you, but she says she doesn’t.”
“There’s a simple answer for the reason I haven’t. Eventually I will marry again. If she was used to coming to my bed, I’d have to ask her to stay in her own bed. It might make hard feelings between the new mom and Annie. She needed to learn early that my bed is for adults and her bed is for children. It didn’t take long before she accepted this.
“The only exception is if she is ill and I suppose if I needed constant care she would be there for me and would return to the status quo as soon as either of us was able to.”
“Don’t you ever want to relax the rule when you’ve had a bad day?”
“Of course I do. I often needed someone to hold, but if I gave in to my own rule, it wouldn’t be long before there was no rule at all. A child needs rules to live by. It makes it easier for them to know what’s right and what’s wrong. We do cuddle on the couch if it is needed. Enough of this; come with me while I say goodnight to Annie.”
“From what you say it sounds as if you are very strict, but I can see Annie loves you so you must be doing something right.”
“I never have had to physically discipline her. I don’t lose my temper and shout at her. A child can’t be reasoned with like an adult. This is only because they don’t have the maturity to reason, so if there are rules and guidelines for them to live by, it works out very well. I don’t use much bribery either. I’ve seen where parents used bribery to get their kids to do just the basic chores.”
Annie was almost asleep. “Daddy, after I kiss you goodnight, can I kiss the nice lady goodnight, too?”
“Of course you can, sweetheart. You know the nice lady has a name, don’t you?”
“Of course I do. It’s Caitlin. She was at Mommy and your wedding and you called her Nice Lady. I like her a lot so I can call her Nice Lady too, but I will call her Caitlin sometimes.”
“Well, I think you are a nice little lady, too, and I think you are very special.”
“Thank you, Nice Lady, I like to be special.”
When we left Annie I made a call to my mother. “Mom, Annie won’t be coming over in the morning. I have a person here who will be watching her tomorrow. The two of them are going to bake a pecan pie. Would it be okay if I invite her for dinner on Thanksgiving?”
“Of course it will, Johnny. What’s her name?”
“Caitlin Bluth. She is a friend of Sandy’s and I have known her just as long as I’ve known Sandy.”
“Are you sure you want to leave Annie alone with her?”
“I’m positive. We went out to the New England House for dinner tonight and we had a wonderful time. If you are out and about tomorrow, stop in and visit. Annie will introduce you.”
“I might just do that. I can’t stay long because I have a lot of things to get ready for dinner on Thursday.”
“Okay, Mom, that’ll be fine.” I hung up the phone and turned to Caitlin who had been listening.
“I’m sure Mother will be here and pretty early too. Probably Mary will be with her. Ginny and Junior will stop in to see Annie after school is out. You probably will have them from noon on because school is out then.”
“You’re leaving me all alone to meet your family? That’s mean.”
“No, it is showing them I trust you to take care of Annie. Now, I think it’s time I got to know a lot more about you. Tell me about your life, all or just what you want to share.”
“I could say ‘you see me, that is what you get,’ but I’ll share. I grew up in the Midwest. My parents are very successful farmers. I was always intrigued with law enforcement and went on to school to learn more about what it takes. I met a boy my third year in college. I fell in love … or thought I did. His father was in the bureau, and I probably thought how lucky for me it would be if I married the son. I would have an opening into the FBI.
“I used him and got on as a probationary agent. We married soon after being hired. I was so serious about my job, I guess, I neglected my husband. It lasted two years and we divorced. Mr. Bluth senior, blamed me for the breakup. He is still there. My job has gone absolutely nowhere for the nine years I’ve been with the bureau.
“I can’t claim I have been held back because I don’t have any evidence of it. You have seen what my duties have been like. I arrange things for people like I did for you. I’m like a house mother in certain situations and make travel arrangements. The one gem I’m most proud in my career was finding Annie for you. That capped my entire time in the bureau.
“Since I met both of you I’ve done some serious thinking about my life. I’m thirty-one years old. I have no husband and no children. I quit the bureau on the spur of the moment after deciding I would take two years to see what my life would be like outside the Bureau. If I want to stay with law enforcement, I can get on with some local force near my home town. I have no black marks on my record so it shouldn’t be difficult.”
“What do your parents say about this career change of yours?”
“My parents want me to be happy, that’s all. My grandmother, to whom I’m closest, is the one who convinced me to change my life. I was with her last week. I told her about you and Annie.” Caitlin stopped speaking. I was waiting for her to continue. She didn’t so I gave her a prompt.
“And?”
“And that’s it. I’m taking a vacation.”
“And you just naturally showed up here.”
“Yes, I showed up here. Johnny, you have named me ‘Nice Lady,’ and I think I am. I feel you are a comparable ‘Nice Guy’ so why shouldn’t we get to know each other better?”
“I’d like that, but I’d want to go a lot slower than I agreed to with Sandy. We didn’t really fit together all that well. We both gave it our best shot and I don’t have any regrets and I know she doesn’t either. Best of all, Annie wasn’t hurt over it. I was able to fill in for Sandy when she left. As long as you’re on vacation, would you consider staying here and make this your headquarters? You might help out a little with the care of Annie during the day.”
“Johnny, do
you feel as if I’m putting pressure on you in any way by taking a vacation here?”
“No. I’d like to get to know you better than I do now. That will give us a chance to see what each other is like.”
“Okay then. I’m officially on vacation. Shall we watch NCIS–Los Angeles?”
———————
I was having my coffee at 5:30 when Annie staggered out rubbing sleep from her eyes. “G’morning Daddy. Do you have to work today?”
“Yes, but just this morning. Caitlin is still here. Will you stay with her?”
“I guess so. Will I be going to Grammy’s?”
“No, but I think Grammy will be coming to see you and Caitlin. I called her last night. I don’t have to leave yet. You can go back to bed or you can curl up on the couch. I think Tippy is in there already.”
“I’ll play with Tippy.”
Just then the other bedroom door opened and Caitlin ducked into the bathroom. A few minutes later she came out. She had on a long bathrobe and hadn’t combed her hair yet. She had got the sleepy out of her eyes though. “Did I hear Annie?”
I jerked my thumb toward the living room.
“Good morning, Annie, and good morning, Tippy.”
“Good morning, Caitlin. I’m glad you are still here. I thought you might have left. Nurse Brenda left the day Mommy came and then Mommy left, and I thought you would too.”
“No dear, I’m going to stay for awhile.”
“That’s good cause I like you. Are you going to get my breakfast?”
“I certainly am. Are you hungry now?”
“Not yet, but I will be. Will you make me oatmeal with lots of raisins and some siminmin?”
“I will do that and I will have the same. If you are playing with Tippy, I’ll have a coffee with that nice guy who is your daddy.”
“Okay.”
When I left I pointed out the phone list for Mary and Mom and the shop phone if Caitlin had to call me. I almost used my first wife’s name. Caitlin and Bernita were much the same size. Caitlin’s hair was blonde whereas Bernita’s was a reddish blonde the same as Annie’s. Caitlin’s shape was fine, better than Sandy’s, but then she hadn’t been where she couldn’t take care of it. Yes, I checked her out. A habit of mine, Todd’s, and even my father’s when a woman was present.
I was extremely busy all morning and didn’t give much thought of how Caitlin and Annie were getting along. Todd was coming up later to see my guest. Everyone else had met her and all were at the house when I got home. Mom, Dad, Mary and Annie’s two cousins had just finished a lunch and had a prepared plate for me.
Mom sat down beside me while I was eating. “There is a change of plan for tomorrow. I mentioned that Bernita always had the family in because you have more parking and more room for all of us. She said then we should have it here so that’s the plan. The pies are all finished, the four kinds you like and the rolls are rising. Kate will put them into the oven in a little bit.
“I sent Dad down to the house to get the turkey and Kate will put it into the oven here. Mary and I will cook the vegetables at home and bring them with us. All we have to do tomorrow is get the snackys and dip laid out.”
“You called her Kate?”
“Yes, she said that was her nickname. That’s easier for Annie to say. Kate said you had another name for her.”
“I did. She was a nice lady when I met her. I was pretty damned nervous, not knowing what I had got myself into with Sandy. I’ve always been comfortable around Caitlin whenever we were together.”
“I can see why. Within a few minutes of meeting her, I felt the same way.”
Todd got me aside after he had been here awhile. “Johnny, you finally found a woman who looks like one. Sandy was nice, but I never thought you got much. That was at first before she gained weight and after awhile I didn’t notice. This one is one to be noticed.”
“Todd, don’t make too much of this, Caitlin is a guest and making herself useful.”
As Todd walked away he said over his shoulder, “You always were a damned fool, Johnny. You had better smarten up.” I laughed at him.
Finally it was just Caitlin and Annie here. “What do you think of my family?
They kind of loaded you down with tomorrow’s dinner, didn’t they?”
“Johnny, I offered. Do you mind? This is the way Thanksgiving should be celebrated. It is the way we did the day when I lived at home. I will want to call my folks sometime tonight or tomorrow.”
“Call them now if you wish. I’ll give you some privacy.”
“No need for that. I’ll just explain that I’m going to have as good a day as I would have at home.” Caitlin talked for over an hour. Some of it was how she was feeling about leaving the job she had for nine years. She talked a lot about Annie and of course my name came into the conversation.”
When she hung up, she said, “I’m glad I called. Mom didn’t know where I was. She is pleased I’m having Thanksgiving dinner with a family somewhere. I’ll be going out to Iowa during the winter school vacation and see all my family.”
“Will you be here until then?”
“If you’ll have me, I could be.”
“Plan on it. I want to give Annie a great Christmas. She will be old enough to know what it is all about. Sandy will be here, but that won’t be a problem.”
“Johnny will you two be sleeping together?”
“No, we’ve talked about that and decided we wouldn’t go back.” Caitlin smiled when I said this.
The day dawned cold and partially cloudy. I did have a fireplace but seldom lit it. The three kids wanted it going so we built the fire. There was the smoke odor and they didn’t like the smell so we let it burn through the kindling and the three sticks and as soon as possible closed it up.
I watched Caitlin. I was just curious because I had missed much of the interaction with my family yesterday. She fit right in and could have been a sister to Mary or Todd. Ginny and Junior began calling her Aunt Kate and of course, Annie did too. Caitlin winked at me. The dinner was perfect. No need to say more.
Leftovers went home except for one plate for the three of us. It wasn’t the dinner that made me gain weight but the leftovers. We all headed for bed early. Too much food did that to a person.
“Caitlin, thank you for everything you did for my family. We like to keep close to each other and it is days like this that do it.”
“Johnny, you made my day. Honestly it was no effort at all. The same thing was taking place out in Iowa and this brought me home if only in my mind. Oh, I wish you would call me Kate when you speak to me. I should have told you this a long time ago. Your family is already calling me Kate.”
“If you want ‘Kate,’ Kate it will be.”
“Goodnight Johnny.”
Gordon came to the house Friday afternoon as I had asked. “How was your day, Johnny?”
“Couldn’t have been better. Kate cooked a lot of it and we had the dinner here. She fits right in.”
“I thought she might. Is she staying here for a while?”
“Yes, and she is taking care of Annie. I think she will be here until February when she goes home to visit her family. Now tell me what you can about what went on when you and Sandy got Abdul?”
“You know most of it. Sandy’s side of it. We dropped Sandy off at the end of your street here. There was your van with Abdul’s body in it. We didn’t really mind that he succumbed because we knew most of what he had been doing and some of the people he was doing it for. It was a little sticky when the Vermont State Police became involved. Too, the student didn’t report Abdul missing as soon as we thought she would.
“The Brattleboro detective who gained entrance to his motel room was right on the ball though and when he saw some of the papers, sketches and pictures, he immediately called in the FBI. At that time we owned the investigation and could control it.”
“The trooper told me there was another body found in the van. Where did that come from?”
<
br /> “We had it in the other vehicle. It was a female cadaver. It was another red herring to make Abdul’s people think he was here just screwing around. We dumped the van near the lower Searsburg dam. That was planned. Actually the only time when things didn’t go as planned was when Abdul went after Sandy and not the agent on the roof. She got marked up some as you well know. The information NSA is picking out of the atmosphere is that this project is dead as far as his people are concerned.”
“Was Abdul’s death planned?”
“Not really. We had a plan for either outcome with him being dead or alive. One plan was as good as the other.”
“Did it bother Sandy at all? I couldn’t see it.”
“No, I don’t think it did. She is the stuff assassins are made of. Don’t repeat this, but sometimes I think we need more of them. But then it is pretty bad right now with all of these suicide bombers. You can classify them as assassins, too … and they are killing hundreds of innocents every week, it seems, all over the world.”
“Hard to believe terrorist activity was going on right here in this town.”
“You never know. That’s the worst of it. Anything else I can tell you?”
“About Sandy, I get the feeling she might be a little kinky in the sex department. Is she?”
“Could be. Remember she was trained in certain things before she was wormed into the terrorist cell. She might have picked up some preferences during her undercover work she was trained to accept. I suppose she may have come to enjoy some of them.”
“It took much of the sweetness from her. I tried to help her recapture with love some of what she lost, but I wasn’t strong enough.”
“Don’t beat yourself over it. You gave her your love. At least it gave her something to compare the other side with. Over time it might be what returns her totally to the human race.”
Gordon hung around talking with us. Annie got bored and crawled into Kate’s lap and went to sleep. Gordon could not take his eye off the pair. “Kate, different way of life isn’t it?”
“It is. I’m thinking I’ll never go back to the other way either.”
———————
I had never looked at the money account that Sandy had left me. It was for well over one hundred thousand dollars. I didn’t have any immediate use for it, so I slid it into an annuity and forgot it. Kate and I discussed what to get Annie for presents for Christmas. We got a couple of the hot items of the year that were being advertised on the tube. Other than that we bought educational toys and books. Kate read to her, so books were a big thing for her.
I bought two pair of earrings … one pair of diamond ones for Kate and a pair of emerald stones for Sandy. How they would receive them I had no idea. I felt I knew both well enough, so jewelry was fine for presents. I had Mom and Mary out looking for sweaters and things like that for Kate. I bought Kate a pair of snow shoes so I could take her into woods I was familiar with that had several logging roads and perfect for beginners. Kate was an exercise enthusiast who used a gym and I wanted to show her other good forms of exercise.
I had Mary buy two sweaters for Sandy. She would have to be satisfied with those. Then I decided it wouldn’t be enough, so I put both new robes and pajamas under the tree for Kate and Sandy.
Sandy continued to call once a week, but seldom asked to speak to Annie. My conversations were usually of short duration. Then she would want to talk to Kate. A lot of it was about her work at the bureau, but sometimes it was personal girl talk.
Sandy planned to arrive here the day before Christmas Eve, but there was a snow storm that came up the eastern seaboard and she didn’t arrive until early the next morning. She had spent a chilly night, parked on the thruway waiting for traffic to clear.
Annie opened the door for her, and Sandy swept Annie into her arms, hugging her. “Hi Annie, I’ve missed my little girl.”
Annie bombed Sandy with, “I’m not your little girl anymore. I’m Kate’s little girl.” Sandy looked at Annie and began to tear up. Annie didn’t want Sandy to cry. “But I miss you. I’m glad you came to be with me for Christmas. Did you bring presents?”
“I did bring you a present. When we open presents, you can be the first to open yours.”
“Okay. Come see Tippy. See how big she is now.”
“Let me hug Kate and your daddy and then you can show me Tippy.” She went to Kate first and they laughed about the time Sandy had traveling. Then she turned to me. “Johnny, I’ve missed you more than I thought I would. Hug me tight. I’ve missed having your arms around me more than anything.” She looked into my eyes and read what I was thinking. “I know it is my fault, but I can still miss it. You just make a person love you so much. I guess it is a matter of trust.”
Now she had a chance to remove her winter coat. “Johnny the back seat of the car is full of things for all of you. I got things for Ginny and Junior too. I bought brandy for Dad and whisky for Todd. And I got robes for Mom and Mary.”
She looked around and Annie was holding Tippy. “Can I hold her?” She received a vigorous nod and the two went into the living room.”
“Just like she never left, isn’t it?”
“No, it’s different and I’m not sorry either. I’ll unload the car.”
“Okay, I’ll see if she is hungry.”
It didn’t take me long to realize Sandy was a different person. I asked her about it. “So tell me about what you do?”
“I work in an office. I’m part of a team of four and able to call for other agents to be assigned to the team as needed. We are given a project to look at and sometimes it becomes an operation. I’m the one in the team that others report to and I am the one who makes some low-level decisions or I can kick it up higher. To be honest I haven’t done much yet, but eventually it will get more exciting.
“I was out in the field for years, so in one way I know more about what can and can’t be accomplished. My superiors are well pleased with me so far. It will take awhile, but I’m glad I took the position when offered. Sometime I expect I will be out in the field investigating openly, but not as the spy I once was. It’s kinda like being on the other side of the coin.”
“I take it you don’t miss Vermont very much.”
“Sometimes I do. You and your family were wonderful to me. I wasn’t really happy. I think Annie knew because she felt it more than anyone else. It didn’t bother her that much because she had her daddy and as long she had you she was happy. I get the feeling she would have a difficult time letting Kate leave. Her feelings for Kate remind me of how she likes you. What are you going to do about Kate anyway? Have you made love to her yet?”
“No, I haven’t started any kind of relationship with her at all.”
“Why not?”
“Sandy, I can’t jump from one woman and immediately jump to another. I’m not built that way.”
“You’re a damned fool, Johnny. Kate is looking for love, not just sex. I think she has been in love with you even before she introduced you to me. If you had any balls, you’d ask her and then you’d know.”
“You mean just walk up and say, Kate, do you love me?”
“That’s a little abrupt, but you could ask her if she had feelings for you. Build on that for beginners.” Sandy bounced off the couch, saying, “Your problem, Johnny. I’m not going to propose for you. I’m going down to your folks and visit. I’ll be back sometime and play with Annie and the kitten. She remembers it was me that went with her to get it.”
Kate came in. “What were you discussing, if it isn’t a secret?”
“Some of it was her work. I think she is hoping for some active field work.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. Where did she go off to now?”
“Down to visit my parents.” I didn’t realize it but I must have been staring at her.
“What?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I was just thinking of something else Sandy said. It was something I should get brave enough to find out about.”
/> “And that would be?”
“Kate, I may be destroying something good or I may be making something better. I’m going to take a chance.”
“Well?”
I stood up. “Kate, may I kiss you?”
“What? What did you say?”
“I asked if you would let me kiss you. I want to, and I’ve thought about it and I want to start a relationship with you?”
“Are you serious and if you are, how serious? Oh hell, I don’t care if you are serious or not. I’ve been waiting a long time for your kisses.” Kate came into my arms and we had our first kiss. We lost our balance and the back of my knees hit the edge of the couch. Kate followed me right down on top of me. I bounced off it and landed on the floor. Kate never let up and kept on kissing me.
Annie came running in. What happened, Daddy? Kate, why are you kissing Daddy?”
“These are Christmas kisses. You come kiss him too. You know Santa comes tonight. Tomorrow morning you’ll have to look in your stocking to see if he really came.”
Annie jumped up, “Where are you going Annie?”
“I’m going to give Tippy Christmas kisses.” She was gone.
“I could stay right here forever with you.”
“You could get into trouble if you did.”
“I know. I like to get into trouble, but I guess we had better get up before Annie comes back.”
“Kate, I haven’t told you that I love you yet. I’m telling you now that I do. Kate, Bluth, I love you.”
“And I love you, Johnny Brooks.” We were sitting on the couch when Tippy and Annie came back for more Christmas kisses.
———————
Sandy didn’t come back until after Annie had gone to bed. She had spent last night in her car stuck on the highway so she didn’t stay up late. She had the guest room. She made a comment before going into the room Kate was using. “For almost five months this was my home and now I’m only a guest in the guest room. Tonight this makes me sad. Johnny, please kiss me just one more time. And Kate, you’ve been my friend for a long time. I’ll take a kiss from you, too.”
She paused and then apologized for me losing my bed. I was sleeping on the couch and Kate had my bed. “Johnny, you’re a damned fool. You both could be in the same bed. I’m almost disgusted with you for not stepping up to the plate. She whirled away and disappeared into her room. Kate and I held our laughter until the door closed.
Kate left and got ready for bed. I had told her I would be in to say goodnight. As soon as I was alone I went to the closet off the living room and opened the small fire safe. My grandmother had given me a ring with three small diamonds in it. When she handed it to me she said, “Johnny, the stones aren’t very big, but the value is in the hidden love. Someday you will find a woman to give this to who will see it the same way I saw it when your grandfather gave it to me. I’ve treasured it all the years I was with him.”
I waited until I figured Kate was in bed and I opened the door quietly. “Johnny, I was waiting for you to come say goodnight.”
“Can I lie down next to you for a minute and hold your hand?”
“You can hold anything you want to.”
“I just want to hold your left hand.”
“Johnny?”
“Kate, my grandmother passed on her wedding ring to me. She didn’t have an engagement ring so Gramp had one made. It is actually a wedding band with very small stones in it. She said the value was in the love hidden in it. Will you wear it and love me forever?”
“Yes, I will love you forever. Oh, it’s so fine. You couldn’t have given me one better.” We spent several hours lying there whispering our hopes and dreams and plans for the future. I finally went to the living room and took my place on the couch, finding myself lonely already.”
Annie came into the living room where her stocking was hung. She had gotten Kate up so she could see what Santa left in her stocking. It was stuffed full and she just loved Santa.
The family togetherness time for this holiday was always Christmas breakfast. This year it was here, the same as at Thanksgiving. I made muffins and Kate did sausages and bacon. There would be pancakes and eggs how you liked them when everyone got here. Sandy came out and started helping by setting the table.
Dad and Mom came and then Todd, Mary, and their two came last. We would open the presents that were piled around the tree after the kitchen had been put right. Kate and I were the last to sit down. Dad, who was sitting on Kate’s left, leaned over and whispered in Kate’s ear. When he finished Kate took Dad’s face in her hands and brushed her lips across his.
My mother exploded, “Henry, what on earth is going on?”
“Well dear, I just welcomed Kate into the Brooks family. I think I was justified because I see she is wearing my mother’s ring this morning. Johnny must have got around to growing some testicles.”
Kate’s face was flaming and she raised her hand and flashed the ring. Annie said, “Oh boy, more Christmas kisses. Kate and Daddy were on the floor last night kissing and they said they were Christmas kisses.” She started around the table kissing each person, wanting her share this Christmas. She got kisses from everyone except Junior. He wasn’t kissing no girl, yuck!
I looked at Sandy and she gave me thumbs up and I gave her one back.”
I gave Mary all the credit for doing my Christmas shopping. The emerald and diamond earrings for Sandy and for Kate were the last presents given out. Sandy cried when she opened her emerald ones, knowing now for sure I didn’t hold anything against her for leaving me and Annie to go on with her work and life in Washington.
Kate said “Thank you.” The diamond earrings were important, but not as much as the ring on her finger. Soon everyone had left except Sandy. She and Kate went about getting our own Christmas dinner while I played with Annie and her new toys. Sandy had given her a child’s tablet and Annie was learning the alphabet from the app that came on it.
Epilogue
The perfect Christmas was behind Kate and me. Kate had said she wanted to go to Iowa to visit her family in February. Annie and I went with her and met her parents, the Johnsons. They were farm people and grew corn. This was a slow time of year. I wanted Dad and Mom to meet Kate’s parents so I arranged for them to join us in Iowa two days later. Kate and I were there six days and my parents were there for four. We all came back to Vermont on the same plane.
Kate was still officially my housekeeper, but was certainly more to me and Annie until our church wedding over the Memorial Day holiday. We were now a complete family. What a year this had been for me, Kate, and especially for Annie.
The End
About the Author
Norman Hewes was born in the early 1930s. His parents lost everything in the Great Depression. He was nine years old before he lived in a house with interior plumbing, running water or electric lights. The house did have a lot of love in it and this is reflected in the stories he writes. During mud season he often rode to school in the back of a cattle truck. The one thing the town had was a good library. He found much enjoyment and soon read beyond his grade level. All through his youth he worked at various jobs, mowing lawns, shoveling snow and peddling papers. When old enough he worked on a dairy farm. Graduating in 1952, he worked as a bus driver for a few months. The draft soon caught up with him and he was sent to Korea. Returning home he worked as a mechanic, and then as a factory worker. In the meantime he was married and lived together with his wife on a small farm for fifty-four years of happiness. Always, any spare minute, he read fiction and when he retired in 1996, he taught himself to type. His wife helped to make his stories readable, she being in printing as a proofreader. He has continued to write, using volunteers he finds on the Internet to edit and proofread. He is now striving to post 100 stories in different mediums. Many are short stories with a few novels interspersed. He still lives within twenty miles of his birthplace just as he has all his life here in beautiful Vermont.
Norm most often used “hap
pyhugo” as the author to write his stories under and uses this for his blogspot. The Happy denotes the type of stories he writes, having a happy ending for most of his characters and trying to follow the Golden Rule of: “Do Unto Others as you would have Them Do to You.”
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