Chez Stinky (34 page)

“I’ll be fine. Where are you going?”

“Just a quick flight south. It’s a family thing.”

The expression on his face indicated he was probably lying. Even if he wasn’t, he certainly wasn’t offering any details about the trip, which was irritating. She shrugged. “You don’t have to ask my permission. You can leave any time you like.”

A flash of anger or disappointment flashed in his eyes. Kat wasn’t sure what that look meant, but it wasn’t good. After a long pause, he said, “Fine. I should probably pack. I have to leave here early in the morning to get to the airport.” He stood up, navigated around her without touching her, and walked out of the room.

Kat turned and stared at the empty space where he had walked by. That was strange. What had just happened? She went up the stairs into the bedroom and stood in the doorway. “What’s going on?”

Joel looked up from the suitcase he’d pulled out of the closet. “Nothing. I just have to go on this trip. That’s all.”

Kat walked over to him and looked up into his eyes. “Are you sure? You’re being weird.”

He smiled and reached out to take her in his arms. “I am sure. And no I’m not.”

“If you say so. But can you tell me something? Are you looking for another job?”

“No, I’m not. I’ll call you when I get there.”

“I’m going to miss you again, you know.”

“I know.” His expression relaxed and he gently eased her down to the bed with him. “Maybe we should make up for the time we’ll be apart in advance.”

“Way to plan ahead.”

After getting very little sleep, Joel left at three the next morning to drive to the airport. Kat wished him a safe trip and went back to sleep, trying not to think about how large and lonely the bed felt without him in it. Or about all the deer out on the darkened roads that might leap out in front of his truck.

Later Kat rolled out of bed, made some toast, and then wandered downstairs in her nightshirt to feed the dogs. She was determined not to spend the entire day moping and worrying about Joel again. Been there; done that. Of course, the next obvious possibility was that he was meeting Allison somewhere. What if they were getting back together? Kat shook her head.
No. Don’t go there again.

The dogs all gathered around expectantly. “Hi, guys. Yes, it’s that magic moment you’ve all been waiting for.”

She went through the routine of dispensing and delivering the food, causing much canine joy and reveling. Life was so simple for a dog. Eat. Walk. Dump. Nap. Eat. Dump. Sleep. And then do it all over again the next day. There was beauty in simplicity.

Walking into the bedroom that she now considered Joel’s office, Kat pondered the idea of looking for Abigail’s divorce papers again. When she had been cleaning out stuff, she hadn’t seen anything that looked like important papers. But then again, she hadn’t been looking for that type of thing. She had just been trying to make the rooms fit for human habitation.

She opened up the closet, sat cross-legged on the floor, and pulled out the closest cardboard box. Murphee walked into the room and sat next to her to supervise as she riffled through the contents of the box. Deciding that it was time for some managerial input, the cat put her paws up on the side of the box and daintily hopped inside.

“Thanks Murph. You’re not helping.”

Murphee meowed proudly, obviously pleased with her accomplishment.

Kat lifted the cat out of the box and folded the flaps back up. “This isn’t getting me anywhere.”

She went back upstairs, took a shower, and got dressed. After taking the dogs for a walk, she decided to go to the reference section of the library to look through the
Writer’s Market
and take notes on possible magazines that might want articles she could write. Maybe Joel would let her use his new computer to write some query letters, since she couldn’t afford to get her own computer right now. It wouldn’t hurt to ask.

When she returned home, her answering machine light was flashing madly. The first message was from Joel. She smiled as his voice came from the machine. “Hi. I’m just letting you know I’m here. I’ll call you later.” Good thing he was going to call back, because he didn’t leave a number. How annoying.

After the beep, Louise’s voice said, “Hello, Kat? This is Louise Johnson. I’d like to talk to you again if you have an opportunity.”

Kat raised her eyebrows. Maybe Louise had good news. She picked up the phone and called Louise’s number. “I got your message. When would you like to meet?”

“As soon as you can. I need to talk to you. Could you come to my house? It’s in town, not too far from the diner.”

Kat got directions and promised to be there after she walked the dogs.

Later, she parked her Toyota in front of the house at the address Louise had given her. The compact bungalow sported a meticulously manicured garden with an arbor covered with pink climbing roses. She got out of the car and knocked on the door.

“Kat, I’m so glad you’re here. I’ve been thinking about our conversation, and I think there are things you need to know. I’m not sure any of it matters now, but I feel I must share something with you.” She wrung her handkerchief nervously in her hands. “Please sit down. Would you like something to drink?”

As she sat on the sofa, Kat looked at Louise more closely. Her eyes were red, and it looked like she had been crying. “No, I’m fine, thank you.”

Louise cleared her throat. “Well, I’m sure you know that your grandmother’s name was Florence.”

“Yes, she’s Abigail’s sister.”

“And your grandfather was a banker. They had a lovely little house where they raised your mother.”

“Yes. I’ve heard all about that. I think my mother wishes it were still 1958.”

“Abigail was...let’s just say, she was a bit more of a free spirit than Florence. She didn’t get along with the family very well. She ran away from home when she was quite young.”

Kat raised her eyebrows. “I had no idea. I thought she lived here.”

“No, she came here later. That’s when I met her. I’m getting to that. I don’t know how much you know about the early fifties, but Greenwich Village in New York was rather a hip place to be. It was the beatnik era. Abigail got involved with some of those people and traveled around the country in an old school bus. They ended up in New York. I don’t really know all the details. Abigail didn’t talk much about it, but I think it was a crazy time. In any case, she got pregnant.”

“What? So she did have children!”

“Well, yes. But there’s more.” Louise twisted her handkerchief more vigorously. “She was scared and young and called her parents. They flew her back home and she was in confinement until she had the child. Her parents insisted that she put the little girl up for adoption.”

Kat stared at her. “I had no idea. Do you know who adopted the baby?”

Louise smiled. “Well, yes I do. I adopted Abigail’s baby. She was my daughter Kelly.”

“I didn’t know you had a daughter.”

A tear slid down Louise’s cheek. “I don’t anymore. I’m getting to that.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Please let me finish. This is a bit difficult for me. Anyway, Abigail was not happy about giving up Kelly. It was a private adoption that her parents arranged with my husband. Somehow Abigail found out that the baby was adopted by someone in Alpine Grove. So she ran away again and came here.”

“Wow.”

“As you might imagine, Alpine Grove in the early fifties was even smaller than it is now. It was quite easy to find out who had a new baby girl that was exactly the same age as Abigail’s child.”

“So is that how you met?”

“She got a job in the old cafe in town. I met her there. We became friends. Kelly got to know her, but it wasn’t until much later that Abigail actually told me who she was. Kelly loved going to her house. Abigail was so young when Kelly was born. And they were so alike.”

“Kelly is the little girl in the photos I found?”

“Yes, that’s her.”

“So what happened?”

Louise sniffed “Kelly was more like her mother than I thought. She was a rebellious teenager and it was the sixties. We started to fight. Horrible arguments. You’ve probably heard about the Summer of Love and all that. It was a difficult time.”

“I’ve read about it. I was born in 1967.”

“Yes. I know. I’m getting to that.”

“What?”

“At that time, many people were hitchhiking around the country. Many strangers came through Alpine Grove. Truck drivers, hippies. All sorts. There were many parties and I believe a lot of drugs.”

“What happened to Kelly?”

“She got pregnant when she was 17.”

“You mean history repeated itself?”

Louise sighed. “Very much so. Needless to say her father and I were furious. Since she was adopted herself, she knew all about the options. We insisted that she give up the baby, but she refused.”

“What happened to her? Who was the child?”

Louise began to cry. “Kelly died having her baby. The baby was you.”

Kat’s eyes widened. “Me?”

Dabbing at her eyes, Louise continued. “Yes. You. We were devastated about Kelly. And then a week later, my husband Harold, rest his soul, had a massive heart attack. I was a wreck. I couldn’t handle taking care of a new baby while my husband was an invalid. So I arranged to have you adopted. At the time, I couldn’t deal with an agency and all the paperwork. Abigail suggested her niece Mary.”

“My mother?”

“Yes. I’ve regretted my decision ever since. I didn’t try hard enough. But I hope you’ve had a good life. Your mother used to let you come up here to visit. But then she and I got into a major argument. Words were said. She never let you come back to see Abigail.”

Kat rested her chin in her hand. “So Abigail was actually my grandmother. Not my aunt.”

“Yes. And you are so much like her. And Kelly. You remind me of them, and it makes me miss them both even more.” Louise started weeping.

Kat sat in silence for a moment trying to digest this information. Like most kids, she had wondered occasionally if she was adopted. But there was a family resemblance, so she never really put much stock in it. “Thank you for telling me. It actually explains a lot.”

“I’m sorry I was horrible to you. Because I felt guilty for giving you up, I’ve never gotten along with your mother. And then I took that out on you.”

“Well, my mother is not the easiest person to get along with.”

“Just please don’t run away. I know your mother loves you.”

“I think it’s a little late for me to run away from home.”

Louise smiled. “Yes, I guess that’s true. I forget how old you are now. You remind me so much of Kelly. Time goes by so quickly.”

Kat didn’t know what else to say and Louise looked exhausted. Kat stood up. “I should probably go. I appreciate you explaining what happened. I don’t know that it will affect the inheritance, but I suppose it could.”

Louise stood and walked Kat to the door. She awkwardly clutched Kat and hugged her. “I’m so glad I talked to you. Abigail would roll over in her grave if that horrible Lumberjack ends up with her place. She loved her trees and land so much. And I know she loved you, too. I will do whatever I can to help you stay in Abigail’s house.”

Chapter 13

K
at’s mind was a jumble of new information and she barely remembered the drive back to Chez Stinky. She walked in and her answering message light was frantically blinking again. After pressing the button, Joel’s voice came on the line. “Hi, Kat. I’m just trying to reach you again. I hope everything is okay. I’ll be busy most of tomorrow and then I have a late flight out of here. I should be back there around 11 p.m. I miss you.”

Kat gave the machine a dirty look. It was annoying that she’d hadn’t been here to take the call. And that Joel didn’t leave a number…again. She was bursting with information she needed to share. Just hearing his voice would make her feel better.

After the meeting with Louise, Kat was mentally and emotionally exhausted. She flopped down into a chair at the kitchen table and her stomach growled. When had she last eaten? She got up and stared into the refrigerator for inspiration.

She looked up from her quest for food as a car rumbled down the driveway. Maria’s little Miata was slowly navigating the potholes. She walked outside to greet her friend.