Convictions: Kelly and Stephen (10 page)

Kelly’s phone rang insistently, rudely waking her from a deep replenishing sleep.  She had not felt him stir but when she reached for Stephen
she found he was already gone.  The phone call rolled over to her voice mail when she could not locate the answer button in time and when she finally focused in on the display she recognized number as her parent’s home phone.  This brought her instantly to a sitting position. 

Kelly couldn’t remember the last time her parents had called her.  They were pretty stingy when it came to spending money, preferring letters to phone calls since her move to Alaska.  The alarm bells began to ring in her head.  She dressed in the first thing she could find, slipped her feet into slippers, and went to the kitchen in search of coffee to jump start her muddled brain.  With a cup poured she sat at the counter and hit the call back button. 

Her mother answered on the first ring.  “Mom, what’s wrong?”

“Oh Kelly, I didn’t want to bother you way up there but it’s your dad.  He’s had a stroke.  They have him at Northwestern Hospital, in the Stroke Center.”  Her voice began to quiver “Kelly, I don’t know what to do.”

Kelly’s parents were a typical old-fashioned couple.  Married for forty-five years, her father had always been the boss, no questions.  He maintained the finances and was the sole breadwinner.  Kelly doubted her mother knew how to write out a check or even how much their monthly expenses were.  Her father gave her a weekly allowance in cash for groceries and whatever other household items she might need, which was probably the reason that Kelly was so insistent about having her own source of income. 

Kelly’s mother had always been a stay-at-home mom, taking care of laundry and kids, all three of them.  Kelly was the middle child with one older sister, Tanya, who lived in Northern Italy with her Air Force Major husband, and a younger brother, Peter.  Peter lived within an hour of their parents but he couldn’t take care of himself much less be of any help to their mother when she really needed it.  Kelly always knew the day would come when her parents would need help.  She also knew that when that day came she would be the only child willing and able to do so.

“Ok mom, calm down, I’m coming.  I have to call and see how soon I can get a flight out to Anchorage.  But it probably won’t be until tomorrow.  I will call you back as soon as I know.  In the meantime go be with daddy and if he can hear you please tell him I love him.  I’ll be there as soon as I can.”  She gave her mom a few words of encouragement and then hung up.

She dialed the number she knew by heart “Hello, Spirit Air, how can I help.”

“Hi Janine, it’s Kelly Sherman, I need a flight to Anchorage ASAP, and then onto Seattle.  It’s a family emergency.”

“Oh, Kelly, I’m so sorry, let me check.  To Anchorage we are booked today but tomorrow, Sunday, there is one opening on the early flight, seven am.  Want me to pencil you into the seat?”

“Pen please!  Thanks so much.”

“It’s a done deal.  After we hang up I will set you up with a flight from Anchorage to Seattle.  I will have that flight’s confirmation number for you when you get here in the morning.”

“Janine, you are a life saver.  Thanks again and I will see you bright and early tomorrow.”  Kelly hung up.  She called her mother back and told her she would be on the first flight out in the morning and that she would call her tomorrow with the information for the flight from Anchorage into Seattle as soon as she had it.

There was nothing more she could do for now but pack a few things.  It was at that point that she remembered that all of her good clothes, and travel clothes, plus her suitcases were packed in the shed behind her house in Hanlon.  Stephen was gone until dinner.  It was only seven thirty in the morning so she might as well go now.  Fifteen minutes later she was dressed and in the Jeep, making her way back to Hanlon.  Before she left she penned a quick note to Stephen just in case he came home while she was gone. 

When she got to her house Mr. Locke did not seem to be around.  Neither were the Kramer’s.  She was thankful for both because she wasn’t in the mood for idle conversation today.  She pulled out a travel outfit, a suit with trousers, and three blouses that would go with the suit, and travel bag to put everything in.  At the last second she remembered to grab a pair of black pumps and handbag.  Within twenty minutes she was back in the Jeep.

Before she left town she made a quick stop to check her PO Box, mostly junk, which she deposited into the trash can in the lobby.  As she climbed back into her Jeep she noticed several police cruisers and an ambulance parked outside The Snow Shoe Inn.  Chief Deputy Kyle Dawson was standing next to his cruiser, making notes into a small notebook.   Kelly slowed as she passed him, and rolling down her window as she came to a stop said “Hi Kyle.” 

Kyle turned and gave her a smile.  “Well, if it isn’t our resident sleuth, how have you been Ms. Sherman, I haven’t seen you around in a while.”

“I’ve been keeping a low profile lately.  So what’s going on?”

Kyle’s face took on more of an official look and he lowered his voice as he approached her car window “seems one of the Jensen girls decided life wasn’t worth living anymore.  She hung herself out back in the storage barn.”

“Oh my God, that’s awful, which one”

“One of the older ones, Jackie; she was the small blond who graduated from high school last year.”

Kelly’s heart skipped a beat.  She had just seen her not to long ago, when she had gone to the Inn in search of Mr. Locke.  “Oh no, I just saw her last week.  How terrible for the Jensen’s.  Suicide, you said?”

“Well, for now that’s the way it looks.  Of course there will be an autopsy and a drug screening.  We’ll know more when those are done.”

“Ok, well thanks Kyle.”  Another deputy came out of the building, looking in the direction of Dawson.  “You’d better go; I don’t want to hold you up any longer.”

Kelly put the Jeep in drive and headed out of town.  She couldn’t help but think about the Jensen family.  They had the Inn but it didn’t do much business.  Otherwise they had nothing.  Now they had to bury a daughter, so young, so sad.  What horrible situation had this girl gotten herself into that she found suicide the only way out.  Only Jackie would know the answer to that question.

As she neared the cabin, her mind went back to the subject of her trip, and her father.  She made a mental check list of things she would bring, including her laptop in case she got inspiration to write but that seemed highly unlikely.  At least not until she knew her father was out of the woods.

Kelly pulled into their driveway and opened the back hatch to remover her clothing.  An older model slightly rusted Chevy Impala pulled in next to her.  She recognized Stephen’s uncle, Marv smiling out the driver’s side window at her.

“Hi Kelly, how are you?”

“I’m ok Marv, and you?”

“So, so, I’ve been having issues with my knees lately.  Just on my way back from the doctors now but there’s not much they can, or will do for me.  Anyway, sure wish we could have coffee sometime.  I enjoyed our visit last time; at least until my nephew interrupted us.”

“Marv, I don’t know what happened between you two but Stephen made it clear to me that he does not want you here and I have to respect his wishes.”

“
A
nd you would be smart to listen to him if you insist on staying here.  There are things I could tell you that he probably doesn’t want you to know.  That’s why he doesn’t want me here.  But I wouldn’t want him taking it out on you. Maybe you could come up to my place sometime for a visit; I make a mean pot of coffee myself.”

“I’m not sure Marv.” 

“No, I wouldn’t even be here now except that I think you are a fine young woman and I’d take personal responsibility if anything were to happen to you.  I may be a harmless old man but Stephen’s got it in his head that I’m a terrible person and nothing will change that. He’s stubborn that way.  There was a time long ago that a sweet young girl got caught between Stephen and me.  It didn’t turn out too well for her.  Stephen doesn’t like competition where women are concerned.”  He paused for a moment, then seeing the question on her face continued “oh, I know I don’t look like much competition now, it’s hard to believe but fifteen, twenty years ago I was quite good looking.  In fact people use to mistake Stephen and me for brothers.  Before my hair was gray it was the same color as his.  And before my bones got old I stood tall and proud.  I don’t mind saying that I was a looker back then.  Stephen and I both take after my mother.  Stephen’s father took after our father, pity for him.  Anyway, things don’t always turn out like they’re supposed to in life, now do they?”

Kelly’s curiosity peaked a bit at his words.  In another time she might have tried to explore further his rant, but with her father in ICU and getting packed for her trip, she let it go.  When Kelly pulled her suit bag out of the back Marv asked “are you going on a trip dear?”

Kelly answered “yes, quick trip to Seattle.  My father is in the hospital and my mother needs my help.”

“Oh no, you poor thing, and here with me rambling on and on about my own problems.  I hope everything turns out good for you and you’re back here soon.  I’ll leave now so you can get back to packing.  Have a safe trip!”  He put the car in reversed but before taking his foot off of the brake he turned to her again and said “You know, you might want to consider not telling Stephen that I stopped by today.  After the last time, well, I just don’t want him getting mad at you.  Just save yourself the trouble, ok?”  With that he backed out and disappeared down the road.

***

By the time Stephen got home that evening Kelly was three glasses into a new bottle of wine, exhausted, and near tears.  She recapped her mother’s call and the flurry of activity that it had led to.  “Stephen, I don’t want to leave but I have to go, I am really all they have.”  She filled him in briefly on the status of her siblings and the fact that her parents had no other family left in Seattle. 

He wrapped her in his arms and offered to go with her.  Despite a heavy work load she knew he would if she wanted him to.  She thanked him for his support before letting him off the hook. 

Stephen said “I’m not going to pretend that I’ll be OK without you here because I won’t.  But having lost my own dad so many years back I understand that you need to be there.”

“Thank you” she said.  “I don’t want to leave you either.  Really I don’t.  But I’ll be back as soon as I can.  Please know that.”

“I do.”

“Besides, I’m counting on you to keep an eye on Max.”  Stephen released Kelly, took a step back and looked down at Max, who was lying on the tiled kitchen floor.  As soon as their eyes locked Max voiced a low growl of objection.

Stephen laughed “yeah, well, we’re going to get along just fine while you’re gone.”

“Maybe after you feed him a few times he’ll warm up to you?”

“He might, if he doesn’t eat my hand first.”

“He won’t, I promise.  Hey, speaking of upsetting things, when I was in town today there was something going on at the Snow Shoe Inn.  I ran into Chief Dawson who told me that one of the Jensen girls, Jackie I think it was, had committed suicide.   She hung herself in the storage barn out back.  Isn’t that horrible?  I think she was only eighteen.”

Steven turned to look out the window but before he did Kelly detected a look she hadn’t seen before on his face, fear maybe, or something else.  She wasn’t sure but when he turned back around his expression was blank when he said “How terrible.  Losing a child can never be easy; and one so young.”

Kelly asked “did you know her, Jackie?”

“No, not personally; one of the older boys, Collin, helps me every now and again, when I need an extra pair of hands.  I know all of the kids by faces, from picking up him up or dropping him off.  Their mom is pretty thankful for the extra money so she usually comes out to thank me in person with most of the kids hanging around her but I could never put names to their faces, there are too many.  I will have to stop by this week and give them my condolences.”

“I’m sure that they would appreciate the gesture if you did.  And speaking of stopping by, just for purposes of full disclosure I want to let you know that your Uncle Marv stopped by today.  Don’t worry; I didn’t let him in the house.  He saw me in the driveway and just pulled in to say hello on his way back from town.”

Stephen’s beautiful gray eyes instantly turned black as his face went dark with anger, maybe mixed with a little fear. 

When she saw his reaction she continued “I’m sorry Stephen, but he seems like just a harmless old man to me; he didn’t even get out of the car.   I respect your wishes though.” 

As she turned to head out of the kitchen “someday maybe you’d like to share the whole story with me.  You can talk to me anytime about anything and maybe it would help you to make peace with him if you talk about it.” 

She dismissed the subject and started for the hall but was stopped in her tracks by the menacing tone in his voice.  “I asked you; NO, I told you point blank that he was not to be here.  He is NOT a harmless old man; he is a very dangerous old man.  When I said I didn’t want him in the house apparently I should have been clearer.  That order includes my driveway, my land, and most importantly of all, I don’t want him anywhere near you.  Do we understand each other clearly this time?”