One Thousand Years to Forever (3 page)

A scream rent the air. He was
jolted back to the present. His sister continued to beat the coffin
and scream.

“
This can’t be happening to me...
you... us... come back to me, John! Come back!” She cried till she
thought she would just float away on the tears. Maybe that would
happen and she could go to be with him. She knew she wasn’t
thinking clearly but she didn’t care any longer. She just wanted
John. She didn’t try to hide how she felt as the bagpipes kept
playing.

She lay there on the coffin and
then she felt another emotion. It wasn’t just sadness it was fury.
She wanted to find who was responsible, those who had killed her
husband and all the others... thousands. So many others were
mourning their loved ones. Not just her. She looked up and saw a
cameraman standing discreetly in the distance. She got up and
started to walk.

William, their Dad, and Katherine’s
father-in-law all saw Katherine and saw the look in her eyes and
they knew someone was going to suffer if they didn’t
intercede.

“
No, Kat... wait,” they said in
unison as they started to run after her.

Katherine walked with a purpose
towards the small group of news people who now had a shocked look
on their faces wondering what was going to happen. An angry woman
was barreling towards them, with a group of men running after her,
calling her name.

Katherine saw the man with the
camera back up as she approached at a fast clip.

“
I want to make a statement,” she
said, while her family members stood behind her.

“
Katherine, you aren’t thinking
clearly, come home... ”

Katherine ignored them. “What do I
have to do to make a statement so it will be aired?”

The cameraman and a woman from the
nightly news looked at each other then back at
Katherine.

“
What would you like to say Mrs.
MacNamara?”

Katherine watched as the cameraman
got her into focus. Then counted down three, two, one and pointed
at her.

“
My name is Katherine MacNamara. I
am a widow, became a widow on September 11
^th
. My
husband, John MacNamara, is not coming home anymore. He left
children without a father, a wife without her husband.”

Waving his helmet that she had
brought with her, “This is all I have left of him from his last day
on earth. He died to save lives. I don’t know why this horrific act
was done but I do know he and those who were attacked in the two
towers, the victims on the planes, the field in Pennsylvania and
the Pentagon, they died heroes. My husband was a hero. I ask that
whoever was responsible to come see me. Come. I want to ask you if
you feel good about what you did. Then I want to put a gun to your
fucking head... ”

“
Katherine!” Her father pulled her
away. “No Katherine! You can’t be saying that.”

Katherine pulled away from her
beloved father. “I can’t say that?” She screamed “But they can take
over planes, kill all of those innocent people on the planes and
buildings? But I can’t say what I want?” She turned to the camera.
“I have a right to say what I want... after all, I just lost my
best friend, the father of my children. I’m an American, and I was
attacked. I want to have the chance to confront and kill, if at all
possible, whomever was in on this cowardly act. I invite you, one
on one... I may be a woman but you just pissed off the wrong woman.
You have taken from me what was mine... My husband, my friend, my
lover... ”

She screamed and cried as her
family led her away to the waiting limo.

That night on the nightly news the
funeral of John MacNamara was aired. Also aired was Katherine’s
tirade against those who were responsible. Some said it never
should have been aired. Others said it needed to be said. Calls
from servicemen said they would do what they could for her. Emails
arrived to the news station, supporting her. It was like a call to
arms or Remember the Alamo...

There were others who viewed the
newscast. They sat in a smoke filled room in a Middle Eastern
Country. They talked amongst themselves. One in particular, his
voice rose above the others.

“
The infidel whore will regret
saying what she said. Who is she to say such things? She will meet
us when she forgets her pretty speech; when she is all alone. Then
I, or one of us, will go and dispatch her to wherever her husband
is. She will no longer mourn her mighty and brave husband. She will
be with him.”

All sat talking and smoking. Some
broke off into small groups. Most agreed that they were far too
busy to worry about that woman. One sat there playing the news over
and over again. An evil smile spread on his face. “Yes, someday we
will meet and then you will regret the pretty words you said,” he
whispered to himself.

Katherine MacNamara pulled her SUV
up to the gate of her Grannie’s old summer home.

“
Mom, do you want me to open the
gate?”

Katherine looked in the rear view
mirror at her son John. “Yes, if you want to... since I don’t want
to walk all of our luggage through this down pour any more then I
have to.”

Katherine watched as her little
John ran to the gate, opened it wide and ran on ahead. He would be
soaked. She’d have to get him into dry clothes right away, that was
for sure.

Of all days to move, it had to pour
like this. Well, it was fitting for how she felt. Nine years ago
her world, everyone’s world, had been turned upside down when 9/11
happened. Every year on that day, it poured like the heavens were
mourning with her. She was still mourning the loss of her husband,
the loss of the man who had been part of her life from her earliest
years.

With each year it became a little
easier, but on the anniversary she felt her insides being ripped
out again. The wound was very fresh on that day and for some time
before and after.

When her Grannie passed away a few
months ago, everyone in the family said that Katherine should move.
Take herself and the kids and get out of the city. After all, she
could write anywhere. They all said she needed to start over and
maybe she would find someone...

But of late she had been too tired
to really care. She always felt wasted, like she had no energy.
Maybe her anemia was bothering her more. She would get back on her
vitamins and iron and start running again, that always made her
feel better.

She parked the car and her other
two children got out along with her. She saw Sally and Pat run for
the door. She could see John saying “No, wait for Mom.” He knew
what was best. He had grown up over night. It’s like he had never
had a childhood. He had been six on that day, Sally had just turned
seven and Pat had just turned two. Now she had two teens and a
tween standing watching her, waiting for her, waiting to start a
new life. She ran up to her children and they opened the door
together and with that started their new life.

* * * * * * *

Katherine sat and sipped her
morning tea. She waited for the kids to come down and then she
would start the morning rush to get them all to school.
Fortunately, she had two in middle school and then Sally drove
herself with the car the family had bought for her.

Katherine took a sip of her tea and
looked out the window that faced the harbor. Leaden skies met her
eyes. It was the second week in November. Pretty soon the holidays
would be upon them. She was hosting the whole of the MacNamara and
O’Brien clans. Where in the world was she going to fit everyone in
this tiny house? She knew all the young cousins would camp out.
That freed up three bedrooms. She could sleep on the
couch...

She grabbed a pad of paper that she
kept on the counter and started making a list.

“
Morning, Mom!”

“
Morning, John.” She didn’t look
up from writing her list.

She wrote things she would need to
do to get the house ready for a crowd and made a small side list.
John had always joked about her lists. She smiled at that
thought.

She felt arms go around her and
felt her little Sally give her a hug. Though all of a sudden, she
wasn’t little any more but was blossoming into a young beauty. She
turned and smiled at her daughter.
“God, I am so in trouble...
”
She gave her an extra hug and wrote something down on her
list. Mentally banging her head.

“
Mom. Can we go to the mall this
weekend? I want to get some new jeans.”

“
How about Freeport.” Katherine
said without looking up.

Sally looked at her mom and saw
dark circles under her eyes. “Maybe Olivia’s Mom could take us. I
still don’t like driving that far with winter coming.” She turned
to grab a mug of coffee. “She said her mom may be going... You can
stay home and rest.”

Katherine looked up and saw Sally
studying her. “Why? I’m fine. Can’t we all go?”

Sally climbed up and sat down on a
stool at the bar next to her Mom. “Yea, if you aren’t too tired...
” She glanced at her mother from under her lashes. She wasn’t
stupid. Her mom wasn’t feeling great and had been pushing herself
to get her book done.

“
Well, Sally?”

Sally jumped down and went to the
fridge. “I’m fine with whatever makes you happy, Mom. I’ll see
about Olivia and maybe her Mom will come with us.”

Katherine put the pen down, and got
up to go over to the stove.

“
Good. You do that.” She bent and
kissed her daughter’s head. “Do you want me to top off your coffee?
It’s a bit raw this morning.”

Sally hugged her Mom. She loved her
so much and hated seeing her so tired. “Yea, here is my mug. Can
you make me some oatmeal too? I have a full morning.”

Katherine grabbed a pan from the
hooks. “Go get dressed and I will have it ready in a few
minutes.”

“
Morning, Mom.”

Katherine turned to the sound of
her other son’s voice. “Morning, Pat. Thought I was going to have
to wake you. You have to stop staying up so late to play games, no
more school nights.”

“
Yea, yea... ” He came up and gave
her a hug. “Cousin Kevin was on and we talked more then
played.”

“
Well your Aunt Issy isn’t going
to be happy with him for staying up so late either. No more school
nights. Besides you two can talk when the family comes up for
Thanksgiving.”

Pat turned off the teakettle. “I
know, we talked about that. They’re bringing his mountain bike up.
We plan on going up to the Snow Bowl to ride the
trails.”

“
Yea if there isn’t snow, then you
may be skiing.”

“
I’d rather snowboard.”

Katherine looked at her son who, at
this rate, would be taller than his older brother. John was like
her, medium height and Pat was going to be a big boy at the rate he
was growing.

“
Do you want something to eat? I’m
making oatmeal.”

“
Yea, if we have
bananas.”

“
Gross,” piped up Sally who came
back into the room.

“
Oh, shut up.”

“
You two stop it right now.”
Katherine said. She saw them smiling after making faces at one
another.

* * * * * * *

Colum sat at his desk and finished
the letter he had been putting off. A knock could be heard softly
at his office door.

“
Come in.”

Travis opened up the door and stuck
his head in. “Sir, she has just left her home for the usual morning
run.”

Colum looked at the clock. Ten
o’clock. “Fine, thank you, Travis.” Seeing the butler stay by the
door. “That will be all.”

Travis bowed. “Yes, Sir.” He left
quietly.

Colum stood and walked towards the
door. He was going to go running and hoped he didn’t scare her half
to death.

* * * * * * *

On her run, Katherine came out of
Bay View Street and headed back towards Rockport Village. She was
just running by the first pasture of the belted Galloways when she
saw up in the distance a man jogging. From what she could tell he
looked big. Not just tall but like something out of the Viking
days. The closer she got she started to realize she had seen this
man before. They ran past each other. She smiling slightly and
trying in vain to remember and then she stopped. She turned and saw
he kept on running. Now she knew...

* * * * * * *

Colum kept running but knew she had
stopped. Knew she was standing there at this very moment standing,
staring at him, trying to figure out where she had seen him before.
He felt her eyes on him like a caress. Then he heard her footsteps
behind him.

“
Wait up. I know you from
somewhere and I think I know where... ” Katherine could see him
slowing and then he stopped and turned. Seeing his face closer
again she knew she was correct. Here in front of her was the man
who had carried her to safety. The same man who her brother William
had wanted to invite after the funeral but after her wild display,
all of that had been forgotten.