by Lydia Rose
“It’s my pleasure. I’m sorry that we don’t get to do this more often, but I’m going to make sure that we do something at least once a month together.”
“Kate, I understand your work comes first.”
“No, Mary. You will always come first in my life, but I do have obligations. I just want you to know that I may not always show it, but I do love you with all my heart.”
“I know that, honey. I feel the same way about you.”
The two women spent the rest of the evening dancing and also spent time with another couple. “What do you do?” Mary asked Carla and Jeannie.
Carla answered. “I’m a physician and Jeannie is an attorney. What about you two?”
“I’m just a lowly secretary,” Mary said with a chuckle. “Kate is the Secretary of Agriculture.”
“How exciting,” Jeannie said and pulled out her business card. “I remember reading about the two of you months ago. I had said to Carla how brave I thought you both were coming out as you did.”
“I wasn’t going to hide our relationship even if it meant the cost of my career.” Katherine took Mary’s hand. “I wanted this woman in my life and I’m so happy that Mary stayed with me through that awful time.”
“We need more women like you to show the world that there is nothing wrong with falling in love with someone of the same sex.” Carla leaned forward and asked, “Have the press left you alone?”
“Yes,” Katherine said laughing. “They moved on to some other big story.”
“Maybe we can all get together one evening and have dinner together?” Mary asked.
“We’d like that,” Jeannie answered.
The four women left the restaurant together and waited on the sidewalk for a cab. “Why are you still with this woman?”
Everyone turned to the woman who spoke. “Excuse me,” Katherine said trying to move closer to the woman, but Mary grabbed her arm.
“When are you going to realize that you belong with me?”
“Who are you?” Katherine asked.
“Patricia.”
Katherine pulled away from Mary and moved closer to the woman. “Patricia who?”
“I am your soulmate, Katherine. You need to leave that woman,” she said making a face at Mary.
“I don’t believe that is your name.” Katherine tried to get the woman to show her some identification.
“How could you think I would lie to you, darling.” Patricia reached into her purse and showed Katherine her driver’s license.
“Patricia Collins,” Katherine said reading the driver’s license and memorized her address. “Where do you work, Patricia?”
“In the same building you do. I see you every day and you act as if I don’t exist.” She tried to touch Katherine, but she stepped away. “That woman will ruin your life.”
A cab pulled to the curb and Jeannie spoke, “Katherine, our cab is here.”
“Don’t you ever come near me again,” Katherine said to Patricia before she turned and joined the other women in the cab.
“Kate, you have to be very careful with kooks like that. I’ve seen it before and I can tell you it doesn’t usually end well.” Mary sat there shocked. “Did you get her address?” Katherine nodded. “I’ll have someone see if she’s done this before.” They exchanged information and Katherine gave Jeannie Patricia’s information. “You may have to get a restraining order against this woman. You don’t want to find yourself trapped somewhere with her.”
Mary grabbed her mouth and her eyes showed her fear. “Don’t worry, Mary. I can take care of myself,” Katherine said, but looked at Jeannie. She wanted her to stop terrifying Mary.
As they approached Carla and Jeannie’s home, she said, “Call me tomorrow and we can discuss the legal action you can take.”
“I will,” Katherine said before the door closed. “Thank you and it was nice to meet you both.”
“You too,” Carla said.
Mary sat in the cab quietly. She never moved when Carla and Jeannie left the cab. Katherine put her arm around her. “Are you okay?”
“Why can’t people just leave us alone?” Mary asked. Her voice choking with emotion.
“Don’t worry, baby. Jeannie will help me work this out. You’ll see.”
Jeannie called her investigator to have him check on this Patricia Collins. “I want you to bill me for your time, Jeannie,” Katherine told her when Jeannie told her about the investigator.
“Let’s just find out about this woman. I know you were worried about Mary being upset last night, but these things can escalate quickly. One minute the stalker is madly in love with you and then they turn violent. Kate, in your position I would think you can get security easily.”
“I didn’t really want to bring anyone else into this situation,” Katherine said softly.
“I think it’s important, Kate.”
“Okay. I’ll talk to the head of security on Monday,” Katherine sighed. “Let’s keep the information between us, Jeannie. I don’t want Mary to worry.”
“Kate, she should be worried. Patricia’s threats were directed at Mary.”
“I’ll make sure she takes a cab to and from work until we have this situation resolved.”
“Good. I’ll call you as soon as I have any more information.”
CHAPTER 29
After two weeks, no further information was found on Patricia Collins. She did not work in Katherine’s building and she didn’t have a record. All they were able to find out was that was originally from Pennsylvania.
“I want to go see my mother this weekend,” Mary announced one evening.
“Mary, you know I will be out of town this weekend. Why don’t you wait until I can go with you?” Katherine pleaded.
“That’s the point. You won’t be here, so I may as well go see her.” Mary let out a sigh. “We haven’t seen this woman for two weeks. She must have moved on.”
“I wish you would stay home.”
Mary took Katherine’s hand. “I’ll be fine, honey.”
“I’m not going to be able to talk you out of this, am I?” Mary shook her head. “You call me when you get there.”
“I will. Don’t worry.”
“Of course I’ll worry.”
Mary left early Saturday morning and planned on staying until Sunday morning. Her mother smiled when Mary walked into her room. “Hi, Mom. How are you doing?”
“Much better, Mary.” Sybil looked behind her. “Where is Katherine?”
“Business trip,” Mary answered as she took a seat next to her mother. “She said to tell you that she was sorry she couldn’t visit.”
“Tell her not to worry. I know she has a very important job.” Mary smiled at her mother’s words.
Before the afternoon ended, Henry Rogers walked into Sybil’s room. “Hello, Mary,” he said walking over to Sybil. Henry kissed her cheek and took a seat.
“Hello, Dad. How are you?”
“I’m fine, Mary. Your mother is looking much better, isn’t she?” Henry asked with a relaxed smile.
“She does look better. Her speech is much better and so is her walking.”
“It won’t be long before she gets out of here,” Henry said looking at his wife.
“Is that what the doctors have said?” Mary asked not trusting her father.
“They have,” Sybil volunteered. “When I go home, they will send a therapist to the house.”
“Good,” Mary said quietly. “How are Hank Jr. and Sara doing?” She hated to bring up her sister and brother, but she knew it was necessary.
“They are both good,” Henry answered. “Sara promised when your mom comes home that she will check on her during the day. I will too, Mary. You don’t have to worry about her being alone.”
“Thanks, Dad,” Mary said with a smile at her father.
The rest of the evening passed without any arguments or uncomfortable feelings. “I’ll come back and see you again, Mom.” Mary turned to her father. “It was g
ood to see you again, Dad.”
Hank stood up and hugged his daughter. “We all miss you, Mary.”
“I miss you all too.”
“So you plan on staying in DC?” Hank asked looking at his daughter.
“Yes, Dad.”
“That woman is good to you?” he asked dropping his eyes from Mary’s face.
“Yes, Dad. We’re good to each other.”
“So you’re happy?” This time his eyes met hers.
“Very happy.”
“Leave the girl alone, Henry. If you saw them together, you would see how happy they are.”
“Then I hope I get to meet this woman someday,” Henry said with a smile.
Mary couldn’t believe her ears. “You will, Dad. I’ll let you know the next time we plan on visiting. Kate couldn’t make it this trip.”
Mary packed her things in the morning. She stopped and had something to eat and began her trip back to DC. Mary was close to home when she noticed the car behind her creeping very fast toward her. All of a sudden the car slammed into her bumper. “What the hell,” Mary said watching the car back off. The car was now next to her and she saw the driver. It was Patricia Collins. Patricia was maneuvering her car closer and closer to Mary. She tried to get away, but Patricia’s car caught the back end of the car and spun her around. Mary’s vehicle was now straddling two lanes. She turned to right the car and saw that Patricia’s car was approaching at a rapid pace. Mary held onto the steering wheel and closed her eyes waiting for the impact.
Mary didn’t have any idea how much time had passed, but when she opened her eyes, she knew she was in the hospital.
“How are you feeling?” someone asked standing over her with a small flashlight.
“My head hurts,” Mary said softly. She turned her head. “Where is the other woman?”
“The woman who hit your car?” the doctor asked as Mary nodded. “She is in surgery.”
“Is Katherine here?” Mary asked almost crying.
“Is Katherine your sister?” he asked.
“No. She’s my partner,” Mary said starting to panic.
“We didn’t know who to call for you. Give us her number.” The doctor looked at the nurse so she could write down the number.
“What is wrong with me?” Mary finally asked about her injuries.
“You have a concussion, cuts and a broken arm. No internal injuries.” He patted her arm. “You were very lucky that you were wearing your seatbelt. The other woman wasn’t.”
The nurse came back into the room. “There was no answer, but I left a message for Katherine to call here.”
“That’s right, she was out of town on business.” Mary closed her eyes no longer able to fight the sleepiness that was crowding her mind.
“Hi, honey. I’m home,” Katherine called as she came into the house. “Mary,” she called out again. Katherine climbed the stairs expecting to find Mary asleep after her trip. The room was empty and she walked into the bathroom and saw Mary’s toothbrush was still missing. Katherine ran down the steps and now saw the answering machine blinking. She pressed the button and listened.
Ms. Willow, this is University Hospital. Your partner Mary Rogers has been admitted. Would you please call us as soon as you get this message?
Katherine didn’t wait to hear a phone number or more information. She rushed out of the house and into a cab. As she got to the front desk, she was panting. “I’m here about Mary Rogers.”
The woman could see the panic on the woman’s face and looked up the name. “Ms. Rogers is in room 222.” She handed Katherine a visitor’s badge and she rushed to the elevators.
Katherine came down the hallway quickly desperately looking for Mary’s room. The nurse that had called her stopped Katherine. “Are you Katherine Willow?” Katherine could only nod and the nurse touched her arm. “Mary is down the hallway on the left. She’s going to be fine.” Katherine looked at the nurse and stood stock still. “She’s been asking for you.” The nurse smiled. “Go ahead.”
Katherine rushed away and tore into Mary’s room. She took one look at Mary and began to cry. “I’m okay, Kate.” Mary held out her arms which Katherine rushed into.
“What happened? Are you really okay?” Katherine released Mary and looked at her closely.
“I have a concussion and broken arm.” Katherine stroked the cuts and bruises on Mary’s face. “Those are only superficial. I’m afraid your car probably isn’t looking too good.”
“Mary, I don’t care about the car.”
“It was Patricia,” Mary said softly.
“What do you mean?” Katherine asked standing up straight.
“She caused this.” Mary went through and explained what had happened.
“Where is she?” Katherine asked firmly.
“The last time I asked, she was in surgery.”
Katherine walked out of the room and went over to the nurse’s station. “Has anyone notified the police about Patricia Collins?”
The nurse that had talked to Katherine when she arrived spoke up. “The police were at the scene of the accident and I understand there were plenty of witnesses.”
“Has she been arrested?” Katherine asked impatiently waiting for an answer.
“She died in the operating room. She wasn’t wearing her seat belt and her internal injuries were just too much.”
Katherine nodded her head and walked back to Mary’s room. “Are you all right, Kate?” Mary asked seeing Katherine’s pale face.
“She’s dead.”
“Who?”
“Patricia.” Katherine looked at Mary. “I know I should feel bad, but she did this to you. She could have killed you. I’m glad that she won’t bother us anymore.”
“Come here, baby.” Mary held out her good arm and held Katherine close to her. “I feel bad that something happened in her head to make her act this way. I feel bad for her family.”
“You are such a sweet, sweet woman. You can even find empathy for a woman who tried to kill you.”
CHAPTER 30
Mary had been home for a week now and Congressman Stevens told her not to come back to work for at least another week. Mary called her mother and told her she couldn’t visit for a while because Katherine’s car had problems. She didn’t want to tell her that the car had been totaled in the accident. Mary had gotten rid of her car shortly after moving to Washington. Her mother said it was fine because she was home and doing much better. Saturday morning Katherine made them breakfast and now she was ushering Mary to the living room.
“Lie down and relax, honey.”
“Kate, I’m fine. You’ve been hovering over me for the past week.”
“Mary, you were in a very serious accident.” Katherine took the seat next to her on the couch. “It’s because of me that I almost lost you.” Mary took her hand and squeezed. “I’ve been thinking maybe I would give up my post and do something else.”
“Kate, look at me.” Mary turned Katherine’s head toward her. “You love your job. You are able to help a lot of people and I don’t want to take that away from you.”
“But-” Katherine was interrupted when Mary put her finger on Katherine’s lips. “We will get through this, Kate. As long as I have you in my life, we can get through anything.” Mary grinned. “As long as you don’t let me go, we will be fine.”
Katherine leaned over and kissed Mary’s mouth softly. “I will never let you go, but I don’t want you to regret being with me someday.”
“I would never do that, Kate. Never.” She reached for Katherine’s mouth again. “I know my arm is out of commission, but I do miss being with you.”
“I miss you too.” Katherine spread herself over Mary trying not to hit her broken arm. “I love you so much.” They kissed again and now the kiss began to deepen. Just as hands began to explore, the doorbell rang. “Shit. We’re not expecting anyone.” Katherine sat up. “Whoever it is, I’ll get rid of them.” She walked to the front door and opened it. Her eyes
opened wide. “Mrs. Rogers,” she said looking at her and the man standing next to her.
“Hello, Katherine. You’ve never met Mary’s dad. Henry this is Katherine.”
He held out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you,” he mumbled flustered.
As Katherine reached out for his hand she became aware of what she was wearing. She had on a grey pair of sweats and a grey and pink long sleeve t-shirt. Mary loved when Katherine dressed casually saying she looked years younger than the business suits she wore during the week. Her blond hair was pulled back and held in place with a clip and her face was free of any makeup. “I’m happy to meet you too, sir.”
“May we come in?” Sybil asked as they were still on the front steps.
“I’m sorry. Of course.” Katherine stepped out of the way.
Mary could hear Katherine speaking with someone, but she had no idea who was here until they walked into the living room. “Mom, Dad,” she said sitting up.
“How are you feeling, Mary?” Sybil asked clicking her cane across the living room floor.
“I’m fine,” Mary answered trying to hide her cast under the blanket.
“No sense hiding that,” Sybil motioned with her hand. “Your dad and I read the article in the paper.”
Katherine stepped into the room glancing at Mary. “Please have a seat,” she said to them.
“So you really are okay?” her dad asked.
“Just a broken arm,” Mary said finally holding up the cast. She turned to Katherine. “Honey, would you make a pot of coffee.”
“Sure,” she said moving toward the kitchen.
Sybil looked around the living room. “You have a very nice house.”
Mary shrugged. “We like it. Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”
“I figured you would have talked us out of coming. We had to see for ourselves that you both were okay.”
Mary needed to change the subject quickly. “I see you are walking.”
“Hopefully, I can get rid of this cane someday,” Sybil said holding it up in the air.
“Don’t let her fool you.” Her dad offered with a chuckle. “Your mother is working very hard to get back to where she was before the stroke. She’s very determined.”
