by Colora, R.
“I would love to have dinner with you, Michael, and thank you for making all the arrangements,” I say with a smile. I have always been independent and have always taken charge, but it’s nice to have someone else take the lead.
We finish up our plans, and I call to check on MJ, who tells me he is busy working and would have to call me back. He is growing up so fast. The Kerrigan family has been amazing. They have renewed their friendship with my parents, and they take pride in being MJ’s grandparents. It’s been almost a year since the day I bumped into Rhydian Kerrigan at the Denver Diner, and my secret was exposed. Some of this year has been great, and some of it horrible, but I’m alive, and I’m going to make sure I make the most out of my life.
Chapter 22
Michael
Twelve dates. Katie and I have been on twelve chaperoned dates. No kissing, no intimate touching, just a quick hug and some hand holding. I have worked my courting steps, and I’m ready to propose. Everything over the last twelve weeks has led to this moment. MJ and my mother have been working behind the scenes to make this perfect, and I can see the excitement on everyone’s face. When I pick Katie up for our date, she looks radiant in an amazing dress with a brown belt and brown cowboy boots. Her hair is long but curled at the end, and she is using the frame to balance herself at the doorway.
“Hey, I want to try and make it the whole time without my cane,” she says, handing her cane to me. She sees Stephanie and Mac in the backseat and hurries to the car. “What are we doing tonight, guys?”
“It’s a surprise,” I say while getting in the driver’s seat. “MJ and my mom have been working on this for weeks,” he says with a smile.
Once we get to the park, Katie notices people standing hand in hand with picnic baskets and blankets. Mac and I go to the back of the car, and each gets a picnic basket and blanket and we make our way to the center of the park where a big screen is set up.
“Romance in the Park! They haven’t done this for ten years!” Katie exclaims, looking around at all the couples laying their blankets out.
I see Easton and Kerrigan and Rhydian and Estelle so we make our way to them, and Mac and Michael lay their blanket out. We see Tristan and Frankie make their way toward our little cluster of couples and then we are joined by Stacy and her fiancé Avery.
“Where are all the little ones?” Katie asks.
“They are all at my house,” Kennedy says. “I have a part-time nanny, and some of the teenagers that work at The Mad Batter are helping keep all the kids. I love my kids to pieces, but I’m glad I got a few hours of just grown up time.”
The last couple to join us is Percy and Ian. Katie leans over and whispers in my ear, “Where are Liam and Rose?”
“I think they are having some issues, but are keeping it between them. I’m not sure they will make it.”
But, a few minutes later we are joined by Liam and he lays out a blanket and relaxes. I don’t want to ask where Rose is, but I can’t help it.
“Hey, Liam, is Rose running late?”
“No,” he says. “She isn’t going to be able to make it. She had to fly out to New York last minute for some design thing she has been working on. She was sad she always did love ‘Romance in the Park’.” I can see everyone is tense at his words. My brother has never lied to me, but I can see the look on his face that something is going on.
My mom makes it to the makeshift stage.
“Good evening, everyone. We are so excited to continue a long tradition here in the park. For many years, we have not had ‘Romance in the Park’, but my grandson has worked tirelessly over the last couple of weeks to bring back this amazing tradition. I would like to welcome you all to ‘Romance in the Park’! Our first movie is a classic.”
When the movie on the screen starts rolling, I know what we are watching. I want to snuggle up next to Katie, but I know it is against the rules. Just as the movie is about to finish, the screen drops, and MJ sits on the stage with a guitar. We nod at one another, and he starts playing.
I don’t know what the song is, but I extend my hand and help Katie stand. We start to sway to the music, and I hear the singing, but I still have no idea what the song is. However, the words are beautiful. I am focused on Katie, but I can see other couples dancing as well. Once the song is over, I drop to my knee.
“Katie, I have never loved anyone else but you. You have been my heart and soul. I know I have made so many mistakes, and I am so sorry, but I can’t live another day without you by my side, Please make me the happiest man on the planet and be my wife.”
I can see Katie wiping the tears from her eyes. “Yes!” she shouts throwing her arms around me and kissing my cheek. As I slip the five karat solitaire from Cartier on her finger, she says, “Just like the movie says, Michael, love means never having to say you're sorry. It’s all about our future, no more looking back on the past.” I see MJ run toward us and throw his arms around Katie
He turns to me and gives me a hug. “Good job, Dad.” We are then greeted by everyone in our group offering congratulations and giving us hugs.
On the way home, we hold hands, and I realize that this hand holding means more to me than anything right now. Over the last couple months, I have shown Katie my intentions, and I have shown her she is more to me than just a body. She is my soul, and I have worked on turning from two separate souls to one that loves and respects the other.
Once MJ and Katie are safely inside, I get back into the car and hear Stephanie squeal, “Michael Kerrigan, how could you not tell anyone?”
Mac leans forward and squeezes my shoulder. “Way to make a fella look bad. I handed Stephanie the box and was like, ‘Hey when we both have some free time, wanna get married?’”
“No, you didn’t!” I had to laugh.
“No, he really did. I think I deserve a redo.” Stephanie adds, “You and MJ did an amazing job, Michael.” With that, she slides over and nestles under Mac’s arm.
Once dropping them off I head to my house. I have some work to do. The time I have taken off left me with a lot of work to catch up on. I am looking through my paperwork when I find the perfect house. It must have been fate; this house is about ten miles from the Reservation. I call Stacy and ask her if she has interior pictures of the home, and she shoots them over in an email.
“I never listed it on the site, Michael. I wanted you to see it. The owners aren’t eager to sell; the wife is determined to find the perfect family for the house. So she says she won’t sell until she finds the right buyer.” Stacy hangs up, and I look over the specs sheet. It’s an oddity. It is a giant plantation home on twenty acres with three stories and two ornate staircases in front of the house that lead to massive doors. I have seen this house before, but I can’t put my finger on where. I look up plantation houses and there it is. I notice subtle differences, but the house is almost identical. I wonder what would have made a person build a plantation-style home in this part of the country. How have I never known about this house before? I call my dad.
“Dad, I have a spec sheet for a house I’m looking at. It’s strange. It’s a huge plantation house identical to the one you took us to on vacation in Tennessee. Remember the Nottoway Plantation?”
“Oh, yes. Poor Rita, she just buried her husband last month. She grew up in Tennessee when they moved here about sixty years ago they bought the property but lived in a small trailer until Richard could build his bride her dream home. About thirty years or so ago he built her Serendipity; that’s the name of the house. Rita was never big on coming into town. She was always a bit of a recluse. I can’t believe she is selling her house, but I will tell you if you get a chance to buy, jump on it, son. It’s an amazing piece of property, your mother has been there on many occasions and says it’s even more amazing inside.”
I look at the spec sheet again and then look at the time. It’s just after nine, and I know it’s not smart to call anyone this late, but I dial anyway.
“Hello, Michael Kerrigan,” I h
ear the voice on the other end say. I pull the phone away from my face and look at it.
“Is this Rita Fairchild?” I inquire.
“Yes it is, and you are Michael Kerrigan. I’ve been waiting for your call. I take it this is about my house,” Ms. Fairchild says sweetly.
“Yes, it is. I was interested in coming to look at the property.”
“I hear you just got engaged tonight to a Miss Katie Blackwell. My house manager was in town this evening and said your engagement was the talk of the town. I will show you my house on one condition and one condition alone. I want you to have your wedding here, and it needs to be within the next thirty days. The minute you have signed your marriage license, I will sign all the required paperwork for the sale.”
“Ms. Fairchild, I’m not sure that’s possible. Katie and I need time to plan a wedding.”
“Well, I will call your momma, and all will be right as rain. I need you to get married in the next month, Michael Kerrigan. I need to find new owners for this house. You don’t need a big to-do; you and the Blackwell girl have done things backward. Get your family out here for a wedding and you have yourself a house.” After hanging up, I stare off at nothing for a bit, and call my mom and ask her to put my dad on speakerphone. I explain the strange conversation I just had with the reclusive homeowner. My mom just laughs and says she will start with the details and will call Katie’s mom to get the ball rolling.
I’m a little shocked everyone is moving, but I haven’t even asked Katie about a date yet.
Calling her, she sounds sleepy. “Hey,” she says. I can almost hear the smile in her voice.
“Hey yourself, future Mrs. Kerrigan.”
“I like the sound of that.”
“So do I, baby.”
I retell my story to Katie, and I hear her crying on the other end. I don’t know what I did to make her upset. “Baby, why are you crying?”
“Rita. She wants to sell the house so she can be with her husband, her twin soul she is holding on to. When you marry your soulmate, and they die you lose a part of you until you are reunited. She needs to be with her husband, but the house is something they built together. She needs to make sure it goes to the right person so she and her husband can rest in peace. That’s really amazing and beautiful. So yes let’s get married in a month, let her go in peace to be reunited with her love.”
Katie and I say good night, and I have to admit Katie’s explanation has me with tears in my eyes.
Chapter 23
Katie
Pulling up to the gate of Serendipity, I ring the bell.
When someone says hello and asks who I am, I tell them I am Katie Blackwell, and the gate opens. I make my way up the long driveway covered with canopy trees. Parking in front of the huge house, I’m greeted by an older gentleman in a suit. He walks me to the small attached house and asks me to sit.
“Hello, dear,” I’m greeted by a friendly voice.
I stand and turn toward the kitchen. “Hi, I’m Katie Blackwell. I just wanted to come by and talk to you if you have the time.”
“I am an old woman; I have nothing but time, dear. Let’s sit.”
She is beautiful, even for an older woman. She has steely gray hair in an elegant, French twist at the nape of her neck. Her facial features are delicate, and her skin is like porcelain with bright pink pouty lips. Her eyes look like liquid gold. In her youth, she must have been a rare beauty. Before I can say anything, she speaks.
“I was born to sharecroppers in Tennessee.” She pauses, walks to the desk, and pulls out an album, handing it to me.
I open the album to the first page and see the picture of a strong-featured, dark, African-American man and a woman the color of caramel.
“My parents worked a farm not that far from the Nottoway Plantation. When I was born, they thought about moving North, but farming was all they ever knew. When going out with my momma people often assumed she was my nanny on account of my fair skin and green eyes. Back when I was young, my hair was like spun gold.” She smiles as I turn the page, and I see a picture of her and her parents together
“I was always on the outside. I had two black parents but looked completely white, but to the white folks I was still a colored girl. I went to a school for colored children and lived my life always on the outside, never really fitting in anywhere.” She takes the time to wipe her eyes with a handkerchief. “I met Richard on a civil rights walk; he was in Tennessee to get black folks out to vote. We knew we shouldn’t have been together, but it seemed nothing could keep us apart not even good sense. We couldn’t get married, interracial marriage was illegal, and they would have strung us both up.
“My father gave Richard and me every dime he ever saved and told us to run to find a better life to be happy. We left Tennessee and came west where no one knew us, no one knew that he was white, and I was black. Richard bought this piece of land from Elena’s poppa, and we lived in a small work trailer. Richard started his own architectural firm in the late sixties. My parents would write me once a month and then about a year after I got here, the letters just stopped. I called around to friends and finally found out they had been killed in a church bombing. I couldn’t even go to grieve the loss of my parents.
“With time, Richard’s business took off with the help of Elena’s father and then later Shamus Kerrigan himself. I always kept myself separate; I didn’t want Richard’s business to suffer. The more he tried to get me out the more I fought. My Richard is gone now; we never had children though Lord knows we tried,” she says with a snicker. “But I’m all alone now and I want to make sure my house goes to someone who will love it as much as I do, who will respect the sacrifice that was given for it to be built.”
I can’t stop the tears from falling. “Mrs. Fairchild I know a lot about sacrifice and even though this house is much bigger than I will ever need, I will cherish it as long as I live.”
“Hush now, child. You and that Kerrigan boy are young. I know when I see it, y’all will have plenty more children running these halls. Yes indeed, dear, I predict a whole house full,” she says with a smug look on her face. “You all are gonna have the children my Richard and I were never blessed with.”
She pats my hand, and I look at the time. I need to head back home, so I say my goodbyes. Standing at the door before I leave, I say, “Ms. Fairchild, I know you don’t want to go out, but can I keep coming to visit you.”
“I would like that very much.” We hug, and I make my way back home.
When I get home, I see tons of cars in-between my driveway and my parents’. I walk over to see what’s going on, and I’m grabbed by Elena, who starts handing me books to look through. Kennedy, Estelle, and Frankie are there, and soon we’re joined by Percy and Stephanie.
I'm overwhelmed. It’s been four hours and we haven't settled on anything. I finally have had enough, so I shout, “Stop! I don't want a huge wedding; I want something simple. I want to wear a comfy dress and my cowboy boots I want to dance and drink. Elena, you know I love you, and I know how much you love weddings, but Michael and I have a son already, it's not like I could wear white.” I blush. “I don't want bridesmaids; I don’t want my friends to cater to me that day. I want us to enjoy it as a group; I want my parents to walk me to the front of Serendipity where I will marry the only man I have ever loved. After that, I want to spend the night having fun. I don't care about napkins or tablecloths or catering. I'm sorry, Mom and Elena, I know how much this means to you, I really do, but can we please just keep it simple?”
“Like hell you aren't wearing white,” my mom says. I can’t help but laugh. Out of that whole blow-up, she got stuck on me not wearing white.
Elena stands up and comes over to me. “Do you trust your momma and me to do the right thing?”
I nod my head. “Of course I do.”
“Well, let us do this for you and I promise it will be amazing. All you have to do is show up on the day and everything will be set.” I look to my mom who gives m
e a thumbs up.
“Ok, it's in your control.” Elena and mom slide off to a different table. I know they are serious when my mom leaves and comes back with a large sheet of poster board. The girls and I have a glass of wine, and I tell them all about Rita and why she is a recluse.
Another two hours pass before Elena gets up and tells everyone bye. She walks out with the poster board with a giant smile on her face.
I can only imagine what's on it since she and my mother spent two hours cutting things out of magazines and gluing them to the poor thing all while drinking wine and giggling like silly school girls.
“Mom, what did you put on the board?” I ask once everyone has left.
“None of your concern. Elena and I have worked it all out. Go on to your house and don't worry about a thing.” I hug my mom and head home where MJ is sitting at the table doing his homework, and my dad is stirring something over the stove.
“Dad, what are you doing here?”
He huffs, “If you thought I was entering my house with the pack of crazies in there you are sadly mistaken. I know better than to walk into a den of lionesses. MJ and I were enjoying man time, safe from the likes of all of you.”
MJ snorts in agreement. “We were warned to stay clear, Mom.”
“MJ, you’re an amazing son, have I told you that today?”
“Yeah, Mom, you told me before school, but I never get sick of hearing it,” he says with a grin just like his father’s.
Chapter 24
MJ Blackwell
I knew my plan would work. All this planning and moving and we will be a family within the next couple weeks.
I always knew this day would come. They may have messed up a bunch of times but just like the old movie says, “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.” That's when I knew that I could get my plan for Operation Family back on track. It's taken a year, but all good things take time and patience just like my grandpa always told me.
