He took it and put it on her ring finger.
She looked at it and smiled.
There it was, finally. The moment was right.
He beamed. “We could live wherever we want.”
He started shaking and when he looked at Katie again, something was different. At first, she did not know what it was, but then she saw tears forming in his eyes.
He wiped them away. “I’m going to make you forget all about Steven.”
He leaned in and kissed her hungrily and Katie lapped it up.
She had a feeling that everything was going to be fine. She was with her prince charming and everything was going to be grand.
This was it. It was just the two of them from now on. The future was bright. She was excited she could have her fairy tale ending after all.
*
Chapter 14
2011
Ashley was playing with her hair. “That’s it? That doesn’t sound like a great love story like you promised. And you still haven’t told me if daddy was your first love.”
Katie frowned. “I’m not done yet.”
“I’m underwhelmed.”
Ashley yawned.
Katie shook her head. “Teens these days.”
In the next room, the coughing became raucous. Katie grew alarmed. “I better go check on your father.”
She stepped out of her daughter’s room and approached the master bedroom. Knocking on the door, she called out, “Are you OK in there?”
“I’m fine!” a male voice called back.
“I’m talking to Ashley. I’ll be in to check on you when I’m done. It should be pretty soon.”
“Take your time,” the voice said. “I’m fine in here.”
Katie hesitated, but then turned around and headed back into Ashley’s room.
Her daughter looked concerned. “Is daddy alright?”
“He’s going to be fine,” Katie affirmed. She sat back down on her daughter’s bed.
“Where was I?”
“You were about to run away with Brandon.”
“Oh yeah.”
“And did you?” Ashley leaned forward in anticipation.
Katie smiled secretively. “Can’t tell you yet. You’re going to have to listen to find out.”
“I bet you do. And you have your fairy tale ending and live happily ever after.”
Katie chuckled wryly. “If only life was that easy.”
She continued her tale.
*
Chapter 15
Katie and Brandon were sitting on the bench at Taylor Park. Katie spotted a sharp stone on the ground and picked it up. Turning around, she looked at their initials that were etched into the bench, so long ago.
B.M. + K.S. = Mouth shape
She crossed out the mouth shape and carved something else after the equal sign. It was a heart.
Brandon smiled, taking her hand. He kissed her lips and she relished it.
Katie pulled back and said, “I’m going to go home and pack. Let’s meet here in an hour.”
“OK.”
Katie kissed Brandon goodbye and hurried out of the park. The chilly wind whooshed in her face. It was the most deliberating feeling in the world. She felt light, as though she could soar through the air. It felt like her life was finally beginning.
*
Katie bolted to her mother’s house with a gigantic smile on her face. When she stepped up to the front door, she saw a familiar pair of shoes. Her smile disappeared.
She opened the door and stepped inside.
Her mother was sitting on the stairs in her nightgown. She jerked a thumb toward the kitchen. “You have a visitor.” Her mother yawned. “I’m going to bed.” She marched up the stairs.
Katie prepared to face the music. She felt something stuck in her throat as she entered the bright kitchen.
Steven was sitting at the kitchen table in a green sweater vest. A giant envelope lay on the table. He looked up when she entered.
He looked worried when he saw her flushed face. “Are you OK?” he asked, getting up.
She held up a hand. “I’m fine. You don’t have to come over.”
She looked at him, wondering how he had gotten here so fast. “I thought you weren’t coming until tomorrow.”
“I hired a private jet and paid the pilot a bonus to get me here faster.”
She nodded. She decided she was going to be brave and get it over with right away. She held out the hand where the Brandon’s ring was. “I don’t think we’re meant to be, Steven. Brandon was my first love. I still have feelings for him.”
Steven nodded calmly. “So you’re marrying him instead?”
“Yes,” she said, her voice calm. “Yes, I am.”
Steven smirked.
Katie was worried. This was not the reaction she was expecting.
Steven grabbed the envelope on the table and took out a couple of enlarged photographs.
Katie approached the table. The lump in her throat had gotten worse.
Steven took off his glasses, revealing beady black eyes. He pointed to the pictures with his glasses. “I didn’t trust this Brandon guy when I first heard about him, so I had an old private detective friend tag him. Turns out he had dirt.”
He held up the picture, which glared in the bright kitchen lights. “Do you recognize who these people are?”
Katie took a closer look. It was Brandon and some blonde girl on the sidewalk, leaning against a building. They were kissing. The blonde girl looked very similar to the girl that Brandon had hired to make Katie jealous.
A wave of nausea came over Katie. Her stomach did a backflip and she felt like throwing up. Then, it dawned on her. Brandon still had feelings for Liz. And he had lied to her, stringing her along like some helpless puppy.
Steven stood up with her arms wide open. “You see? Brandon doesn’t love you. I’m the only one who does.”
Katie’s nausea turned into anger.
Steven was still standing with her arms open. “Look,” he said, his face softening. “I know I have my shortcomings but we can work on them.”
Katie felt her legs shake. “I need to sit down.” She took a seat.
Steven sat down. He reached across the tables for her hands. They were ice cold but he took them anyway.
Katie nearly winced and pulled them away, but she let him hold her hands.
Steven had on this pleading face. “I know what my faults are. I’m not as emotionally available as you would like. I’m working on that.” He looked hopeful. “I wasn’t brought up that way. I had different parents from other people. They didn’t show me much affection. It’s hard for me to express my love, either physically or emotionally. You know how awkward it was for us when we talked that stairwell in Prattico’s Building after you were fired.”
Katie nodded. She barely heard him though. The betrayal from Brandon had stung her numb.
Steven took a breath and continued. “But I am working on that every day so that I could be the man you deserve.”
Katie looked at the man who she knew loved her. The question was whether she loved him back. She still was not sure.
Steven put his glasses back on. “And I can provide for you. I am being promoted to partner at the accounting firm.” He lowered his voice. “I did some research on Brandon, and it turns out he’s some charity fundraiser who’s in debt.”
Steven squeezed her hands tighter.
Katie wanted to cry, but she could not.
Steven came over to her side of the table and hugged her. His hug was awkward, since he was standing and she was still sitting down.
She could take no comfort in his embrace, but she accepted it anyway.
Then, he got down on his knees and looked up at her.
“Be mine, Katie Simpson. And you’ll never have to work another day in your life. We could travel the world whenever we want. As partner in the firm now, I am pretty much free to do what I want.”
From what she could tell, he was genuine
.
Katie looked at him and did not know what to tell him. Sure, she was furious with Brandon, but she did not know if she wanted to travel the world with Steven.
Suddenly, exhaustion invaded her body. She was too tired to talk. She just nodded and put her head down on the table.
Steven patted her head. “I’ll take that as a yes. Let’s go to sleep now and talk in the morning.”
Katie was too tired to answer.
She felt Steven slip off Brandon’s ring from her finger, and put on his own. Then, she went to bed.
Somehow, she dozed off soon after.
Steven looked at his fiancée and smiled.
He rested his eyes. It had been a long day.
*
Meanwhile, Brandon returned to Taylor Park after packing and changing out of his prince costume.
He was now waiting in the autumn cold in a dressy suit, sharp enough to be a groom. His bags were packed in the car and everything was set.
He imagined life with Katie. They would get married, move in together, and have the one boy and one girl that they had always wanted. He was giddy just thinking about it. It was so overwhelming that he expected to be killed in a car accident before he could marry her. It was too good to be true. He was expecting a tragedy just so the universe would be balanced. No one should be allowed to be this happy.
He watched as the moon journeyed across the sky. He watched as the clouds covered it
up.Then he looked at this watch. It had been two hours already.
In his gut, he felt something was wrong.
He dashed to his car and drove like a maniac to the house of Katie’s mother.
When he arrived, the house was dark. He got out of the car and snuck up to the house.
Brandon felt like he was in a horror movie, the part where the hero stupidly goes into a haunted house as the audience is screaming at him not to.
He tried the doorknob, but the door was locked. Gently, he knocked on the door.
“Katie,” he whispered. “You there?”
No answer.
He knocked again, but there was still no answer.
Brandon went around to the side of the house and peered into the dark windows. He could make out a shape lying on the couch. He wondered Katie had been so stressed from the events of the day that she fell asleep and forgot about him.
He tapped on the glass. The person on the couch stirred. Brandon tapped the glass again.
The figure got up from the couch.
Brandon strained his eyes to see who it was, but the darkness obscured his vision.
The figure gestured to Brandon to meet him at the front door.
Brandon felt adrenaline pump through his body. He turned around and headed to the front door, which was now lit by a pale light.
The door was already open.
“Katie,” Brandon began, “What hap….”
In mid-sentence, he realized that the person looking at him was not Katie. It was not even a woman.
The man had black bangs and wore nerdy glasses. He crossed his arms and looked at Brandon like he was a cockroach.
“So you must be Brandon.” The man scowled.
When Brandon realized who this person was, adrenaline overwhelmed his system, making him sweat.
Brandon drew himself up to full height. “And you must be Steven.”
Steven glared at him. “Stay away from my woman.”
“She was mine first. And she still is.”
Steven sneered. “She doesn’t want you.”
Brandon laughed. “She must not have told you yet. She’s running away with me.”
Steven laughed even louder. He reached into his pocket and took out something.
Brandon looked closer and saw it was a photo of him and Liz that night by the pub.
Brandon felt like he had been hit by a truck. “Where…how…..”
Steven smirked. “I had an old detective friend follow you. No one gets in my way.”
He made a fist and held it in the air. “I always get what I want.”
Brandon curled his hands into fists and advanced on Steven.
Steven took out something from his other pocket pointed it at Brandon.
Brandon froze in his tracks.
It was a revolver.
Steven cocked the gun. “Now be a good little poor man and go back to your little shack. I don’t want to have to use this.”
Brandon looked into Steven’s face. It was aglow with victory.
Brandon took one step back. “Let me talk to Katie.”
“Get away from here.”
Then, another voice came from behind Steven.
“It’s OK, Steven. Let me talk to him.”
Katie emerged from behind Steven, wearing a lace nightgown.
Steven looked hesitant. “Are you sure?”
Katie touched him on the arm. “Yeah. This will only take a minute.”
Steven glowered at Brandon. “Don’t you try anything funny.” He retreated into the background.
Katie came out of the front door with her hair tousled. She looked like she had been deprived of sleep for days.
Brandon tried to hug her, but she backed away. She held up one hand. “Don’t.’
“Let me explain. Liz was really into me, so I kissed her to prove that there were no feelings there.”
Katie shook her head.
As Brandon took in his first love, he realized that she did not look angry. Just disappointed. Sad. And resigned.
“I don’t want to hear it.” Even her eyes were tired. “You’ve hurt me for the last time. I’m not going to shed another tear for you.”
She looked subdued. There was no emotion in her voice.
Brandon felt like his entire body was going to collapse like a dilapidated bridge. “So you’re just going to marry that boring guy who doesn’t love you?” He pointed into the house.
Katie sighed. “Steven may be mild-mannered, but he would never hurt me. You promised me no more drama. I don’t need any more drama in my life.” She sounded like a robot. “I can’t handle your roller coaster anymore. These past few days, you’ve aroused so many emotions in me. I feel so overloaded.” Her face was twisted, as though she were in physical pain.
“But that just means that you still feel something for me.”
“I never said I didn’t. I just can’t live like this.” Katie looked thoughtful for a minute. Then, she said, “Even if you love someone, it doesn’t mean you have to marry them.”
Brandon held out both hands. “What about us?”
“There is no us.” She took out the photo of Brandon and Liz. “This was the same girl you used to hurt me with. I can’t take this anymore. I’m done.”
Brandon approached and grabbed her hands. “I’m sorry. I was just a stupid kid back then. If I could take it all back, I would, so that you would never have to hurt again.” His voice was low and pleading.
Katie wanted to let him hold her, but she felt that even just one more ounce of drama would push her into a realm of insanity.
She batted his hands away. “It’s not about the girl. It’s about you and me. Our timing has never been right. Maybe we weren’t meant to be.”
Brandon wanted to drop to his knees and beg for her forgiveness. Instead, he said, “What about taking care of each other?”
Katie actually laughed. It was more of an abrupt and shallow inhalation of a breath. She waved the photo of Brandon and Liz around. “It looks like you’ve taken care of yourself first.”
She stepped back and slammed the door in his face.
Brandon stood back, trying to process what had happened.
So he was right. Someone did take a picture of him and Liz that night.
Brandon shoved the thought out of his mind.
He vowed he would get Katie back somehow.
He peered into the windows, but they were all tightly drawn.
He looked around.
It was pitch black.
The moon w
as gone, gobbled up by ravenous clouds.
*
Chapter 16
The next day, Katie sat in her room, looking out the window at the streets. The sun was shining on the cherry tree, the cars parked along the street, and all the children playing.
She wished she could appreciate the scenery.
A gentle knock on her door roused her from her thoughts. She turned around, and her mother, Catherine, walked in.
“Beautiful day, isn’t it, baby?”
Katie merely bobbed her head.
Catherine put a gentle hand on her daughter’s shoulder. “I think that the sun is a sign.”
“Of what?” Katie asked, still staring outside.
“It’s an auspicious sign that means you’re making the right choice.”
Katie kept her eyes on the cherry tree in the front yard. The branches were billowing back and forth. Leaves were ripped off, spiraling to the ground.
“How come it doesn’t feel right?”
Her mother sat down on the bed. “My dear, feelings are overrated. Never trust your feelings. Emotions are volatile. I know they’re telling you to be with Brandon, aren’t they?”
“Hmmm.”
Her mother straightened her bob hairstyle. “Don’t ever trust your emotions. Logic says that Steven is a wealthy man that can take care of you. As a former science teacher, I’ve taught this so many times. Humans evolved logic for a reason. It allowed us to be at the top of the food chain of the entire animal kingdom. Do you know how?”
Katie turned to face her mother, and then shook her head.
“Because it lets us make plans and see into the future.” She held out her right hand. “Steven can take care of you. I know you don’t make such money as a kindergarten teacher.”
She held out her left hand. “On the other hand, Brandon is a poor charity fundraiser. I’ve been told that he’s in debt too. What kind of future do you see with Brandon?”
Katie looked at her mother, who had on a serious expression. She shrugged. “I really don’t know. It can’t all be about money.”
“It’s not, but look at how he treated you. Stopping you from achieving your dreams, and then the cheating.”
“He did it impulsively. I don’t think he meant to.”
Catherine clasped her hands together. “I had a first love too. He was my high school sweetheart but I married your father.”
Katie gave her mother a puzzled look.
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