The 45th Parallel

by Maureen Hands

  “Wow,” Carl said. “You are the prettiest elf I have ever seen.”

  “Judging from the size of this costume, I think it was ordered from a Victoria’s Secret catalog,” Kat said.

  “Well it definitely would not fit any of the other volunteer elves,” Mary said trying to keep from laughing.

  “Aunt Mary, I just want you to know I would not do this for anyone else.”

  “I know sweetie, and I really appreciate it.”

  “We better hit the road,” Carl said looking at his watch.

  Kat grabbed her coat and reluctantly followed them out the door to Carl’s car. As they drove up toward the lighthouse, Kat found her mind drifting to thoughts of John. She wondered if he would stay in Chicago for Christmas.

  When they went in, Kat was told to go to the Fog Signal Building to hand out cookies. As she approached the other elves, one of them turned and looked her up and down.

  “Now I know who all the men will be getting their cookies from,” she laughed. “Hi, I’m Lori Henson,” she said as she stuck out her hand.

  “I’m Kat Collins. It’s nice to meet you.”

  “Here is a tray of cookies. All you have to do is walk around and hand them to whoever wants one,” Lori said.

  “Sounds easy enough.”

  “The event closes at four o’clock, but we could really use some help cleaning up afterward.”

  “I’m happy to help,” Kat said. She figured she would be stuck here until Carl and Mary decided to leave anyway. Kat took the tray of cookies and began making the rounds. Much to Kat’s dismay, the event was very well attended. Quite a few of the Muldoon regulars were there. Each of them had to comment on Kat’s outfit.

  “What is this, Christmas at the Playboy Mansion?” Captain Bob said. Kat was thankful his wife and son were there to keep the comments from deteriorating further.

  Carl sat in a large wooden chair and took orders from the little children. Once the line to see Santa dropped off, Carl came over and put his arm around Kat.

  “You are smiling, but your eyes are sad,” Carl said.

  “I’m sorry Santa. I’ll try to be a happier elf,” Kat said as she gave him an exaggerated smile. She looked over Carl’s shoulder to see one of her bike/ski club members approaching.

  “Wow, you make a fantastic elf,” Steve said.

  “Thank you…I think,” Kat said. “Would you like a cookie?”

  “How can I refuse?” Steve said as he took a cookie from the tray. “We are going to grab a happy hour Christmas drink at Muldoon’s. Would you like to join us?”

  “I’d like to but I promised my fellow elf, Lori, I would help clean up.”

  “You go ahead. Mary and I will help clean up,” Carl said.

  “Please promise me you’ll keep the elf outfit on,” Steve whispered.

  “Only if I can keep my coat on over it,” Kat laughed.

  As ridiculous as Kat felt in her elf costume, there was something comforting about being there. She felt the warm acceptance of being part of a community.

  “It’s almost four,” Steve said. “I think you have handed out enough cookies.”

  “I agree. Let me grab my coat and purse,” Kat said. She got her things and followed Steve, Don, Jennifer, and Lisa out the door. They drove to Muldoon’s and sat at the bar so they could talk to Jack. By the end of happy hour, Don was wearing Kat’s elf ears and Lisa was wearing her elf hat. Kat ordered a burger to absorb some of the Christmas cheer she had consumed and at seven o’clock Kat decided to walk back to Mary’s.

  “I will walk you home,” Steve said.

  “You don’t have to do that.”

  “Wearing that costume, I think it is advisable you have a chaperone.”

  “All right you win.”

  As they left Muldoon’s and started walking to Mary’s house, Steve suddenly asked, “Would you like to go out sometime?”

  Kat stopped walking and turned toward Steve. “I really like you, Steve,” she started to say.

  “Uh oh, here it comes. I like you but…” Steve said.

  “I’m still getting over someone. I need more time.”

  “It’s that Warren guy, isn’t it?”

  “I’m afraid so,” Kat said.

  “Will you let me know when you have moved on?”

  “Yes, I will.”

  When they were on Mary’s street, Steve stopped and looked up at the sky.

  “Wow, look at those stars,” he said. Kat stopped and looked up at the star laden sky, so bright and clear.

  “It’s a beautiful night,” she agreed.

  “Did your aunt get a new car?” Steve asked.

  “No, why do you ask?”

  “You must have company then.” Steve motioned to a car in Mary’s driveway. Kat turned to see a dark blue BMW parked in the drive.

  “I don’t recognize the car,” Kat said.

  “I guess you’ll soon find out. Will I see you on the trail before Christmas?” Steve asked.

  “I’ll be there,” Kat smiled.

  Steve leaned over and kissed Kat’s cheek. “See you then.” He turned and trudged back up the street, hands stuffed in his pockets, shoulders hunched against the cold.

  Kat turned and looked at Mary’s house. The windows were aglow with warmth and the tiny white Christmas lights hanging from the eaves were reflecting off the snow-covered yard. Kat wondered who Mary’s visitor was. She turned again to see Steve turn the corner and disappear from sight.

  Kat adjusted her purse on her shoulder, trudged up through the snow to the porch, and walked through the front door.

  “Hi Aunt Mary…” Kat stopped abruptly. Daniel Lawton was sitting on a chair across from Aunt Mary. At first Kat thought she may be having some sort of vision, but Aunt Mary’s voice snapped her back to reality.

  “Hi honey, you have a visitor.”

  “Hi Kat,” Daniel said as he gave her a big smile.

  “What are you doing here,” was all Kat could manage.

  “I think I’ll go upstairs and watch some TV,” Aunt Mary muttered as she stood and slipped quietly up the stairs.

  Daniel stood up and walked over to Kat and took her hands. “God, it’s good to see you. You look beautiful.”

  Kat’s head was swimming. Why was he here? Did he and Missy break up? She couldn’t quite grasp the confusing flood of feelings that rushed over her. There was a time when Kat would have been ecstatic to see Daniel, now all she felt was annoyed. Did he think he could just pop back into her life and expect her to be the same person she was a year ago? Daniel suddenly leaned over and kissed Kat hard on the lips.

  “Where is Missy?” Kat asked as she backed away in surprise.

  “She is skiing this weekend with some girlfriends,” he said softly. “Kat, I have missed you so much.”

  Just then, Kat smelled a horrible odor. She felt her stomach heave slightly as she stepped back from Daniel.

  “What’s the matter Kat? I understand if you are angry with me.”

  “Oh my God, what is that smell?” she gasped.

  “What smell? Kat, are you all right?”

  As he spoke, Kat got another wave of the putrid odor. Her eyes started to water.

  “I think I have to step outside,” Kat said as she backed out the front door.

  Daniel followed her out. Unfortunately, so did the smell. Kat suddenly remembered the night of the Full Moon Celebration, when John had made her think she smelled something horrible while she was talking to Steve. If John was doing this, it would mean he was in Northport. Why would he show up here after three months of no contact and do this?

  “Kat, I came here to tell you I still love you. I think about you all the time.” Daniel tried to reach for her hand again, but the fumes were overpowering. Kat stumbled backward down the front steps.

  “I’m sorry Daniel,” Kat said coughing several times. “I need to go.” Thankfully, Kat had her car keys in her purse. She ran through the snow to her car and started it up. As she pu
lled away, she looked in the rear view mirror to see Daniel standing in Aunt Mary’s yard with a confused, hurt expression on his face. How pathetic he looks.

  As Kat drove toward John’s house, she could feel her anger growing. Why would he continue to play with her like that? He goes off to Chicago and goes about his life, without giving her a second thought. She had already risked her life and her sanity to help him find his parents’ killers. What could he possibly want now?

  Hot angry tears filled her eyes as she pulled into the gravel driveway. She looked up and saw him standing on the front porch. Apparently he was expecting her. Kat got out of the car and started walking toward him. How impossibly handsome he looks in the moonlight.

  “What are you doing?” Kat asked sharply as she walked toward the porch. John came down the porch steps toward her. “What do you want from me now?”

  Kat expected John to stop where he was but he continued to walk toward her. He wrapped his arm around the small of her back and pulled her against his chest, pressing his lips to hers. At first Kat pushed against him but he would not let her go. She began to feel the energy running through his lips and her resistance and anger began to drain away. Kat opened her mouth and the kiss deepened. John moved his arms up her back to pull her even closer. His lips moved from her mouth along Kat’s jaw line and down her neck. Kat moaned softly.

  He stopped kissing her and spoke softly into her neck, “He’s not good for you, Kat. He doesn’t deserve you. He doesn’t even know you.”

  “Why are you here?” she asked.

  “I wanted to check on you. I saw your ex-boyfriend at your aunt’s house and couldn’t stand the thought of him touching you.”

  “I don’t understand. I don’t hear from you for three months and now you show up to chase my old boyfriend away.”

  With some effort, Kat pulled away from him and looked into his eyes. They were blue.

  A ghost of a smile touched the corners of his mouth. “If I were charming you, we would be upstairs in my room instead of standing in the cold.”

  John held her face in his hands. “I tried to leave you alone. I know you would be safer if you had never met me. I got you involved in something that almost killed you. I know the right thing to do is to stay out of your life, but I can’t get you out of my head or my dreams.”

  “Your dreams?” Kat asked.

  “Yes,” John said, the expression on his face was solemn. “I’m dreaming every night.” John leaned down and kissed Kat’s lips softly. All the feelings that Kat had been trying to suppress over the last three months came bubbling to the surface.

  Kat pulled away and rested her head against his chest. “What are you dreaming about?”

  “On a good night, I dream of you,” John stroked the back of Kat’s head.

  “Did you find the answers you were looking for?”

  John stopped stroking Kat’s head. “Not all of them,” he said as he pulled away. “Come inside Kat, I have a Christmas present for you.”

  Kat allowed him to take her hand and lead her up the steps into the house. There was a Christmas tree by the windows in the great room decorated with only white lights. John noticed Kat staring at the tree.

  “Maybe you could help me put the ornaments on. Martine had it delivered today.” John turned back to Kat and said, “May I take your coat?”

  “Yes, thank you,” Kat said as she slipped off her coat. John tossed the coat on an arm of a chair and studied Kat’s outfit with interest.

  “It’s nice to see that you are in the Christmas spirit,” he murmured as he gave her a smoldering look.

  Kat had forgotten she was still wearing the elf costume, minus the pointy ears and hat. “Mary volunteered me to be an elf at the lighthouse celebration today,” she said as the blood rushed to her cheeks.

  “I like costumes,” John said with a low suggestive voice. He walked over to the Christmas tree, reached under it, and picked up a square gold package.

  “I saw this in a shop in Chicago and thought of you. Of course, I did make some modifications to it.” John motioned for Kat to sit on the couch. He handed her the box and sat next to her. She untied the sparkly gold bow and opened the lid.

  “What is it?” Kat asked peering into the box. It looked like a round glass ball.

  “Take it out,” John said, “but be careful, it’s a little heavy.”

  Kat reached in with both hands and lifted the glass ball out of the box. It was heavy and sat on an ornate gold base. It looked like a very expensive snow globe but there was nothing but snow inside the glass. Kat looked at John with a puzzled expression on her face.

  “You have to shake it,” he said as if he were talking to a small child.

  Kat shook the globe and sent the snow swirling around the glass. When the white flakes began to settle Kat could see something moving in the glass ball. It was her mother in Aunt Mary’s garden, holding a toad for Kat to touch. She looked up at John with tears in her eyes.

  “How did you do that?”

  “Do you like it?”

  “It’s the most beautiful thing anyone has ever given me,” Kat whispered. Kat looked into the ball again and her mother was pinching the back of a snapdragon flower making its pedals open and shut like a mouth. She was pretending the flower was talking to Kat. Kat saw herself as a little girl giggling at the flower, then the image faded and the water was clear again.

  “You can always shake it up again,” John said, noticing that the images were gone. Kat put the glass snow globe on the table in front of her and turned toward John.

  “How long will you be here?” Kat wanted to try to prepare herself for the desolation she would feel when he left.

  “I have to be back in Chicago for New Year’s Eve.”

  “Oh,” Kat sighed. She was worn out from the emotional roller coaster she had been on for the past year.

  “That should be long enough to convince you to come back to Chicago with me.”

  Kat stared at him astonished. “Chicago!” she exclaimed.

  He wrapped his arms around Kat, pulled her closer and kissed her passionately. She felt a familiar rush of excitement and fear as she wondered what Chicago would be like this time of year.

  About the Author

  The author lives in Cincinnati, Ohio with her husband and three children. As a child, she was fascinated by the stories her Irish grandparents told her about “the old country.” Stories, no doubt, conjured up during long walks down dark, country roads or through graveyards next to medieval churches. She put her desire to write stories aside for family and career, but with The 45th Parallel, her first book, she found the courage to reawaken her Irish heritage. If you enjoyed this book, this author has other works available here:

  Author's Web Site

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