by C J Brown
CHAPTER 21
Kim’s story had both intrigued and exhausted Tess. She was sleeping when Mia entered her room at the hospital.
“Your grandmother will be right to go home tomorrow,” whispered the nurse as they passed at the doorway.
“Thank you,” Mia smiled. “Is she going to be alright?”
“I’m sure she will be. The doctor is confident that the fainting wasn’t anything to do with her…” The nurse suddenly stopped herself.
“It’s okay. I know about her heart problem.”
“Alright, well the doctor says it’s not associated with that. It was probably just stress related.”
Mia walked over to the bed. She wanted to kiss Tess on the forehead but didn’t want to risk waking her up so she quietly sat in the chair. The ceiling-mounted television above the bed was on with the volume down. Mia idly watched the pictures flicker by until a picture of Peter flashed onto the screen. It showed him in full dress uniform, just as he was on the day he left for Afghanistan. Just how Mia remembered him. The next picture had Mia gasping with shock. His swollen face was bruised and discoloured. If it weren’t for the fact that his name was on the screen Mia was sure she wouldn’t even recognise him.
Her eyes watered up. I just hope mum hasn’t seen this. She reached for the volume control and turned it up just enough so that it wouldn’t stir Tess. Another photo, clearly a high ranking officer, appeared on the screen.
Katz has been hailed a hero by his commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Frank Elliott. Let’s hear what he had to say. “Putting aside the fact that he has survived two years of hell at the hands of the Taliban, Peter Katz has previously proved himself in battle over many years.”
Katz’ company leader, Major Cheryl Ferguson was also unequivocal in her praise. “When the heat’s on out there in the field, Katz is one of the first people I’d want backing me up.”
The army states that it will provide all the support Katz requires to see him back to a full recovery.
Now in other news…
Mia felt a lump forming in her throat as she switched off the television. She thought that if she didn’t distract herself she would start blubbering like a baby … and if Nan wakes up to that she’ll think she’s died.
Mia saw the promise key on the shelf beside Tess’s bed and reached for it. A Promise Key, what a strange thing. What about a locket, or something a bit more romantic? What about a ring? The small engraved letters and numbers would just as easily fit on a ring. But a key? The key to her heart? The key to their future? Well, that’s how Nan sees it so that’s what matters, I guess.
Mia replaced the key and looked at the book she had brought for Tess to read: A Journey With The Tillerman. She opened it at the page where the bookmark was protruding. The bookmark was actually a business card.
Pacific Coast Community Bank
Deepak Chandra – Manager
Mia turned the card over and read the other side.
Originally established by local merchants in 1950 as Town & Country Mutual, PCCB is still owned by its customers and continues to give the service you deserve.
Blah, blah, blah. She looked at the page she had opened and started reading softly to herself:
LOVE’S PROMISE KEPT
Your fee to cross t’other side?
I asked and tipped my hat.
Just threepence, said the tillerman,
A ha’penny for your cat.
I paid the fare then as he plied
His punt thru reeds of green
That fee, he said, is go and whoa
But not for in between.
Twixt go and whoa? I raised a brow
Pray tell your price for that?
‘Tis up to you, but should you choose
I’d settle for the cat.
My friend is worth ten shillings, sir,
What give you in his stead?
What any man most deeply yearns,
Love’s promise kept, he said.
The afternoon sun shone warmly on Mia’s face and the book relaxed in her hands as she drifted off to sleep.
She reached out over the side of the boat. The struggling animal was almost within reach. Almost … almost… yes! She had it. Mia hauled in the soggy, half-dead cat and dried it with a towel.
What’s your name? Mia looked at the key that hung from the kitten’s neck. T&CM. Who would call a cat that? If you were mine I’d call you … let’s see. Mia ran her finger over the kitten’s brown patch. Like a small penny. Ha’penny. Yes, that’s a good name for a cat. It’s better than T&CM, anyway.
Yes, T&CM is a strange name, sighed Tess. Mia swung around to see her grandmother, dressed as a bride, sitting at the back of the boat with one hand on the till. In the other she held a steaming hot cup of tea. But maybe that’s not the cat’s name, she said. Some things are just not as they seem. Oops!
Tess dropped her cup and it smashed on the floor of the boat.
Mia sat up with a fright.
“What’s wrong, dear? Bad dream?”
“Oh, you’re awake, Nan!” Mia closed the book and put it on the bedside shelf. “I brought this for you. Some pretty heavy reading in there!”
“Thank you. Where’s your mother?”
“She stayed back at the hotel. She was expecting Peter to call.”
Tess picked up the small poetry book and started reading. Mia frowned, thinking about her strange dream.
“Nan,” she said after a while, “you know your key.”
“Yes, dear.”
“Are you sure that it means what you think it means?”
“Of course. What else could it mean?
“Oh, I don’t know, but in the old days …I mean, when you were younger the man’s name always went first, didn’t it? Like Mr and Mrs Tom and Mary Jones.”
“Yes, I suppose it did.”
“Well, why would my grandfather put T&CM instead of C&TM?”
“Oh, I don’t really know. I’ve never really thought about that. Maybe he just wanted to put me first out of respect.”
“Yes, I guess you’re right.”
Tess sighed deeply. “A lot has happened in the past couple of days. Peter is safe. How exciting is that? And I’ve seen a little spark in you that has been missing for a while, too.” She motioned for Mia to come closer. “And me, well, while I haven’t had all my questions answered I’ve come pretty close. Maybe as close as I’ll get. I always loved your grandfather and now I know he always loved me.” Tess reached for the promise key. “Here, I don’t need this to remind me anymore. I have memories and now I have his letters.”
Tess put the key into Mia’s hands and closed her fingers around it.