The Last Rose of Summer

by Kenna Gordon

  “Now that you have graduated what are your plans Katelin?” Her father asked.

  “I am not sure yet. I have a couple of offers both here and in New York.”

  “Your sister has decided to join the firm,” James announced proudly.

  Katelin looked across the table at her sister. Kasey hadn’t acknowledged their fathers proclamation. Instead, she was looking down at her plate mindlessly moving the food from one side to another while she avoided eye contact with Kate. Kasey fell neatly into their fathers mold for her. But no one knew Kasey better than Katelin. Her sister had given up her dream of being an artist, and the man she loved, returning home to take her appointed place in their father’s business.

  “That’s because she always does what she’s suppose to do.” Katelin obviously disapproved of the decision. “And what does Sean think about your new job?” She asked.

  “Sean’s in Ireland and I’m here, what do you think?” Kasey responded, looking up from her plate long enough to give Kate an icy stare.

  As usual Kasey had stifled her feelings, while Katelin didn’t hesitate to say what she thought.

  “It’s good to see that some things never change,” Bryan chuckled; his remark had broken the uneasy feeling at the table.

  “Love you Kasey.”

  “I love you too Kate,” her sister replied shaking her head.

  The tension between the two sisters had eased, but Katelin could see the pain in Kasey’s eyes and knew she was keeping something from her. Kate remembered the letters she had sent her while she was away. With each new correspondence, Katelin could see that Kasey had fallen in love with Sean McKenna and the idea of a life in Ireland.

  After dinner, James and the boys helped Meggie clear the table. While they carried on in the kitchen, Joanna noticed Katelin sitting on the swing in the backyard.

  Joanna walked outside to join Kate, “Kasey tells me you've been seeing someone.”

  “Yes, his name is Noah,” Katelin responded.

  “Is it serious?” Joanna asked.

  Kate hesitated, “If you mean, do I think there is a future with Noah...I don't know.”

  Her experience with Myles had made her cautious about love and relationships, and her reluctance to commit was obvious to Joanna.

  “When you fall in love, you will know.” Joanna reached over to stroke Kate’s hair.

  The loving gesture reminded Katelin of the way her own mother had brushed her hair when she was a young girl.

  As Joanna stood up she noticed Myles standing in the doorway, and even though he had tried hard to hide it, she could see that her son had feelings for Katelin. He had been listening long enough to hear about Noah, and his heart sank a little. Myles knew that she would go on with her life and that he would go on with his, but seeing her now made him feel a twinge of jealousy.

  He had sent Katelin a handful of e-mails, a couple of birthday cards, and had even tried to call her while she was in New York, but his attempts at communication had gone unanswered. He knew that the way they had left things must have hurt her deeply, and somehow he wished he could make up for what he had said and done. He missed their talks; he missed their silent moments; Myles missed Katie more than he had imagined. He had hoped that when Kate came home for the summer they would get the opportunity to repair their friendship, but that hope had begun to fade.

  Joanna touched her son's face as she passed him in the doorway, “Go talk to her.”

  Katelin could hear the laughter of her family and a slow, sultry ballad playing on the radio in the kitchen.

  As Myles approached her; he held out his hand and said, “Katie?”

  “Yes.”

  “Will you dance with me?”

  Kate was taken aback by the invitation. She hesitated, and then, without saying a word took his outstretched hand.

  Cupping the small of her back, Myles pulled her close to him. He could feel her shiver slightly. Was it the cool night air? Or was it the excitement of being close to one another again? Their bodies began to sway rhythmically to the sensual music. Slowly and deliberately Myles ran his nose along the smooth curve of Katelin's neck; she smelled like jasmine and vanilla. It excited him to feel the warmth of her breath against his cheek. It felt comfortable holding Katie again. He held her tighter; their bodies pressed together, making it nearly impossible for Myles to think straight.

  As the music ended, Kate pulled away from Myles. “Thanks for the dance,” she said.

  There was a long and uncomfortable pause while the two of them struggled to find the words they wanted to say.

  Deciding to ignore his feelings Myles broke the awkward silence. “I overheard your conversation with mom. Are you happy Katie?”

  “Yes, Kate lied as she continued the pretense. “What about you, are you seeing someone?”

  “Yeah...I’m dating Rachael again.”

  “Oh...” Katelin suddenly felt foolish for thinking the dance was anything more than a friendly gesture. Why had she allowed herself to believe that he might have feelings for her?

  Myles had dated Rachael off and on since high school, did it really matter that he was seeing her again. Trying to pretend that she didn’t care who he dated Kate ended their moment together.

  “It's getting late, I'd better go,” she said turning to walk back to the house.

  As Katelin left Myles standing alone, she wondered how their relationship had gone wrong.

  Chapter Six

  It was a Friday night at The Celtic Rose. The bar, which felt more like an Irish Pub than an American watering hole, was owned by Katelin’s brother Michael and his best friend Kevin McKenna. Like pub sessions in Ireland, the two friends encouraged the local talent to perform both traditional and non-traditional Irish music every Friday and Saturday night.

  The Celtic Rose was filled with the usual Friday crowd of musicians and music lovers. Katelin, Kasey, and their friend Michelle entered the Rose and scanned the room for a table.

  “The two of you find a place to sit; I’ll buy the first round.” Kasey said as she headed toward the bar, where Kevin McKenna, a transplanted Irishman, was serving up drinks with his own unique brand of Irish charm. Kevin had always been very fond of Kasey. He had taken on the role of matchmaker the moment he met her, hoping to set Kasey up with his younger brother Sean. If I can’t have you, I’d like to keep you in the family; he joked. Kevin was delighted when Kasey moved to Ireland to attend University and her relationship with Sean began to grow.

  “Hey, darlin, what are you drinkin’ this fine evenin’?”

  “We’ll start with three pints of the usual Kevin.”

  “You need to consider breakin’ out of that box of yours Kasey Anne.” He said as he gave her the usual Kevin McKenna flirtatious smile. “And how’s that brother of mine?” Kevin asked as he began carefully layering Blue Moon and Guinness into pint glasses.

  There was an uncomfortable pause; as Kasey looked down and began playing with the coasters on the bar.

  “He didn’t tell you?”

  “Tell me what?” Kevin asked, handing her a tray with the three pints of beer.

  The question was followed by another uncomfortable pause before she replied, “I’m not going back to Ireland.”

  “Ah, why then?” Kevin asked; his playful expression faded into disappointment.

  “You should ask Sean,” Kasey said, wanting to turn and run! Instead, she found Kate and Michelle and walked to the table carefully balancing their drinks. It was an awkward moment she was hoping to avoid. Knowing how much Kevin loved his baby brother, and cared for her, she could only imagine his letdown.

  As Kasey approached the table Katelin could see that her sister was upset, “are you okay?”

  “I m fine, let’s have some fun,” she insisted setting the drinks on the table.

  “What is this?” Michelle made a face as she cautiously sipped the two toned drink.

  “It’s a Black and Blue. Think of it as Colorado and Ireland in a glass�
�now drink it!” Kasey ordered, picking up her beer. “Slainté,” she said raising her glass high in the air.

  “You lived in Ireland and came home more Irish than when you left,” Michelle declared.

  “I think it suits her,” Kate said, as she stared across the room. “Did you see...?”

  “Yes,” Kasey replied before her sister could finish the sentence. She had noticed Bryan, Myles, and Rachael sitting at a table across the room.

  “Gorgeous man at two o'clock,” Michelle interrupted looking over Katelin's shoulder toward the bar.

  “I am not looking.” Katelin refused to play her friend's game; the last thing she needed was another man in her life.

  “You might want to look. He can't seem to take his eyes off of you,” Kasey remarked glancing over at the stranger.

  Looking over her shoulder Katelin raised her eyebrows in astonishment. “Noah!?”

  “And of course Katelin knows him, just my luck,” Michelle said sarcastically as she took another sip of her beer. “God this is discussing!”

  Katelin stood up and walked toward the bar, “Noah, what are you doing here?”

  “I know we needed some time apart, but I didn't like the way we left things.” Noah reached over to caress her cheek. “I’ve missed you Katelin.”

  Kate had been open with Noah about the accident and losing Nick; he knew she needed time to heal, but he didn’t think distance was the answer. Pulling Katelin to him Noah kissed her softly on the lips. It was an awkward moment; Kate could feel Myles staring at them, his gaze was burning a hole in the back of her head. Breathless she took a step back and looked at Noah; now that he was here in Colorado, Katelin wasn’t sure what to do.

  “Can I meet your friends?” Noah glanced over at Kasey and Michelle.

  She hesitated for a moment, “Sure.”

  Kate reluctantly took him back to the table and started to introduce Noah when he said, “You must be Kasey.”

  Kasey immediately understood why her sister was dating the man, his playful smile and charming wit made him irresistible.

  “How could you tell?” Kasey continued the banter. “Just a guess,” he smiled.

  “It’s nice to meet you Noah, have a seat.” Kasey said pulling a chair from the table next to them.

  “Hello, I’m Michelle,” their friend announced in a playful tone.

  She leaned forward hoping her soft voice might entice him to move closer, maybe she could encourage him to sit next to her. “So Noah, tell us how you met Kate?”

  “We met on the subway.” Noah held his ground and sat down between Kasey and Katelin.

  Kate could see Noah's love for her in his warm brown eyes, as he began to tell the story of their courtship, and for a moment she was taken back to the fall of ‘96 and the first time she saw him.

  The eight o'clock train was just leaving the subway station. Katelin was sitting in her usual seat with her violin case between her feet. It was a twenty minute ride to her stop and a short walk to class. Kate recognized most of the usual Monday morning passengers. However, there was a new face this morning. She noticed a handsome man sitting two rows in front of her. Their eyes met, and she suddenly felt as though the man could see right through her. The sandy haired stranger gave Kate a polite smile and nod. Katelin returned the gesture. This ritual was repeated daily for almost a week until the man finally got up and approached Katelin.

  “Would you mind if I sat here?” The man asked pointing to the seat next to her.

  “No,” Katelin said with a wary expression on her face.

  “My name is Noah,” he said as he sat down.

  “Katelin,” she responded.

  “So Katelin, you must be a student at Julliard.”

  Noah's statement left Katelin speechless. Her surprised look prompted him to explain his assumption.

  “You get off at the Columbus Circle Station; only a few blocks from Julliard and you either have a machine gun in the case by your feet or it's a violin. I am guessing that since you don't look like a hit man, it's a violin.”

  Noah could see Katelin's uncertainty disappear as she laughed at his humorous observation. His sense of humor made her smile—Katelin had forgotten how to smile.

  “That would be a good guess,” she chuckled.

  “Now that we have our introductions out of the way, would you like to have dinner with me tonight?”

  “I don't even know you.”

  “So, if you knew me you would go out with me?”

  “Maybe,” Katelin responded with a playful smile.

  As the train approached her stop, Kate picked up the violin case, stood up, and walked toward the exit.

  “It was nice to meet you Noah.”

  “It was nice to meet you too Katelin. I'll see you tomorrow.”

  Kate turned and gave Noah a little smile as she hurried off the train.

  Their train ride together became a regular date. They spent the short ride talking about his home town in Michigan, his new job in New York, and her love for music. Noah was a fascinating man, and it wasn’t long before his charm and wit drew her in.

  After several weeks of getting to know one another, Noah decided he would make another attempt to ask Katelin out. He boarded the train, with his briefcase in one hand and a bunch of brightly colored wildflowers in the other, and sat in his usual seat next to Kate.

  “Good morning Katelin. These are for you,” he said, handing her the flowers.

  “Thank you.” She was impressed that Noah had remembered that wildflowers were her favorites.

  “So, now that we know each other will you go out with me?”

  “I admire your persistence.”

  “Does that mean yes?”

  Katelin smiled and only agreed, ”Yes.”

  They continued their playful banter until the train arrived at Katelin's stop. As she went to exit onto the platform Noah realized that he hadn't asked her for her phone number.

  “Katelin,” he called.

  Noah looked down and noticed that Kate had left her composition book on the seat next to him. He instinctively opened the front cover and found a note that read, Noah, here is my number. I look forward to hearing from you.

  When Noah looked back at Katelin, he saw her standing on the platform with a playful grin on her face.

  Now, sitting in The Celtic Rose, that autumn in New York City seemed so distant, almost as if it were another lifetime. Katelin was back home now; uncertain about the future with Noah or a life in New York.

  Katelin looked up as Myles walk to the stage with his guitar. He turned to look at her as if to say; this is for you. Sitting down on the stool in the middle of the stage, he began to play as Kate thought of all the times she had run up to Myles' room after her violin lessons so that she could listen to him practice. There was something soulful about his music, and it was easy for Katelin to get lost in the dulcet tones of his guitar. She could almost hear him say; you’re my biggest fan Katie.

  Closing her eyes, tears began to run down her cheeks as he played a beautiful ballad that sounded strangely familiar to Kate. It was the song Myles had sung to her in the hospital. She remembered all the times he sat by her bed, and sang to her, his music soothed Katelin, when nothing else seemed to ease the pain.

  As she looked up at the stage, Myles could see the tears that glistened in Kate’s eyes; it reminded him of their night together, and when their eyes met it was as if there was no one in the room but the two of them.

  Myles smiled at Katie, but the fond memory was suddenly interrupted when she felt Noah staring at her. Glancing over at him Kate could see the pain in his eyes. She couldn't bear to look at Noah, knowing the pain she had caused him. Feeling trapped and confused, Katelin stood up and ran outside. Myles abruptly sat his guitar down and went after her with Noah following closely behind.

  “Katie,” Myles said taking Katelin's hand to comfort her.

  “Don't touch her,” Noah demanded, grabbing Myles by the arm.

&nb
sp; As Myles spun around to confront Noah, Katelin said, “Myles don't, I am all right. I need to talk to Noah alone, please.”

  The uncomfortable tension eased when Myles reluctantly respected Kate’s wish and backed away from Noah.

  “I’ll be inside if you need me,” he said walking back toward The Celtic Rose.

  “Noah,” Katelin began.

  Placing his hands in his pockets, Noah looked down at the ground trying to avoid eye contact with Kate. She knew that he was upset with her.

  “You're not coming back to New York are you?”

  “No, I’m not.”

  “I’ve been such a fool; I was worried about your memories of Nick. How long have you been in love with Myles?”

  Katelin was surprised by Noah’s declaration. Love Myles? Maybe she had fallen in love with Myles, and maybe she was the only one that couldn’t see it.

  “Noah, I don't want you to think that what we had didn't mean anything to me.”

  “Is that supposed to be some kind of consolation?” Noah turned and began to walk away from Katelin.

  “Please, let me finish.”

  Reluctantly he stopped to listen to what Kate had to say.

  “When I came to New York City my heart was broken, you were the one who showed me how to love again.”

  “But your heart never really belonged to me, did it?”

  Katelin didn’t know how to respond, she thought she had resolved her feelings, but Kate had merely buried them—and buried them deep.

  Noah continued walking down the street until he was no longer in Katelin's view, no longer in her life. She had wanted to make it work with Noah, but as hard as she tried she couldn’t get Myles out of her head, or her heart.

  Noah called later that night to let her know he had taken a cab to the airport and was flying back to New York on the first available flight. She wished that things hadn’t ended the way they did and that somehow Noah could understand what he meant to her. She wanted him to understand how he had changed her life and finally freed her from Nick's memory.