Somewhere Only We Know

by Beverley Hollowed

  Finally she made herself something small to eat before she cleaned up the dishes.

  She sat down on the sofa and sighed deeply, she was feeling very contented. She was ready for bed as tiredness quickly over took her.

  She was just about to head to bed when her phone buzzed on the coffee table. She thought it was most likely to be Callum, he had rang her several times during the day, but she still refused to take his call.

  When she picked it up to check, she saw her father’s number flash on the caller ID. Kate felt panicked for a few moments. She thought maybe Callum had called her dad. What was she going to tell him?

  She took a deep breath and hit the answer button.

  “Hi Dad,” Kate said as brightly as she could.

  “Hello Sweetheart,” Harry Kelly’s deep voice came booming through the phone. Kate closed her eyes and pictured her dad. She could smell his Old Spice after shave and the memory made her long to be back home. She missed her dad. He was the only one who never expected her to try to be anything other than herself, after Emily died. He never said she needed to learn to cope bit by bit, that time would be a healer or that she needed to keep going for Callum or Emily’s sake.

  Some days he would just sit and hold her while she cried without saying a word. He was the only one she allowed herself to cry in front of, because he was the only one who didn’t seem to judge her.

  “I didn’t wake you, did I?” he asked, suddenly remembering the time difference.

  “No,” Kate replied with a smile. “I was already awake.”

  “I do forget about the time difference,” he sighed. “I saw I missed a call last night from you and I just wanted to check you were okay.”

  “I’m okay Dad,” Kate replied. “I just called to say hi.”

  “How is Callum?” Harry asked unaware that the mere mention of her husband’s name made Kate’s heart ache. She thought of Callum and she wondered if he had slept since she left. If he had managed to get himself to bed or God forbid, he had lost himself in the bottom of a glass night after night.

  She hadn’t allowed herself to think about Callum in any real depth since the morning she walked out of the apartment. She had done everything she could have to not let Callum fill her mind, but now she longed to talk to him, just to see that he was okay.

  “He’s okay,” she lied and she hated lying to her father. But Kate wasn’t ready to have that conversation yet. She needed a little more time.

  They talked for about twenty minutes, well Harry talked and Kate happily listened. He told her all about her twin brothers and their latest antics. About the endless string of girls they were dating and how he wondered would they ever settle down like Kate had.

  Kate couldn’t help but laugh when she thought of her brothers Shea and Dara. They were always getting into all sorts of trouble. Harry always despaired about his sons, but Kate just laughed whenever she heard of their antics.

  It was almost 2 am before Kate said goodnight to her father and climbed into bed, completely exhausted.

  As she lay there in the darkness of her new bedroom, her mind wandered back to Callum. She picked up her phone from the nightstand and brought up his number. She stared at it for a few minutes before she pressed call.

  “Kate,” Callum’s voice echoed through the phone after just two rings. “Sweetheart, are you okay?”

  “Hi Cal,” she said, taking a deep breath. “I’m okay.”

  “Katie, I miss you so much,” Callum’s voice was filled with so much sadness, Kate could hold the tears back no longer. “Please baby, please come home.”

  “Callum, please don’t,” Kate sobbed quietly. “I just wanted to tell you I was okay, that I am safe.”

  “Katie, we can make this work,” Callum begged.

  “Callum, I can’t do this,” Kate cried harder. “I have to go.”

  “No Katie, wait please,” Callum said, panic filling his voice. “Wait, let me talk to you, plea…”

  Kate pressed the end button and switched her phone off completely. Dropping her phone to the bed, she buried her face in her hands and cried.

  She cried till there were no more tears, and she lay there in the bed, still in the darkness until her eyes grew heavy and she could fight the sleep no longer and she drifted into a restless sleep.

  Chapter 7

  Kate was standing in the middle of the field. The light summer breeze felt good on her face. The delicate smell of the summer flowers rose into the air and filled her senses.

  “Mommy,” she could hear Emily call out and giggle. She spun around to find her, but the sun almost blinded her.

  “Mommy,” Kate heard again, as she spun around in a circle to find her, but she was nowhere to be seen. A familiar feeling of panic began to wash over her. She needed to find Emily. She spun around in circles again and again, but she couldn’t see her anywhere.

  “EMILY!” Kate cried out loudly, but there was no reply.

  Suddenly the storm clouds rolled overhead and Kate was standing on the edge of the river bank.

  “Mommy,” she heard again, but this time it was different. This time Emily sounded scared.

  Kate could feel the ground give way beneath her feet, as she slipped and crashed into the water with a loud splash.

  “Mommy,” she heard Emily cry out and her heart almost burst with fear. She kicked and splashed as hard as she could to stay above the water, but it was no use, she was tired and could fight no longer. She slowly began to sink beneath the surface, down into the darkness….

  “EMILY!” Kate screamed, as she sprung up in her bed, once again breathless and drenched in sweat. For a moment she had no idea where she was, but slowly her memories of the past few days came back to her and she remembered she was in her new bed, in her new home, starting her new life.

  She picked her phone up off the bedside table and switched it back on so she could check the time. Instantly her phone began pinging with notifications of missed calls. There were sixteen missed calls from Callum, two from Leah and several from Olly. There were a bunch of text messages too, but she didn’t bother to check any of them.

  Instead she just checked the time and when she saw it was almost midday, she sprung out of bed and headed straight to the bathroom.

  Forty minutes later she stepped out into the bright afternoon sun. She pulled her sunglasses from her bag and slipped them on. She then hurried down the path and quickly climbed into her car before any of her new neighbours could stop her and talk to her.

  After stopping at a few stores to pick up the various things she needed for the house, she headed to the grocery store to buy some food and other bits and pieces. She was standing in the checkout line, lost in her thoughts, when the man standing in front of her, turned to her and smiled.

  “Lovely day, isn’t it,” he said, his eyes never leaving Kate’s. She took him in for a moment, and something about him reminded Kate of her dad, but she wasn’t sure what. Then it hit her, it was his eyes. He had the same look of sadness in them she had seen every day in her father’s eyes since they lost her mom. Kate’s heart tightened, as she thought of her dad. She missed him so much.

  “It is a beautiful day,” Kate replied forcing herself to give the man a bright, genuine smile.

  “Hey, you’re Irish,” he said as his face lit up and she knew his interest was suddenly peeked. His smile widened briefly, but then dropped slightly and his thoughts appeared to be elsewhere. “My late wife Kathleen was Irish. She was from Dublin. You sound just like her, you look a little like her too.”

  “Really?” Kate replied unsure of what else she should say.

  “It’s funny how you can forget how much you miss someone’s voice, until you hear it again,” he replied and then looked at Kate, giving her a kind smile. “Well, kind of.”

  “I guess that’s true.” Kate smiled back, as the man turned to the cashier behind the checkout. He placed his couple of items down on the counter and the cashier swiped them through.

 
; “That will be $8.69,”the young girl behind the counter said, looking at the older man expectantly. He reached for his pocket and instantly a look of panic spread across his face. He frantically began to pat himself all over, but the panic on his face just got worse. The girl repeated impatiently. “$8.69.”

  “I…eh…I can’t…I,” the man mumbled, as the panic began to take hold of him. “I seemed to have left my wallet at home.” The girl tutted loudly and sighed.

  “Here,” Kate said stepping up to the counter and handing the cashier ten dollars. “Let me.”

  “I can’t let you do…” the man began to protest but Kate stopped him.

  “It’s nothing really,” she said with a smile, then added. “Besides, we Irish need to stick together and when you married Kathleen, you became honorary Irish, right?”

  “Thank you,” he said with a grateful smile.

  “My pleasure,” Kate replied brightly.

  The cashier packed the man’s items into a bag for him, while Kate placed her own items on the check out.

  “Thank you again,” the man said turning back to Kate one more time before he picked up his bag and headed for the door.

  When Kate paid for her purchases, she picked up her two grocery bags, she headed out the door and to her car. As she walked to her car, she spotted the man from the checkout, sitting on a bench out in front of the store. He looked lost and very alone and her heart went out to him.

  She watched him for a moment, unsure of what she should do. He was a stranger and probably didn’t want her sticking her nose into his business, because that was the last thing she would want someone to do to her. Still, there was something about him, something that reminded her of her own father. She missed her dad so much since she left Dublin, and this man was so like him, from the way he stood to his sad smile, her heart wanted to reach out to him and help.

  However, the fact remained, he was still a stranger, and she’s had enough drama in her life. She decided to leave well enough alone. She had done her Good Samaritan bit for the day. No, she was just going to get into her car and head for home

  She pressed the button on her keys to open the boot of her car. Suddenly, just as she reached her car, the bottom of one of her bags gave way, sending its contents rolling in a dozen different directions.

  “DAMN IT!” She cried as she set the other bag into the boot of her car and began to pick up her groceries from the ground one by one muttering to herself as she did.

  “Here, let me help you,” a voice from behind Kate sounded, making her jump a little. She turned to see the man from the store standing behind her. He quickly bent down and helped her pick up her shopping from the ground.

  “That’s very kind of you,” Kate protested. “But there really is no need. It won’t take me a second to pick them up.”

  “Nonsense,” the man said ignoring her and continued to pick up the items scattered around the ground. When the man’s hand were full, he stood up and handed Kate her things. Kate smiled, but it faded when she noticed the man seemed a little dizzy and breathless.

  “Are you okay?” she asked, as he reached for her car to steady himself.

  “Just stood up too quickly is all,” he replied, waving his hand dismissively. Before he could say another word he swayed and Kate dropped what she was holding once again and quickly grabbed his arm before he collapsed to the ground.

  “I have you,” Kate said as she held the man firmly, supporting him until he caught his balance. “Is there anyone I can call for you?”

  “I’ll be okay,” he insisted, as he tried to regain his composer. “I don’t live far from here, a couple of stops on the bus.”

  “I am not letting you get on a bus,” Kate said and without saying another word, she led him to the passenger side of her car. He protested, but Kate was not taking no for an answer. Once she had him in the car, she quickly picked up her shopping, placed it in the boot and hurried around the car to the driver’s side.

  What the hell am I doing? She thought to herself. Nice one Kate, way to lay low and stay invisible.

  She climbed into the driver’s seat and, smiling over at her passenger, as she started the engine.

  “I will have you home in no time,” she reassured him before she pulled out of the car park. They drove most of the way in awkward silence, punctuated only with the sound of older man giving her directions to his home.

  “Thank you for all your help…” the man said turning to Kate when they came to a stop in front of his home about five minutes later. “Oh, I am so sorry, you have been so nice and I haven’t even asked your name or even introduced myself. I’m Jack.” He reached out his hand to Kate and smiled warmly at her.

  “Kate,” she replied, as she took his hand and shook it firmly.

  “It is truly my pleasure, Kate,” his smile widened. “You really are one of the kindest people I have met in such a long time. Or as my Kathleen would have said, you’re one in a million. These days, everyone seems too busy to even think about helping out a total stranger. Your folks must be very proud of you.”

  “I would like to think they were,” Kate replied, genuinely touched by what he had said.

  “You know, my daughter bakes the most wonderful apple pie,” he said, surprising Kate with the sudden change in direction of the conversation. “And she dropped me by a fresh one this morning. How about you join me for a piece of pie and a cold glass of homemade lemonade.”

  Then holding up his grocery bag, he added with a grin. “I’ve got ice-cream.”

  “That is very sweet, but…” Kate began to decline but Jack interrupted.

  “Please,” he pushed. “I can pay you what I owe you too.”

  “There really is no need,” Kate replied.

  “It’s really is good pie,” Jack added with a cheeky smile and Kate couldn’t help but laugh. She knew this was a bad idea. She should simply say ‘thank you, but no thank you’ and be on her way.

  “I would love some,” she said much to her own surprise. What the hell was that? She scolded herself.

  Jack opened the car door and climbed out. Kate took a deep breath before she got out and stood next to the car. She looked up at Jack’s beautiful home and smiled. Her eyes fell to Jack, as he walked slowly up the foot path. She had no idea why this total stranger had gotten to her the way he had, but she liked him. He was sweet and kind, everything her father was. He was also a little lost, just as her father was too.

  She followed him up the foot path to the front door and followed him inside. The house was, as she had expected. It was decorated in soft gentle colours. It had photos and delicate ornaments dotted all over the room. The perfect picture of a happy family home, but the thin layer of dust that covered the photos and ornaments was the tell-tale sign, that this beautiful home had lost its woman’s touch. Just like back home. This made Kate feel sad.

  She followed him through to the kitchen.

  “Please, take a seat,” Jack said, as he walked to the cupboard and took out two glasses and two plates. He then took out the most perfect looking pie, Kate had ever seen.

  Jack cut them both a piece of pie topping them both with ice cream and poured them each a glass of lemonade. He brought them to the table and, placing the plates down in front of Kate, he took the seat across from her.

  “Thank you, Jack,” Kate said, as she brought the glass to her lips and took a sip. Jack just smiled at her, as he tucked into his apple pie and ice cream.

  “So, what brought you here from Ireland?” Jack finally asked after a couple of minutes. Kate stopped mid bite of her pie and looked up at Jack.

  SHIT! She thought to herself. What am I supposed to say now?

  Before she could answer the front door opened and banged closed.

  “Dad,” a man’s voice suddenly called from the direction of the front door. “Are you there?”

  The sound of footsteps echoed down the hallway as whoever it was approached the kitchen.

  Kate looked over at Jack
and was surprised to see the friendly happy man suddenly look sad and uneasy, but then quickly the look of sadness was replaced with one of happiness, as he painted on a big smile. Kate knew he was putting on a show, but had no idea why.

  “Here you are,” the voice said from the doorway. Kate turned from Jack to the voice and came face to face with the clearest blue eyes she had ever seen. He had a perfect smile and the slightest dimple on his left cheek, barely visible under the light layer of stubble. His loose, tossed blonde hair framed his face, finishing off the picture of gorgeous perfection standing in front of her.

  She blushed when she realised she was staring and holding her breath. Jack’s son glanced at Kate, giving her a half smile and she felt like she had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. She quickly turned her attention back to the glass of lemonade on the table she had been gripping tightly.

  What the hell was wrong with her, she had just walked out on her husband. She was in no position to even let those kinds of thoughts enter her head. She shut them straight down.

  “I’m here and I am just fine,” Jack stood up to greet his son. He walked over and patted him on the back. “Why don’t you take a seat and I will get you some lemonade and a piece of Sara’s pie.”

  “Doctor Carson’s office called,” the son said, as he took a seat across from Kate and glanced at her again for a little longer this time before turning his attention back to his father. “They said you left your wallet behind.”

  “I was wondering what I had done with that,” Jack replied, looking a little uneasy with the conversation. He looked up at Kate. “Finn, where are your manners? Can’t you see we have company? I thought I raised you better than that. You could at least say hello.”

  Then turning his attention back to Kate, he gave her a smile as he placed Finn’s lemonade and pie down in front of him, then took his seat once more.

  “Kate, this cheeky pup is my son, Finn,” Jack said as he picked up his drink and took a sip. “Finn, this lovely young lady is Kate, she kindly came to my rescue not once, but twice today.”