Somewhere Only We Know

by Beverley Hollowed

  He climbed out of the car, when it came to a stop and turned to Kate, smiled nervously and offered her his hand. When she climbed out of the car, he led her to the table, beneath the gazebo and held out her chair, waiting for her to sit down.

  As they ate dinner, Callum noticed Kate was quiet.

  “Are you okay,” he asked as he watched her push her food around her plate.

  She nodded but her eyes glistened with unshed tears.

  “Katie, what is it?” Callum asked, suddenly filled with concern.

  “Oh I am just being silly,” she forced a laugh and waved her hand dismissively. She quickly blinked back the tears.

  “No, something has upset you,” Callum said reaching over and taking hold of her hand.

  “It’s tonight,” she said, as she finally allowed her eyes to meet his. “All this, it is perfect. You are perfect. But… you’re leaving. Is all this to tell me you won’t be coming back?”

  “What! No!” Callum laughed. He was up on his feet and next to her in a heartbeat. “You think this is me saying goodbye. How could I ever say goodbye to you. No, this is not goodbye.”

  Callum took a deep breath and dropped to his knee. Kate gasped in surprise, and brought her hands to her mouth, the tears she was holding back broke free, but this time, they were tears of happiness.

  “Katherine Sarah Kelly,” Callum began, as he reached out and took her hand. “I never thought I would find myself and lose my heart when I came here to work. But I did, you have shown me what and who I want to be. You have shown me how to love and to give unconditionally. You are my other half. My best friend and my soul mate.”

  He stopped for a moment and took a deep steadying breath. Then, giving her a huge smile he continued.

  “Kate,” he said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, black velvet box. “I can’t imagine a future without you. I don’t want a future without you. Will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?”

  Callum smiled sadly when he remembered how happy he had been back then. He thought nothing could have ever changed that or come between them, he was so wrong.

  By the time he reached his hotel room, he felt defeat and tired. As he slipped the key card into the lock, he mentally braced himself for the barrage of questions he knew James would have for him.

  “Before you start,” Callum said watching through the door, deciding to pre-empt James and stop his inquisition before it started. “I don’t want to…”

  He stopped dead in his tracks after he walked into his room and saw his mother sitting there.

  “Mother,” Callum said, looking at James, who just shrugged his shoulders at his brother.

  “Oh, so you remember who I am,” she said, as she stood, walked up to her youngest son and kissed him on the cheek. “Seems both of my sons have forgotten I exist.”

  James rolled his eyes, sat on the window ledge and crossed his arms across his chest.

  “Mother, I have not had a great morning,” Callum sighed, not feeling in any humour to listen to one of her long speeches. “I really don’t want a lecture.”

  “Well there would be no need for a lecture, as you call it,” she replied, clearly unhappy with her son’s response. “If I knew where my sons where, but it has taken me over a week to track you two down, your secretaries were of no use. Thankfully I managed to find you, when I finally got hold of Charles from James’s office. He told me James has come rushing up to Seattle after you, because he was worried sick over you.”

  “I am fine,” Callum said as he slipped off his jacket and threw it down on the bed. He then turned to the mini bar, opened it and bent down.

  “Well if you need to find the answer in the bottom of a glass,” Evelyn Greyson said, as she gave her son a disapproving look. “I would say you were far from fine.”

  Callum stood up and held up a bottle of sparkling water.

  “Well, yes,” she huffed. “So she finally left you. Well she was never good enough anyway.”

  “Don’t you dare speak about my wife like that!” Callum snapped angrily at his mother. “Your opinion is neither wanted nor needed.”

  “I am just saying,” she said as she took her seat once again. “This doesn’t have to be the end of the world. Like I said to you after the episode before Christmas, you could start again. You could still have the family you wanted.”

  “It wasn’t an episode, as you called it,” Callum shot back. “It was a cry for help. Her world had fallen apart and you still can’t help but stick the knife in.”

  “Oh whatever it was,” Evelyn said in her usual dismissive tone that Callum detested. “It no longer matters as she has decided she wants to go her separate way. Good riddance, I say.”

  “What…what happened before Christmas?” James asked, standing up and looking straight at Callum.

  “It doesn’t matter,” Callum replied, his eyes never leaving his mother. He was so mad at her. He knew she never approved of him and Kate, but surely she would not want her son to be hurting like he was, clearly, he was wrong.

  “Cal, what happened before Christmas?” James pushed.

  “Kate tried to OD,” Callum said with a sigh. “I forgot some paper work and return home and found her passed out in the bath. She was not is a good place. But she got help. It was a hard time for us all. It wasn’t something she wanted people to know about. I only told mother because she happened to call when I was waiting in the emergency room, for word of Kate.”

  James was stunned, he didn’t know what to say. Before he could respond their mother spoke again.

  “Callum, why are you here,” Evelyn asked her son.

  “I am here to win her back,” he said, as he flopped down on to the end of the bed. “Well it’s what I thought, but I think I blew it.”

  He turned and looked at his mother, who couldn’t help but smile.

  “Try not to look so smug mother,” he added, then looked at James. “I fucked up epically today. I think it’s time to accept defeat and go back home.”

  “What about Kate,” James asked. “You are just going to go and leave her here?”

  “She knows where to find me if she changes her mind,” Callum said sadly, as he stood up and grabbed his bag. It was time to go home.

  Chapter 28

  Kate pulled her car to a stop outside Jack’s house. They had just spent three hours in the emergency room having Finn’s nose checked out. She turned to a very battered looking Finn and gave him a sad smile, then sighed. She was sick with guilt that this had happened to him in her home.

  “Don’t,” Finn said quickly.

  “Don’t what?” Kate asked.

  “Don’t blame yourself for this,” Finn said, as if reading her mind. “This was not your fault. Hell I don’t even blame Callum that much. I probably would have reacted the same way as he did.”

  “There was no excuse for behaving like he did,” Kate said, looking down at her hands.

  “Kate look at me,” Finn said, as he reached over and took her hand. Kate turned and let her eyes meet his. “If you walked in on Callum with that girl?”

  “I know,” Kate sighed. She knew he was right, if it had been her that walked in on him. She would have totally freaked out. “Still, doesn’t mean I should be happy about your face. What is your dad going to say about your two black eyes?”

  Don’t worry about my dad,” Finn said with a sad smile. “I am just happy it’s not broken.”

  “Yes,” Kate nodded, “That is something, at least.”

  “So you gonna come in and say hi?” Finn asked, hopefully.

  “Sure,” Kate said and forced a smile. She was sure Jack was going to be pissed about Finn’s face. She thought at this point, Jack would wish that he had never invited her into his house that day. She had brought nothing but trouble with her.

  “Stop,” Finn said, as he opened the car door and climbed out. He hurried around the car to open Kate’s door. “You are worrying for nothing. I am a big boy. Dad isn’t going t
o blame you.”

  He took hold of her hand and led her up the pathway to his father’s house.

  “Dad, it’s just us,” he called out, as they stepped through the door. He got no response. He looked at Kate and she could tell he was worried.

  “Maybe he is out in the back garden,” she suggested.

  “DAD!” Finn called out a little louder, as he made his way towards the back of the house. Still there was no answer. Kate could sense the worry oozing from Finn and if she was honest, she was worried too. “I told him not to be going out alone, if something happened to him in the street, how would we know?”

  “He can’t have gone far,” Kate replied. “Maybe he has gone to my house. He dropped by there, yesterday.”

  “Did he now?” Finn replied and gave Kate a strange look. She was just about to give him an explanation, when she looked over his shoulder and spotted Jack lying face down, in the back yard.”

  “Finn, call 911,” she told him, as she rushed toward the back door. Finn turned and saw his father on the ground and hurried after her, as he pulled his phone from his pocket.

  “Jack,” Kate said, dropping to her knees next to Jack. She pressed her fingers to his neck, looking for a pulse but could find none. She bent closer to him trying to hear breath sounds, but there was none. “Finn tell them to hurry, he isn’t breathing.”

  Finn called 911 and relayed everything Kate told him to say. She carefully turned Jack over and opened the collar on his shirt. She tried again to find a pulse, but when she couldn’t, she began CPR.

  “COME ON JACK!” She shouted, as she pressed down on his chest again and again, stopping only to breathe into his mouth.

  “DAD, PLEASE,” Finn said, as he paced up and down next to Kate and Jack, panic and fear gripping him completely. They could hear the sound of sirens in the distance, but Kate didn’t give up, she pushed down on his chest again and again. Stopped to breathe into his mouth then she checked his pulse once again. This time she could feel a very faint pulse, so she kept going with the CPR.

  Finally, Jack let out a very faint breath.

  “He is breathing,” Kate said looking up at Finn. “But only just, we need to get him to the hospital as soon as possible.”

  They heard banging on the front door and Finn ran to the front to let the paramedics in.

  “So, what do we have here?” one on the paramedics asked, as they joined Kate on the ground next to Jack.

  “Sixty-seven year old male, stage four cancer, found unconscious ten minutes ago. No pulse initially, but after CPR, we got a pulse, it’s weak and thready. I think it’s a possible MI, but with his underlying health issues it’s hard to tell,” Kate replied, then glanced up at the paramedic, who was looking at her in surprise. “I’m a doctor.”

  “Thanks Doc,” was all he replied, as they began to work on Jack. Kate stood up and went to Finn, who was standing watching his father, white as a ghost.

  “I thought he was dead,” he whispered to Kate. “And all I could think was, the last time I spoke to my father, I was mad at him.”

  “Finn, he knew you were just upset,” Kate replied, as she looked back down at Jack who was now hooked up to an IV drip and had an oxygen mask on.

  “I just don’t want the last memory I have of him, to be of me being angry with him for not telling us he was sick,” Finn said and he looked down at Kate. She pulled him to her and hugged him tightly.

  When they arrived at the hospital, Jack was brought straight into a treatment room and Finn was told to wait outside.

  “Are you coming with us Doc?” The paramedic turned and asked Kate. She just froze.

  “Go with them,” Finn pleaded with Kate. “Please, I don’t want him on his own.”

  Kate nodded and hurried after the paramedics and Jack.

  “This is Dr. Greyson,” the paramedic introduced her to the doctor taking care of Jack. “She was on the scene when we arrived. She had resuscitated Mr. Morgan at the scene. She said he has stage four cancer.”

  “Dr. Greyson,” the middle aged doctor turned his attention to Kate. “I am Dr. Carmichael…”

  “Please, call me Kate,” Kate corrected him, she hated being called doctor now.

  “Kate,” he repeated. “So Mr. Morgan was diagnosed with stage four cancer.”

  “Yes,” Kate confirmed. “About three weeks ago.”

  Kate filled the doctor in on everything she knew about Jack’s condition. She was still talking to the doctor when Jack’s eyes flicked open.

  “Hey,” Kate said, as she moved closer to Jack and smiled down at him. “You gave us all quite a scare.”

  “I’m still here then?” he said with a grin, from behind his oxygen mask.

  “You think we were gonna let you go that easy?” Kate laughed. “Finn is outside. I will go and let him know how you are doing. I know he is worried sick about you.”

  Jack grabbed Kate’s arm and pulled her closer to him.

  “Thanks for being here with him,” Jack whispered. “I know it’s not easy for you to be here, but right now he needs a friend.”

  “He has one, Jack,” she said with a big smile. Then she kissed him on the cheek and excused herself to go look for Finn.

  “How is he?” Finn was up on his feet the minute he saw Kate.

  “He is awake and talking,” Kate told a relieved looking Finn. “He is worried about you.”

  “Silly old man,” Finn said, as he broke down and began to cry. Kate instinctively wrapped her arms around Finn and held him close. “I really thought we lost him.”

  “Finn!” Sara called, as she burst through the emergency room doors and spotted Finn and Kate. When she saw Finn cry, she began to cry, as panic took hold of her. “Oh God, is he…”

  “No,” Kate reassured her, as she released Finn. He turned to face his sister and her face dropped.

  “What the hell happened to you?” Sara asked when she saw her brother bruised and battered face.

  “It was nothing,” Finn replied quickly, flashing a glance at Kate. “I don’t think it matters now anyways.”

  “Why? What’s wrong?” Sara asked.

  Finn told a devastated Sara about their father’s condition. Kate sat and watched Sara fell apart before her and her heart broke.

  She thought back to the day Callum told her that Emily was dead. She could remember it as if it where the day before and the pain in her chest was as strong as it was that day. She was just about to make an excuse to leave when the doctor she had been talking to earlier, came looking for them.

  “Is this Mr. Morgan’s family?” he asked looking directly at Kate.

  “This is his son Finn and daughter Sara,” she replied. She knew by his face, the news was grim. So did Finn. He reached down and took hold of Kate’s hand, gripping it tightly.

  “It would seem your father has had a heart attack,” he began, and Kate knew he was trying to pick his words carefully. “We have run some test and it appears that there is a blockage in one of the valves in his heart. Under normal circumstances, we would take him straight to surgery.”

  “Is that what you are going to do now?” Sara asked, hopefully.

  “Ms. Morgan,” Dr. Carmichael said, stepping closer to Sara and Finn. “As you are aware, your father has stage four cancer, we have read your father’s charts and it is a very aggressive form. It is very extensive. Your father’s cancer is in the end stages. He is weak, very weak. If we were to open him up, the chances of him making through the operation are very low.”

  “So, what does that mean?” Finn asked.

  “Mr. Morgan,” Dr. Carmichael said and paused to take a deep breath before he continued. “The operation isn’t an option, but without it, your father will more than likely have another heart attack and it will be a fatal one.”

  “So you are telling me, my dad is dying?” Finn said, but then corrected himself. “I mean, I know he is dying, but he is dying right now.”

  “I think you should spend as much time with your
father,” the doctor replied. “While you still have the time.”

  “How long?” Finn asked, but not wanting to hear the answer.

  “Not long, a few days at the most,” the doctor replied. “I am sorry it isn’t better news. Now I need to go back to your father, we will be moving him into a room in a few minutes. You can see him then.”

  The doctor excused himself and left them alone. Sara, who had remained silent the whole time, suddenly let out a heart breaking sob. She dropped to the seat in the waiting room, buried her face in her hands and cried like her world had been blown apart.

  Finn sat down next to his sister, wrapped her in his arms and held her close. He looked up at Kate and her heart almost broke.

  “Kate,” he said, as tears danced in his eyes. “My dad is dying.”

  Chapter 29

  By the time Kate got home that evening, she was emotionally and physically exhausted. She slipped her key into the lock and prepared herself for the grilling she was going to get from her two best friends.

  She had called them from the hospital earlier to let them know what had happened to Jack. Olly had asked Kate if she had talked to Callum that day. When Kate said she hadn’t, Olly sighed but said nothing.

  Kate knew, however, once she walked through the door, Olly would want to discuss, in great detail, what exactly had gone on that morning, and everything else that had happened since she left the house with Finn.

  “You’re home,” Leah said brightly from the sofa where she was having a picnic of popcorn and cheesy puffs, watching TV. “How is Finn’s dad?”

  “Jack,” Kate replied. “His name is Jack, and he is not doing so well. Where is Olly?”

  “She is in the bath,” Leah replied and gave Kate a smile. “How are you doing, sweetie.”

  Kate didn’t reply, instead she just walked over and slumped down on the sofa next to Leah.

  “That bad, huh?” Leah said, reaching for Kate’s hand.

  “Jack is dying,” Kate said sadly. “It was heart breaking to sit and watch Finn and his sister try to put on a brave face in front of their Dad. They have him sedated, so he slept mostly, but Finn and Sara never left his side.”