Everlasting Bond

by Christine M. Besze

  “Come through here and I’ll have a look at your wrist.” Alaric turned and led them into his office.

  As his back was to them, her mother mouthed a silent “He’s hot” to her. Katrina gave her an uncomfortable grin and kept walking. Her mother could be real embarrassing sometimes. Katrina just hoped Alaric hadn’t noticed or heard her.

  They turned right and went through a small doorway. Katrina was curious on how he redecorated the office. Last time she was there to see Dr. Fenton, it smelled like moth balls and everything was outdated.

  Inside, she was pleasantly surprised. It was very tidy for an office. Everything was neatly tucked in its place. There was no overflow of papers smothering the desk, as would be the case in her mother’s house. A bulky Mahogany desk was placed in left corner of the large room. There were numerous paintings hung on the sizeable walls. Some looked like they could have belonged to Picasso himself.

  “Have a seat, right here.” He motioned for her to sit on a recliner with a stool next to the desk.

  Katrina hoisted herself up with one arm and Alaric’s help. Her mother took a seat in one of the black chairs next to her.

  Alaric took the seat in front of Katrina and her heart started to race. She hated anything to do with doctors. The thought of them made her queasy. Even when her mother used to make her come to see Dr. Fenton, she would protest. At least, Alaric had managed to update the equipment and these new chairs wouldn’t collapse on her.

  “Let’s see what we have here.” The doctor carefully unwrapped her gauze and Katrina could feel the throbbing in her wrist return.

  “Ouch!” Katrina said, as she felt him hold her wrist.

  “Now, this is going to hurt a little,” he warned.

  Katrina shouted while he gently moved her wrist back and forth. A little! It hurt like hell!

  “I’m sorry. The bad part’s over,” Alaric apologized. “You fractured your wrist. We’re going to need to put it in a cast for about six weeks.”

  “Six weeks!” Katrina was freaking out. She had never broken or fractured anything and the thought of being stuck in a plaster cast was the last thing she wanted.

  “I’m afraid so, but some of the swelling needs to go down before I can do it. So, I’ll wrap it in a splint for now. It’ll stop you from being able to use it until then,” he said, as he got up and walked over to a white medicine cabinet. Katrina watched him pull out a small board and lots more gauze.

  “Will her arm heal back to normal?” her mother asked, her voice filled with concern.

  “Yes. She’ll be as good as new.” He sat back down.

  “That’s a relief,” her mother said. “See, sweetie, I told you it wouldn’t be so bad.”

  Oh, no. It just hurts like hell and I’ll be stuck in a cast. Katrina gave her mom a nod, while Alaric sat down and finished wrapping up her arm. He did it so fast and gentle that she barely felt anything.

  “There we are. Try to use it as little as possible and I’ll see you back on Thursday to put the cast on.”

  They headed towards the front door, but Katrina noticed her mother hung back conversing with Alaric. Not wanting to completely ruin her mother’s fun, she stood by the door waiting for her, but she was growing impatient. Cole could come through that door at any moment and she really didn’t want to run into him.

  “Thank you so much, Dr. Aldrich.” Her mother sounded like an antsy school girl.

  “Please, call me Alaric.” The doctor’s eyes sparkled at her.

  “Okay, Alaric.” Her mother let out a nervous giggle, as she said his name.

  The two of them stood there in silence. Both fought the urge to speak. And Katrina thought dating got easier when you were older, boy was she wrong. “Mom, can we go? I’m really tired.” Katrina tried to hurry them along.

  “We better go.” Her mother gave him a friendly wave goodbye before opening the door.

  “Oh, I almost forgot.” He stopped them and handed her mother a piece of paper. “Here’s a prescription for pain killers. In case she needs them.”

  “Thanks.” Her mother grabbed it and shoved it in her purse.

  Without a word they walked to the car and headed home. When they pulled in the driveway her mother did as before and got all of the doors for her.

  Inside the house, the only thing Katrina wanted to do was sleep. From all the pain she was extremely tired. She started to make her way up the stairs when her mother stopped her.

  “How do you feel?” her mother asked.

  “Better. Just tired. I think I want to take a nap.”

  “Go right ahead. I have to go back to the restaurant and finish my shift. I’ll only be gone a few hours. Will you be okay?”

  “Yeah. I’m going to be in my room.”

  “Okay. Jake’s going to drive the truck home. Oh and I’ll pick up your medicine while I’m gone.” Her mother gave her a quick kiss. “I’ll see you in a bit. Get some rest.”

  “Bye mom.” Katrina watched her mom shut the front door and then headed upstairs.

  * * *

  She wasn’t sure how long she was asleep, but when she opened her eyes her room had an orange glow to it. Rubbing her eyes with her good hand, she waited until she was fully awake to get out of bed.

  Stumbling into the bathroom, Katrina attempted to wash her face, but it was awkward doing it one-handed. She made a big mess and got water everywhere. Reaching to grab the towel off the rack, she groaned. Why is it so hard for Jake to put a new one up?

  “Great. Guess I’ll have to find one,” she moaned.

  With water still dripping from her face, she went into her mother’s room. Lucky for her, she didn’t have to look too long. There was a fresh folded pile on her mother’s bed. She grabbed one of the lavender towels and went to leave when she stubbed her foot on the hope chest at the foot of her mother’s bed.

  “Ouch!” Katrina sat on the edge of the bedframe. “Damn it!” She cursed in between deep breaths, as she inspected the damage. None of her toes were broken and that was a plus. They just throbbed like they were on fire.

  She was looking at her hurt foot, when her attention was turned towards the hope chest. It was a simple rectangular maple box, but it was very heavy. It wasn’t technically her mothers, but since her father was an only child she inherited it and everything inside, until Katrina and Jake were older. In the mean time, it collected dust in her mother’s room.

  As she sat there, Katrina’s curiosity got the best of her. She hadn’t rummaged through that chest in quite some time. The memories it contained were too painful, so she tried to avoid it, but for some reason she felt compelled to do it now.

  She knelt down and carefully opened the lid with her right arm. Hearing the hinges creak, her excitement grew. A trip down memory lane might help her take her mind off her wrist.

  At first, all she found was a stack of black & white photos of her past relatives. Looking through them, she had to admit there were some that could have easily passed for her and her brother. Then her hands froze and she gasped in shock.

  “What the hell?” Her body began to panic. It looked exactly how she had remembered it. The only difference was it had little rips in the fabric due to its age. Carefully holding it between her fingers, Katrina felt a lump develop in her throat. It was surreal to be staring at the green dress that had been haunting her.

  “I wonder?” She set the dress down on the bed determined to test out her theory. Tossing the papers and pictures around, she hoped she was wrong, but something told her she wasn’t. And then she found them. “Oh crap!”

  The shoes sparkled as bright as she remembered. They looked like they had been taken care of over the years. Katrina was about to go into hysterics when she heard the doorbell.

  Frantic, she tossed everything on the bed. Then she ran downstairs. She almost tripped over a pair of Jake’s shoes on the way down, but caught herself. Opening the door, she was surprised.

  “Hi.” Cole was leaning against the front post lookin
g very uneasy. “I brought your truck home.”

  “I thought Jake was going to do it,” She tried to keep her voice calm and steady.

  “He and Andrew had some things to take care of, so I offered. And I wanted to come check on you.”

  Katrina didn’t say anything. She was still trying to get over the shock of what she just discovered and was at a loss for words. And he must have picked up on it because his demeanor changed.

  “What’s wrong?” He stepped towards her.

  “I found it,” she blurted out before her tears got the best of her. “I found it all.”

  “Hey, come here.” He pulled her to him and she cried. Cole rubbed her back, as her tears flowed harder.

  After a few minutes passed, Cole gently picked up her head. “Want to go inside?”

  “Yeah.”

  Cole grabbed her hand and led her inside, up the stairs. He was moving his head back and forth like he was searching for something.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “I’m just making sure everything’s as it should be.” Katrina was going to ask him what he meant, but he spoke first. “Where did you find them?”

  “In my mom’s room.” Katrina pointed through the doorway.

  Cole didn’t say a word. He gently pulled on her hand and led her into her mother’s room. Katrina flinched when she saw the dress and shoes still sprawled out on the bed.

  “Cole, why is it here?” Katrina let go of his hand and sat on the bed before she started hyperventilating.

  At first, Cole didn’t answer her. He was frozen, staring at the clothing resting on her mother’s bed. His face was taking it all in. It was like he was getting reacquainted with them.

  “Caroline, these things are here because they are a part of you. They belong to you.”

  “What does that even mean?” She shook her head in confusion.

  “Your past and future are here.” He motioned towards the clothes and her. “They are who you were in the past and what you’ll be now. These are what connect you to this world.”

  “I’m bound to them?”

  “Yes.” He knelt down beside her and held her face. “They get passed down from relative to relative and that’s where you’re born.”

  “My father’s stories?” she uttered as shock set in.

  “Were all true.”

  “That can’t be.”

  “Your family passes them down as stories to keep the memories alive in each generation. And everything they have of you gets stuck in there.” He pointed to the hope chest, which Katrina thought of at the moment more like a chest of doom than hope.

  “There are pictures in there of people that look just like me and my brother.” Katrina pointed at the chest.

  “That’s because they are.”

  “You’re lying.” It seemed childish to call him a liar, but that was the only way she could make sense of everything.

  Cole bent over and reached inside the chest. He shuffled things around for a few seconds and then he picked up one picture. He carefully handed it to her. “Look, at what she’s wearing.”

  Katrina took it, but didn’t look at it. She wasn’t sure she wanted to. Part of her was hoping he was wrong and if she didn’t look at it then that would remain true.

  “Please?” he urged.

  “Fine,” Katrina shrugged and lifted the picture to her face.

  She had to admit that the young girl in the photo looked very similar to her. Except her hair was cut to her shoulders and parted to one side with waves. It reminded her of a vaudeville type of style. Then she looked at her chest and gasped. Hanging around her neck was the amber amulet. It looked exactly the same as it rested against her chest now.

  “No way,” she whispered.

  In shock, she let the picture fall to the floor. Her body started to tremble. She couldn’t believe this whole time the answer to her past had only been a few feet from her. Now, there was no denying anything. The proof was all around her.

  Cole sat down on the bed next to her and put his hand on her shoulder. He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t have to. Just having him next to her was enough.

  Tears fell down her cheeks, as her frustration reached its boiling point.

  “Come here.” Cole pulled her into his lap. The two sat in silence, as he just held her.

  Chapter 8

  The next couple of days were just as intense for her. She couldn’t sleep. All she kept thinking about was everything inside that damn trunk. If she wasn’t dreaming about her past then it was staring her in the face every time she opened her closet. She really wished her mother hadn’t suggested she keep the dress in her room. It was driving her crazy.

  Sitting at the kitchen table, Katrina attempted to eat a bowl of cereal, but found it difficult. Her new cast was making her life a living hell. She really hated it and couldn’t wait to get the damn thing off. Even having to sit still the time it took for Alaric to put it on was hard for her.

  The only thing that helped distract her was talking to her mother while she felt the wetness of the plaster against her skin. Alaric was a good and gentle doctor, and for that she was grateful. He was also very patient with her as she struggled to make it out of his office without knocking anything over.

  Katrina went to turn when her arm got caught on the bowl and tipped over. Puddles of milk were all over the kitchen table. Katrina grabbed some napkins to clean it up, but it only made things worse. The napkins sucked up so much milk they turned into a soggy mess and then crumbled in her hand. It felt like seaweed stuck to her fingers.

  “Gross,” she winced. Hearing her brother giggle, she grew annoyed. “It’s so not funny, Jake,” she snapped at him.

  “Oh, come on. You have to admit it is a little bit.” he teased.

  “Tell you what. Let’s tie a hand behind your back and see how well you do?”

  “Hmm, Andrew and I might have to try that,” he winked.

  Katrina rolled her eyes and was about to give him a comeback when her mother appeared from around the corner in a rush. “Morning.”

  “Morning, mom,” they both said together.

  They hadn’t seen much of her the past week. She had been working such long hours that when she was home all she did was sleep.

  “I didn’t hear my alarm.” She stumbled into the kitchen, as she was putting on the last of her shoes. It took her a moment to realize the mess surrounding Katrina. “What happened?”

  “I’m having a hard time getting use to this.” She lifted her cast and as she did remnants of the soggy napkin flung onto her mothers face. It looked like a giant spit ball.

  “Nice one, Kat!” Jake laughed.

  “Sorry mom.” Katrina was mortified.

  Her mom took a deep breath before she spoke. “It’s fine. Everything’s totally fine,” she calmly said, as she peeled the wet clump off her face and grabbed a clean paper towel.

  “I’m really sorry.” Katrina hoped her morning would get better.

  “Honey, it happens. You just have to get used to doing things with one hand.”

  “Yeah, come on. It’s not that bad, lefty,” Jake added.

  “Shut up, Jake!”

  “Jake, don’t call her that,” her mother scolded. Looking down at her watch her eyes grew. “I was supposed to be at work 10 minutes ago!” She stumbled around looking for her things. Jake stood up and handed her a thermos full of coffee. “Thank you.”

  “What time do you get off?” Katrina asked, following her to the door.

  “I’m supposed to work the morning shift, so I should be off by 3, unless someone else calls out sick.” She turned to face her. “Why?”

  “Just wondering,” Katrina shrugged. “We miss you.”

  “I know.” Her mother put a hand on her shoulder. “I miss you guys too. How about family movie night when I get off? Just like old times.”

  Jake’s face lit up. “Sounds good to me.” He raised an eyebrow at Katrina. “Kat?”

  “I
think it’s long overdue.” Katrina smiled back.

  “Great. I have to run, but I’ll see you guys later. Oh, and make sure you have your phones on you, please.” She hugged both of them. “Love you,” she said, before opening the front door.

  “Morning, Mrs. Davenport,” Andrew flashed her big grin.

  “Andrew,” her mother jumped. “You scared me.”

  “Happens to me all the time.”

  Her mother laughed. It was obvious she was falling for Andrew’s charm and that annoyed the crap out of Katrina. “I’m sorry I didn’t have time to fix anything to eat. I’m really late.”

  “Oh, it’s no trouble,” Cole assured her.

  “We already—ate anyway. Maybe next time,” Andrew winked at Katrina.

  “All right. You guys have a good day.” Her mother scooted past them and power walked towards her car. They all waved from the porch as she left.

  Cole leaned against the door jam with his arms folded looking at Katrina. “Ready?”

  “Yeah,” Katrina nodded.

  “How about you handsome?” Andrew asked Jake.

  “Yup,” Katrina leered at Andrew.

  “Funny,” Andrew mimicked a laugh.

  “Well, I am too.” Jake smiled with his backpack in hand.

  Nearing the car, Andrew helped Jake get in and then stopped and turned towards Katrina. “You been eating garlic, Caroline?”

  “I had some on my pizza last night,” Jake answered from the backseat of the car. “I thought I brushed my teeth really good, but guess not.”

  Katrina gave him an annoyed stare. He sure liked to torment her. If she wasn’t worried she’d break her other arm, she’d punch him in the face for being so rude. Andrew grinned at her and then climbed inside the car.

  Curiosity struck her and she turned towards Cole. “Does garlic really work?”

  “No,” he laughed. “It just makes your blood stink really bad.”

  “Good to know,” Katrina said, filing that little piece of information away for later and ignored the insult Andrew had thrown at her.

  At school, Stacy was waiting and appeared more excited than normal. As Cole opened Katrina’s door, Stacy wasted no time in greeting them.