The house had looked normal, at first glance. But when they'd come to a stop, she noticed the inside of the garage. There was a long white ramp leading up to the door to the house, complete with railings. When she turned to look at the front of the house, she saw that a similar ramp had been built there, but painted in colors to match the exterior paint.
“Did you arrange this?” Tori asked, coming around the car and putting her hands on her hips.
“No, I didn't.”
“Your mom must have -”
“No,” Katya shook her head. “This morning, before we left, she was talking about how we'd have to get it done. She asked me to look into it. I figured we had a month or so before even thinking about him coming home.”
“Then how did this happen?” Tori asked.
They went into the house and were in for more of a surprise. An electronic chair lift system had been built into the stairs. Emergency pull cords had been installed in all the bathrooms, the kitchen, and in her parents' room.
In fact, the entire home had been made handicap accessible. It was amazing, as if someone in a wheelchair had always lived there. She couldn't believe it. It must have cost a small fortune. Who could've done something like that!?
Who do you know who could afford something like this?
“Wulfric,” she whispered.
“Huh?” Tori asked as she headed into the kitchen.
“It had to have been Wulf,” Katya said, following her friend. “He's the only one who could have afforded all this, and his mother has a key to the home.”
“You really think so? Have you heard from him at all?” Tori asked.
“No, but I've barely been checking my phone.”
“Do you think he's here?”
“I have no idea. I've talked to Vieve a lot, she didn't mention anything.”
“If he did do all this, I'm going to marry him,” Tori threatened, and they both laughed.
A thorough search of the kitchen showed that they didn't need to do any kind of cleaning. Any food that had grown old since the house had been empty was long gone. Fresh food filled the fridge and lined the cabinets. In fact, they almost over flowed with it. The pantry was fully stocked, too. Lots of water and cans of food.
And, she noticed, lots of ingredients for baking all sorts of different things. She almost cried as she looked it all over. Brand new pans and pie tins and molds lined a whole shelf. He'd gotten her stuff to bake with, because he'd guessed she would be there for a while, and Katya always had to be baking.
“Hey,” Tori interrupted her thoughts as she poked her head into the pantry. “I have an idea. You call and check on your mom, and I'm going to run out and get us a shit ton of Chinese food and some cheap beer. We'll have a mini-celebration, in honor of your dad.”
“Yeah. Yeah, that sounds awesome.”
Tori skipped out of the house and Katya dialed her mom's number. She was on the phone for about ten minutes when the doorbell rang. Figuring Tori had forgotten the house key, she trapped the phone between her ear and shoulder and yanked open the door.
Of course, she wasn't expecting to see Wulf standing out there. He always popped up when she wasn't at all prepared for him. She stared up at him for a second, then she grabbed at her phone.
“Mom,” she said, stepping out of the way and letting Wulf walk inside. “I was just calling to tell you that the house is good and we got here okay. Glad to hear Dad is still doing good. You'll call me if anything happens, or if you need anything?”
“Of course, dear,” her mother sighed.
“I don't care if it's three in the morning, Mom. You call me.”
“What would I be doing at three in the morning?”
“I know you and your partying ways.”
“You're so silly. I'm so glad you're here, honey.”
“Me, too. I'll talk to you in the morning,” she said, shutting the door and following Wulf into the living room.
“Love you, sweetie.”
“Love you, too.”
Katya hung up the phone and slid it into her back pocket, then she finally looked up.
He was standing at the other end of the sofa, one hand casually shoved into his pants pocket. She felt like she hadn't seen him in a long time. Much longer than a week. Almost like she was looking at him for the first time since they'd been neighbors. When her father was whole and she wasn't broken.
“How are you?” she asked, moving to stand in front of him.
“I'm good. How are you?” he asked in a cautious voice.
“Good. I mean, you know, awful,” she managed a laugh. “It's been pretty awful. But he's alive, and that's what matters. He knows who we are and who he is, thank god, so I'm happy.”
“Good, I'm glad.”
“Do you want to go see him?” she asked.
“I have,” he told her, nodding his head. “I usually wait till you and your mother are gone.”
“I had no idea,” she said, honestly surprised.
“I didn't want to interrupt anything. This is about your family. I knew you'd want to be alone with them,” he told her.
She held it together for about a second longer, then she fell against him. She wrapped her arms around his torso, hugging him tightly while she squeezed her eyes shut tight. Didn't matter, though, the tears got out anyway.
“You're his family, too,” she whispered. His arms came around her and he hugged her back.
“No, I'm not. I'm a Stone.”
“Wulfric, he cares about you as much as he cares about me. He would want to know you were there at the hospital. He'd be glad to know you're here now. I'm glad you're here,” she told him.
“I was worried,” he whispered, smoothing his hand over her hair. “We didn't part on the best of terms, and I didn't want to upset you in any way. But I had to come. After I got off the phone with Vieve, I flew from L.A. straight to Monterey and then drove here.”
“You probably got here before me.”
“I did. Since I'm not family, though, they wouldn't tell me anything at the hospital. Wouldn't even let me into see your mother. So I came back here and waited. Vieve started passing along information so I started making calls about your house. I hope you don't mind,” he said in a low voice. “I wanted everything to be perfect for whenever he came home. I didn't want you or your mother to have to worry about anything.”
“I don't mind. Thank you. Thank you so much.”
“And you really won't have to worry, ever. He's going to get the best physical therapy I can find, the best doctors. I don't care if I have to fly him to Sweden or Thailand or South Korea. I don't care if he can't ever come home – I'll build you a new house next door to the hospital,” he said in a fast voice. She laughed a little and pulled back to wipe at her nose.
“I don't think we'll need that, but thank you. You don't have to do any of that,” she told him.
“I do, Katya.”
“Why?”
“Because, I ...” his voice trailed off, and she noticed he wasn't looking at her. His head was turned, he was staring out a window, looking at his own home.
“Because you're family,” she finished for him.
He was silent for a long second, frowning hard. Then he visibly swallowed and nodded.
“Your father has been a very good man to me,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “I owe him a lot. I can only hope to repay some of it.”
They held onto each other for a while longer. She pressed her cheek back to his chest and closed her eyes, listening to his heartbeat for a while. So strong. First he'd carried his family on his shoulders, now he was offering to carry hers. Offering? Hell, he already was – he'd had their home practically remodeled in a matter of days.
I almost feel bad. Just what he doesn't need, more stress in his life. More responsibilities. More people to take care of.
But like he'd said, this wasn't about him, and it wasn't about them – her father needed the help, so she couldn't turn it down. They woul
d need all the help they could get, and as long as he was willing to give it, she would have to take it.
“I'm sorry I wasn't there,” he finally broke the silence.
“Excuse me?”
“San Francisco. I should've been there. I should've driven you home, been at the hospital the whole time,” he said softly.
“Wulf, you couldn't have possibly known.”
“I know, but still ...”
They didn't get to discuss it anymore, though, because Tori walked through the front door. Wulf stepped back and Katya dropped her arms. Her roommate chattered as she moved through the house, dropping the food and beer onto the breakfast bar. Then she turned and noticed Wulf for the first time.
“Oh, it's you,” she said, in typical Tori manner.
“It's me,” Wulf agreed, nodding. She put her hands on her hips and walked right up to him.
“Did she tell you?” she asked, nodding her head at Katya.
“Tell me what?”
“About our engagement.”
“Whose engaged?”
“You and I,” Tori said, gesturing between them. “We're getting married.”
“Oh. Glad to know. Have we set a date?” he asked, and Katya laughed at them both.
“You just tell me when.”
“Okay, well, I hope the proposal was romantic.”
“Baby cakes, you outfitting this house for papa Tocci was the proposal. I hope you're ready for me, I'm way freakier than this chick,” she teased, winking at Katya before turning back to the kitchen.
“Some how, I doubt that.”
Tori laughed, but he'd said the comment while looking at Katya. She smiled back at him. It was so different seeing him without all the bullshit between them. Nothing like a near loss-of-immediate-family to put things into perspective.
“Well,” he sighed. “I should be going. I just wanted to check on you.”
“No. No, stay,” she insisted, grabbing his hand as he walked by.
“I shouldn't. My mother's also upset, and the girls are coming home tonight. I think I should be there when they get in,” he explained, squeezing her fingers.
“God, I feel awful, I should've gone over to see her,” she said.
“No, you've been where you're needed. She understands. Have a good night, relax, take it easy,” he instructed, opening the front door.
“Will do.”
“And Tocci,” he stopped before he could step off the porch. “If you need anything, you can call me. You know that, right?”
“Of course.”
He gave a curt nod, then he was heading off towards the house next door. His mother's home. His home.
“Soooo … does this mean you're going to marry him?” Tori asked. When Katya turned around, she found the other girl licking orange sauce off a chopstick.
“I don't think so,” Katya replied.
“Pity.”
“Why?”
“Because you're going to be so bummed when you hear about all the crazy sex he and I are going to have.”
*
It was another week before Katya's mother came home. By then, their extended family had started to trickle in – Katya's mother's sister, from Connecticut, and her family. Her aunt and uncle from Massachusetts, and her father's uncle.
Though Liam insisted that Tori should stay in Carmel, Katya convinced her friend she was free to go home. She'd given up over two weeks to be there for her, but she did have her own life. She knew Tori would stay forever, for however long it took to tie things up at the Tocci household, but Katya didn't want that happening. So she sent her on her way.
Katya even spoke to Liam a couple times. Very brief conversations, but enough to keep him informed and to tell him not to come down. She didn't hate him, she assured him, and she wasn't angry, she promised. She had so many other things to worry about that honestly, he was nowhere close to even being on her radar.
Her mother was doing much better, but was by no means running at one hundred percent – it was Katya who mainly dealt with doctors and nurses, relaying information to her mother and the rest of the family as she got it.
And though she didn't see him much, Wulf had really stepped in to deal with all the bills and insurance. Katya'd signed him off as someone who could receive sensitive information, and after that, he took over the monetary side of everything.
Her father was doing as well as could be expected. He had good days and bad days. At the beginning of the second week, he got a nasty infection in his lungs and had to be put back into the ICU. Then it got cleared up and he was doing better again, slowly improving. He got frustrated, of course, and sometimes even angry at people. But there were times that he smiled, even laughed, and that's how Katya knew that somehow, everything would be okay. It may never be the same again, but it would all be okay.
“I feel like we should do something,” her mother said, late one night. They were sitting on the couch together, both zoning out to the television.
“What do you mean?” Katya asked, taking her mom's hand and squeezing it.
“Well, everyone's here, and so many people have done so much for us. The Stones and the Tunts. The Patels. We have enough food to last us for a whole year,” she chuckled. “I feel bad, I haven't seen anyone. I feel like a thank you is in order.”
“Well, we could make thank you cards. You love doing that,” Katya pointed out.
“Yes, we could, but it seems so impersonal. I mean, look at this place, look at what Wulf did for us. A thank you card? I would feel so guilty.”
“Then I'm not sure what you want.”
“I think maybe a small gathering,” her mom suggested.
“Mother, no. You are in no condition to make appetizers and pass them around at a cocktail party, I forbid it,” Katya said sternly.
“Of course not,” her mother said quickly. “Lord, I don't even have the energy to do the crossword in the morning. No, I was thinking something small. Just close friends and our family, that's it. We can hire a caterer, you and I won't have to do anything more than make a phone call.”
“I still think it's too much. The accident just happened, no one expects you to be doing a song and dance for them,” Katya said.
“Honey, I'd like to do this for me,” her mom finally spoke with some strength in her voice. “Every time I go to the store, or step outside, someone is asking me a question. This way, we can answer everyone's at once. Tell them how Daddy is doing, and show them that we're doing good, and that we appreciate all they've done for us. I'm no help to your father if I continue falling apart. It's time to do something, be productive.”
It was clear this was something her mother had thought about a lot, and something she really wanted. Katya couldn't bring herself to talk her out of it, so she smiled and nodded.
They went through Mrs. Tocci's address book, picking out potential caterers they would call the next day. They made a list of who they'd invite, and a tentative menu. It was the kind of stuff her mother lived for, and by the time she went to bed, she actually seemed a lot happier.
While Katya laid in bed, she held still and kept quiet. Strained her eyes and listened to the sound of water lapping in the near distance. Though the nights got kind of cold, she kept all her windows open. That way, when Wulf went for a late night swim, she could hear it. She didn't watch him, and she didn't go to see him. But it was comforting listening and knowing he was out there.
*
They had the gathering the following weekend. Everyone who was invited showed up. It was morbid to even think it, but Katya kind of felt like she was at a wake. She wore a simple A-line dress, black and sleeveless. Then when she went downstairs, she saw that her mother and most of the female guests were also wearing black. There were only maybe a dozen or so people in the house, and they were all speaking in hushed tones. Whispering. Frowning and casting sad glances at Mrs. Tocci.
This is so depressing.
The weeks of stressing were finally catching up to her. Kee
ping strong for her father, taking on all the household duties for her mother. She'd told the bakery she was quitting – she didn't see herself going home any time in the foreseeable future. How was she going to pay her half of the rent? Liam wouldn't make her, of course, but still.
And of course, ever present, was the worry about her father. Would he really be okay? Would he ever regain his happy-go-lucky nature? Would he be in constant pain, would he be depressed? He loved his job – would he be able to do it anymore? He liked working with his hands – would they stop shaking long enough for him to make things? How was he going to deal with all that while relearning how to use his now heavily damaged body, navigating a world that was murky gray? Would he ever be okay?
“I'm so sorry, dear,” Mrs. Patel said, squeezing Katya's hand.
I swear to god, if one more person says sorry one more time, I'm going to scream. Literally, actually, scream.
“Katya, I'm -”
She whirled around, ready to let loose with an ear-splitter, but stopped when she saw Vieve Stone standing behind her. She took a deep breath and pressed her hand over her heart.
“Sorry, you startled me,” she chuckled.
“Oh no, I'm sorry,” Vieve said quickly. “I wanted to come over sooner, but didn't feel it was right. How are you holding up?”
“Good. Okay. Sort of,” Katya managed a laugh. “I never got to really say it, but thank you, for being there that day. I don't know what I would've done without you.”
“Oh, please. I wish I could've done more,” Vieve insisted.
“Don't be ridiculous. You were amazing. I hope you do become a doctor someday – your bedside manner is amazing,” she said, and the other woman smiled big.
“Wow. Thank you, so much.”
“You're welcome. Hey, my mom would love to see you again, she's in the kitchen.”
“Oh, of course. I'll talk to you later?”
“Definitely.”
Katya managed to hold onto her smile while the other girl walked away, then she turned on her heel and strode outside. She could only manage pleasantries for so long before she felt like her head was going to crack open.
The Neighborhood (Twin Estates #2) Page 28