CHAPTER – 54A: A Meeting of Old Friends

We got out of the taxi in front of an office complex where various companies rented space for their offices, and at the reception asked for Alex. About five minutes later, we saw him walk out of the elevators with Sabine. The greetings over, Alex immediately asked about the ‘mugging’ attempt. I gave him a quick summary without going into the gory details, explaining we would be meeting with our lawyer in the afternoon to sort out any ‘remaining’ issues that there might be. Although he didn’t look satisfied with what I told him, he knew me well enough to know that I was offering what I chose to offer, so he elected not to probe further, except offering his help in regards to lawyers he knew and trusted. I told him we had some good help from Dana’s friends, and our lawyer was a very well known criminal defense attorney, and moved the subject to Gary.

“What do you say, we pull something on him?” I asked. “It’s been a while, so I’m thinking he might not recognize me,” I suggested.

Alex gave me a critical look, and nodded, waiting for an explanation.

“I was thinking... Dana and I could come in after you go in, and act as if we are new customers, while you and Sandra try to keep him busy. Then, I will act like an impatient client or something.”

“That wouldn’t work,” he replied. “He’s doing quite well, so he wouldn’t care less. Unless... unless you make a bad scene and piss him off, in which case he might take it upon himself to show you out the door!” His face broke into a grin as he concluded.

“That’s not very nice of you,” Dana commented.

“Who said we were nice to Gary?” Alex and I responded at the same time. “We still have to pay him for his stunt,” I added for good measure.

“I don’t believe you’re holding it against him, even after all these years. What do you guys do, keep a scorecard?” Dana retorted, but her smile gave her away. She was just trying to rib us.

When we nodded in affirmation, Dana turned to Sabine. “You’re not going to take part in this, are you?”

“No. I don’t want any part of it. It’s between them.”

“There you go!” Dana retorted.

Alex and I exchanged a look, and he shrugged his shoulders, but I wasn’t ready to give up yet, so I winked, letting him know I would be up to some stuff, and for the benefit of the girls, I said, “Spoil sports! I guess that settles it then, Alex... maybe another time... Let’s get going.”

As Alex mentioned, Gary’s shop wasn’t far away, just at the end of the block, situated in a relatively busy intersection of two main streets.

“You go ahead. I want to look at what he has before going in. I want to surprise him,” I said to Alex, so he went in with Sabine.

A few minutes later, Dana and I went in as well, and instead of greeting Gary, I steered Dana to one of the glass shelves with picture frames, and cameras. She realized I was up to something, but didn’t say anything. From the corner of my eye, I was watching Gary, Alex, and Sabine, who were already in a conversation. Seeing the time was right, I moved to the counter some ways away from the trio, glanced at the wedding pictures beneath the glass plate on the counter, and pointed at them to Dana.

“Nice pictures. He’s really good,” she said.

Yessss! Thank you, thank you!

I’ve just been handed the opening I needed!

“NICE?” I replied with a loud voice. “Come on! These are amateurish. I don’t see what’s so nice or special!”

Dana was taken aback by my response, especially with my loud voice, but she immediately realized what I was up to, and flashed me an annoyed look. As I expected, the trio turned to glance at us; I didn’t even have to check, I could feel their eyes on us. I flashed a grin to Dana, and continued with my game plan. “Even I can do better than that!” I continued. “This guy calls himself a photographer? Hah!”

“Shhsss! Be quiet!” Dana urged, clearly embarrassed with my outburst, even though she knew what I was doing.

To see what Gary was doing, I chanced a quick look over my shoulder. “Do you have better examples than... than these?” I asked, sweeping my hand over the pictures under the glass in an uncaring manner. Then, I turned back to Dana without waiting for an answer, indicating I wanted a prompt response and service from him, playing the impatient, loud, and obnoxious client to the hilt.

By then Dana was coloring up, and grimacing at me. Although I felt a bit anxious about her feelings, I just wanted to continue with my playacting. Pointing to another picture, I said, “Look at that one. He used a flash to take this picture and it’s obvious. Look at the eyes. See! They are red! I don’t know why I’m wasting my time here!” The picture in question was indeed taken with a flash, but the eyes weren’t red.

“Don’t do that!” Dana hissed between clenched teeth, not wanting to be a part of the gig. “Please?”

“Come on... We’re almost there,” I whispered, imploring her not to give it away.

“Hey buddy! You’ve got anything better?” I shouted over my shoulder once again, and saw Alex grinning at me, while Sabine was covering her face with her hands. I wasn’t sure whether she was embarrassed or she was trying to hide her laughter. Gary was finally headed in our direction, and from the sour expression on his face, he was pissed, but trying to keep his cool.

“Ahh! Finally! Some help is on the way,” I said with a patronizing tone, and turned back to Dana. “Hey honey-bunny! You sure you want to look at some more pictures?” I asked with a sickeningly sweet tone, totally out of character for me.

Dana gave me a look of absolute horror and shock, as if I had suddenly developed antlers. “Here comes the man!” I said with an arrogant tone and a haughty shake of my head.

By then Gary had arrived and was appraising Dana. He quickly arrived at the conclusion that Dana was feeling embarrassed, and perhaps he thought that this was an everyday occurrence with us—if I was reading his face correctly. Then he turned his attention to me and gave me a look of absolute distaste. Taking a deep breath, he said, “Sorry folks. I don’t have other wedding pictures. I don’t do weddings anymore.”

From the way he said it I knew he was just trying to get rid off us. “I’m not surprised,” I breathed. “From what I’ve seen I doubt you would get much work.”

Dana was almost ready to hit me right then, and turning to Gary, she attempted to apologize to him. “I’m sorry for—”

“You’re sorry for what, honey-bunny?” I said cutting her off in mid sentence. I put my arm around her and pulled her to me. I was a bit forceful, and my hand brushed her right breast, almost cupping it. I must have shocked her completely; otherwise, I’m sure I would have gotten an elbow. Without giving her a chance to recover, I turned to Gary, and said, “I guess we’re done here. My little sweety,”—I tightened my hold on Dana to emphasize and demonstrate my possession—“wanted to hire a photographer for our wedding, but since you’re not doing that kind of work anymore, I guess we have to look elsewhere.”

I wish I had a camera with me, because Gary’s face was going through changes so fast, it would have been impossible to capture his expression without using a high-speed shutter action, and they were a sight to behold. Instead of being pissed at me for my rudeness, he looked more concerned about the way I was treating Dana. Right then, Dana managed to wiggle away, and was ready to open up on me. Quickly grabbing her arm, I pulled her again, and at the same time, I said to Gary, “Sorry, Flash! I need to do some serious damage control, so if you excuse me a moment...”

“Please, Dana. I’m sorry,” I said and quickly kissed her, despite her efforts to avoid me. “I apologize. Please?” I kissed her again, before releasing her. Her eyes were shooting daggers at me, so I put on a pleading expression. “It was just a joke, love. I’m sorry. Please?” I waited wondering and praying whether she would accept my apology.

After a few seconds, she relented with a short nod. I mouthed ‘thank you,’ but I knew she didn’t forgive me completely, yet. Perhaps, she didn’t want a scene.

I wonder what she’ll do once we have some privacy.

I turned back to Gary. “Sorry, Gary. I just wanted to surprise you and pull your leg. Dana was an unwilling victim of my joke, and I clearly embarrassed her,” I said, and shot an apologetic look at her again. “Please accept my apologies. Both of you.”

Gary stood there without a word, trying to understand what was happening. Finally, he realized it was an elaborate scheme, and when he glanced at Alex, he saw him grinning.

“The wolf strikes again,” Alex said, trying to refresh his memory. Gary’s eyes widened as recognition hit.

“Mitchell? You son of a... gun!” He managed to catch himself in time, but... “What the hell was that? Dammit!” he exclaimed. Finally, he got himself under control, and regaining his composure he turned to Dana. “Please excuse the language, Miss. I-I wasn’t—”

“It’s all right. He was nasty. I don’t know if I should forgive him,” she replied. She shot me an irritated look.

“Come on, Dana. It was just too good an opportunity to pass up, and we’re old friends. It was just a joke. I didn’t mean to treat you like... like that. I’m sorry. You know I’m better that that.”

“I’ll think about it,” she said after a long pause.

Shit! She’s going to make me sweat! Damn!

I knew I couldn’t do much about her ire right then, so I turned back to Gary. “So, Flash. How you’ve been?”

“Good, good. Finally got away and opened my own business.”

“Looking good, Gary,” I said, scanning the place before my eyes settled back on his face. “I’m glad to hear that you’re doing great.”

Gary gave me a critical look, before responding. “Man, you’ve changed. You look older! What’s that white stuff? Are you turning into a silver wolf?” he joked.

“It’s something I’m working on. The distinguished look, you know,” I retorted with a wry grin, and he laughed. “Alex told me you got married, and have a kid... all that good stuff...”

He nodded with a grin, letting me know he was happy. “Yeah. Finally tied the knot. Aren’t you going to introduce me to your... ehm... your... honey-bunny?” He inflected the last one with a quizzical look at Dana.

To my surprise, she responded with a quick laugh and waved her hand in a dismissive gesture.

“Sure. Dana Conor meet an old friend, Gary Johnson, aka ‘Flash’ the master photographer.”

“Nice to meet you, Miss Co—”

“Dana,” Dana quickly interjected, and extended her hand.

Gary took the proffered hand, and then with a flourishing bow, he kissed the end of her fingers. “A pleasure to meet you, Dana.”

“All right. Cut the smoothie routine, Flash,” I retorted. “I’m already in the dog house as it is. You don’t have to help worsen the situation.”

Straightening up, he grinned, and said, “Soooo, Wolfie! How have you been?”

I returned a sardonic smile at his mangling of my nickname to something of a name for a poodle or a puppy. “Doing all right.”

By then Alex and Sabine joined us, too. Alex told him about our chance encounter a few days ago, and we tried to catch up on each other. Dana finally relaxed seeing how we were interacting, but she still gave me an irate look now and then, letting me know I wasn’t in the clear, yet! I managed to ask Gary about his business, and learned about his facilities, which also gave me the opening I was looking for. I mentioned that I wanted to get back to photography, and expressed my wish to renew my acquaintance with dark room techniques, emphasizing that I hadn’t done much in the last several years. He very enthusiastically extended an invitation, and told me about some new equipment he had. We talked shop for a bit, and he showed us his new machine for the ‘one-hour’ color-print service, but told me he still had the classic equipment in his dark room for special jobs. We didn’t stay too long, since Alex and Sabine had to catch a quick bite and return to work, but we promised to keep in touch. Gary insisted that we should gather at his place for dinner one evening and Dana said that she would remind me as soon as we returned from our trip.

After Alex and Sabine left, Gary tried his best to help me out with Dana. “Please don’t give him a hard time on my account. We are all a bunch of jokers; we’ve always been like that. If I were in his shoes, I would have done the same. As he said, it was too good an occasion to pass up.”

“I understand. Alex and Mitch told us some stories,” Dana replied.

“Nothing bad I hope?”

“No, nothing bad. It seems you all had some good times.”

“Yeah, we did,” he replied, his eyes lighting up with a smile. “But as all good things come to an end, that also ended when, one-by-one, we left. I was the last one.” Turning to me, he said, “I’m surprised to hear that you’re back there. How bad is it?”

“Uh... not that bad. The current company is much better than that dinky-toy outfit we used to work for. I’m being careful, and we have some protection in the field, so I’m not concerned. You get used to it after a while.”

“Get used to it?” he asked giving me a skeptical look.

“Well, yeah... It sounds crazy, doesn’t it? But it’s true. Eventually anyone can get used to anything. But, really, there isn’t much going on, at least where I work. Close to the borders and the mountains there’s some activity, but we aren’t anywhere near those places. So it’s all right.”

“I heard the stories... last year there was an attack...” Gary said hesitantly with a very concerned expression on his face.

“I know. A friend of mine was there, and he survived it, but... it was an unfortunate incident. They hadn’t taken any precautions. My understanding is that their rig had been a target of opportunity.” To emphasize my meaning, I added, “Nothing like that has ever happened since then, and things are moving away rather than getting closer.”

It wasn’t, but they didn’t know it. However, there hasn’t been more escalation since then. What’s more, there was a chance that with the increased military presence things might be brought under control in a while. The question was, how long that ‘while’ might take, and at what cost. I mentally shrugged, since I had very little control over the situation. I just had to be careful and keep my eyes open. If things got worse, I knew I would pack it in. I wasn’t going to stay around, good job and pay or not. I wasn’t a complete wacko!

Perhaps time is drawing closer...

Not so fast, dude! Sure, you have some responsibilities to other people, now, but it’s too early to call it quits. There will be a time to sit down and think about it.

Yeah! Probably... Maybe...

The last amendment was almost an automatic response; after all, I was used to the current situation. I’ve been alone for several years, answering only to myself, and that kind of freedom was something I wasn’t sure I let go of easily or so quickly. Besides, some things take time, and I knew myself well enough to know that I needed time to change. It was all a matter of—

I caught Gary and Dana giving me a puzzled look, and realizing I almost slipped far away, getting lost in my thoughts I responded with a quick reassuring smile.

“Be careful, Mitch,” Gary said, worry coloring his voice.

“Always. You know me, buddy.” Seeing the expression on my face, he just nodded in acknowledgment, and that was the end of it.

Shortly after that, we left his shop, and took a quick lunch at a small restaurant. Dana was very quiet for a while now and I was getting worried.

“Are you still angry at me? Am I in the dog house?” I asked.

“Huh? No, I...” she answered distractedly. Collecting herself, she said, “No, I’m not. You’re forgiven.”

I was surprised by the sudden change of heart, but I couldn’t figure out why.

“What’s up?”

“Nothing, Mitch.” Seeing I wasn’t convinced, she smiled and said, “I was thinking about our upcoming meeting.”

“Why? Are you worried?”

“Not about myself. After his remarks about your...”

“Training?” I finished it for her. Getting a nod, I said, “I’m not concerned. I know what I did, and did not do. Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not proud of what I did, but I just didn’t know how else I could have dealt with them. As he said, the odds were bad, and I’ve never had to resort to violence before.”

I’ve never had to protect anybody. If it were only me, I might—

If I had been the only one in danger I might have used less force, but that night, I didn’t take any chances. When it happened, I wanted them down, and down fast! Period! There hadn’t been a chance to walk away from it; not the way they came at us. I was under no illusions about the situation. We had been lucky they hadn’t pulled a knife or a gun on us. It could have been worse.

She nodded in understanding, and returned to her food. Seeing her so subdued I was getting anxious.

“Dana, are you scared?”

“Scared? No! Why?” Then she grimaced, and hastily asked, “You mean, scared of you? Come on, Mitch. I’m not scared of you. I might be concerned or worried for you, but I’m not scared of you.” She reached out and took my hand in hers, giving me an imploring look.

I nodded.

“You want to talk about it?” she asked.

“About my training? Honestly... no! I don’t want to, but I promised, so we will. Just not now.”

“Honey, I understand. I really do. I wasn’t implying we should... now. And if you don’t want to, that’s OK, too.”

The way she said it I suspected she was trying to let me off the hook, but I didn’t want to make any mistakes; I knew that I didn’t intend to keep it a secret anymore.

“Dana, I’m not going to keep it a secret from you, OK?” I implored her. On an impulse, I decided to take the bull by the horns. “Look, it’s part of what I am, whether you realize it or not. You need to know. It’s...” I took a deep breath to calm myself and collect my thoughts. “How shall I put it? It’s something I don’t advertise. Because most people would take it the wrong way. I mean, look at all those movies, and such. The glorified violence... and the Arts are advertised or displayed, at worst, as a tool for violence, and at best, as a tool for self-defense. The majority thinks it’s about breaking bones, hurting people, and the rest...” I made a disgusted gesture with my hand. “They see it as something for self-defense, protection. But, it’s not. Not for me. It’s about self-discipline, enlightenment; it’s more of a philosophy or teaching than any other thing. Yes, they do have some practical applications, but that’s only part of it... more of a side effect, if you will. Despite my childhood experiences and how I had gotten involved in martial arts, they had—they have—always been a serious study, a learning experience. It never changed. I still practice... a select few, although I’ve quit practicing some of them.”

Her expression softened, as she was listening to me, and she nodded her head in agreement as I expressed my views. “I understand, darling. That’s why I said you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. I wasn’t telling you that you could keep secrets, although you can, because everybody has secrets. It was my way of saying that I trust you, who you are, what you are.” She paused mulling something in her mind. “Let me rephrase it,” she said.” What I’ve been meaning was I accept you as you are. Everything...” With a lopsided grin she pointedly added, “Warts and all!”

“I don’t have warts,” I objected while laughing at her jibe.

“But you do, as I do. Everyone has.”

“Yes. Everyone has,” I agreed.

“Sooo... what’s my wart?” she asked giving me an impish look.

“Hell, no! I’m not going there. I just got out of the dog house,” I replied immediately, and without breaking stride, I continued. “While we are on the subject... what’s with ‘darling’? You used to call me honey or Mitch?”

“Oh, so you noticed, my darling man!” She laughed coyly. “Because you’re a darling, that’s why. You don’t like it?”

Shit! Talk about a loaded question!

“Sorry, honey. It wasn’t fair, was it?” She gave me a look as if she expected an answer this time, but finally relented. She had been pulling my leg again. “I love you, Mitch. I love you, my darling,” she said with a soft voice, meaning every word.

“I love you, too, Dana.”

I took her hand that was holding my hand, and kissed her palm. I felt happy and more relaxed than before.

“Mitch?” she prompted. “Sarah knows about it, doesn’t she? About your training I mean...”

“Yeah.” Then I remembered how I answered to her question in the club, when Sarah had almost given away my secret inadvertently. I felt my face heat up with embarrassment.

“What’s wrong?” she asked

“I... I remember what I said... in the club. I’m sorry,” I replied softly. She raised an eyebrow, looking confused. “Sarah almost revealed my training... right after the incident with the drunken idiot and the bouncers,” I reminded.

“Oh, that!” She shrugged her shoulders.

“Look. I don’t like to lie... I try like hell not to lie, but...” I took a deep breath and trying to explain myself.

“You don’t have to explain,” Dana said.

“But, I do,” I replied emphatically. “As I said... I don’t advertise it. When Sarah made the comment and then you asked how I managed to subdue him, I didn’t want to talk about it. So, I offered an alternative. Yes, I did learn some things in the service. They teach unarmed combat, most of it based on various martial arts, but I had formal training in several martial arts long before that. What I used on that idiot was a simple trick, which could have easily been one of the techniques I’ve learned in the service, but—”

She reached to take my hand in hers, and said, “It’s all right, Mitch. I understand.” Her eyes locked into mine. “You really have a problem about lying, don’t you?”

I nodded.

She was quiet for a while, but her eyes never wavered. “There are always gray shades, Mitch. We both know it. Nothing is black or white, however much we may want to believe it is. I’m not trying to tell you that it’s OK to lie, or justify lying... It’s,” She paused and sighed heavily. “I think you know what I mean.”

I nodded, again, and when I didn’t say anything, she gave me a sympathetic smile. “You’re really worried about what I think of you... of your actions, aren’t you?”

“I... Look, I don’t want to give you the wrong impres—”

“You didn’t!” she cut me off with an empathetic tone. “You really didn’t, Mitch. What you said... what you were trying to explain... I understand. I really do, so don’t worry.” She squeezed my hand trying to assure me.

I squeezed back and then leaning towards her, I took her hand and kissed the tips of her fingers. “Thank you.”

She smiled in answer, and we returned to our lunch, making the plans for the rest of the day.

 

* * * * *

 

After lunch, we visited the lawyer’s office. In less than half an hour, we were finished, since he had the papers drawn up and Dana only had to read and sign them. We took a cab to the parking lot to pick up our car. While we were making plans for dinner and the rest of the evening in the slow moving traffic, I saw that we were passing by several delicatessens and other shops. On a whim, I asked the cabbie to pull over, and we got out.

“Let’s do some shopping. I want to prepare dinner for us tonight,” I said, as I paid the cab driver, nodding in the direction of the shops.

Although surprised, Dana didn’t say anything and followed me.

“What do you prefer: steak, chicken, or fish?”

“Steak sounds good.”

“Some vegetables, rice, salad?”

She nodded. “Why do we have to shop here? We could buy that stuff in a supermarket in my neighborhood,” she interjected.

“Sure, we could have, but they probably don’t have this!” I said as I directed her to an Oriental Food store. I was planning something different from just a simple steak dinner. “Do you like Japanese?”

She hemmed and hawed and I realized she wasn’t very keen on the idea.

“Don’t worry. It’s not going to be real Japanese. You enjoyed the salmon, didn’t you? It’s going to be something like that. Trust me.”

Hearing that she was more enthusiastic about the idea and followed me into the shop. In a very short time, I bought soy sauce, a small bag of sesame seeds, a small bottle of sesame oil (not the essence that is liquid oil, but the seeds pressed with its natural oils, kind of a thick paste), wasabe, rice, some herbs, a small bottle of sake, and a few other things. We visited another store to get some vegetables, stopped at the butcher, and got two large steaks. In less than half an hour, we were on our way to the parking lot in another taxi. We picked up the car, and drove back to Dana’s flat.

 

* * * * *

 

In the kitchen, I helped Dana put the groceries in the fridge. We went to the living room, before going for a quick shower, however the ringing phone interrupted our plans. Dana stood up, went to the small stand where the phone was located. After a few quick words, she turned and motioned me over to the phone.

“It’s Kathy. She wants to talk with you,” she said as he put the headset down.

I made my way to the phone, while she returned to her seat.

“Hi Kathy. What’s up?”

“Hi yourself. How are you guys?” she asked pleasantly.

“We’re doing juuusssstttt ffiiiineee!” I replied, letting her know I knew she was checking on us, and that earned me a short laugh!

“I didn’t expect to catch you, but Sarah told me you might still be in town.” Taking a pause she asked, “What’s going on?”

“Huh? What do you mean what’s going on?”

“Don’t give me that, Mitch. I told you I talked to Sarah,” she replied with an irritated tone, almost implying I was hiding something.

Suddenly alarm bells started to ring.

“So?” I replied with an even tone, while I considered the possibilities—

Before I could even get a start on them, she came back. “You guys are in a world of trouble!”

Defcon—

Are you kidding? What DEFCON? It’s ‘Game Over’!!!

In my mind, I could clearly hear the sound of deathly silence; all the blaring horns and alarms died, as well as all the green and red status lights, alike. If I were a contortionist, I would have been bending over, trying to kiss my ass goodbye before it was blown to smithereens! As it were, I knew I was too late even for that.

Jesus Christ on a fucking crutch!

I tried to gain time, and temporized. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Kathy.”

However, she was relentless. “Come on, Mitch. This is me you’re talking to.”

“I really have no time for games, Kathy. We woke up early this morning, and I’m tired. So tell me what you’re talking about,” I replied, trying to control my voice.

“Sarah told me everything,” she said, as if that explained.

Why the hell Sarah told—

Wait just a God damn minute!!! She WOULDN’T! I told her not to. She wouldn’t betray me—betray US!

As my heart decided to pace itself, I tried to analyze the situation, but—

“Talk to me, Mitch! What the hell is going on?” Kathy came back with an urgent, impatient tone.

“I told you I have no clue what you’re talking about,” I replied, trying to figure out what she was up to. Even though I didn’t think Sarah would tell her about our troubles, I wouldn’t put it past Kathy to try wiggle out secrets if she had stumbled onto something. Still...

Is she on a fish—

“Don’t give me that!” she insisted.

She’s on a fishing expedition!

“Mitch, I am your sister, OK? I know you,” Kathy came back with a softer voice, almost pleading with me to be reasonable, and I was almost taken—

You are good little sister, very good! If I didn’t know better—

You are going to PAY for this!

My temper flared, and I didn’t even have time to reason why it did. I was seriously pissed off and very angry at her antics. Maybe, after the events of Saturday night and the kind of day we had had, that was to be expected... I sure wasn’t in a frame of mind to stop and think about such things or analyze the situation; especially, when I knew how close I skirted to disaster! If I had given in and let the cat out of...

Yeah! That’s just what I need right now!

“You listen to me carefully, Sis! I know you’re on some kind of a fishing expedition, but I have no idea about what! So, you either tell me what you’re talking about or put a lid on it! Capeesh?”

At first, there was complete silence at the other end. “Come on, Mitch. Don’t get your pants in a bunch immediately.”

“I told you—”

“Why are you so uptight?” she asked, and before I could respond, she was on the rebound. “What are you hiding?”

“I’m not even going to respond to that! Now, tell me—”

“I know you’re hiding something!”

“I’m not hiding anything. And if I were, it’s my prerogative! Now listen! I have a mind to put you on my knee and teach you a lesson, but since I’m far away, I’m inclined to have a few words with Mom, and see what she can do about it. Are you getting the picture, yet?” I responded irately.

“You wouldn’t dare. I know you’re hiding something,” she came back, and from her almost playful tone, I realized she didn’t get my meaning. Not yet.

I waited to see if she would continue, while composing myself to take control of the situation. After a few seconds of silence, she came back. “Mitch? Are you there?”

“Are you finished?” I responded with a steely tone, but she didn’t get it.

“No, I’m not. What are—”

“Hellloooo!!!! Ground Control to Kathy! Are you reading me clearly?” That took her attention immediately, and silence greeted me on the other end!

I let it build for effect before continuing. “I don’t want to repeat myself, so listen very carefully. Since we were kids, we’ve had our little battles. We still have them and I’m not going to deny I enjoy them. I get a kick out of it every time whether I win or lose. Having said that, that’s not an invitation for you to pry into my affairs or personal business. I believe I’ve made that very clear early on. Remember the breakfast we had at your place? I told you then I wasn’t going to stop you from trying some things, but I wasn’t giving you carte blanche. Do you remember that?”

After a pregnant silence, Kathy returned a timid, “Yes... yes, I remember that...”

I could hear she wanted to say more, but she managed to refrain from doing so.

Good girl! Perhaps, I’m getting to you.

“So you know that doesn’t give you the right to nose into my life, or pry into things I want to keep to myself. If I wanted you to know something, I would have told you. I know you mean well, Sis! But, as I told you before, I would appreciate very much if you would choose to tread on unpaved roads!” I hammered the last point—which was a reminder to the aftermath of what happened when she pulled a similar trick towards the end of breakfast, that day—even though I knew I was coming on her in a heavy-handed manner. I just couldn’t stop myself from making my point strongly, and received a sharp intake of breath at my last comment. I waited, expecting a verbal come back, but there wasn’t a single peep from Kathy!

Softening my tone I said, “Kathy, why don’t you put your energy to something else? It’s not my business to tell you where, or what you should do, but you can think of something. You have a lot going in your life...”

After a drawn out pause, I heard her say, “My life is...” but she didn’t finish it.

“Your business?” I asked with something close to glee, reminding her she had just been—

“No, Mitch,” she interjected evenly, but I could hear the tremor in her voice. “My life is you... all of you,” she said. As she continued, her voice started to break. “Dad, Mom... you... Mark... Sarah... friends...”

Silence greeted me after that!

Oh SHITTT!

Then I heard her sniffling before it was cut off; I realized she had cupped the speaker in her hand to prevent me from hearing that she was hurt... hurting badly!

DAMMIT!!! Where the hell did that come from? Why?

What do you think, buddy?

Mom???

I didn’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure out the answer to that question. I could almost visualize the reply... a sardonic grin!

Shit, shit, shit! She’s just like Mom... took after her!

“Sis?”

There was no response.

“SIS?”

I received a faint “Yeah.” I waited for her to compose herself, as I imagined her taking deep breaths, trying to keep from crying. I knew what I was going to say to her next might turn on the waterworks, but I just had to let her know!

“Kathy?” I said gently to get her attention and paused. “I love you, too, Sis. You know that, don’t you?”

I was met with silence!

Then came a weak reply, “I know...” It was followed by another long silence.

I found myself rubbing my temple. I didn’t know what to say, how to take her hurt away. I felt tired, empty, like a deflated balloon. I just wanted to be far away from all this stuff... all these confrontations, arguments, hurt... I just wanted... but I really didn’t know what I wanted. I just wished it hadn’t happened...

I wish I could turn the clock back... put the genie in the bottle... I wish I’ve never met h—

Where the fuck did that come from?

My insides were in turmoil, and I was being pulled in all kinds of directions... pulled apart. I felt like screaming!

“Kathy, I-I...” I tried to compose myself, and took several deep breaths, trying to empty my mind. I didn’t have much success, but it did help a bit. “Sis? I didn’t mean it like that.”

I wasn’t sure if she was listening, or she was unable to respond, so I waited before attempting again. “Kathy? Are you there?”

“Yeah,” she replied weakly.

“I’m sorry, OK? I’m just tired. We had a hectic time. It was really great, but hectic, and I didn’t get to sleep much. It’s just... I think I’m feeling claustrophobic or something. I don’t know. I don’t even know where that came from. Maybe I was miffed at you... for something... I don’t know... You know how I get... I...” At first, the initial words came out at a blurring, almost unintelligible pace, until I began to run out of steam. I wondered how much sense I made! I took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Kathy. I really am.”

After a pregnant silence, she hesitantly asked, “Is everything really all right?”

“Yes, it is, Kathy,” I replied with a tired sigh. “I’m just... as I said I really don’t know where that came from. But we are all right. Everything is A-OK! I didn’t want to scare you. But I guess I did, huh?”

“Yeah,” she replied, short and to the point.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to. I guess I’m tired and just a bit cranky.” I followed it with a strained laugh. “I am cranky, and I took it out on you. You know how I get sometimes, and things are... well there are things going on... changes in my life... you know?”

She returned a tentative laugh; it was forced, but she was more collected. “You were right. I was on a fishing expedition. I got a call from Sarah around lunchtime, and she sounded... well, she sounded excited, and she mentioned she had things to tell me, but wouldn’t say it on the phone. I just wanted to know what happened, what was happening? I didn’t want to be surprised. Well... I guess I wanted to surprise her, too.”

“You two are going to end up killing each other one day, and I might end up a casualty, as well. A bit of patience, Beatrice! If she said she would tell you then she will. Am I wrong in guessing that she’d be dropping by at your place this evening?”

“Yes, she’s coming for dinner.” After a long pause, she added, “I’m sorry, Mitch.”

“Hey, it’s all right. We do get into these things sometimes, but unfortunately you caught me when I was in a cranky mood,” I replied gently.

“Dana and you aren’t having problems, are you? A fight or an argument...” she asked with a worried tone. She just couldn’t help herself.

I laughed, and this time it was a genuine laugh. “No, Kathy. Nothing can be further from the truth. I’m just tired. That’s all.”

“Uhh... OK! I understand... umm... Is Dana around? Can I talk to her for a moment?”

“About wha—” I managed to catch myself in time before another outburst. “Damn, I’m cranky,” I exclaimed with a nervous chuckle. “Just a sec, Sis. Here she is...”

I turned to Dana who was watching me, and motioned her to the phone, indicating Kathy wanted to talk with her. She walked to me with a questioning look in her eyes. Since I didn’t know what Kathy wanted to talk about, I shrugged my shoulders, but she had a concerned expression on her face. I realized she witnessed the spat I had had with my sister; it made me feel bad. More than that, I realized I made a spectacle of myself, if not worse.

Talk about leaving an impression!

Giving me a quick kiss, she ran her fingertips along my cheek, and then she took the handset from me.

“Hi Kathy,” she said. There followed a long pause, while she listened to Kathy, nodding to herself. “No, it’s all right. I understand. Don’t worry about it, OK?”

I could only follow Dana’s end of conversation, but it didn’t sound like Kathy was probing, however it made me curious what they were talking about.

“Sure, I know. It happens. For what’s it worth, it’s not my place.”

“No, I won’t. Don’t worry about it.” A quick easy laugh. “Yeah, I know. It’s all right. Really.” She turned to smile at me while listening to Kathy, and then blew a kiss to me to let me know everything was fine.

“OK! No problem. Anytime you want.”

“Yes, we are leaving tomorrow early. Taking the ferry.”

“Yes, we will. I’ll tell him. Thank you. Take care, Kathy.”

Putting the handset in the cradle, she came and sat beside me. After giving me a long look, she said, “She wanted to apologize for causing a scene. I think she blames herself for what happened, and didn’t want me to get the wrong impression.”

But you got the correct impression. I can’t undo what’s done.

It must have been on my face, because she was quick to reassure me. “Mitch, honey. It’s all right—”

“It’s not all right! I know what I did,” I blurted.

“Look, honey. She told me to expect exactly this reaction, and she was right. I understand. I real—”

“And what kind of impression did I give you?” I asked pointedly.

“Are you ever going to let me finish what I want to say?” she asked giving me a pointed look, which effectively shut me up.

I gave a quick nod, trying to calm down. I had already done enough damage as it were.

“Mitch, I do understand. You already told me your concerns about your parents and Kathy regarding what happened. I know you over-reacted. To expect otherwise would be stupid. It was just unfortunate that Kathy did what she did. She really feels guilty because she caused a scene.” She waited for my reaction, but I just nodded, even though I wasn’t sure how I felt about the situation. I knew I wasn’t happy with what happened, but more than that, I wished that Dana had not witnessed it.

“Look, I know she loves you, and you two are very close. She’s also the protective kind. Maybe you don’t realize it, but you both are very protective of each other,” she said.

“And you don’t have a problem with that? Most women would—”

She put her finger on my lips and stopped me from continuing. “I’m not most women. You know that, don’t you? Darling?”

I smiled wryly at her use of the endearment, and in response to my reaction, she grinned. “Good! I never had a sibling, but if I had then I would have wanted the same kind of relationship you two have. And that’s all I’m going to say on this subject.”

“You don’t know what you’re saying,” I retorted.

She grinned and shook her head. “Yes, I do! I’ve said all I wanted to say, and you’re not going to change my mind,” she replied.

“Come here,” I said, as I pulled her to my chest. She came willingly, and sat on my lap. Then I gave her a sound kiss. “Did I tell you how much I love you?”

“You do, but I’d like to hear it again,” she answered with an impish grin.

“I love you more than I can say,” I said and we shared another searing kiss.

 

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