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chapter 7
Katie groaned, flipped off the television, and balanced her last sip of wine on the wobbly TV tray currently serving as a coffee table. Slouching back into one corner of the loveseat, she pulled her softest throw pillow into her chest, sank her chin into it, and gave serious contemplation to becoming a Yankee fan.
What good would it do? Landon Ryan was all over baseball news this week and watching baseball news was her job. Hell, finding stories about him specifically was her job…along with the million and one other extra projects Lori threw on their plates during "catch up time" as she referred to the team’s stretches on the road.
Between the new POP! ART programs and place cards, and LTD Printing, and TIFF, who had blown off their interview three times now, Katie had just about had her fill of all capital letters. Thus, the wine. She’d planned to drink just one glass and was now just about ready for her third.
She eyed the bottle on the kitchen counter, contemplating the effort it would take to get there. Not much actually. Her studio apartment was tiny. The kitchen barely existed, the bathroom was even smaller, and her only view was of the parking lot. But it was hers and only hers.
She’d foregone a dining table in order to fit a full-sized bed and a loveseat in the living area, both facing the television, which she'd hung on the wall all by herself. She’d done her best with a limited budget to make the apartment soft and inviting, and it already felt more like home than any place she’d ever lived.
Ding. Ding.
Ugh. Really?The only person who ever texted her was Lori. She’d never done it this late, but neither was it surprising. Katie fished her phone out of the couch cushions with a sigh.
Hi Bunny. I miss u. Can we talk?
An icy chill snaked down Katie’s spine. She'd giggled and bounced on Molly Strake's bed with all her girlfriends the first time Kyle had called her that, right after the homecoming game her sophmore year. Nowadays, Easter was her least favorite holiday. How in the world had she ever thought that nickname was cute?
A more pressing question superseded that of her adolescent stupidity. Heart hammering, hands trembling, she punched in a call to nearlythe last person she wanted to talk to. Her mother answered on the first ring as if she’d been waiting.
"Sweetie! How is mamma’s baby doll? So good to actually hear from you. Have you been missin’ your mamma?"
Angela Masterson’s sugary sweetness could only mean one thing: She knew exactly why her daughter was calling.
"Mom, did you give my number to Kyle?"
"Oh honey, I meant to tell you, I ran into Kyle at the market the other day and I really think he’s changed. Judy Smith says that Kyle’s aunts are saying that he’s—"
"Mom! Just stop! I don’t care about what Kyle’s aunts are saying. Did you give him my number?"
"Katherine Marie, now is that any way to talk to your mother? I hope you’re not getting a smart mouth living out there in the city."
"Answer my question, mom. Did you give him my number?"
A long silence hung on the other end of the phone before Angela finally spluttered, "Honestly he could have gotten it from anybody, but if you hadn’t been such an ungrateful brat and just up and left here without giving him some sort of closure. I’m still hurt you didn’t even tell me you were moving all the way across the country until the day before."
Katie sighed instead of screaming. "I told you two weeks before and I waited because I didn’t want you to ruin it for me, mother. How could you give my number to Kyle? Of all people."
"Now honey, I think you just need to hear him out. He’s made some mistakes, but the good Lord says that we have to forgive hi—"
Katie almost choked on her wine. "Do you even remember what happened? What he did? I’m still paying all the medical bills that my shitty insurance didn’t cover."
"Now I talked to him about that Katherine, and Ed and Tammy have agreed to cover all those medical expenses. Even that shrink you just had to see. And they generously offered to let you and I use their home in St. Croix whenever we want. Can you imagine? I’ve heard it’s just to die for."
"I’m hanging up mother. I just...I don’t even know what to say. I can’t believe we are actually having this conversation."
Angela's disappointed sigh filtered through the phone, pulling on every one of Katie’s already infuriated nerves.
"You’ve changed Katherine Marie. Wow, you really have changed. It’s like I was just telling Judy at the hair salon the other day, you raise these kids, give them literally everything and they just stomp all over your heart. Silly girl. You’ve never been able to see how good you had it."
Katie made good on her promise and hung up. She already knew this guilt trip routine. She’d heard it a million times in some form or another her entire childhood and then some.
Ring…Rin-
Her finger smashed into the reject button, then flicked the ringer off. And, just to get as far away from that self-centered bitch as possible, she flung the phone onto the bed where it settled right between the pillows with a soft thud.
Hands on her hips, hot tears stabbing at her eyeballs, she twisted around and went through the scan.Coat stand, bathroom, bed, loveseat, closet.The same list she went through every time she walked through the door. Or came out of the bathroom. Or woke up, or went to bed, or just felt like it was necessary, which was pretty much all the time.
