Chapter 1, Storming.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the dirty dancing themes or characters. I also do not own Mr. Heckles, who is from Friends, but I have incorporated him into my story.
Five years later. 1964
A storm was coming. A cool breeze pulled at Katey Miller's long blonde hair, as if asking it to play. She tugged her hair back and twisted it into a restraining bun. Wind yanked drying leaves from an old maple tree that was too proud to willingly succumb to fall.
Katey Miller was standing on the terrace outside her New York City apartment. It was a little too large for Katey, with two bedrooms, but the spare room was perfect for when her sister Susie or her parents decided to stay. She lived on the second floor of an inexpensive, rent-controlled building. Large trees hung over her terrace, dropping leaves everywhere in the fall, but smelled wonderful in the spring.
Katey pulled the blanket tighter around herself, wishing it wasn't so cold. She moved away from the edge of the terrace and went into the kitchen, slamming the door behind her. She threw the blanket onto the small island in the middle of the kitchen, grateful for the heat from the usually fluctuating radiator. She boiled water in a copper tea pot that had been a house warming present from her grandfather when she moved in the summer before. While the water was warming she sat on the kitchen counter and leaned back against the refrigerator. She pulled her knees under her chin and tried to collect her thoughts.
She had been woken up at one in the morning because of a dream that she now couldn't remember. It was there, just on the outskirts of her mind, and she couldn't quite remember. It was driving her insane. She looked around her apartment, hoping that something would jar her memory. It was painted a cool blue, and when she had moved in she had situated numerous house plants around it. The small kitchen she was now sitting in was next to the sunken living room. Bright purple asters were in a vase on the coffee table, and various magazines and old newspapers were on top of her new, color TV set. A fleece blanket was thrown over the couch and pictures cluttered the mantle over the fireplace. Katey slid off the countertop and walked over to the mantle. She traced a finger along the frame of one of her and Susie a few years ago. They had been at their parents lake house in the spring of '59. They looked almost like twins, with huge smiles and their hair the same way
If the picture had been just a little bit bigger it would have shown that Katey was visibly pregnant. The real Katey, the one who wasn't smiling now recollected the day the picture was taken completely, but was jolted out of her thoughts by the tea kettle whistling.
Katey poured the water into a yellow mug and poured the excess water into the sink. She dunked a peppermint tea bag in it and let it sit and steep. She twirled a spoon around in it and then poured in a little cream and a spoonful of sugar. She sat at the table in the dark, sipping her tea and blowing thoughts around in her head.
Rain was starting to fall. Katey could hear thunder, but there wasn't lightning yet. When she finished her tea she left the mug on the table to be cleaned tomorrow. On the way to her bedroom she passed the fireplace and picked up a picture that she must have turned over, but she couldn't remember why. Just then lightning flashed, illuminating the picture. She remembered now why she turned it over, and was reminded, unwillingly now, of her dream.
Javier.