As Kate drove into the driveway of her new apartment she hoped that no one wanted to talk to her or visit her. She wanted to be alone. Especially today. She hated today. Hated it that she wasn't able to be with him. She hated him for not being with her. He didn't stay to help her. He left. He left her to sort things out on her own and she hated him for that. She hated what today reminded her of and every year for the last 4 years she tried to forget. She tried to move on and most times she tried it through a bottle of vodka. She opened the door to her new apartment. She had no idea what it looked like. She bought it unseen. She flopped on the couch. With her eyes shut, his face drifted across her mind. Her heart pained at the site of him and she couldn't deal with it. Not today. She looked at her watch. 4:30. Not too early to start drowning her sorrows in vodka. She stood up and left her apartment and started looking for a quiet place to drink.
The pub wasn't too big and it seemed quiet enough. She thought she had chosen well until a loud bunch of people walked in. She couldn't help but let out a frustrated sigh at the amount of noise they were making. She looked at her watch and was surprised at the amount of time that had already passed. 6:00. Only six more hours of today. The hurt and pain wasn't as bad through the rest of the year. Only ever today.
"I'M GOING TO BE A DAD!!"
She threw a glare at the group wishing that they would shut up. She wanted peace and quiet. She didn't want to hear that other people were living the life she wished she had.
"Next rounds on Swain. Proud father to be!!"
She couldn't help but think Swain was a weird name. But then again she'd been hearing weird names from them all night. Then again, they could be nicknames. She knew once she'd been appointed to a new boat, she'd be getting a nickname. Looking over the strange group and from the way they were acting she decided they must be in the Navy. The names she'd been hearing would account for it. She let out another frustrated sigh. Hopefully she wouldn't be with them. She liked her privacy and from the looks of it, they weren't a very private bunch.
She signalled for another drink. She knew she was close to being drunk and soon they would stop serving her and most likely send her home. To her dark apartment, where she would be all alone. She shuddered. She didn't want that. Not at the moment. Not today. If anything she wanted to be with him. Have his arms around her as he comforted her through today. But she knew it wasn't going to happen. She was likely never to see him again.
She couldn't help but think about him. Now she had been posted to a small ship, and him being a small ships person, she wondered if she might see him around. She wondered if he was even posted here. It was unlikely. There were lots of people in the Navy and Australia was a large country. She couldn't help but wonder where he was or what he was doing. Did he have trouble getting through today? Did he ever think about her as much as she thought about him?
"Excuse me but could I have this seat?"
She replied as icily as she could, annoyed that someone would distract her like this. But it came out as dully as possible. She looked up hoping to scare the person off with a glare but when she saw who it was, she felt like her heart had been ripped open, like and old wound reopening.
"Kate? Kate McGregor?"
Her heart pained even more as she heard her name from him. But then she remembered the hurt from his abandonment.
"Mike."
Saying his name brought back all the old memories and all the pain and hurt. She felt tears gathering in her eyes and couldn't help but think of how much she hated today.
Yep she definitely hated today. December 10.
