Chapter 8

Catherine looked at the message in her hand. Though she hated to do it, she had decided to send a message to Vincent that she would be unable to see him until Friday. She had resolved earlier that morning to work as much as possible over the next few days until she finished her caseload and could be with him uninterrupted at last. Buoyed by that notion, Catherine got to work,

Vincent received Catherine's message with considerably less enthusiasm. He'd been looking forward to seeing her again as soon as possible. Dejected, he wandered aimlessly until he found himself in Father's chamber. Instantly, his parent knew something was troubling him. Putting aside his book, he turned to his son.

"Vincent, something's bothering you."

"Yes, Father. I just received a message from Catherine. She's very busy at work and won't be able to come Below again until Friday." He sighed in disappointment. "I was hoping if we spent more time together it might help my memory return sooner."

"Well, I'm sure she has a good reason. Catherine has always valued the time you two spend together. In the meantime, have you considered reading over your journals? Perhaps they can help you with your memories."

Vincent cocked his head to the side quizzically. "Journals?"

Father shook his head at his own stupidity. "I'm sorry, Vincent. I should have thought of them sooner. You've kept a journal since you were quite young."

"What's in them?" Vincent asked.

"I don't know. You've never shown them to me. But I can guess that it's probably the things you don't want to discuss with anyone else either. I'm sure Catherine takes up a prominent place in them." Father replied. "You'll find them in the trunk at the foot of your bed." He had barely finished the sentence when Vincent dashed off.

Vincent opened the old, battered trunk as if he were unearthing buried treasure. Reverently, he ran his hands over the leather bindings of the large stack of tomes the trunk contained. Randomly, he selected one and opened it.

Today, it is one year to the day since Catherine entered my life. While others might have chosen to forget such a dark day, Catherine chose to celebrate with a wondrous display of light. Can it have only been a single year since she came to me and changed me forever? My soul seems to have been bound to hers since the moment of my existence; for I did not know what it was to be truly alive until that terrible, magical night.

Vincent stared at the page a moment longer and then began taking the books out of the trunk. Shortly, he had them organized into several neat piles in chronological order. Picking up the first, he began to read.

Catherine worked harder than she ever had in her life, putting in at least fourteen hours days. Each day she arrived before anyone else and left well after dark, going home merely to sleep for a few hours, change clothes and return to her desk the next morning.

The only break she had taken was to go with Joe to lunch on Thursday to introduce him to her friend, Amanda Blakely.

Amanda had dressed with her usual aplomb. In sharp contrast to Joe and Catherine's business attire, she was wearing dressed casually in jeans and a bright pink t-shirt emblazoned with a familiar quote by the famous humorist Will Rogers. It read 'Make crime pay. Become a Lawyer.'

Halfway through the meal, Catherine ducked out and headed back to the office. Frankly, she wasn't even sure Joe and Amanda noticed. The two were deeply engrossed in each other's company. She could tell they were both quite smitten.

Finally on Friday, after what seemed an eternity, Catherine wrapped up the details on the last file on her desk. To her delight, she discovered it was only lunch time. Elated, she took her last file into Joe's office.

"Well, this is the last one." She informed him.

"So, I guess this is it, huh, Cathy? Listen, I just want you to know that if I had to lose you to someone, I'm glad it's Amanda. She seems like a great person and I've heard good reports about that outfit she works for. " Joe said.

"Do I detect a note of romance in the air, Joe?" she teased.

"Nah, I wouldn't say it's gone that far, but we are getting together to watch the game Saturday. After that, who knows? I just can't believe she actually likes sports as much as I do!" Joe laughed. "I'm gonna miss you, Radcliff."

"Goodbye, Joe. It's been a pleasure and a privilege." Cathy said softly. Wiping her eyes, she headed for the door as Joe's phone rang, distracting him. With one last long look around, she headed back to her apartment.

Vincent was hard at work with a task of his own. He'd been reading his journals for almost three days. At first, it had been difficult since he had been interrupted many times by well wishers and visitors dropping by unannounced. In desperation he had turned to Father for help. He had explained to Vincent about the privacy flap and unlit candle or lantern that tunnel dwellers used as signals for privacy. Vincent had immediately made use of the information and soon been left in peace.

Each night he read until he fell asleep, focusing all his attentions on the books that held the secrets of his past, and each night the dream returned.

A soft voice, "No! Not without me!" Warm lips on his; soft breath breathing life into his lungs. Gentle hands caressing him as he began to respond. Flesh so soft and yielding; warmth, oh such warmth!

Each time he awoke feeling highly aroused but increasingly frustrated. Was this merely an erotic dream he had or something more? He simply couldn't recall enough to be certain. While he couldn't see the other person in his dream, something inside him instinctively told him it was Catherine. That only made things all the more puzzling.

Late Thursday night, Vincent had fallen asleep very late again; like clockwork the dream returned. But this time, ther was more.

A soft voice, "No! Not without me!" Warm lips on his; soft breath breathing life into his lungs. Gentle hands caressing him as he began to respond. Flesh so soft and yielding; warmth, oh such warmth! He raised his hand to caress the soft flesh of her neck, stroking it insistently as he drew her forward. From the corner of his eye, he saw a bright flicker of light that trailed fires of gold as it fell to the floor unheeded. He ignored it as his lips met hers again and his desire roared to life.

Vincent bolted upright in his bed and blinked as he processed the images of his dream. He jumped from the bed, returned to the journals and began searching for a particular one. After finding it, he flipped frantically through the pages before locating the one he sought. Slowly, he closed it as a huge smile lit his features with joy. Carefully, replacing the volume, he hurried off to seek the one person he knew he could count on at this late hour.