** Apologies for the delay on this chapter, real life! It does insist on getting in the way of ones preferred activities.
As always my most heartfelt thanks to my wonderful Beta Sweepeaspatch. You're amazing and i really don't think i'd have gotten this far in without you X**
!
Early one Sunday morning, some seven months after her new life began, Caitlyn found herself unceremoniously dumped into her cosy bed at Grandmere's house. The sun had not risen but a murder meant that the planned weekend off was now an all hands on deck situation. Not that Caitlyn minded, a bed was a bed and as long as her family were around her she was all set. Before long the world around her began to fade as sleep once again took hold.
"Caitlyn, up now please, my sweet" the voice floated on a gentle wave, "Please little one," Catherine stood beside the small bed. "I'm going up to the church this morning and if you are good I'll take you to grandad after. He wants to see you, you can stay with him until after dinner, yes?"
Caitlyn, her eyes still full of sleep, sat up, a quizzical expression on her face, "Church, why?"
"I want to check in on with someone and it's the easiest way" Uncertainty clouded the girl's young face.
"What's wrong with church?" Catherine asked.
"Well, I've never been to one." She followed Catherine into the kitchen. The clatter of plates and bowls filled the morning as the two sat down to breakfast of fruit and yogurt.
"What? Never?"
"No. Grandmother and Grandfather Poole, they go to church. And daddy always said that any religion that had people acting like them, well, he don't want anything to do it. He's not like them and he doesn't want to be," the girl answered in a calm but sombre tone. Catherine simply nodded not wanting to pry any further.
"Well, I hope it's okay, we won't be long, just the service. I would like to speak to someone then we can go. There will be other children, you'll be able to play with them after if you'd like."
Caitlyn nodded excitedly "I don't mind at all, it could be fun." She smiled up to her grandmere. Once upon a time this type of thing would have worried her but now new things like this simply held no fear for her.
!
The service was intriguing to the young girl. As it came to a close, she filled with excitement at the prospect of playing with the other children who, as Catherine had told her, were there as well.
"Kitty," a boy's voice carried over the throng of families as they made a fast exit. "Kitty, what you doing here?" Caitlyn shot forward through the huddle of people.
"Benny!" she threw her arms around a young boy a little shorter than herself.
"Gerrof, Kitt!" he grumbled, though with little conviction.
"I'm here with grandmere. She needed to see someone." She vaguely gestured back towards Catherine who was making her way to them. Her progress was slow and easy as she stopped to chat with people every few steps."Daddy dropped me off this morning really early, it was still dark, I think. And I'm going to grandad's later and..."
A second voice called out to them over the crowd, "Kitty Poole, is that you? My, my, I've never seen you here before!" A short woman of around 30 weaved her way around the others.
"Miss Bonet!" Affection overwhelmed the child's voice. Miss Olive Bonet was one of Caitlyn's all-time favourite people. A natural born nurturer, Miss Bonet had always seen the best of this young stranger to the island and of her doting if slightly odd father. It'd been a privilege and joy to be the girl's school teacher these last few months.
Both Catherine and Miss Bonet reached the children simultaneously.
"How lovely to see you, Kitty, and you found Benny, I see." The teacher looked directly at the young duo, genuine fondness clear on her face.
"Kitty?" Catherine asked, "I've never heard anyone call you that before."
A slight red tinge kept its way up Caitlyn's neck and settled itself onto her lightly tanned cheeks "My friends call me it," she mumbled self-consciously.
The young boy standing with the snug group became bored and impatient, "Come on, Kit, Junior's here too. Let's go play."
The girl glanced at her guardian who nodded indulgently, allowing the youngsters to run off in search of their mutual friend. Both adults stared after them for a moment in silence
"So, you are grandmere?" Catherine nodded. "Kitty, oh, umm, sorry, Caitlyn, she talks about you all the time," Miss Bonet's smile was warm and open. Catherine could see immediately why her granddaughter liked her teacher so much. In fact, hardly a day went past without the girl mentioning something Miss Bonet had said or done.
The two women found themselves wandering companionably out into the brilliant sunshine.
"So? Kitty?" the question hung in the air.
"A silly nickname. Kitty is quite fond of it. Her friends find it amazing how many bedrooms she has." Catherine look confused. "Well," Miss Bonet continued, "she mentioned her own house, your house, her grandad's house, and an uncle Dwayne. And in every place she has her own bed! Benny said she was like a kitty cat, sleeping wherever she chose. Kitty Cat eventually just became Kitty and the name just stuck, all of her friends and most of the staff use it. Inspector Poole knows all about it and he thinks if she is happy then so is he."
Catherine smiled, "Kitty, yes, that suits her. Very much, very much indeed." A calm and serene hush fell between them once again. And so there they stood for some minutes, just watching the children charging around the fresh green grass.
"Well, it's been lovely to meet you, to put a face to the name. I'll be seeing you on Friday, of course, and…"
"Friday?" The confusion in Catherine's voice was clear.
"Yes, it's end of year, Kitty's graduation from pre-K. She'll be in kindergarten in September. I know, I know. She'll still be in the same classroom and still with me but Graduation is a lot of fun and the children love it." She turned her full attention now onto the older woman, "In fact, would you be able to remind Inspector Poole that I need to know numbers for it, say, by pick-up time tomorrow? Just so we know how many chairs to put aside. "
"Yes, of course," Catherine's voice was distant and dreamy, not that the teacher appeared to notice. Why hadn't Richard mentioned the ceremony? Didn't he want them to go? She knew with every ounce of her being that everyone would want to go to see the kitty graduate, take the steps onto the next stage of her learning. If they were welcome, that is, of course. Maybe best to have a little word.
The station was oddly quiet, considering the fast and unexpected movement of that morning. When Catherine arrived later that afternoon, having dropped Caitlyn off with her grandad, she had used the long walk back into town to focus and think. She so desperately wanted to go to the graduation, silly as it sounded, but she didn't want to insert a self into the situation in which she wasn't welcome.
!
The station was relatively cool and a welcome respite from the blazing sun outside. Richard and Camille were sat, working, at their respective desks. Dwayne and Fidel were nowhere to be seen. "Richard?" she called gently from the door.
"Catherine," the man rose instinctually, such an odd English man, "is everything alright? Caitlyn?" He'd begun to get himself worked up.
"Caitlyn is fine. She is with Selwyn. It's just, well, you see I was up at the church this morning," she turned towards Camille, "I wanted to check in on Maeve, her mother had an awful fall on Tuesday." Camille nodded her understanding and abandoned her desk, choosing to stand near Richard's so she could listen in on whatever had brought Catherine to the station. She knew her mother would be here for more than to simply to pass on a message. After all, if it had been important she would've called right away. "And I met Miss Bonet. She is just as nice as Caitlyn says."
Both women look towards Richard. Goodness, was he expected to respond? Why? "… Yes. She is very nice, always ready to help the children." Silence. "So... what's the message?"
"… Yes," Catherine worried her lip a little, "well, she said to tell you that she needs to know how many people will be going for Caitlyn's graduation."
"Graduation?" Camille pitched in excitedly, "She can't be finishing pre-K already!?"
An air of expectation hung heavily around them all.
"Ermmmm... yes, she is," was all he could muster up to say.
"They say you can have as many people as you want. They just need to know. Tomorrow. For the chairs, you see"
Two sets of hopeful eyes cast themselves over a confused and rather lost Richard.
"So… how many seats do you want?" pressed Camille.
"Well, honestly, I can't imagine who else would be interested besides me," he responded awkwardly, "unless, that is, you would like to come too? " He aimed this final comment in Catherine's direction.
"Of course we want to come!" Camille cut in. No way was she going to miss out on this!
A rare and unabashed smile broke out across Richard's face, "Excellent! So I'll reserve three seats then." He nodded softly as he lowered himself back onto his seat.
"Oh. Yes. About that. You see, when I dropped Caitlyn off I mentioned I was coming here. Well, Selwyn asked me why and I… well, I told him, you see, and he made it very clear that if I got to go then he wanted to come too. So maybe four seats?"
"Seats? Seats for what? "Dwayne asked as he and Fidel wandered their way over to the happy group.
"Caitlyn's pre-K graduation," Camille bounced excitedly, filled to the brim with pride.
"Is it that time already? "Fidel asked.
"Goodness, the little princess is so grown-up, "Dwayne sounded a little emotional. "I can come, right, Chief ?"
"Oh, oh, us too?" Fidel piped up, "Please, I know Juliet would love to see Caitlyn on her special day. If that's okay, that is?" He added the last part quickly, not wanting to be seen as inviting himself.
Four sets of eyes looked up expectantly at a slightly overwhelmed Richard. This behaviour towards himself and his daughter still took him by surprise sometimes. Everyone knew he hated the sand and the basic nature of his facilities both at home and at work but he had to admit he loved the people. The warm nature and open hearts. He loved it. And that terrified him more than he cared to admit.
"Right, so, seven seats then," was all he could find the words to say. Four excited, smiles was all the answer he got.
!
Friday morning brought with it a new and fresh surprise, not that the Poole's knew it yet. Father and daughter were sat enjoying a leisurely breakfast on the veranda; toast and tea for the former and fruit and yogurt with a tall glass of cold mango juice for the latter.
"Detective inspector! I was hoping to catch you before you left for work," Commissioner Selwyn Patterson said as he slowly climbed the steps.
"Granda! Daddy says you're coming today, right?" She threw herself into the waiting man's arms. Richard couldn't help but notice the slight island twang that had begun to creep in on the edges of her once crisp and clear English accent.
"Of course I'm coming Kitty" he confirmed, pressing a kiss into her hair " Now I need to talk to your father. Why don't you finish getting ready while I chat to him." The girl may only have been small but she knew a dismissal when she heard one and skipped off indoors.
Kitty, Richard thought, not unkindly. As soon as the story of that playground nickname spread amongst the adults they all gradually switched to using it. Much to Caitlyn's joy. For whatever reason, she really loved that pet name.
"So, sir, What brings you here so early?" Richard asked as he stood.
The Commissioners hesitation and distinct lack of eye contact did not, for once, go unnoticed.
"Well, you see, I've had a call from London. It appears they need you to officially release your post before they can offer it to your replacement."
"What do you mean? I've been posted here. Surely my job there is gone?" His confusion was plain to hear in every word.
"It would appear not. They called me yesterday. They say that they wish to have your temporary replacement take over the role permanently. That requires you to officially relinquish the job." He paused a moment, allowing Richard to take in this new information. "I am sorry to put this on you, but they held off as long as they could. They need to know by 6 today. If I had another choice i wouldn't have told you today of all days. But the deadline so close and I knew you'd want to know right away." Selwyn couldn't seem to quash the wave of concern and anxiety that whirled up within him. The two men stood in awkward silence for a moment.
"So, I can go home?" Richard asked quietly.
Selwyn couldn't hold back the deep sigh that escaped his pursed lips, "Yes, you may go back to London if that's what you wish." He didn't even try do disguise the hurt in his voice. "But I will ask you one favour before you pick up that phone." He cast his eyes down to the table where Richard's mobile lay. "I ask you to think, truly think. I know that the island hasn't always sat well with your more... English sentiments. But think about your life here. How different it is from in the UK, not just the things you miss about your homeland. Please, just take everything into account."
Richard couldn't meet his eye. "I miss my home, the cool air, the drizzling rain. I miss not melting from morning to night." His voice was low but clear.
"And what of the other things?" Selwyn countered. "What about you work life?" It was time to go for the jugular. "What about Kitty? Would she prefer London? We love her here! She's a part of our daily life. You both are." The older man forced eye contact, " Please Richard, just think," and with that he walked away leaving a confused and conflicted Englishman in his wake.
!
Work that day was annoyingly lacking. Richard's mind churned, stirring up thoughts, memories and feelings into a confused mass that sat and bubbled in the bottom of his stomach. For him he felt that, as an Englishman, his place is and always will be England! And he was stronger now. This place, it had given him strength. Taught him what life should be and he would stand up and demand it now in London. And what of his parents?
Despite everything, deep down all he wanted was to reconcile with them. Have them be real grandparents to Caitlyn. Like Catherine and the Commissioner. But that was the crux of the matter. What about Catherine and Patterson? They loved Caitlyn so much, not even related to her and they've given her their all. And what of Dwayne, Fidel and Juliet? They loved Caitlyn too. And Camille, always Camille. She had so quickly become so important to his daughter's life, his too. Not that he'd ever admit so aloud. Could he take Caitlyn from these people? Would she actually want to go? He was an Englishman through and through, but Caitlyn, every day he saw more and more of the island in her. Her speech, actions, and attitudes were all a reflection of the Caribbean. Slowly disappearing was the little London girl. But what of her prospects? In London she would have the facilities to grow and become whatever she wanted. Would she have less of a chance of future freedom here? But here is where she's happiest. She'd grown and flourished in unfathomable ways since they'd moved, would going back be a detriment to her?
The constant to and fro within himself was exhausting and left little room for anything else. This distracted presence did not go unnoticed by the other officers within the station. The morning had been eerily quiet; it was a surprise to them all. The Chief had been unusually open about his pride and excitement at the graduation and now the day was here. For him to be so sullen and distracted was nothing short of shocking to them.
"Camille," a whisper breathed into her ear, "I'm gunna take Fidel and we'll do a turn of da market. If ya can, find out what's up wit him." Dwayne nodded to their superior's desk, "Maybe help him out?"
"Why me?" Camille's hushed voice came out rather more panicked then she intended. A significant and distinctive look was the only response she garnered.
A simple nod of the head to Fidel had the two men up and out the door before Camille could even think to argue. They were right after all, something was clearly wrong. Richard had been acting very strange all day. Well, even more strange. The infuriating man was hardly the image of normal and rational behaviour at the best of times. And whatever was going on now was clearly not the best of times.
Gathering her courage, she swallowed down the unease she felt and approached her boss' desk. A part of her knew that whatever was bothering the man would affect them all, she didn't know how she did, she just knew. Woman's instinct? She pondered as she came to a stop standing directly before him. He made no move to show he knew she was there. He just stayed sat, staring down at the phone he held tightly in his fisted hand. Perhaps he was waiting on a phone call?
"Richard?" her light voice felt like a scream as it tore through the tense atmosphere. Still the man gave no sign of awareness. "Sir?" Louder this time, sharper.
Richard's head snapped up and he was immediately met by a set of concerned brown eyes.
"Richard, what has you worrying so?" her voice was gentle again. "You have been so excited for today and yet you seem tense, distant. Talk to me, I can help," she coaxed.
"I'm sorry, Camille, but I don't think you can." He turned his attention back to his hands.
"Well, just talk then. I know that sometimes just saying it aloud helps to work out, well, whatever it is you want to work out." She perched herself on the corner of his desk, subtly making it clear she wasn't going anywhere unless he spoke to her.
He barely controlled the urge to roll his eyes. But with everything else going on, the last thing he needed was an angry French women shouting at him about rude English men. Playing for time, he straightened up and looked the woman directly in the eye "I'm sorry, Camille, I didn't mean to worry you. Bringing my personal problems into work is very unprofessional and I assure you that you have my undivided attention now." The sincerity was lacking, even to his own ear.
"Richard." The growl in her voice was all the warning he needed.
"Alright, alright!" He tore his gaze from hers. "I have the chance to return home. For Caitlyn and I... to go back to London."
Of all the things she had expected him to say, it wasn't that. Leaving? Both of them going? Over the last several months she'd become more than fond of the two Pooles. She honestly couldn't imagine loving Kitty more, not if she where her own flesh and blood daughter. The love and pride she felt for the girl only grew in strength each and every day. And as for Richard, well, she chose not to look too closely at her feelings for the annoying, irritable, caring and unintentionally funny man. That particular tiger was best left un-poked.
"My job in Croydon. It's still open, I can go back to it if I want. Only they need to know today." He chanced a look at her and instantly regreted it. Her wide eyes and horrified face struck him like an icepick to the heart!
"London!" she gasped out. No, this wouldn't do! Camille knew she had to get control of her reactions. Fitting in place a mask of calm understanding she continued, "Well, that is quite the chance, isn't it? What do you intend to do?"
A slow deep breath saw Richard pushing himself back on his chair, Camille had never seen him quite so exposed before, so tormented and vulnerable. "I honestly don't know. I want to do what is right, I just don't know what that is. I miss England so much, it's my home, but here we have a life I never imagined. I want to go back, I also want to stay. I know I'm not really explaining myself well, I just don't know how to put this all into words. In the beginning, I didn't have a choice, it was done and that was that. Now I can change it all, I honestly don't know what to do. Frankly that scares the hell out of me." The world seemed to hold its breath in the wake of this unexpected outburst.
"Maybe," Camille offered, "What scares you is not the life you have, its the one you could have if you made the conscious choice to stay. Going back would be safe in many ways. Life would be predictable for you. Perhaps here you see more possibilities?"
"More possibilities?" he scoffed, his old conceited arrogance reared its ugly head again, "Staying here would be professional suicide, a career dead end. A..."
Camille cut him off, " Not professionally! But for you and Kitty." She caught his eye, a significant gleam in her own. Goodness, he wished he knew what that look meant! "All I can say is, think on this. Think about all the bad things as well as the good things you miss about England. Are the bad things you'd have there worth losing all the good things you have here? No one can answer that but you. But know this Richard, you would both be missed here. More than missed!"
!
The drive to the school had been fast, not that Richard had noticed. The chat with Camille hadn't helped to calm him in the least. In his heart he knew he wanted to stay, for his daughter if nothing else, but to take that step was massive and he wasn't sure he was strong enough to do it. He simply wasn't the type to drop it all and move across the world, not on purpose anyway, but a decision had to be made.
And it was. In a single moment.
The small hall was decked out with row upon row of chairs. When the four officers arrived they quickly spotted Selwyn, Catherine and Juliet, all of whom had travelled up together in Selwyn's nice comfortable car. Catherine had managed to snag seats right up the front with the best view of the children when they came on stage. She was bouncing with pride and excitement, ready to watch her adopted granddaughter take her place. Selwyn beside her, was holding a large bunch of flowers ready to present to Caitlyn after the event. Juliet, large with her own very soon to be born baby, sat smiling. As Richard reached out to shake her hand hello, she pulled him down into a warm hug, kissing his cheek affectionately. Flustered and with cheeks reddening fast, he sat himself down between Dwayne and Camille. As a hush fell across the room, the children filed in from the back. Twelve small faces lined up waiting to be called. With every name announced,a child climbed the steps onto the stage, received a roll of paper, and shook their teacher's hand. A round of applause followed each child. Eventually, when only a couple of children were left standing to the side, the one that the group had been waiting for was called.
"Caitlyn Poole," Miss Bonet called out.
Camille reached out and grasped hold of Richards hand, he responded without conscious thought with a gentle squeeze.
With head held high and nary a halt in her step, Caitlyn confidently climbed onto the stage. Gripping her teacher with a firm hand she thanked her most politely as she took her scroll. The explosion of applause from the 7 adults was alarming in the best possible way. By that action they were all joined in love and pride for the girl. And in that very moment his decision was made. He could never take his daughter from this group, her new, unexpected family. She deserved them.
And he had began to feel that he did to.