Chapter sixteen: Nocturn
September 1930,
The thump at the hotel door caused her groan in aggravation. "Go away Anton!" she shouted. She'd had enough for one day and if she didn't watch it, she was going to order a bottle of champagne and drink the whole bottle straight down.
"Kate?" She spun around and stared at the sound of Thomas's voice. Her heart leapt up in her chest and she wiped her eyes as she advanced towards the door. "It's me."
She unlocked the door and smiled at the welcoming sight he made. "I'm sorry, please, please come in Thomas."
"Are you alright?" He inquires as he steps into the room. She nods, but he reaches out to stroke under her eye. "You've been crying."
She shakes her head. "I was but, I'm not anymore."
"Who made you cry?" He asked, well, more like demanded. Kate could practically see him mentally ripping apart her father. "Tell me."
"I had a fight with my father." She exhales. "Then, I had another quarrel with my brother and I actually threw my wine at the fireplace before heading back here. I was staying with them at first, but, I packed up and left tonight."
"Good for you." He guides her to the couch. "You're learning to stick up for yourself."
She shakes her head. "I just feel so guilty. They're my family and-
"Don't go feeling guilty." He sits down on the couch, pulling her down beside him. "You deserve to be treated with respect. What was the fight about?"
She exhaled. "Well, it was about you to be honest."
He takes off his cap and sets it on the coffee table. "I'm flattered you'd get into a fight over me for your family."
"I didn't want to tell them your name; so I simply told them I was seeing someone. They wanted more details and I said I wasn't going to tell them your name unless we were engaged or something." She notes he exhales deeply, causing her to wonder if he'd thought that far ahead. "My family," she shuddered. "God. Not that you couldn't handle yourself, but I don't trust them. There's also your family, especially Ruby and Charlie to think about. Anyways, my father flew into a rage, saying I was a horrible, disrespectful daughter and a ton of other similar things." She rubbed her eyes. "My brother then threatened to harm my editor if I didn't give up your name. At that point, the fight broke out between us and it ended him tearing the sleeve of my dress."
Thomas straightened up. "He hurt you?"
"Just manhandled me a bit. I punched him in the nose when he tried following me." Thomas sat back in his chair and stared at her in surprise. "I then told an officer he was harassing me. The officer detained him while I got into a taxi and escaped. I thought he'd managed to follow me here somehow when you knocked."
"I'll call a man or two and have them keep an eye on your editor for a few days. Will that make you feel better?" She nods as he stands up. "Right, where's the phone?"
"Over there." She points towards the table near her bedroom. She stands up and heads to the bathroom. "I'll be back in a moment."
"Take your time."
She nods as she heads into the bathroom. She glances at her reflection in the mirror and cringes. Her hair is in a frazzled mess, her eyes are red and her face is pale. She sighs as she washes her face first and pats it dry. She reaches for the pink lipstick and applies it to her lips. She then pinches her cheeks and then rejoins Thomas.
"And a bottle of champagne." Thomas nods. "Charge my account." He then hangs the receiver back on the hook before turning to her. "It's too late for dinner, so, I ordered dessert."
"I declare, you're almost the perfect man." She says as she sinks back onto the couch.
He chuckles. "Almost Kate?" He steps towards the couch, his hands in his pockets. "Where do I fall short?"
"Your business on the side." He sits on the arm on the couch. "But, you know enough about my past to understand why I'd think that."
"Does it bother you?"
"A little, I do worry, but I'm not asking you to give it up. At this moment, with my editor being threatened, it does come in handy to know that someone has the ability to protect him, as I do not." She exhales and rubs her arms. "Is it me, or it cold here?"
"A little."
She stands up. "I'll start a fire."
"Sit down Kate." He orders as he heads to the fire. "You've had a tough day; so, let someone else take care of you for a change."
Kate laughs as she flops back on the couch. "I've been on my own for almost too long. I'm turning into a creature of solitude." All was silent while Thomas made up the fire. She was silent for a moment, then, she just felt compelled to speak. "I was 12 when I first met Emmett." Thomas stilled and turned towards her. "He was coming around the corner at the same moment I ran around. Even though he was 15 and almost a foot taller than me, I still knocked him down." Thomas lit the fire and she smiled as she settled into the corner of the couch. "He was so sweet and kind that, I think I fell in love with him the moments our hands touched when I passed him his glasses. I made excuses to pop by his parent's bakery for years. He didn't really see me in a romantic light until I turned 16. Then, we started courting each other."
"How'd your father like that?"
"Obviously, he didn't like it, but my mother approved and he allowed it for her sake. He was always stating that our love wouldn't last, especially with the war." She smiled sadly. "We wrote each other twice a week. I numbered each letter and kept a copy in case one got lost in the mail." She glanced towards him; his face wore a deep understanding expression on it. "When I got dismissed, I found him working himself to death at the hospital. Even though he was crippled, he didn't let that stop him. When two soldiers beat him up in the hospital, I insisted that he leave." She bit her lip. "It wasn't easy; people can be cruel, especially during a war which makes people almost inhumane. I had to demand that my father place protection on him and his family until the war ended."
"When did he propose?"
"A few months before the war ended. He was trying to get me to break up with him." she smiled as she inhaled. "I told him I loved him and I wouldn't stop loving him. "He said, "In that case, I guess I better marry you." to which, I informed him that he'd better. We decided to get married that week."
"Why the rush?"
She shook her head. "I wanted to be his wife. With a war on, a large wedding wasn't practical. It would just best to keep it a small family event since many of our friends didn't approve anyway." She blinked back the tears. "Someone shot him…on our wedding day. I was just getting ready to say, 'I do' when the shot rang out. I just remember standing there, with his blood and brains over me." She inhaled sharply and wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be." He said quietly as he reached for her hand and squeezed it comfortingly. "That's a piece of Hell you had to go through Kate."
"I didn't even get a good look at the man who shot him. Nobody did. My own father refused to look into the whole thing, saying it was better to leave things as they were."
At that moment, someone banged on the door and he stood. "I'll get that for you."
Kate nodded and wiped her eyes, inhaling as she tried to get composed again. It felt good to talk to someone; she hadn't had anyone to confide to in years. He knew and he understood it. She was glad for that. She hadn't had anyone understand her in a long time. And she hadn't expected that a Birmingham gangster could be one of the kindest and caring men at times.
