Part 4
When she peeked out her window early the next morning after getting out of her shower, Catherine saw Robert's truck parked in her driveway. Wondering if he was planning to phone her again to ask her to breakfast, she suddenly realized that the truck was not running, and that he appeared to be inside, slumped over the steering wheel. Suddenly panic-stricken, Catherine pulled on her robe, stuffed her bare feet into her boots, and ran out to check on him.
She yanked open the driver's door, and he stirred and mumbled sleepily. Catherine took a deep breath of the cold air, then asked furiously, "What the hell do you think you're doing SLEEPING out here? I thought you had had a heart attack!"
Robert grunted, then climbed out of the truck stiffly, flexing his fingers and yawning as he stretched in the cold early morning. "I didn't mean to fall asleep here ... sorry, Catherine. Actually, it occurred to me not long after we got off the phone last night that your friend who had hidden your truck also had the key to your house. Now, I don't know this guy, but it suddenly hit me that you were alone in the house ... and a shiver went up my spine at the thought that someone who was angry enough at you to have your car towed and hidden in your own garage was quite possibly warped enough to attack you in your own house."
"William? You thought WILLIAM ...?" Catherine began to scoff at him, but at the memory of the look of lust in William's eyes yesterday, she bit her tongue. She didn't want to believe that William would ever dream of attacking her, but after yesterday ...
Robert continued, "So I decided I'd come over and keep watch. Your lights were off and I figured you were asleep, so I didn't ring ... then I guess I fell asleep." Now he looked sheepish.
"Robert, he only has the key to the garage, not the house." Catherine said gently. "Since Tom got sick, William would come over or send his teenaged son over to shovel the driveway in the winter and cut the grass in the summer."
"Can we go in the house and warm up and finish this discussion there?" Robert asked plaintively, blowing on his hands.
That was when Catherine realized how very cold she was, standing outside and clad only in a thin silk dressing gown and boots. They hurried into the house, both shivering violently. Robert shook his head when he watched her kick off her boots and wrap her arms around her body, moving her hands rapidly up and down her arms. "You really need someone to look after you, don't you? That is NOT something to wear out into the snow!"
Catherine found she couldn't say anything in her own defense. Instead, she just said, "Robert, I'll just run and get ready or we'll both be late for work. After all, I have responsibilities ..."
"Blast it, woman, so do I! Right now, one of them is YOU!" Robert growled.
She stiffened. "I am NOT your responsibility. I am quite capable of looking after myself! I should have known this ... relationship wouldn't work!"
"Oh, really? Well, let me tell you ..." he stopped. Taking a deep breath, he began to speak again, his hands taking hers and drawing her closer. "Catherine, I'm sorry. I know I'm out of line. I love you. I want the right to think of you as my responsibility. Hell, I'd be glad to have you consider me YOUR responsibility! I just want to marry you and love you for the rest of our lives."
Her quick temper subsiding, Catherine leaned into him, asking softly, "Do you really think it's a good idea for us to marry, Robert? Yes, we are good together physically. I don't think there's any question about that. But what about your daughters? How do you think THEY will feel about this?"
"This is MY life, Catherine. They're living their own, they don't need to live mine as well. Lori has Jeff and the children. Jaclyn has Brick ... at least, she did a month ago."
"BRICK?" Catherine repeated, amused. "Is Brick a cat or dog?"
"His name might be Brock or something. I can never remember it, it's too strange," he said impatiently. "He's a male model, I think. Jaclyn's boyfriend. We've never met him, but Lori teases Jac something fierce about him! Catherine, go get dressed before I lose my mind and start trying to persuade you to marry me, or at least to let me make love to you ... right now ..." his hand smoothed down her back suggestively.
With a gasp, Catherine pulled herself out of his arms. Half-laughing, she said, "You just can't leave this alone for a moment, can you?"
"Nope. I plan to keep bugging you persistently ... you know, like the little drops of water in Chinese water torture ..."
"I'll be back in a moment, you little drip ..." Catherine couldn't resist. She evaded his sudden lunge for her with another chuckle and hurried to her room.
Just when she had come back to the front foyer and found Robert dozing on her living room couch, the phone rang. It was her cleaning lady, asking if she was needed again for the next few days, or if it would be all right to leave things until the new year. She scolded Catherine for leaving the milk in the microwave, and asked if she wasn't sleeping again. Catherine said she was fine, thanked her for cleaning up after her in the kitchen, then said she would see her next year. When she hung up, she eyed Robert slumbering peacefully, and said softly, not meaning to wake him if he was as deeply asleep as he seemed, "You can stay here and sleep if you wish."
He smiled and, without opening his eyes, said, "I'm not sleeping. I'm just daydreaming about you. And me. Together. I'll get up in a minute, when I'm finished my dream. I want to drive you to work, and I have to get to the construction site myself."
"Robert, really, I DO have a vehicle, now. There's no need for you to keep driving me. I'll have you know I'm not grossly incompetent, and I am more than capable of driving myself."
"I know that," he agreed with a sigh, standing up and stretching again, "but I want to spoil you. I want you to come to find that I am completely indispensable in your life"
Catherine knew he had already become that! Then she stared at him in disbelief when he said that he had never known anyone so sexy and yet so unaware of herself as a woman. Indignantly, she said, "I am QUITE comfortable with who I am and how I react with people and how people react to ME!"
"Is that so?"
"YES! I am very much aware that I am a woman ..."
"A very sexy woman?"
"Oh, Robert, you really need to get your eyes tested or your head examined or SOMETHING!" she shook her head reproachfully at him, but a faint smile creased her lips and she was inwardly very pleased at his compliments.
"Let's not start another argument, or I'll have to make love to you to win. Can we just get to work? I've got a long day coming up."
Without saying a word, Catherine marched out to his truck and got in, sitting there with her arms folded and a slightly mutinous look on her face. Ignoring her silence, Robert put on the CD while he drove. At last she unbent enough to say, "Thank you for getting MY music." Then she admitted with a faint laugh, "I have a Sarah Vaughn CD now, too."
"I plan to be here when you get off – call me if something comes up." Robert said as he drew up to the front entrance of the hospital. He didn't kiss her, but his parting look was as good as a kiss, and Catherine strode into the hospital smiling and ready for anything.
Later that morning, Catherine was surprised to get a phone call from Marina, asking if they could meet for lunch. Since she wasn't in the middle of surgery or anything major, Catherine agreed, and the friends met at a restaurant across the street from the hospital. As they greeted each other and started talking, Catherine realized that William had been the one to urge Marina to meet her and to ask questions. Wondering if whatever she said would later be reported to William, Catherine was somewhat guarded with her replies when it came to her whereabouts over Christmas, and if her new relationship was serious.
Marina listened carefully, then seemed to understand some truths through the evasions. She chewed thoughtfully, then swallowed and said, "Personally, I think that if you have found someone you think you can love, someone who thinks you are wonderful and who loves you, too, then I'd say you should go for it. It's really the right and the ONLY thing to do. I am SO happy for you! Do you think marriage is in the future for you?"
Catherine shrugged, quite non-committal at this point. Then she said, "Oh, by the way, I'm sorry, Marina. William told me you want me to come for New Year's Eve as well. I won't make it, I'm afraid."
Marina looked a little surprised, then she said, "I hope you are going out with your new friend. Actually, I had asked William if we could go out this year instead of having anyone in ... he never answered. I guess if he asked you over, that means he won't be taking me out." She toyed with her coffee cup for a moment, then said slowly, not looking up, "Catherine? Has William ever ... well ... said or done anything that went ... beyond friendship? To you?"
Unsure of what to say, Catherine said nothing. Marina looked up, and met Catherine's eyes, and her own hardened. Quickly Catherine explained, "He has never DONE anything ... and what he said, he said he was speaking out of ... friendship. Maybe I just took it the wrong way."
"Or maybe he was speaking out of his obsession for you," Marina said slowly, her eyes still on Catherine's.
"His ... obsession?"
"I've suspected for some time ... since before Tom died, and certainly afterwards. Catherine, I don't believe that you were at all aware of it, and William tried to laugh it off with me, but he was just so furious with you at Thanksgiving when you didn't come ... and you were so changed after that, he kept saying. He would rage that you were more remote, less dependent upon him, and he got angry with me when I asked why you should be dependent on him. Then you didn't come for Christmas ..."
"Oh, Marina, I ..." Catherine struggled to find words. She was still very angry with William, and it hurt her that Marina was the one really suffering.
"Well, actually, I think it's probably just as well you can't make it for New Year's Eve because I'm not sure it's going to be the celebration William hopes for!"
The look on her face had Catherine realizing that William was in for the fight of his life if he expected to keep his marriage intact. Having heard from Robert the story of Lori and Jeff's marriage, and having kept her opinion of Lori's about-face in the delivery room on Christmas Eve to herself, Catherine just knew that Marina was not a push-over, and that William would have to do some major grovelling and make many, many changes in his life before Marina would allow him back in HERS.
The friends parted with hugs, and Catherine went back to the hospital. She had hoped that maybe things with William would just blow over, but it was not to be. That afternoon, when she was alone in the nursery checking on a baby, William came in, having seen through the window that no one else was around.
"Catherine," he said, walking up to her, smiling. His smile suddenly looked a trifle smug and even insincere.
She stepped back automatically, but an incubator was blocking her retreat.
William gripped her shoulders, his eyes glittering into hers. "Catherine, I just have to say it. I'm very disappointed in you. If you needed loving, you should have known that I would have been more than happy to oblige! You had no need to go to the lengths of finding a stranger to fulfill your body's cravings!" His head neared hers.
Catherine was slow to react, but she got her head turned enough so that his kiss landed on her ear. Then her hand flashed out, but William caught it with a scornful laugh and twisted it behind her back, bringing her closer to his aroused body.
"Good thing Tom told me all about your passionate nature and how to channel it." His thin lips came crushing down on hers trying to force a passionate kiss on her.
Catherine desperately kept her lips closed against his thrusting tongue and kept twisting to get away. Surely Tom would NEVER have discussed her with William! Oh God, she simply HAD to get away from him. She felt sullied and dirty, and angrier than she had ever believed possible. Her struggles became more frantic. Then they both heard the door open and the same nurse who had interrupted them before walked in. She stared in dismay, then backed out of the room, flustered and apologizing.
More furious than she could imagine, Catherine took advantage of William's stunned inaction and said in a low, intense voice, "If you don't release me in two seconds, William, I swear I will unman you with my knee ..." Her threat achieved its goal before she even finished uttering it.
He released her and stepped back so quickly that she would have smiled if she could have found any humour in the situation at all. Instead, still speaking in a controlled but angry tone, she told him not to speak to her personally, touch her, or ever try to do anything like again or he would find himself up on charges of assault faster than he could ever believe. William, being the innate coward that he was, began backpedalling as much as possible, trying to become once again the friend she had thought she had known before, claiming he was under too much stress, that she shouldn't blame him, that she had to give him another chance, for Tom's sake, that she MUST stop seeing the Wordworth fellow or it would be the worse for him, and that he could always come by this evening and they could discuss the situation sensibly...
Catherine ignored his words, merely holding out her hand and demanding the key to her garage back. "I don't want you to have any access to any part of my life." When he petulantly slapped the key into her hand, she walked away from him, her head held high, her eyes flashing.
Retreating once more to the washroom, she shuddered at the memories of his distasteful assault. She simply couldn't stand the thought of being near him ever again. Scrubbing her face to rid it of his touch, Catherine began considering Robert's offer of marriage in another light. In order to keep away from William, being that he was the head of the pediatric unit of St. Mary's Hospital, maybe she SHOULD quit her job ... and be Robert's wife. Surely anyone smart enough to be a doctor should be able to read recipes and follow directions and learn to cook! She might surprise herself. But she loved her work, and hated the thought of being stuck in a kitchen for the rest of her life.
Hearing herself paged for an emergency, Catherine resolutely forced down thoughts of William's assault, and gathered all her shattered control before hurriedly making her way to the delivery room. Fortunately, there was no sign of William in the flurry of activity around the mother whose fetus was in cardiac distress.
An hour and half later, Catherine was standing in the nursery by the incubator of the tiny newborn, watching the monitors closely. Aware of eyes on her, she peeked with some trepidation at the window, but only saw a couple of nurses who, when they caught her surreptitious glance, hurried off giggling. She frowned. No doubt the story of her and William kissing was already circulating the hospital. Picking up one of the babies who would be going home the next day, Catherine cuddled him until she felt better. No, she couldn't quit being who she was. Not yet. Without ego inflating her sense of self-worth, she KNEW she was very good at what she did, and she couldn't help but remember Robert's comment that she could be destined to save the one special child who might save the world in some small way.
Although she tried not to think of him, William's words began to replay in her mind. Had he actually thought she would be willing to give him another chance? He wouldn't DARE come to her place that very evening, would he? Although she cringed at the thought, she decided she simply had to phone Marina and tell her what had happened. If her friend was at all interested in keeping William, and Catherine really could not imagine why she would, Marina needed to know what had transpired that afternoon. Again Catherine shuddered at the memory. How could she bear ever seeing him again, let alone attempting to work with him? But what other choice did she have if she wanted to keep working?
"Dr. Howard, call on line 2. Dr. Howard, call on line 2."
Sighing, Catherine returned the child to the bassinet, then went to the phone. To her surprise, it was from the administrator of the new children's hospital in town, who, after a few pleasantries, asked her to consider joining THEIR staff as the head doctor of the new neonatal unit they were establishing. Catherine, once the words had really sunk in, couldn't help but wonder if it was a sign. No more having to deal with William, ever again! Wanting to accept on the spot, Catherine instead agreed to call them back as soon as she made her decision, but she made them aware of the fact that she was very, very interested. She really thought she should resign from St. Mary's first before accepting a new position.
"Take all the time you need, Catherine, but we really would like you to work here, and the sooner you can let us know, the better."
"Thank you so much," Catherine replied, her heart lifting as she disconnected the phone. It had to be an answer to all her prayers, this new job offer!
Hurrying to the doctor's lounge, Catherine found some paper and wrote her letter of resignation right away, feeling a great deal of pleasure at the thought of dropping it on William's desk just before she left work that afternoon. When she phoned St. Francis Hospital back to accept the position, she mentioned that she could be available anytime, as she had been looking for a reason to resign at St. Mary's and had no qualms about leaving at a moment's notice. And yes, she was sure the administrator of St. Mary's would understand. No, she hadn't talked it over with him, Catherine said, but she knew him well enough to know that he would completely understand why she was leaving. The administrator of St. Francis was delighted, having known Catherine for many years through the various hospital meetings, and she told Catherine that the sooner Catherine started at St. Francis, the more she'd be able to make decisions with regards to setting up the new facilities.
Catherine hesitated only for a moment, then she said, "Actually, I have holiday time pending, and no urgent cases that I'm watching. I'm free to walk out of here tonight and I could probably start next week, if you want."
"That would be wonderful! But take your holiday time first, Catherine. Why don't you take the rest of this week as well as next, and plan to start work January 9th?"
After concluding the rest of the details, Catherine looked around the lounge, and realized she wouldn't miss it as much as she would have thought. William had tainted this room for her, as well as the nursery. In fact, his behavior the last few days had spoiled most of her memories of St. Mary's. Her excitement rose as she thought of planning the new neonatal unit, as it had been the talk of the medical circles in their town for a long time.
At last it was time for Robert to meet her at the front. After dropping her letter of resignation on William's desk, Catherine hurried out the front door of St. Mary's hospital for what she hoped was the last time, holding her coat tightly about her body. To her surprise, when she got to Robert's truck waiting close by, it was Jaclyn at the wheel. The young woman gestured for Catherine to get in, and rather hesitantly, Catherine complied.
"Dad couldn't get here tonight ... he's really sorry. Something came up at work, a slight altercation or something, so he asked me to come by for you."
"I could have taken a taxi ..." Catherine began.
"It's all right. Actually, I wanted to talk to you, anyway. Do you have time for coffee?"
"All the time in the world," Catherine said, feeling surprisingly free. She flashed a brilliant smile at Jaclyn. "I just quit my job."
Jaclyn slammed on the brakes and stared at Catherine in disbelief. Fortunately she wasn't yet out of the hospital parking lot. "You WHAT? WHY? Dad asked you to marry him, didn't he? Is that why you quit? I can't believe that you'd ..."
Catherine held up her hand. "Please, Jaclyn, hear me out. The reasons I quit have nothing to do with your father. I was offered another job, and things here were, well, let's just say I couldn't stay any longer."
"And Dad had nothing to do with it?" Jaclyn didn't look convinced.
"Not directly."
"But he HAS asked you to marry him, hasn't he?"
Catherine's eyes remained steadily on Jaclyn's as she softly admitted, "Yes, he has."
Jaclyn bit her lip, then turned back to her driving as she negotiated her way onto the street. After a moment, she asked, "Can we go to Murray's for a cappuchino or coffee or something?"
Knowing they had to talk, although she really did not feel up to it tonight, Catherine nodded. "All right."
When they were sitting in a booth at Murray's, Jaclyn toyed with her cup for a moment in silence. Catherine just watched her and waited. At last Jaclyn admitted that, although she knew it was really none of her business, she just was not sure about this burgeoning relationship, because her mother had just died and her father had just MET Catherine.
"I know it seems sudden to you," Catherine agreed. "Really, it's sudden to me as well, and, surprising as it may seem, it's sudden to your father as well. Do you think we WANTED to fall in love?" Jaclyn's faint expression of discomfort almost made Catherine smile. She continued softly, "I loved my late husband very much, Jaclyn. I was devastated when he died. I thought my life was over ... my personal life ... my ... love life. It never occurred to me that one day I would meet someone who could bring love back into my life. It certainly never occurred to me the night I first met your father. Not at the beginning. I thought he was rude, overbearing and idiotic."
Jaclyn laughed out loud at that. "I guess he can be, can't he?"
"He thought I was supercilious, condescending and unwilling to live in the real world," Catherine continued, her lips curving up as she thought back to her feelings that one, special night. "We rubbed each other the wrong way right from the very beginning."
"So what happened?" Despite herself, Jaclyn was getting interested in the story. Then she flushed, embarrassed. "That is, if you don't mind telling me ..."
"As you know, we found the cabin. We spent the evening playing scrabble and talking. We had more in common than we had originally thought. Then your father fell asleep, and it was probably only about ten minutes later that I did, too. Early the next morning, your sister and brother-in-law were there to rescue us, once the storm was over and the roads were plowed."
"So, nothing happened?" Then Jaclyn flushed even more, and buried her face in her cup. When she lifted her head, she said quickly, "Never mind. Don't answer that. I don't want to hear it."
"Nothing happened, Jaclyn," Catherine said gently, "except that as we talked, our feelings gradually shifted." She grinned suddenly. "I still thought he was rude, overbearing and idiotic, but I also found qualities that I greatly admired. He loved his family deeply, your mother and your sister and her family and you. He did not want to admit the truth without fighting to the bitter end. It took him a few hours before he would admit to me that your mother was not fine, that she hadn't been 'fine' for a long time, and that she was never going to get better. Alzheimer's is like most diseases in many ways, but its worst aspect in MY opinion is that it robs everyone in the victim's family of their loved one long before death."
"I've found that out in the last six weeks," Jaclyn sighed. "I never would accept it before."
"Neither would your father." After a moment, Catherine asked, "How does Lori feel about this? Does she share your concern?"
"Lori? No." Jaclyn shrugged. "She's too concerned with Jeff, now that he has decided to come back to her, and, of course, baby Mary Beth and Michael." She finished her coffee, then stared into the empty cup for a moment before looking at Catherine again. "May I ask another question?" At Catherine's nod, she said, "If nothing happened that night, and I gather you and Dad never saw each other until Christmas Eve, just when did you decide you were in love?"
"Oh ..." Catherine hesitated before she said, "I suppose I suspected that morning after Thanksgiving. But when your father didn't show up for a planned meeting that Sunday ..."
"That was the day Mom died!" Jaclyn exclaimed.
"I found that out Christmas Eve," Catherine murmured. "Anyway, I told myself I had been right with my first impressions, that he was, well, not the person I had built him up to be in my mind. But even though I tried to forget him, I couldn't. It turns out that, although he had a lot on his mind after your mother's death, he couldn't forget me, either."
There was another moment of silence, then Jaclyn shuddered theatrically. "I think the worst thing is that I just can't imagine my FATHER being in love with the Hershey lady! I mean, my FATHER! He's too old to act like that! Too old for sex!"
Catherine's lips twitched, then she confided, "I hate to break it to you, Jaclyn ... but he isn't."
Jaclyn slapped her hands over her ears, but her eyes danced as she said, "Please, I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that!" Then she sobered and said, "Catherine ... may I call you that?"
"Please do."
"Catherine, I am the first one to admit, and Lori will confirm it, but I'm pretty childish for all I want to act grown up. I just, well, I'm missing Mom. I need her to talk to about ... well, about everything, but especially about the fact that Brock, my boyfriend, phoned last night and asked me to come back. I, well, I think I probably will, now that I know Dad is happy."
"But you'd like to be sure."
"I think I am more sure now. I'm still squeamish about, well, Dad and the whole sex thing ..."
"I don't THINK our relationship is based on the premise that we are both desperate for sexual satisfaction," Catherine said, slowly. "But we're not young enough to pretend this means less than it does. Yes, your father asked me to marry him. I haven't given him my answer yet, because there are a number of issues in our lives that I feel need to be sorted out first. But the fact remains that ... well, I ... Jaclyn, if I were to say I think we are deeply in love with each other, would I sound idiotic?"
"I think you'd sound sweet."
Catherine laughed. "YOU are sweet. Thank you."
"No, thank YOU. You know, you're really easy to talk to. No wonder Dad fell in love with you so fast." Jaclyn spoke as if she were surprised by that fact.
The two women got up to go, and Jaclyn dropped Catherine off at her house, saying that her father would probably be phoning later, and that she wouldn't tell him about Catherine's new job ... and then Jaclyn added that she really hoped Catherine would be coming to Lori's place for New Year's Eve, because Lori needed time to talk with her on a casual basis just as Jaclyn had. Promising that she would if their father kept on hounding her to come, Catherine waved goodbye and entered her house.
One of the first things she did was phone Marina, who said she quite understand Catherine's concern, but that it was probably misplaced this evening.
"Oh, really? Why is that?"
"William got home not ten minutes ago, covered with snow, dirt, blood and bruises. He wouldn't say anything to me, but it sure looks as if he was in one hell of a fist fight."
"What?"
Marina said confidingly, "I would actually think someone had mugged him, but he refuses to go to the hospital for x-rays or to be checked out. Of course, he IS a doctor, and everyone knows how averse your profession is to seeing someone else. Anyway, thank you for phoning and telling me what a rat my husband is – REALLY, I thank you! Catherine, if I leave him, as I am more and more tempted to do, may I still count you as a friend? I mean, it might be difficult when you are working with him ..."
"Don't say anything to him, Marina, but I won't be working with him any more. I've been offered another job and I'm accepting it. And of COURSE you may still count me as a friend, as I hope you will me, even if your husband IS ... obsessed ... with me!"
"It's a deal. Again, thank you, Catherine."
Catherine took off her coat thoughtfully, wondering just what had happened to William. Surely he wouldn't have ... no, he WOULDN'T have gone to Robert's construction site, would he? Was WILLIAM the cause of the altercation at Robert's work that Jaclyn had mentioned? If William looked terrible, according to Marina, how was Robert? She paced for a moment or two, then looked up Robert's phone number and tried calling his house. There was no answer.
Intermittently that evening she tried the number, but no one seemed to be home. Finally, when it was quite late, Jaclyn answered the phone.
"It's Catherine Howard," Catherine said. "Is your father there?"
"He's in the shower at the moment. Says he's beat. Literally." Jaclyn's amusement came over the line. "You'll never believe this, but you know that altercation I told you about? Well, it appears that some guy just came in, threw a punch at Dad ... and next thing you know, they were rolling in the snow and dirt, punching and yelling."
"Oh, God ..." Catherine closed her eyes and sagged into the chair. William HAD gone there! "How IS he?"
"He SAYS he's fine. He doesn't look it, but he says the other guy looks worse. Anyway, I can have him call you, if you like. But I'm warning you, he really is tired. For some reason, he didn't get a lot of sleep last night, and won't say why. Maybe he's thinking too much about you?" Jaclyn teased.
"Hardly," Catherine said, dryly, but a warm feeling washed over her. Robert was SO sweet to worry about her, and fight for her! The least she could do was let him rest tonight! "No, Jaclyn. Have him call me in the morning, please. I'm not going to the hospital, so I'll be home all morning."
"All right, I'll pass the message on. Good night, Catherine. Sweet dreams!" she giggled.
"Good night."
To Be Continued ...