Chapter 4:
A new life, and a new friend
Katrina looked around the court room. She was surrounded by friends and family who had gathered to see her adoption take place. The judge smiled as she signed the final papers, and said, "I wish that I could have cases like this more often. I would rather see children placed into good homes, than send criminals to jail." Everyone clapped and cheered when the judge said that Katie was officially a part of Mark Sloan's house hold.
After the court meeting, the Sloans went with family and friends to celebrate at Barbecue Bob's, a restaurant owned by Steve and Doctor Jesse Travis, who was a close friend of Mark, and one of the doctors at Community General.
Katrina sat at a large, round table with Mark and several of the doctors from the hospital. Mark liked to refer to these doctors as his core group. Next to Katie sat Doctor Amanda Bentley. She was in charge of the autopsies at the hospital, but could occasionally be found working elsewhere. Next to Amanda was Jesse Travis. He worked in the ER most of the time. Next was Steve. Although he was not a doctor, he was considered part of the core because he was around the hospital so much. Amanda always said that it was because he got free food, but really, he was often there for police work. Mark, who was a police consultant, Amanda, and Jesse were often recruited to help Steve with his job, and therefore, he was at the hospital a lot. Finally, Mark sat on the other side of Katrina.
"So, Katie, what do you want to study in college?" Amanda asked.
"I'd like to be a doctor, but Steve says that I ought to be a police officer. He says that's what I always wanted to be when I was younger, but I don't ever remember saying that," Katie replied as she grinned at her cousin.
"Well, maybe you didn't exactly say it, but you did say it would be fun," Steve shrugged.
"Not as much fun as the medical field," Jesse put in.
"Do you know where you are going to study?" Amanda asked directing the conversation back to Katie.
"Not yet. I'd like to stay close to home, so that if an internship pops up at Community General, I'll be able to take it."
"We usually have three or four spots open every year. I'll pull some strings for you," Mark said.
Katrina spent the rest of the evening with her friends. She had a fantastic time, and got to know some of the doctors at the hospital better. When Katie got to the Sloan's home, the reality struck; this was her home now. She could go up to her room, and lay down on her bed. It was a wonderful feeling to know that she belonged somewhere once again.
Three weeks after her adoption, Katrina fell into a daily routine. Each morning she would get ready and walk down stairs to help Mark make breakfast. They would eat together on the balcony that overlooked the beach, and talk. Then when Mark left for work, Katie cleaned up the dishes, and walked down to the beach.
One particular morning while she was down at the water, she began to think about how God had been so good to her. She hadn't seen His plan at first, but now, it had begun to unfold before her eyes. She would soon be enrolled into college and begin studying to become a doctor.
Katie couldn't have possibly planned her life in a better way. She couldn't imagine living anywhere else. As she sat there, the words of her youth pastor in England came to mind: "The best place that you can be is in the center of God's will. There is no better plan, and there you will find true peace and joy." Of course Katie missed her friends in England, but she couldn't have been happier.
After her devotions one morning, Katrina pulled a piece of paper out of her notebook, and began to write to Mary. "I want to describe all that has happened to me over the past few weeks," Katie thought to herself. Katrina began to write down everything that she could think of. Finally about halfway through the letter, Katie described America:
...Oh Mary, you ought to see it! I know you have never been out of England, and I know you said you never wanted to leave, but you must come visit me sometime if, for no other reason than to experience America. The people are so full of energy, and they are always busy. There is never a dull moment, and you never get bored. I must admit, that I do miss my England country side, but the beach that I live on is fantastic. The thought that I actually live here still overwhelms me every day. I do hope that you will be able to see it someday for yourself...
Katie finished her letter by asking her friend to say hello to some dear friends, and that she regretted that she did not have time to write to at the moment. Katie sealed her letter, and walked back up to her house.
She was surprised to see that the morning was almost gone, and it was now 11:30. Katrina had promised Mark that she would meet him for lunch at the hospital, and then have a meeting with Mr. Norman Briggs, the hospital supervisor about an internship position. Katie rushed upstairs to get cleaned up, and hurried out of the door.
Later that afternoon, Katie sat in her uncle's office, explaining all that had gone on in the meeting. She stopped however when Amanda entered the room, and said that she had exciting news.
"Do you remember when I told you about my sister who is your age, Katie?"
"Yes."
"Well, I just got a call from her yesterday."
"And?"
"I have some good news and bad news. The bad new is that my parents both passed away last week."
"Mandy, that's awful! I'm so sorry. Why didn't you know sooner?"
"Well, my sister wasn't able to get a hold of me," Amanda replied, "Anyway, the good news is that my sister Amy will be coming to live with me. She's already been accepted at University of LA to study as a doctor, in the same classes that you have I might add, and she's going to work at Community General as an intern at the same time you do."
Katie smiled. "Here? Another girl my age working here?" she asked excitedly.
Amanda smiled and nodded. "I'll be leaving tomorrow to help her get everything settled, and I plan to be back in two months with her. Now, mind you, she's shy, so don't be surprised if she doesn't talk to you right away."
"Oh, I'm sure we'll get along fine, Mandy. Something tells me that we'll get along just fine," Katie said.
Amy Cartwright sat with her friend Sadie, who was the pastor's daughter in the church the Cartwright's attended. Unshed tears threatened to fall down both girls' cheeks. Sadie placed her arm around her friend's shoulders, and said softly, "I'm going to miss you. Do you have to leave me tomorrow?"
"I wish I didn't," Amy replied, "I don't know anyone in LA. I just want to stay here in Colorado with you."
"Didn't Amanda say that she had a friend back at the hospital that wanted to meet you?"
"Yeah, she said that she was an English girl my own age. Katrina, I think her name is. Mandy says that she needs a friend. I guess she's been through a lot. Although I can't imagine anyone going through anything worse than I have."
"You have no idea what Katie's been through, Amy," Amanda said as she walked up behind her sister.
"Hi, Mandy," Amy replied half heartily.
"You sound as if I'm about to kill you or something. I know you didn't want to leave, But I know that you will like LA, and the people you are going to meet."
"Oh joy, people!"
"Amy, you'll be fine. Meeting people isn't always that bad," Sadie laughed.
The two friends, who had known each other all of their lives realized that it was time to say good bye for the last time. They both cried together, and hugged each other. Finally, Amy forced herself to walk away with Amanda, leaving her best friend standing at the front of the church.
The two sisters walked to their car, and drove home. They both made final preparations for the long journey to LA, then sat down in the family room together. They talked, cried, and prayed together about the new life that they would each be starting. If anything, the death of their parents had brought the two girls closer together.
"Mandy, what has Katrina been though?" Amy asked her sister as she finished packing one of her bags.
"Well, her parents and her little sister were killed in a fire when Katie was fourteen, and Katie was badly burned. Then she lived with her aunt who hated her, called her worthless trash, and after three years, sent Katie to the orphanage in LA. Katie was forced to leave all that she knew, like you are having to do. Thankfully, she was able to contact her uncle Mark, and he adopted her. The reason I said that she needed a friend, is because a lot of damage has been done in her life, and I thought that both of you could help each other heal. She is over joyed to meet you, Amy. So what do you say, I guess if you will hate me forever, you can stay here, but I think that you'll break a little English red-head's heart."
"I don't know how to say this, Amanda, but I think that I'll really like Katie. I'll go with you." Amy said with a smile.
Finally, both Amanda and Amy went to bed to be to rest up for the long trip that they had ahead of them the next day.
Katrina sat at her favorite table in the doctor's lounge awaiting the arrival of Amanda and Amy. She could hardly wait to meet Amy, and she nervously drummed her fingers on the table. "I hope she'll like me," Katie thought, "At lest she never knew what it was like to be an orphan long enough for people to tell her that she was worthless."
To keep her mind off of her nervousness, Katie began to draw a picture of a Siberian husky. "I've always wanted one of these," Katie thought.
As Katrina sat day dreaming, and drawing, a pretty, shy girl came into the room. "Go on!" said Amanda as she pushed her sister into the room, "She won't bite you."
Katie rose from her seat, and slowly approached the timid girl in front of her. "Hi! You must be Amy," she said, "I'm Katrina Sloan. Mandy's told me so much about you."
"What exactly has she said?" Amy questioned with a smile.
"Oh, nothing much. Just that you were a wonderful sister, and that she couldn't wait for us to meet. She told me what you looked like, and things like that."
"Well, Mandy told me that you were quite talkative, and I can see she was right." Amy teased.
Katrina blushed as she realized that in her excitement, she had said more than she had intended. Amy smiled and said that she didn't mind.
Within a few minutes, Katie had Amy out of her shell, and both girls were talking as if they had been best friends for years. Amanda smiled as she left the room to allow the girls to get acquainted.
The two girls found that they had a lot in common. They both loved to play the flute, they had both always loved dogs, and they both wanted to take acting lessons. The most important similarity between them was that they were Christians, and loved the Lord.
Over the next month, the two girls became the best of friends. Amy constantly asked Katie about England, and never tired of hearing about it. Katie on the other hand wanted to know about America, so the girls exchanged stories, and day by day built their relationship closer together. Neither girl had realized how much they needed a close friend, yet when they got together, the hearts that had been broken began to heal.
Both girls were exceptionally smart when it came to their studies in school, and they learned quickly. They often had competitions with each other to see who would get a higher grade on a test or a quiz. Katrina enjoyed the competitions because they reminded her of how she used to compete with Peter in England.
One day as the girls sat studying on the deck at the Sloan's home, Amy looked up from her book and smiled.
"Tell me about Peter, Kitty Kat."
"What?" Katie looked up with a puzzled look on her face.
"I said tell me about Peter."
"Why?"
"Because I want to know. What was he like? Is he handsome? Did you like him for a long time? Did he treat you like his princess? Does he still treat you like his princess?"
"My, aren't we nosy today?" Katie laughed.
"So, are you going to tell me about him or not?"
"Okay, okay. He's tall and very handsome. He has dark brown hair, and dark brown eyes. He's very sweet, and yes, he treats me like his princess to this day. He still writes a letter to me every week, and he emails me every day. He plays the piano, and he wants to become a doctor in England for a while, then move here, and get a job at Community General. Then he wants to marry me, and make me settle down somewhere and care for his kids and make him a feast every night."
"He must love you very much."
"Yes, I think he does. He's wanted to marry me ever since we were little."
"Okay. Let's get back to studying."
"What do you mean 'let's get back to studying'? I tell you all that, and just like that, after you've pried your little fingers into my personal life, you want to get back to studying?"
"Yes." Amy answered matter-of-factly.
"You're horrid! You aren't going to tell me anything about your private life?"
"Okay, The only man that I ever loved was my father, and I don't like talking to any other guys. They scare me."
"So you don't want to ever get married?"
"Oh, sure I do, but I won't talk to the guy until I know he is the right one. Even then he'll still scare me."
"Amy, you crack me up," Katie replied with a grin.
"Okay, look at question number three. How do you do that one again?" Amy asked as she looked down at her book.
The girls spend the rest of the night talking and studying together, and boys were not brought up again. Katie on the other hand, could not stop thinking about Peter. "Does he still love me, or has he found someone else?" she wondered. "Will he really come to America and marry me?"
That night after Amy had gone home, Katie walked down to the beach to think. It was dark, but the stars shone so brightly, that it seemed to be daylight. "Peter," Katrina said to herself, "will you always love me like you said you would? Promise me that you will not ever forget me. Promise me that you'll always love me, and that you'll come and work by my side like you promised. I miss you so much, and I wish you were by my side now. Trent is still writing to me, and he still says that he will have me as his wife. Peter, what am I going to do? I don't love him, but he just doesn't understand. I wish you were here. Oh, and about that settling down so that I can take care of the children while you go out and provide for the family, I don't think that I can settle down. Working at the hospital has become the love of my life, except for you of course. You'll just have to find some other way for the kids to be taken care of. And as for that feast that I'm to prepare the king of the castle, that plan's going to have to change too." Katie laughed softly and sighed before she continued, "I miss you so much, Peter. Do come to me soon, Love. I pray for you and Mary everyday, and I hope that you are doing the same for me. I love you."
Katie slowly walked back to the house, and went up to her room. It was late, and her uncle and cousin were already asleep. She quickly got changed, and climbed into bed. Sweet memories of England filled Katie's thoughts as she fell asleep that night.
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