Ch. 23 Moving on
The next day.
Returning from his jogging, Dylan saw a car stop in front of Kate's little house. He noticed that she was coming out of the car and he quickened his pace to meet her. He saw her open the back door and take out a large plastic bag that didn't seem to be heavy. He also noticed that she was wearing a sleeveless dress.
"Hi", he said when he came next to her.
"Hey Dylan!", she replied joyously. "Jogging?! How's your leg?"
"Far better already. To keep practising, that's the best remedy", he said taking a deep breath.
"I borrowed Sonny's car to make some purchases", she said.
"Seems to be big?", he replied.
"A pillow and some towels", she said deadpan.
"Ah?", he replied not taking the hint.
"A drink?", Kate asked.
"Hmm, I would like, but if you don't mind, I'm going to have a quick shower first".
"Ok", she said and he started running again.
"And lunch!", she yelled.
As response he gave her the thumbs up to show he understood her.
Twenty minutes later he was back and he rang the doorbell. The door swung open and he saw a radiant Kate.
"Come in!", she said.
He padded inside the living room to the terrace and he noticed that she had already set the table.
"A beer?", she asked.
"Yes please".
An instant later she was back with a beer and a glass of wine. Kate sat down and handed him the beer.
"Cheers. How was the run?"
"Cheers. Relaxing", he replied after taking a gulp.
"Dylan, tell me, you've travelled around the country and now you're here. I remember that you had a flat in Cairns. What about it?", she asked before she took a sip of wine.
"Well, I hired it. It was a furbished one you know. As soon as I knew I was transferred I stopped the rent and I sent my personal belongings to the farm", he said.
"Farm?"
"My parents' farm. My father is still alive but the farm is running by my elder sister, Charlie. Charlotte is her full first name. I thought that when I would have a vacation, I would go there or take a real vacation on the coast or so", he said and he finished his beer.
"Yeah, the farm, I remember that you've spoken about it when we were still on board", Kate replied and she tapped him on his thigh, "Come, lunch".
They walked inside and sat down.
"It's everyday fare. Toast, meat, cheese and coffee", she said.
"That's fair enough for me. This should not be a feast every time", he replied grabbing two slices of bread to prepare toast for them.
"Dylan, for sure you'll think that I'm ambushing you, but I need to ask it", she broached right after they just started to eat.
"Shoot!".
She looked at him an instant, her brain racing at 1 Mach and he looked at her waiting for the question.
"Do you want to move in with me?", she blurted out.
Jeez, Kate, can't you be even ruder! Stupid chick!
He looked at her smiling but said nothing and Kate started to feel rather uncomfortable.
"Damn yes I will!", he replied smiling broadly.
Kate jumped from her seat and rushed on him. She cupped his face in her hands and kissed him passionately. Somewhat surprised by this gesture he had never seen her do, he pulled her onto his lap and softly stroked her back. When they came up for air, Kate gave a sniff and wiped her wet cheeks.
"Hey, honey, what's the matter?", he asked.
"Don't worry about that darling, just tears of happiness", she said blinking to keep the others away.
"Thank you darling", she said with a sigh and he tapped on her thigh.
"When can you be here?", she asked.
"Well, I just have to pay the bill. And I don't think the owner will create a problem, because I think I was his best customer with the longest stay!", he replied with a grin.
"Aah! Now, I understand. The pillow!", he said with a smirk and Kate replied with a smile while blushing.
"Come, let's finish lunch", she said as she stood up trying to get rid of the blush, but in vain.
They finished lunch and did the dishes. Afterwards Dylan went to the B&B to pick up his belongings and to pay the bill. He parked his car in front of the little house and entered because Kate, having heard the heavy engine of his car, and was waiting for him on the doorstep. He noticed that she had swapped her simple sleeveless dress for a long fluffy dress with a small floral pattern.
"Welcome!", she said solemnly with a grin and stepped aside to let him enter.
He put his luggage down in the middle of the living room and turned to Kate who walked to him. She enfolded him in her arms and he closed his on her.
"Thank you", she whispered and they kissed each other passionately.
When they broke apart she took a deep breath. "I've made room for you", she said heading to the bedroom. Kate opened the wardrobe and showed him an empty space and empty shelves. "You can put your things away", she said smiling.
"Sure, what are your plans for this afternoon?", he asked opening his suitcase.
"I was studying a new song for the show, 'On the street where you live' from 'My Fair Lady'. Maybe, if you like, could you listen and comment?", Kate asked.
"Of course I will", Dylan replied by starting to put his things away in the wardrobe.
When he had finished unpacking he went back to the living room where Kate was silently humming her new song.
"Ready?", he asked her.
She looked a bit hesitant, "Uh, yes, but promise to be honest", she asked.
"Sure, I've always been honest with you", he replied sitting down.
She nodded, "Ok, here we go". She started the music from the beginning and took a deep breath.
"What do you think about it?", she asked eagerly at the end of the song.
"Splendid honey, splendid. I look forward to hear it in the pub ", he said applauding her nicely.
Kate walked over to him and leaned her head against his chest, "What would I do without you?", she murmured.
Later, after dinner, they both left the kitchen and stopped in the middle of the living room. They looked at each other, not really knowing how to continue with this chapter of their lives. Kate took his face in her cupped hands and drew him gently towards her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and they kissed.
"You know darling, I've always wondered what I might feel once I'm in your arms, now I know because it's become a reality", she said.
"I had the same feelings, but with Mike between us it seemed like a dream", he replied kissing her while caressing her back.
"Hmm, I don't feel much, but I feel something with you", she teased pushing her tiny body to his.
He smiled, "Then there's only one solution for". He leaned over, took her bridal style and walked quickly to the bedroom.
Eyes in the eyes, they undressed each other. Then Dylan put her in the middle of the bed whispering soft words to her ear, kissing and worshipping her whole body.
He had been waiting for this moment for so long. He had dreamed of it and had only one wish it's to make her happy and make her forget her painful past.
Much later, when they became one and satiated one from the other, they lay next to each other in bed in the darkness. Some spare light from the moon shone inside. He noticed that her eyes were still open and that she was staring at the ceiling.
"You're still awake?", he started.
"Uh-hu".
"Thinking?", he tried again.
"Yeah, trying to get the things sorted", Kate said faintly.
"Uh? Did I say or did I do something wrong?", he wondered.
"No, it's just me. It's a bit too complicated to explain", she replied still staring at the ceiling.
"You can always try, we've the whole night".
"… Well, about what we did this evening, I've never thought to experience it again", she said faintly.
"Ah, come on honey, what are you saying now?!", he replied indignantly as he moved to lean on his left arm and look at her.
"Let me say this to you. I admire you for what you went through last year. Hats off for having withstood all this", he stated.
"It's not true darling, I couldn't stand it anymore. I gave up", she said faintly.
"Uh?"
"You don't know everything yet", she continued.
"What honey?", he asked tenderly
"I told you that I had been robbed, that this scumbag had hit me and I ended up in the hospital, huh?"
"Uh-hu", he nodded.
"He had my purse, my keys and my address. While I was in the hospital he had time to take all the interesting and valuable things as well as my car", Kate told faintly.
"But? Didn't you tell where your handbag was when you were in the hospital?"
"I was unconscious and they put me under tranquilizers to calm me down because I had a breakdown after realising that I miscarried due to the kicks. When I came back home I could start tidying up and then go buy things again like a TV, laptop etc".
"Jeez, what a mess", he said baffled.
"The day after I received an official letter to attend the court room for a case about my mother Joanna McGregor. I was still too upset about the burglary to read it well and I thought that I had to give evidence on a trial about that bitch of a mother. But no! She accused me of neglecting her for years. And I thought that I had to witness! I had no lawyer, I had nothing. They made mincemeat of me in that court and I had to pay an astronomical amount of overdue food annuity.
I had to sell everything and I moved to Sydney to take whatever job. I ended up in a cleaning company. Whatever I tried, I couldn't move forward an inch anymore. One night I had bought a bottle of wine and I got drunk. At that moment I decided that it no longer made sense anymore. I pulled on my service dress with medals and sword and I took that small gun that I found once during a boarding. You know, such a small, light gun for women. I put it against my temple and fired. Even that failed! I don't know why or how. It's all so grey and blurry about that period. The only thing I remember is that I started crying. The next things were tatters of views of hospital and convalescent home. They helped me to ensure my reintegration into society and I ended up in Sonny's café. There I started to get much more self-confidence", told Kate tears rolling down her cheeks and wetting the pillow.
"Kate, honey, I really don't know what to say. I… it… I would really have liked to be with you", he replied, touched.
Kate shrugged.
"Then they must have found you rather quickly?", he asked.
"I don't know. The neighbours must have heard the shot and they called the police", she said barely audible.
"The scar and the dent,… that was that shot?", he dared to ask.
"Uh-hu. The bullet broke a little piece of the skull. I probably bent my head by pulling the trigger. I don't know how they fixed it because they kept me in an artificial coma for … weeks, I guess".
He rubbed her thigh to comfort her. "It's over now! Don't worry anymore!", he whispered her.
"Do you now understand why I say that it's sometimes too complicated for me to catch? I could have been death and it upsets me sometimes.. How could I have go so far? I'm so ashamed of it! You're the first to know everything", she said looking at him for the first time since she started her story.
He nodded. "And Sonny?"
"Nope, he works together with the convalescent home but he doesn't ask questions".
Dylan nodded again.
"And how did you start to sing?", he asked to broach a more cheerful topic.
He saw a smile.
Aha, a change of mood. Good ball mate!
"Ah! One night there was a show on TV, "The Voice of Australia" where they were looking for new talent. One of the candidates was singing a song and it sounded awful. Some of the guests at the bar commented the song and I mingled with the discussion. I said 'even I can do better'. 'You?', said someone . 'They've trained a lot', he added. 'Yes', I replied. 'Nope I don't believe you', he said. 'Prove it!', another of these geezers challenged me. The entire discussion had been heard by Sonny. He worked together with the convalescent home to give people a second chance and he saw in it a splendid opportunity to give a boost to my self-confidence. 'Kate, give it a chance and I'll buy you an appropriate dress', he said. For the first time since the dismissal I felt strong again and I accepted the challenge. I worked on four songs and presented them two weeks later. Jeez, you can't imagine how nervous I was. It was a success and we made it a habit twice a week. These four songs became a whole programme", Kate told happily and Dylan was happy to hear real joy in his girlfriend's voice.
"That's great! Listen, we'll make it together here", he said and she nodded. A few minutes later he noticed that she had fallen asleep and he stared at the ceiling thinking about what she had said.
I may not think to the fact that I could have lost her while I was still holding her photo in my wallet. And I couldn't do anything because I simply didn't know!
Now I understand why she reacted so strangely since I've met her in the pub again. She was still trying to rebuild her self-confidence. I think I'm going to be the backbone to speed up that process. How am I going to do that? Just by being with her. Being a bartender? Hmm, for the time being. When I'll notice that the Hammersley Kate is back again, then it will be time to look further. And what about her father? Is she already mentally ready to hear this news?
After an hour of intense reflection he also fell asleep.
They knew less about how their lives would reach another turning point.
To be continued