Better Together
Chapter 11
At a quarter after eleven, Katie stormed in; wearing a business suit and carrying an expensive purse that Christine had undoubtedly bought for her. A thought had occurred to him. Katie had never really had to work for anything. She had a ready made job in the company Christine had built. Her education had been paid for by Mike and she had lived with Christine throughout college.
"Sit." Mike ordered as he pointed at a nearby chair.
"I am not in the Navy, you know?" Katie asked as she complied.
"No, but maybe it might have done you some good if you had been. You might have learned some respect for your elders." Mike said.
"What do you mean? I was trying to take care of you." Katie asked in an innocent tone that might have fooled him at one point.
"I had it set up for your mom to make my decisions for a reason. I didn't feel you or Hannah would have the strength to carry out my wishes." Mike said.
"We don't know what your wishes were." Katie complained.
"No crazy means to keep me alive. I've spoken with my doctor. Your mom signed off on the surgery and to have me intubated. Allowed for pain meds and such but kept the Do No Resuscitate order in place. Exactly as I wished. Would you have done the same? I know you told the doctor not to intubate me; even as I was fighting to breathe." Mike asked.
"I…uh…" Katie started. Mike held his hand up in response.
"Don't; Katie. Don't try to explain it. Or excuse it. I will give you the benefit of the doubt because that is what your mom wants. You didn't understand the ramifications. That the longer I fought to breathe, the more of a chance I had of going into cardiac arrest, something your mom and the doctor wanted to prevent." Mike explained.
"I didn't know that." Katie said.
"I am sure you didn't. So, why are you fighting your mom so hard?" Mike asked. Katie shrugged. "NO, you are not leaving until this is settled. My question is—Did Mark ever…do anything to you? You have been very defensive since Audrey appeared and my thought is you were trying to protect his interests. And why would he have been outside the house that morning?" Mike asked.
"No." Katie said simply.
"Katie; you need to elaborate. I don't have the energy to be a detective right now." Mike insisted.
"No; he never did anything. I just didn't like how Mom lied to us." Katie said.
"Your mom was protecting you girls at great cost. She lost years with Audrey when she could have simply called me for help. That would have ended the agony he was putting her through. She was trying to save face and appear strong to you and Hannah. You should admire the woman she is. Look; she is your mom and she will automatically forgive you because she loves you unconditionally. But you haven't answered my question. Why was Mark outside that morning?" Mike asked again and he knew he had cracked through Katie's shell when she started sobbing. "Come here?" Mike gestured at the bed next to him and Katie climbed up next to him, laying her head on his very sore chest. Mike ignored the pain and held her tightly as she sobbed.
"I heard you and Mom talking about you being on Audrey's birth certificate. It didn't seem right and Mark…he was always nice to me. He said he just wanted to make sure Mom was okay. He still cared about her. Or so he said." Katie explained between sobs.
"He tricked you." Mike said simply.
"I think so…but…it could have gotten you killed." Katie said.
"And Mark is dead. You obviously liked him." Mike continued.
"It was not like you think, Dad…he never touched me. He just treated me like an adult when you and Mom…wanted to keep me and Hannah frozen in time. Mom especially. It probably had to do with Audrey and Lucas." Katie admitted as she wiped the tears away.
"When you lose a child…you hold onto the ones you have left a little tighter. As much as your mom and I love watching you and Hannah succeed and mature, it is a reminder of all the things Lucas won't be able to do. As far as Audrey is concerned; I am sure she factored into some of your mom's decisions. It is very difficult to step away." Mike told her.
"I just thought that Mark deserved to have a choice where his daughter was concerned." Katie said.
"And normally; I would agree but he forced your mom to give her up. I would say the Mark you saw and dealt with was completely different than who your mom dealt with and she shielded you girls from it. Your mom never got to hold her or spend anytime with Audrey. She deserved that…Audrey deserved that and now; because of Mark, they have to catch-up. Honey—I understand your reasoning and as I said, normally I would agree that a man should be able to make a decision regarding his child but Mark, when he forced your mom to give her up, he also signed off his own rights. He was only using you to get to your mom." Mike told her.
"And I was too dumb to realize it." Katie remarked and Mike shook his head.
"Not dumb. Perhaps naïve. You do owe your mother a huge apology. As I said; she is your mom and she will forgive you automatically and she loves you, but that doesn't take away the fact that you really hurt her. You could have been in the background and had a voice in my decisions and I suspect your mom would have listened, but you came out against her. Hannah probably needed help with Audrey but you were fighting your mom." Mike commented.
"Are you and Mom going to get remarried?" Katie asked. She had sit up but was still sitting next to Mike on the bed.
"I have no idea. The reasoning for us to get remarried is dead so I honestly don't know. It was going to be to protect your mom and little sister." Mike answered.
"That is not the only reason you two had to get remarried and you know it. You and Mom still love each other like that. Sure, you both say it is because of us girls and because you're friends, but I think its more. I know you loved Andrea but it was never quite the same. You and Mom…you could date and Hannah and I could watch Audrey for you both." Katie said.
"Honey; don't get your hopes up. Your mom has been hurt pretty badly by Mark and I did love Andrea. It would not be fair to her to just jump into something." Mike reminded his oldest daughter.
"Andrea always knew you and Mom had something special and I'm sure if she had her choice; it would be Mom you would end up with again. Not some…hussy." Katie remarked. It made Mike laugh in response.
"No hussies for me. I'm too old for that. Now; I want you to think about something really special for your mom as an apology. Not a thing…a dinner or something. You owe her. If you want to apologize and wait to do something special for when I am out of the hospital that is fine, but you need to make it up to your mom. She deserved better that what you gave her. Honey; we made some pretty key mistakes with you. Yes, we tried to hold onto you being young. We maybe forced you into a career that you didn't want, but we do love you and we want what's best. We should have maybe made you work harder to achieve these things. You have some soul searching to do where all that is concerned." Mike said.
"I am happy with my career and I do work hard." Katie pointed out.
"Then appreciate it. Most people your age have to fight a lot harder to get an education and career that fulfills them. I have no doubt when the day comes; your mom will hand you her business if you want it. You may have to share it with Hannah or Audrey but just make sure it is what you want." Mike said.
"Okay." Katie said. She started to get off the bed but Mike caught her hand.
"And promise me; Mark never touched you? That was the only reasoning I could come up with that would make you do the things you were doing. That you might have been in love with him." Mike asked.
"He never touched me and I…liked him as a stepdad but not love. He just had me fooled, Dad and he almost cost me my dad, maybe my entire family. I suppose it might have been some jealousy. You and Hannah have this amazing relationship. You and she talk a lot more when you're away. You and I can spend about a week together before we are tearing each other's heads off. Dad, I want what you have with Hannah and what you were building with Audrey." Katie explained.
"Well; I am still retiring so maybe we can build something similar. You and I can't have the same relationship as Hannah and I have, but we can work on our relationship. I'll be around a lot more." Mike said.
"Why not?" Katie asked.
"Because…the love is different. It's the same amount but different. I love Hannah's sweet personality and how giving she is. You—are a lot more like me. That is probably why we clash. You tell it like it is and you don't apologize for how you feel. You are brash and at times; unkind. My mom always told me that you clash with the child that is most like you. Hannah has your mom's personality and it was always something I adored about your mom. You don't…but you also have your good points that I adore about you. You are brave. You stand up for people and their point of view. Honey; you are not a bad person and I love you. Don't ever think your mom and I don't love you. Someday; when you have more than one kid, you will understand this better." Mike said.
"I just want a good relationship." Katie remarked and Mike nodded.
"We will work on it; I promise. Now, come here and give me a hug." Mike demanded. Katie sat back down next to him and gave him a long hug. For Mike; it felt good to just hold Katie. He needed to work harder on his relationship with her and now; with retiring her could. It was past time.