Free Fall

Chapter Ten: A Difficult Proposal

Kenzie couldn't think of a time when she had felt completely in step with life. She had spent the last three weeks taking her classes, working open/shut cases with the police department, and on nights that she felt up to it, she went web slinging with Peter. Any other free time she had was spent with Harry, who was making sure she was getting rest. Five nights out of seven Peter, MJ and Harry would come to her apartment and have dinner on the rooftop of her building which Kenzie had turned into a citified garden. The other two nights were left to just Harry and herself.

She was surprised at the tension that seemed to permeate the air whenever Peter and Harry were in close proximity but as the weeks had gone on the tension seemed to fade. She had asked Harry what had happened between him and Peter and he had shrugged it off, saying "nothing that can't be fixed." And as all four sat around the patio table, laughing over the day's events, Kenzie believed whatever had happen, had been fixed.

The only negative thing that had happened was the loss of her hair. The first day a chunk had fallen out, Kenzie when to the hair dresser and had her head shaved. It had shocked her friends and co-workers but they ultimately got over it. MJ had actually brought over a couple wigs from the theater she was working at for Kenzie to try on. Whenever she went to work or class, she usually wore one but when it was just the four them, Kenzie didn't wear any covering on her head.

"Well," Kenzie said, "I have a story to top all of your stories. I had to look through a woman's mental health records today to see if there were any indications of mental instability. Apparently, she believed she was Emeril and chased her husband around the kitchen with a butcher knife yelling 'bam.'"

"Did you find anything?" MJ asked.

"No, nothing. I guess it just proves any one of us can just go nuts at any point in time."

They all shared a laugh and settled into a comfortable silence. You still couldn't see the stars from all the city lights around them but the moon was in it's full glory. Everything seemed perfect in that moment. Then the phone rang, shattering the quiet. Kenzie had forgotten to bring it up on the rooftop with her but she could hear the answering machine from where she was seated. After the beep, a southern accent drawled up to the rooftop.

Kenzie, sweetheart, it's Daddy.

Kenzie groaned and MJ smacked her arm.

I just wanted to let you know that since you've been so busy you can't come down to Oklahoma, I've decided to take my vacation in New York City. I'll be there tomorrow. Hope to see you soon sweetheart. Love ya.

"He has got to be kidding," Kenzie looked down through the open staircase. "He can't be serious."

"What's the big deal?" Harry shrugged. "So we get to meet your Dad?"

"The big deal is he's been completely absent for most of my life. And then he thinks he can just show up and camp out with me for who knows how long?"

"You haven't told him yet," Peter stated. "You haven't told him you have cancer."

Kenzie sunk down in her chair under the scrutiny of the others. "It hasn't come up in conversation."

"Well, he'll find out when he gets here," Harry stated.

Kenzie absently ran a hand over her shaved head. "I can always say I joined the Skinheads."

"You need to tell him the truth," Harry said.

Kenzie knew they were right. And what better way to break the news than in person. "Fine. I'll tell him when he gets here."

"Good," Harry leaned forward in his chair. "And I have something that might cheer you up."

It wouldn't be the first time he had surprised her with a gift. Kenzie had thought of discouraging him from giving her things but she soon realized that was how he dealt with her illness. He couldn't heal her but he could get a smile out of her with a well-meaning surprise. The last thing he had given her was a large potted Gerber daisy that was sitting in the corner of the rooftop. She waited and Harry placed a black velvet jewelry box in front of her on the table.

Kenzie's heart stopped. They had known each other for barely a month, surely he couldn't be proposing to her. However, the size of the box in front of her was a ring size. She had taken Doris' advice and followed her heart in this matter. If asked, she would readily admit that she loved Harry, very much. And based on his words and actions, his feelings were the same. But ever since she had seen the aftermath of her parent's marriage she had vowed to never get married herself. If it didn't work, you were left with wounds that never healed and it just wasn't worth it in her mind.

"Well," MJ said, "open it."

Kenzie took a deep breath and opened the ring box. She let it out in a relieved rush. "Just what I always wanted," she reached in and pulled out the object. "A spool of thread."

Peter looked confused and MJ looked ready to pounce on Harry for her idea of a cruel joke. But Harry remained steadfastly amused by the situation. He reached over and took the thread from Kenzie. He broke off four lengths of thread and returned the spool to the box.

"I know it's taken me a while to realize the obvious," he started, taking two of the threads and twisted them together. "Pete and MJ have known each other forever and will probably outlive us all. Then," he took a third string and added it to the other two, "I came along and they welcomed me into their friendship. And now, we've added a fourth friend." He took the final string and wounded it around the other three and gave it a good tug. "The obvious is that four threads bound together is much stronger than just one." He made a loop on one end and tied it onto Kenzie's fingertip. "You need to realize that you have that strength at your fingertips for whatever you need, whenever you need it. That's what friends are for, to help in times of need, to support you when you're too weak and to love you no matter what."

Kenzie realized he must have had the ring in the palm of his hand because no soon had he ended his speech than the simple diamond ring slid down the 4 string-twisted thread and onto her finger. It was a beautiful ring, exactly what she would have picked out.

"Well?"

Peter and MJ were sitting on the edges of their seats, MJ was already crying. Harry was looking like he could barely stay still waiting for her answer and Kenzie hated to give it. All she could see in her mind's eye was her mother curled in a fetal position sobbing because Dad had left for good. She looked hard into Harry's face and couldn't possibly imagine him doing the same to her but how could she be sure? Her mother probably never thought her father would leave her when she agreed to marry him.

Kenzie laid the ring on the table. "No," she whispered before fleeing from the rooftop.

Harry kept up the appearance of being let down but fine, though he had the feeling Pete and MJ knew him better than that. All three of them quietly cleaned up the dishes and the kitchen, not really knowing where Kenzie had gone. They had heard a door slam shut but didn't know if it was the front door or maybe the bedroom door. None of them wanted to venture a look either. Harry said good bye to Pete and MJ and opted to stick around in case Kenzie came back. With as much crime fighting as she had been doing she could have swung her way half-way to Boston by now. Without knowing what else to do, he headed back up to the rooftop.

He was surprised at how much he like Kenzie's apartment. It was about 1/64th the size of his place but just seemed to ooze "home." He felt comfortable here, at peace. He had only ever been back to the penthouse to sleep, shower and change clothes. All his time was spent either at the office or with Kenzie and he had never been happier in his life. His father's voice had quieted for weeks now and he was enjoying this new found freedom.

He picked up the ring from the table, no one had dared touch it since Kenzie left it there, and put it back into the box. He had never given much thought to actually marrying someone. He had this vision that he would be a confirmed bachelor for the rest of his life, rattling around in that oversize penthouse till he drank himself to death. Come to think of it, he hadn't had a drink since he met Kenzie. She had just turned everything in his life upside down for him, or more appropriately right side up.

"Hey."

Harry turned around in his chair to see Kenzie stepping cautiously across the rooftop. He jumped to his feet. "If you want to be by yourself, I can leave."

She tired shook her head. "No, don't. Peter and MJ left?"

"Yeah, about ten minutes ago."

Kenzie sank down into the chair next to Harry's and he followed her lead. Her eyes were bloodshot and he felt responsible for that. "I'm sorry. I guess I should have talked to you more about this."

"No," she said, "we've both come to the conclusion that we enjoy being around each other since all our spare time is spent together. We're best friends and love each other very much. If I had been keeping up with things I would have seen this coming."

"You make it sound like a hurricane or tornado."

Kenzie rubbed her forehead. "That's what it feels like."

"Is it me?"

"No, absolutely not."

"Then what is it?"

Kenzie fidgeted for a moment and Harry gave her all the time she needed. "It's…complicated."

Harry had to catch himself before laughing. Complicated. "More complicated than having a brain tumor, being bitten by a radioactive spider and turning into Spiderman's new 'girlfriend' as the Bugle put it?" More complicated than being the son of the Green Goblin and hearing your father's voice demanding revenge? He had never told her that part of story but perhaps now was the time. If she was concerned about complications then perhaps laying everything out on the table was the wisest move. He stood up and offered his hand to her. "Come on, I want to show you something. You can tell me all about this complicated matter on the way."

She nodded and took his hand, a positive step in his mind. He only hoped taking her to the penthouse and showing her the room he had locked up for the past month was going to have a positive outcome. He watched Kenzie lock up her apartment and they headed for the elevator. He was thankful he had told Charles to wait tonight. His original plan had included going out to celebrate with Pete and MJ. At least he and Kenzie wouldn't have to have a serious conversation in the back of a cab. Once the door to the car was closed, Kenzie started talking.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see," was all Harry said. "Now, what's the complication on your end?"

She stayed quiet for a few moments and just looked out the tinted windows of the town car. "My mother loved this city. She grew up here, knew every alleyway and shortcut there was to know. She taught me to love this city too and I know it like the back of hand now. Don't tell Peter that." A ghost of smile brushed across her face but it was fleeting. "My Dad worked with a traveling bull riding show that had a stop here in the city. He went out on his own one day to see the sights and got hopelessly lost.

"My mom was driving a cab at the time to pay off her student loans and that's how they met. She took the rest of her shift and just drove him around showing him all her favorite places as well as the famous ones. They got married shortly after that and had me. But Dad's heart wasn't here, he wanted to go back to Oklahoma where he was from. So one day, he just left. I guess he expected my mom and me to follow him down there but Mom was so rooted to the city she couldn't bear the thought of leaving it." Kenzie spread her hand on the window, as if she were touching the buildings they were passing. "Shortly after he left, my mom was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. I remember her lying in bed and crying. I never could figure out if she was crying over dad or the cancer. I still can't figure it out. I just don't want that to be us, Harry. My parents were in love when they got married and something happened, something unexplainable, that tore them apart."

Harry pulled her closer to him and wrapped his arms around her. "That was your parent's story, not ours. We get to write our own story."

"But I feel like I'm following in my mother's footsteps. I don't want to repeat her mistakes."

"Well, for starters, I'd make a lousy cowboy so you don't have to worry about me running off to Oklahoma." He felt Kenzie shake a little with laughter before relaxing against him. "Who we are and what we become doesn't hinge on who our parents were. Trust me on this."

The car rolled to a stop and Harry took a deep breath. It was time to face his demons for once and for all.

Kenzie was exhausted. She hadn't told anyone about her parents but it left her feeling strangely relieved. Someone knew the history behind her and didn't think it would affect the future that was before them. Doris' words of "trust your heart" kept running through her mind and she was close to doing just that. When she stepped out of the car, she was surprised to see that they were in front of Harry's penthouse. She had only been there a couple times. It was a rich man's world in that house and it made her feel terribly uncomfortable. That was why Harry didn't bring her here that often.

"Trust me," he said and took her hand. She braved a smile and nodded. The ride up in the elevator was enough to make her scream. She hated elevators to begin with but the amount of time it took to get from the lobby to the penthouse was almost unbearable. The doors opened and the dark lobby of the house greeted them. It was too late for Bernard to be there. Kenzie had only met the older man once but had found him interesting, much more interesting than the house.

She followed Harry through the maze of hallways and rooms till he came to a set of large cherry doors. She had asked him what was in that room but he had dismissed it as a really boring office and moved on with the tour. He pulled a key from his pocket and unlocked the door. When he turned on the room's lights she was surprised at the dust that coated everything.

"How long have you kept this room locked up?" she asked.

"About a month now."

That was the same amount of time that they had known each other. He must have locked it up when they first met. "What room is this?"

He looked around the room as if he were seeing it for the first time. "It was my father's office." He pointed to a large portrait that hung on the wood paneling of the room. Kenzie stood under the unflinching gaze of Norman Osborn and felt that familiar buzzing on the back of her neck. "Spider-sense" as Peter called it.

"I think the artist really caught his essence," Harry said quietly.

"I don't know," Kenzie said, "he looks very angry."

Harry leaned down next to her and whispered, "That's what I meant."

Kenzie let out a laugh and quickly clamped a hand over her mouth. "I'm sorry, Harry, I didn't mean-"

"I know." He gave the picture one last look which took all the joking out of his face. Kenzie felt she was really seeing Harry for the first time, stripped down to all the hurt and disappointment he had suffered in life. Now she knew the cause. There was a cruelness to Norman Osborn's face, cold and calculating. She saw nothing of that in Harry's face or demeanor.

"You're right."

He looked down at her in surprise. "What?"

"Our parent's don't determine who we are in life. You're nothing like your father from the looks of it. And we're not my parents. I say we go for it." Kenzie looked up at his surprised face. Then he did the strangest thing and looked back over his shoulder at the full length mirror in the study. He stared at it for a while, as if he were trying to make a difficult decision, but then turned back to Kenzie. "Are you sure?"

She stood up on her toes and kissed him on the cheek. "Yes."

Author's Note: I have to give credit where credit is due…The Emeril thing is from a fantastic author, Jodi Picoult, from her new book "Nineteen Minutes." It was just too funny, I had to use it. Also the proposal scene was inspired by the proposal scene from Stepmom.