Chapter 25 -
Working Order
Catherine's Point Of View
The walk was short as I dodged the quickly filling puddles, and mud pits to the front door of the small establishment.
"Shit." I yelled, as I sidestepped to late and trudged right into the middle of one of the larger-filled pot holes. Shaking my now soaking wet foot out to the side, I growled and walked more quickly to the door.
Grabbing the handle, I swung it open, and smacked myself right in the face with the door. "Son-of-a-bitch!" I yelled as I grabbed my now throbbing nose.
"Hell, are you okay?" Renee asked as she raced around the counter to my side.
"I think so," I groaned as I lowered my hand to make sure there wasn't any blood. At least somewhat satisfied that there wasn't any, I leveled my eyes."Ice... need ice."
"Of course," Renee said, as she wrapped her arm around my shoulders and guided me towards a stool near the center of the bar. "Take a load off."
I quietly perched, almost unsuccessfully as my ass hadn't fully landed directly on the seat, and I almost... almost slipped off onto the floor. Slipping my bag off of my shoulder and placing it onto the counter next to me, I dropped my head down into my arms.
"That bad?" Renee asked, as she appeared before me with a small bag of ice.
"Get your liquor license yet?" I asked, as I lifted my head to talk to her.
She chuckled quietly, and shook her head no. But then, she glanced around the empty diner and smirked. "Doesn't mean I don't have a little laying around for times like these. Give me a second." She said, as she left the room and came back a minute later with two glasses of orange juice.
"God, I love you." I said, as I reached for the glass she put in front of me, and swallowed a large mouth full of the heavily needed, vodka filled, substance. It burned only slightly as it made its quick decent down, but it was welcoming. Wiping my mouth on the back of my hand, I placed the glass back down onto the bar. "Swear to God Renee, if ever you decide to leave Charlie, you can move in with me."
She threw her head back and laughed. "Sorry, sugar. You aren't carrying the package that I need to get me through long those long cold nights."
"Nothing a trip to Port Angeles and a few batteries couldn't take care of."
"Stop trying to convince my wife to leave me!" Charlie laughed, as he walked through the diner from the back and slid into the stool beside me.
"One day, Charlie. One day." I said, as I took another small sip from my glass.
"Like hell!" He laughed as he reached over to the glass perched in front of Renee and took a long gulp, and then placed it back in front of her.
"Where did you come from anyway?" I asked as I nudged him lightly with my elbow.
He smirked, and then lifted his hand to rub the back of his neck. "Um, Renee..."
Renee laughed, and then winked. "I was making sure his package was in working order, in my office."
I gaped only briefly, and then snapped my mouth shut. "Well then..." I started, as twirled my glass in my hands. "Rainy days, and empty diners. I guess you gotta find some way to keep yourself amused."
"There's nothing amusing about Charlie." She said, as she leaned forward and rested her elbows on the counter in front of me.
I turned and glanced at the topic of conversation, and laughed boisterously. "Fucking A Charlie. You're redder than the damn apple sitting behind Renee on that counter over there." I said, gesturing towards said apple.
"I'll never understand the two of you." He said, as he took another long sip from Renee's glass and then stood. "Babe, I'm heading over to Billy's. I'll see you in a little while."
"Alright," she said, as she leaned up over the counter to give him a quick kiss goodbye.
As he gave her the quick peck, I couldn't resist in teasing him a little more. "Fuck Charlie, if that's all she has to look forward too, I'll have this shit in the bag in no time."
He shoved my shoulder lightly as he threw his head back and laughed. "You're evil, you know that. Just evil."
"But you love it." I said, as he leaned forward and gave me a quick peck on my forehead and an affectionately friendly hug.
"God knows why." He smirked, as he grabbed his jacket off of the back of the stool, and headed towards the door.
"Love you buttercup!" I yelled at his retreating form as he opened the door and headed outside.
"Yea, yea," he said as he waved and headed out into the parking lot.
"Nose hurt?" Renee asked, as she moved around the counter and sat in Charlie's now vacant spot.
"Nah," I said, as I reached up and touched it lightly. "Nothing I can't handle."
She nodded, and then pulled her half full glass towards her. It remained quiet for a few minutes as we both nursed our drinks.
With a heavy sigh, Renee shifted in her seat. "Is she over there now?"
I glanced over to her, and her eyes were locked on the swirling orange liquid in her hands. I nodded, but when she didn't respond I cleared my throat. "Yea. She's there." I tipped my glass up and took another drink.
"You think this is really going to work?" She asked after a short pause.
I sighed and lifted my hand to push my hair out of my face. "Yea."
"How can you be sure?" She asked as she turned on the stool to face me.
"Because I know my son's weakness."
"And?" Renee urged, and when I didn't respond right away she reached over and shoved me. "Damn it, Cat, just tell me."
"We're not teenagers anymore, Renee. Jesus, you'd think after twenty years, you'd learn a little patience."
I smiled to let her know I was only joking around, and she giggled. "High school all over again." I sighed.
"I wasn't that bad in high school!" She yelled.
"I beg to differ, Renee." I flipped my hair over my shoulder and pouted in my most Renee like impression. "Like.. oh em gee, did you see that totally hot guy just fumble all over that ball. Like, seriously... I can't even... like...swoon"
"Okay, okay. That was one time!" Renee laughed, as she pushed herself out of her seat and walked back around the counter. "I'd like to think that I've matured with age." She said as she grabbed a rag from behind the counter and started wiping down its already pristine surface.
"I'd say." I said, as I pointed to her shirt. "The babies are maturely sagging a little there. I think you need to tighten their reigns."
Renee gasped then looked down quick. Dropping the rag, she grabbed the straps of her bra through her shirt and lifted and dragged the tiny pieces of fabric, back over her shoulders. She snickered when I started laughing, picked the rag back up, and threw it at me. "Bitch!"
I shrugged, and took another sip of my drink. "If the shoe fits."
She shook her head with a smile on her lips. "I know what she's done," she whispered.
"Done?" I asked as I leaned forward, to hear what she was saying.
"To all of them." She shook her head to clear it. "I didn't raise her to act like that, Cat."
"Oh, let her be." I said, as I sat back against the stool and crossed my arms. "We were that age once."
"But, Cat..."
"No!" I said, as I slammed my hand down on the counter in front of me. "She's doing what she feels she needs to do, and I'm not going to stand in her way. Hell I was there, Renee, when she went through all that shit. You were there too. You know what I'm talking about!"
I sighed and apologized for my outburst. I was just tired.
"Look," I began as I poked at the forgotten ice pack sitting next to me. "I should have stopped it. I was just so broken up about... everything... that I couldn't see what was going on around me. I couldn't see what my own son was doing. I can't..." I started, as I lifted my hand and rubbed my eye. "I just can't believe that I let it get that far." I dropped my hand back to my lap.
"I can't deny blame in it myself." Renee said, as she jumped up and sat on the coffee counter, behind the bar.
"How so?"
She sighed, and then started picking at the seam of her apron. A nervous habit that I've seen Bella do on occasion.
"She'd come home so upset. For days she'd lock herself up in her room. Charlie and I couldn't seem to get through to her. For a while there, we thought she was just rebelling."
I snorted at that. "Really. Izzy didn't have a rebellious bone in her body." I said, and when Renee lifted her eyebrow, I amended, "well she didn't."
Renee chuckled. "Yea, well, I didn't know what was going on. And some of the things she told us, just seemed so far fetched."
"It's okay." I said, as I took the last sip of my drink and placed the empty glass down in front of me.
"Is it?" Renee asked as she jumped off the counter and grabbed my glass. "I can't help but think that if I'd been more supportive... if I'd paid attention more..."
"No use dwelling on it now, Renee." I said, as I stood and stretched my legs.
She sighed and behind her to untie the apron. Taking it off quickly she hung it on the hook by the swinging kitchen doors.
I chuckled when I took in her appearance.
"What?"
"Nothing" I said, as I grabbed my bag, preparing myself to leave. "He'll fix things."
"How do you know, though?"
"Like I said before, Renee. I know my son's weakness."
She huffed and stomped her foot. Things never changed. "What's his weakness?"
I laughed and shook my head. I thought it was glaringly obvious, but her clueless expression let me know the mark was completely missed. "Your daughter." I said, with a lifted eyebrow.
"Oh..." she said. Her face lit up in sudden realization. "Oh!"
"Yea, oh." I chuckled as I looked out into the parking lot. "Finally, it stopped raining."
"You heading home?" Renee asked as she grabbed the forgotten rag on the floor that she threw at me earlier.
"I think I might take a walk for a little bit. Give them two some time to patch things up."
She smiled and nodded. "Cards tomorrow night?" She asked as she walked with me towards the door.
"Billy going to be there?" I asked, as I watched a car full of teenagers pull into the lot. Figures, the rain stops and the bugs come out to play.
"Of course."
"Ugh."
"Oh hell, Cat, I told him not to try and grope you again. He promised that next time, he'll keep his hands to himself under the table."
"Thank fuck for small mercies." I said, as I pushed the door open and stepped out.
She threw her head back and laughed. "I'll see you later?"
"Yea, see you later." I took a step forward and then remembered something. "Renee?!" I yelled before the door shut.
She pushed it open. "Yea?"
I smirked and then pointed at her. "Your yoga pants are on inside out... and backwards."
She looked down. "Fuck!" she yelled as she blanched, turned, and ran back inside.
Darkness was upon us as I walked away from the small diner. Deciding to leave my car in the parking lot for now, I made a left on the main street and headed towards the beach. I was, of course, impatient to get home to find out if things have smoothed over, some-what.
But, I also knew that these things took time, and I wasn't willing to begrudge them that. I would only interfere if completely necessary. If I knew anything. I knew my son.
He and Izzy... Bella...were inseparable as small children. Many tears were shed by both of them, when there play time was over and one or the other had to go home at night. Renee and I both felt blessed that our children found common interests. They rarely got into trouble, and the few times that they did, they would cover for each other to avoid punishment.
We knew, of course, who instigated what, but it was so amusing in those days to watch how devoted they were to each other, that punishment was never really given.
In those years after... the accident... things were incredibly hard. I moved along by routine only. Perpetually stuck in a life that I really couldn't grasp or understand. Although I knew logically that no one was to blame... blame was an incredibly easy thing to accept when one is doused in boiling hot grief.
Day by day, Paul and I coped in the only way we really new how. We kept to ourselves. Holding on to what we had left of our small family seemed like it was the only thing we could do. We shut everyone and everything out.
Hindsight is twenty-twenty.
I know that I can't change the past, but I'd do everything in my power, to pull out of the uncomfortable and unforgiving course that we've inevitably pulled ourselves down.
I hadn't realized I'd made it to the beach until the pebbly sand kicked up into the back of my soggy shoe.
"Shit." I mumbled, as I reached down and yanked both of my sneakers off of my feet.
Flipping the shoe upside down, I tapped the bottom of it as hard as I could to release as much of the sandy mess that took up purchase.
Groaning, because there wasn't really anything that fell out, I turned and marched angrily back towards the diner. Bare-footed.
The sky opened up and a light drizzle began as I reached the drivers side door of my car. Throwing it open I dropped into the seat and threw my sneakers over my shoulder into the back.
Fuck shoes. Seriously.
Fumbling through my purse; the contents of which were flying out of it and onto the floor of my car, I grabbed my keys and hastily jammed the right one into the ignition.
I'd managed to burn three hours away from home. Hoping that was enough time to get them at least a little closer to clarity, I shifted the car into drive and headed home.
I needed a hot shower, a shot of tequila and a damned nap.
Pulling into my driveway, I glanced up to the house. It was eerily dark, and my stomach dropped fractionally.
Deciding to leave the contents of my purse where it lay, I turned the car off, climbed out, and walked the short distance to the front door.
Stepping inside, I closed the door quietly behind me. It was quiet in the house. A slight throbbing in my temple, dragged me to the kitchen to grab a couple of Aspirin. Grabbing a bottle of water from the refrigerator, and the almost full medicinal bottle on top, I hurriedly chugged two pills down, and moved to the sink to wash my face.
I was distracted though, as a small light in the woods outside of my kitchen window flickered.
Confused, I moved to the kitchen door, that led out to the yard, and pulled it open.
On shaky legs, I moved across the yard to the old beaten path that was overgrown, but still slightly visible.
As I took one step in front of the other, about a hundred feet in, I stopped short and gasped.
Sitting under old Sycamore, was my equally old tent that I'd forgotten about in that damned cluttered closet. A small oil lamp hung from a tree, swayed back and forth gently, giving the entire camp area a soft light.
Paul hounded me for years to get rid of that old tent, but I refused. He argued that it was broken and useless, as the "door" of the tent was busted and never closed. I told him not to worry himself over little things like that, as I'm sure we could find use for it in some way or another.
It seems mom was right... again.
I smiled as I moved closer to the opening of the tent. Curiosity drove me forward.
What I saw inside had be stopping, gasping, and grabbing the front of my shirt in utter surprise.
Paul was in there of course, sound asleep.
But, what caught me off guard completely... was Bella... sound asleep next to him. Her head laid gently on his chest, her arm thrown over his stomach. His arm was around her shoulders, holding her tightly to him.
My eyes burned as I took a step back to give them their privacy.
"Shit!" I gasped as I stepped on a twig, and it pierced the bottom of my foot.
Fucking shoes!
"Mom?" Paul's voice said quietly from within the small structure in front of me.
Hell, I was busted.
"I just wanted to make sure you ate." I whispered, as I glanced back into the tent.
Bella was still sound asleep.
With his other arm, he pointed towards the edge of the tent. "Yea, we ate."
I glanced where he was pointing and saw a few half eaten sandwiches sitting on a plate.
Peanut butter and apple butter.
My heart lurched. For all the right reasons.
"Okay then." I said, trying desperately not to sound too excited over this new development. "Night baby."
He smiled, and pulled Bella tighter against him.
"Night mom."
With a small nod, I turned and walked down the old path, back towards the house.
My injured foot forgotten.