Chapter 85: Jared Family Home
Tuesday, January 3rd, Evening
The dusk's weak orange light came through the window setting a warm, but somber tone. Two blondes sat on the floor playing. The older one had her hair pulled back and held messily by a rubber band, it was about bra strap length. The younger one, a mere toddler, had her hair worn wild, it was barely shoulder length as it was still growing out.
The toys they played with were simple wooden blocks. They weren't the massed produced type either, they were made specifically for this young lady. She would pick one up, which barely fit in her small hand, and placed it on top of another. Every so often, the older woman would hand the girl another block.
There was a big smile on the little girl's face. When she placed the last block on the stack, she squealed and clapped her hands. The older woman cheered and clapped her hands with the toddler.
Kat Jared turned her wrist and looked at her watch. It was getting late for young Raya. Kat turned and looked at her daughter.
"Yes, Mama?" Raya asked.
"Na russkom Pozhaluysta," Kat said. It was important to Kat that Raya was at least bi-lingual. Kat herself was multi-lingual, speaking English, Russian, and German. Of all of her languages, she spoke German the least, even though she had a harder time learning to speak Russian.
"Da Mama?" Raya asked.
"Vremya lozhit'sya spat'," Kat said.
"YA ne khochu," Raya said.
"Vremya lozhit'sya spat' dlya Malen'koy Rayi," Kat said.
"Net Mama," Raya said.
"Da Raya," Kat said.
Raya huffed and finally nodded. She shook her head and pushed the stack of blocks over. Raya sat there pouting, Kat gave her a look, and Raya picked up her blocks, putting them away.
Kat stood up and straightened her shirt. She picked up Raya and brought her to her bed. The Mom and daughter chatted as Kat changed her for bed. Once done, Kat tucked Raya in bed and turned down the lights. Kat ran a hand over Raya's forehead and leaned over to kiss her forehead.
"Spokoynoy nochi, moy kotenok," Kat said.
"Spokoynoy nochi, Mama," Raya said.
There was a knock on the door. Kat looked up to the door and saw Arne standing at the door. Kat nodded. Arne looked at his wife.
"Did I miss tucking her in?" Arne asked.
Kat shook her head, "No, I just tucked her in," She said.
"Dada!" Raya said, and tried to sit up. Kat pushed her back down.
"No Raya, Dad will come to you, it's bedtime," Kat said.
Raya pouted but listened. Arne walked over and sat on the other side of Raya's bed. He leaned over and kissed his daughter on the forehead. After straightening up, he smiled.
"Goodnight, Princess," Arne said.
"Goodnight, Dada," Raya said.
Kat nodded and softly started to sing. Arne sat there listening and watched as Raya fell asleep.
(Kat singing in italics)
Kotya, koten'ka, kotok,
Kotya – seren'kiy khvostok,
Pridi, kotya, nochevat',
Nashu detochku kachat',
Uzh kak ya tebe, kotu,
Za rabotu zaplachu –
Dam kusok piroga
Da kuvshin moloka!
The parents stood up. Kat bent over again and adjusted the covers and kissed Raya's forehead again. They left the room and Kat turned off the lights. Walking down the hall, Kat rhythmically moved the fingers on one of her hands.
"What did you sing to her?" Arne asked.
"Kotya, koten'ka, kotok," Kat said.
"What?" Arne asked.
Kat laughed, "It's about a cat," she said.
Arne nodded, "Why do you sing her in Russian?" he asked.
"I sing the songs that my Babuska sang to me," Kat said, as she opened a door off the hall.
"I see," Arne said, "Playing anything special tonight?"
Kat shrugged, "I don't know, haven't picked up an instrument yet," she said.
"I saw you fingering the strings," Arne said.
Kat giggled, "It was nothing," she said.
"It looked like it was more than something," Arne said.
Kat shrugged, "Just an idea, maybe," she said.
Arne laughed, "Your ideas usually are gold," he said, hinting at something.
"Well this one will be fully cooked this time," she said.
Arne nodded and walked down the hall to the stairs. Kat shrugged and slipped into the room. She closed the door behind her and walked over to a chair.
She sighed and looked in the mirror. Age, it had crept into her face. She didn't look old, but she had matured, maybe that's what turning thirty was about. Her life has changed a lot since that fateful day when Brian Scott wandered into Hawley's garage.
Kat reflected, yes it was noted that Brian had the talent to pull or push High-Performance Heart Attack to where they got to be. Kat knew differently, it was Hawley's ambition that pushed them to get started. It was Hawley that got them to audition at Club TRIC.
Shaking her head, she turned to look out the window. It was cold, and the trees were bare. There were rumors of snow. This was how she grew up.
Shaking her head, she reached over and grabbed a notepad. It had been a long ride, fifteen years long. Many things have changed, many miles have been traversed. Many friends have been found and lost. Many tears have been shed, and many of those for people that didn't deserve it. Shaking her head, she reached for a pen and wrote down her first thoughts.
The first line she wrote. I want my tears back.
Looking at the line she shook her head. With her free hand, she scratched her head. Finally, she looked out the window. There was a whole world out there she was missing or had missed when she gave up, no sacrificed her teenage years, in the pursuit of music. Finally, she wrote down a mix of what she saw and thought.
She smiled and wrote down a few more lines. The Tree Tops, The chimneys, The snow bed stories, winter grey.
