She Never Knew (15 page)

“And she’s a very strong woman. She’s
confident and made me feel completely at ease the whole time I was in her
office.”

“That’s why they’re the experts. Did she
have any suggestions for telling Tyler the truth?”

“Only that when I feel the time is
right, I’ll know. She didn’t press the issue and I liked that about her.”

“Well, it’s not a conversation you’re
going to have with him anytime soon. But if and when you do, always know that
Robert and I will support you every step of the way.”

“Thank you, that means a lot to me.” Kat
said, hugging her friend. “Do you want to stay for dinner?”

“Thanks, but no thanks. Eli has his
heart set on chicken pot pie tonight.”

“Okay, a rain check then.” Kat poked her
head around the kitchen door and saw that the boys were engrossed in their
movie.

“If you don’t mind my asking, what
prompted you to see Doctor Sullivan?”

Kat replied, “Actually, it was a friend
of mine from Taekwondo who inspired me to make the call. She came over earlier
this week to practice the self defense moves we learned in class.”

“That’s great, Kat.” Rhonda was happy to
see that her friend was beginning to open up to other people.

“She was raped, too. It was a good
conversation and she offered some good tips about being able to move forward.”

“Smart advice.”

“Yes, and she suggested that I get out
more and meet new people. She thinks I’m hiding in my house, avoiding the
world.”

“Do you think that’s what you’re doing?”

“What are you, the doctor now?” Kat
laughed. “No, uh—I’m not hiding, but I’ll admit, I haven’t made any efforts to
go out and join clubs.” Kat shook her head. “She’s right, though. If I don’t
get out more and socialize, especially for Tyler’s sake, I could end up
becoming a recluse and living in fear in my own home.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t let that happen.”
Rhoda smiled encouragingly.

“Vacation bible school was my last
social interaction.”

“But there’s no rush, Kat. If you do
something you’re not ready for, you’ll find yourself right back where you
started.”

“That’s what Doctor Sullivan said, too.”
Kat smiled at her friend. “But anyway, after I left her office, I felt so much
better. I felt confident, that I could take the next step. So when I went to
the church to drop off the extra crafts, Daniel and I ended up working together
to clean up. I wasn’t even expecting to see him there. But I was so confident
that it felt normal to invite him inside my house.”

“It really does get easier with time.
Just do what feels comfortable for you. Don’t worry about what others may think
right now.”

“I know, but it’s nice to hear it,
anyway.”

“Are you going back to see her?”

“Doctor Sullivan? Yes, she wants a
follow-up visit after the holiday weekend. Kat paused for a moment before
continuing. “And you’ll be happy to know that I’ve decided to go to a party.
Sarah invited me—she’s the one from Taekwondo—to her July 4
^th
party.”

“Kat, that’s great!” Rhonda beamed.
“See, things are really looking up for you.”

Just then, Eli and Tyler barged into the
kitchen. When Eli saw his mother, he asked her why she was wearing a robe. At
that moment, the dryer dinged and Kat went to retrieve Rhonda’s clothes.

Several minutes later, Rhonda and Eli
were ready to leave. After the boys hugged each other, Kat handed Rhonda a
purse-sized umbrella. It was still raining outside.

“You can keep that,” Kat teased. “I have
another one.”

“Very funny.” Rhonda retorted. “By the
way, Robert’s coming home in two weeks. We’ll have our usual cookout, and we’d
love for you and Tyler to come.”

“We’ll be there. Let me know what you
want me to bring.” With that, Rhonda and Eli departed for their house. Kat
watched them through the window and smiled when she saw that Eli was holding
the umbrella over his head. 

Kat was nervous
about going to Sarah’s Fourth of July party that afternoon. She wasn’t accustomed
to being around large noisy crowds, but she didn’t want to disappoint her friend.

Sarah was
married to her husband of ten years and their twins were four years old.
Tyler
will enjoy playing with them
, Kat thought.

She had baked a
cheesecake the night before and decorated it with blueberries and strawberries
in honor of the country’s flag. It was her mother’s recipe so she knew it would
be a hit among the guests.

When Kat and
Tyler arrived, she took a deep breath and willed herself to have a good time. She
noted that Tyler seemed reluctant about going. His shy behavior was a statement
in itself. She knew she couldn’t live like a loner forever. It wasn’t healthy
for her, nor was it healthy for Tyler. She had to start making an effort to
meet new people and make new friends. She knew that’s what her parents and
Michael would have wanted for her.

As they
approached the front door, Kat could hear loud voices from inside. The door
swung open and Kat looked down to see an adorable little girl beaming up at
her. “Happy Fourth of July!” she piped.

Assuming the
little girl was one of Sarah’s twins, Kat laughed and introduced herself. “I’m
Kat, and this is Tyler.” She put her hand on Tyler’s back to reassure him.

“Hi.” He said
shyly, looking at his feet.

“Hi!” the little
girl said in return. “I’m Kaylee.” Out from behind the front door stepped
Sarah.

“Hi, you two!”
She spread her arms wide, motioning for them to enter the house. “Come in! Come
in! I’m so glad you came!”

“Thanks for
having us.” Kat said warmly. “What a beautiful home you have!”

“Thank you!”
Sarah bubbled. “I’ll give you the grand tour later. Come on, everybody’s out
back.” She took the cheesecake from Kat’s hands and directed Kaylee to get her
sister.

Kat took Tyler’s
hand into her own and led him through the foyer. As she followed Sarah, Kat
admired the layout of the house. To her left was a grand staircase leading up
to the second floor landing. At quick glance, Kat could see there were at least
four bedrooms.

On her right was
a large living room with a baby grand piano nestled in the corner. An oriental
rug rested over the hardwood floor in the middle of the room. A set of leather
couches was arranged in a horseshoe fashion facing the fireplace. On either
side of the fireplace were cupboards with bookshelves above them.

Kat heard the
sound of laughter as she approached the kitchen. The tile floor complemented
the ivory marbled countertops and the kitchen cabinets were made of solid oak.
All of the appliances were stainless steel, giving the kitchen a cozy feel.

Several women
stood around the island in the center of the kitchen. They smiled when they saw
Kat and Tyler. Sarah quickly made introductions before removing the foil cover
of Kat’s cheesecake.

“Oh my!” one of
the ladies gasped. Kat had decorated the cheesecake so that the blueberries
represented the stars on the American flag and the strawberries were laid out
horizontally to represent the stripes.

“How clever!”
said another woman. “How did you do that?”

“I love your
outfit,” admired a third. Kat wore a blue tee shirt with red and white striped
shorts.

Kat blushed at
the compliments and began conversing with the women around her. She was
beginning to feel more at ease, unlike Tyler, who continued to hide behind her.

A peal of
giggles could be heard from the family room. Everyone turned as the sound of
little feet came stomping into the kitchen. Two identical little girls came to
a screeching halt when they saw Tyler’s face peering out from behind his
mother.

“This is Tyler.”
Kaylee said, matter-of-factly.

“Hi Tyler.” The
other little girl said. “I’m Kelsey.”

Tyler stood
there, shyly, unsure of what to do, when Kelsey grabbed his hand and said,
“Come on, let’s go play!”

Kat bent down to
hug Tyler and kissed his cheek. “It’s okay, sweetie. You go play with them.
Mommy will be right here, okay?”

Tyler nodded,
wide-eyed. Before he went off with the sisters, he whispered in a loud voice,
“Mommy, they look the same!”

Everyone
laughed. Kat said, “That’s right, because they’re twins.”

Tyler grinned and
both girls performed a curtsey. Kelsey took Tyler’s hand again and started
pulling. “Come on, let’s go play.” Within seconds, the children were off in
another room.

Sarah had asked
the women to help her bring appetizers and drinks to the outside deck. Grateful
for something to do, Kat picked up a large plastic pitcher of lemonade and
balanced a stack of paper cups in the crook of her arm.

As she stepped
onto the deck, she saw out of the corner of her eye someone walking very fast
in her direction. Before she had a chance to step out of the way, he crashed
into her.

“Oh!” Kat
gasped. The lemonade aimed for her shirt, narrowly missing her face. She
struggled to keep hold of the pitcher as she examined herself, leaning forward
to minimize the liquid from dripping on her legs.

“I am
so
sorry, Miss….” A man stood before her, his hand wet from the splash of the
lemonade. He was a tall man, athletic, with warm brown eyes and light brown
hair. Kat thought he was going to have a heart attack, he looked so worried.

She started
laughing. At first, the man looked at her incredulously. After a brief moment,
he started laughing too. “I—I really am sorry. I can’t I believe I did that.”
He wiped his hand on his shorts, shaking his head as he examined the mess on
the deck.

By this time,
the guests had surrounded them to see what the commotion was all about. A
couple of people went inside the house to retrieve towels.

“It’s okay.” Kat
said. “I seem to have a knack for not paying attention to where I’m going.” As
she set the pitcher on a nearby table, she recalled a fleeting moment from when
she and Daniel had collided. For some reason, Kat didn’t feel afraid. She
didn’t run away and hide this time. She didn’t let the fact that she would have
to change her shirt ruin everything. Instead, she was determined to make the
best of her situation.

“I’m William, by
the way.” He stuck out a hand. “William DeKlutz,” he added.

Kat laughed,
shaking his hand. “I’m Kat Brennan.” Both she and William bent down at the same
time to pick up the paper cups that were scattered about. For a moment, their
fingers met and Kat felt a jolt of electricity surge through her. She looked at
William in the eye and saw him smiling at her.

Upstairs in the
house, Sarah loaned Kat one of her shirts that was similar in color and put
Kat’s shirt in the washing machine. Everyone was so nice to her and despite the
small incident, she was actually enjoying herself. She told Sarah once again
how glad she was to be here. Sarah hugged her and told Kat she knew exactly how
she felt.

Kat briefly told
Sarah about her discussion with Pastor Cullen and that she was going to
initiate contact with her sister.

I think that’s a
terrific idea, Kat.” Sarah praised. “As you know, I lost my sister to cancer so
a part of me will always feel empty, but Tom has been so supportive. He helped
me realize that reaching out to others is all part of the healing process.”
Sarah’s husband was a psychiatrist.

“Well, after
hearing you share your experience with us in class, I felt inspired and freer,
if that makes any sense.”

“It sure does.”
Sarah nodded. “After all, we’re only human. We have real feelings just like
anyone else. Just follow your gut. You might be pleasantly surprised.”

After Kat had
freshened up, she went to check on Tyler. She found him in the playroom with
the twins. When Tyler saw her, he ran up to greet her. He was so excited about
his new friends that he didn’t realize Kat was wearing a different shirt.

“Mommy, I keep
messing up their names,” he grumbled.

Kat laughed.
“That usually happens when you meet twins. I bet once you get to know them
really well, you’ll be able to tell who’s who.”

Satisfied with
her answer, Tyler went back to the girls and Kat returned downstairs to the
kitchen where she saw William standing in front of the sink wiping his shirt
with a damp washcloth.

“You okay?” William
grinned.

“Oh, I’m fine.
Sarah let me borrow a shirt so at least one of us can be dry.”

“Very funny. I
was just about to make a fresh batch of lemonade.”

“Maybe I should
make it,” Kat offered, “and you can carry it outside this time.”

“Now that sounds
like a fine idea!”

Throughout the
evening, Kat mingled with many of Sarah and Tom’s friends but found herself
drawn to William. He was so easy to talk to and she genuinely liked him. To
him, the feeling was mutual. They talked about their jobs, their likes,
dislikes, and what they liked to do for fun. They discovered that both of them
loved to ride bikes.