She Never Knew (16 page)

“If I’m not
overstepping my bounds—okay, I already did that—would you and Tyler like to go
for a bike ride with me sometime?” William asked.

Is he asking me
out on a date?
Kat
thought
.
The fact that he included Tyler impressed her. Before she had a
chance to talk herself out of it, she found herself responding favorably.

“We would love
to.”

“How about
tomorrow?” he asked. “There’s a bike path not far from here, in Harbour Sound.”

“I know exactly
where that is! Tyler and I occasionally ride out there.” The bike path led
through the town where there were cute little shops, ice cream parlors, a
playground, and parks in which people could feed ducks.

After they
swapped phone numbers with promises to meet the following afternoon, Kat went
to look for Tyler. Before they left, she said goodbye to everyone and hugged
Sarah.

“Thank you for
having us, Sarah. Both of us really had a great time.” Kat looked at Tyler, who
was beginning to yawn.

“Thank you for
coming! It’s always nice to make new friends, isn’t it?” At first Kat thought
Sarah was referring to the ladies, but the glint in her eye implied she was talking
about William.

Kat blushed.
“Yes, we made plans to ride bikes on the Isle tomorrow.”

“Good for you! I
think you’ll have a terrific time. William’s a good guy. We’ve only known him
for a few months, but we like him.”

After they bid
farewell, Sarah and Tyler went home.

When Tyler went
to bed that night, Kat wrote a heart-felt letter to her sister. She described
to Mary the pain of losing their parents, her fiancé, and most of all the pain
of losing their relationship with each other as sisters. Kat mentioned the rape
but did not go in detail except to say that Tyler was her nephew. She described
Tyler and included a picture of him in her letter. She didn’t mention Daniel or
William as she didn’t feel it was appropriate to discuss them. Besides, it’s
not like she was in a relationship with either of them.

She would put
the letter in the mailbox the following morning. She didn’t know if she would
ever hear back from her sister, but she went to sleep feeling freer than she
ever had before in her life.

Groaning in
agony, Darryl awoke to the sound of pouring rain beating down on the top of the
double-wide trailer he lived in. He had slept in his clothes again and his
bladder felt as though it would explode at any moment. As he rolled himself to
a sitting position and looked around his bedroom, his head instantly began to
throb with pain. He slid from the bed and staggered his way into the bathroom.
As he relieved himself, the chain of events from the day before came flooding
back.

After he was fired
from his job, Darryl drove directly to the bar he’d frequented the past several
weeks. While there, he had gotten into a verbal altercation with the bartender,
who refused to serve him after Darryl consumed a number of alcoholic beverages.
In anger, Darryl had attempted to strike the bartender, but missed. Instead, he
had lost his footing, hit his head against the counter, and fell flat on his
face.

Not bothering to
flush the toilet, Darryl studied himself in the mirror. He hadn’t shaved in
days but he didn’t care. He picked off what appeared to be food crumbs embedded
in his beard and ran a hand through his hair, which was matted and greasy. In
efforts to focus, he blinked several times and saw that his black eye was
turning into several shades of purple. With his fingernails, he scraped off the
dried blood stains under his nostrils. He held up a hand to his nose as if to
remind himself that he was lucky he didn’t break it.

Shuffling his
feet, Darryl headed for the kitchen. His throat was parched and he was
desperate for something to drink. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the
light on his answering machine blink furiously. He pushed the button and
listened.

The message was
from Michelle and from the tone of her voice, she was angry. She told Darryl
how disappointed she was in him for the way he conducted himself on the phone
the night before with their son. Apparently, Darryl had slurred his speech to
the point where his son couldn’t understand him. Worried, Jared had gotten his
mother on the phone and that’s how she discovered Darryl had gotten himself
fired.

Darryl didn’t
remember much of the night before, let alone calling anybody on the phone. He
did remember his boss expressing his regret for what he was forced to do.

Darryl helped
himself to a beer from the fridge and settled himself on the couch in his small
living room. He turned on the television and flipped through the channels. When
he saw nothing of interest, he turned it off and reflected on the conversation he
had had with his boss.

An hour before
closing time at work, Darryl was summoned to the Human Resources Department. At
first he thought it had to do with reimbursing the company for his tuition
checks, but once he arrived, he knew he was doomed.

His boss was
there, along with the director of Human Resources and a security officer.
Matthew had explained to Darryl that there had been several complaints against
him during the week, one of which stemmed from the fact that Darryl smelled
like a brewery in recent days. Not only did his sales plummet, he had been
extremely rude to a multi-million dollar customer. All telemarketing sales
calls were taped and Matthew had played back the recording in question. To
everyone in the room, there was no disputing the fact that Darryl had used foul
language and made inappropriate suggestions to the customer. To complicate
matters even further, the customer had terminated its account with the company.

As a result,
Darryl was fired and escorted out of the building. He remembered the look of
disappointment on Matthew’s face as he pulled away from the parking lot for the
last time.
If only you had come to me,
Matthew had said
. I could have
helped you.

Depressed with
the direction in which his life was headed, he drove to the nearest bar where
the rest of his evening went downhill. How he managed to get himself home was
beyond the scope of his comprehension.

His facial
expression became sinister when thoughts of Katherine Richards crept into his
mind. She was entirely to blame for all of his problems. It was her fault all
of this happened. She was the one who got him expelled. If she had shown just a
little bit of compassion, Darryl would be graduating in a couple of months.
Then it would’ve only been a matter of time before he was promoted and earning
almost double his salary. Further, his son would have been proud of him. Maybe
Michelle, too.

But no, none of
those wonderful things would ever happen because of her. It was time to put an
end to his misery. Darryl wasn’t about to let Katherine Richards take whatever
ounce of dignity he had left away from him. He had to stop her once and for
all.

Tossing the
empty bottle at the growing pile of fetid garbage on the floor in the corner,
Darryl went to the fridge to get a refill. Ignoring the cockroach that scurried
across the floor, he went inside his bedroom and sat down in front of his
computer. It was time to search for her whereabouts again. He couldn’t move on
with his life until he found what he was looking for.

Kat woke up
feeling better than she had in a long time. She felt relaxed and happy. As she
lay there, she thought about Sarah’s party and the people she’d met. It all
seemed so normal. One woman wanted to begin a scrapbook club and invited Sarah
to join. Tyler had a great time playing with the twins, and Kat had a date to
go bike riding. She was stunned as to why it had taken her so long to get back
into friendly circles but she felt good about her choices.

Tyler came into
her room to see if she was awake. When he saw that she was, he jumped on her
bed and slid under the covers so he could snuggle with his mother.

“Mommy?”

“Yes, sweetie?”

“I really like
the twins. I kept getting Kaylee and Kelsey mixed up but they thought it was
funny.”

“I think that
happens to a lot of twins. Did you have a good time?”

“Oh yes. Maybe
we can call them and go to the park together.”

“How about if we
do that another time?” Kat suggested. “Do you remember meeting William?”

“The one who
spilled lemonade on you?”

Kat laughed.
“Yes. I thought we would go on a bike ride with him today.”

“I guess so.”

“What do you
mean, I guess so?” Kat looked at him. “You love bike rides!”

“I know, but
when we ride bikes, it’s just you and me, Mommy.”

Kat felt her
heart melt as she stroked Tyler’s hair. Was it possible her little boy resented
sharing their special time with someone else, especially when that someone else
was a man?

“You know, we’re
only friends.” Kat explained. “Don’t you think Mommy needs new friends in her
life? Just like you made new friends with Kaylee and Kelsey?”

Tyler thought
about this for a moment, then brightened. “Oh yeah!”

“Yeah!” Kat
tickled Tyler and he squealed. “Okay, let’s get up and get some breakfast.”

“Mommy?”

“Hmm?”

“I love you.”

Kat wrapped her
arms around her son and hugged him tightly. “I love you too, little boy.”

A little later
that morning, William called Kat to arrange a time and place to meet. He
suggested having lunch at Fourth Street Fountain, a place known for its 1950s
atmosphere that served hamburgers and hotdogs. Afterwards, they could ride
their bikes along the waterfront.

After Kat and
Tyler were dressed and ready to go, she attached their bikes to the back of her
sports utility vehicle. She strapped Tyler in his child seat then buckled
herself in. While she felt slightly apprehensive, she was looking forward to
her date with William.

It was late in
the afternoon at the waterfront district. The area was known for its quaint
shops, walking trails, bike paths, and picnicking amenities. The sun was
shining, the air was fresh, and the birds were chirping. Families could be seen
everywhere, on boat launches, observation decks, and picnic tables. William,
Kat, and Tyler were sitting on a blanket under an enormous oak tree eagerly
lapping up their ice cream cones. They had ridden their bikes for a solid two
hours.

When Kat and
Tyler first arrived to the restaurant, William was outside waiting for them. He
held in his hands a shoebox sized present for Tyler, wrapped in party paper. He
squatted down in front of Tyler and handed the box to him. Tyler squealed when
he saw it and after Kat said it was okay to open it, Tyler tore off the wrapper
and shouted with glee when he saw what the gift was.

William had
given him a miniature toy BMW car. It was a tiny replica of the M35, silver in
color, and offered the ability to open the doors, hood, and trunk. Tyler’s jaw
dropped as he gasped, staring at his new gift.

“Mommy, look!”
Tyler held up his new treasure so Kat could see it.

“Wow!” she said,
glancing at William, her face in smiles. “What do you say to William?”

“Thank you!”
Tyler remembered his manners. “Thank you so much!”

“What do you say
we get it out of the box?” William suggested.

“Oh, okay.” Tyler
handed William the box. William turned the box upside down and unwound the soft
metal ties that kept the car secure. After he freed the little car, he handed
it back to Tyler. “Here you go, little man.”

Tyler threw his
arms around William’s neck, nearly knocking him off balance. He laughed,
touched by the way his gift seemed to mean so much to the little boy. From his
conversations with Kat at the party, he deduced that Tyler’s father was not
actively involved in his son’s life, but he made no mention of it to Kat. He
looked up at her and saw that her eyes were misted with happiness.

“You like it? William
asked, directing his focus back on Tyler.

“Oh yes!” Tyler
exclaimed. “I love it!” Obviously delighted with his new toy, he began
inspecting it thoroughly, opening and closing the tiny doors of the four-door
sedan. As he continued to check out the features, Kat thanked William for his
thoughtfulness.

“It’s my
pleasure. I’m just glad he likes it.” William smiled at Kat, thinking how
beautiful she looked in the sun. Her face was lightly tanned and her smile
radiated happiness. He genuinely liked her and wanted to get to know her
better. They spent the rest of the afternoon playing with Tyler, talking and
laughing. She told William how much she enjoyed being an online instructor and
helping students realize their potential. She told him about the problem student
she had, and that she hoped he had learned the errors of his ways. She even told
him about the letter she had mailed to her sister that morning.