Page 82 of Welcome to Forever
Chapter 20
The next afternoon, Seaside Park was full of children—happy, carefree children who were oblivious to Kat sitting at a bench just beyond the playground, her stomach a bundle of twisted, knotted nerves.
Whatever Rita had to say, she was ready to hear it, she reminded herself. And actually, after hearing Rita’s voice, she was kind of excited about seeing the woman she’d once loved as dearly as a mother.
A red car pulled into the parking lot and Kat’s breath caught; she recognized the woman who stepped out immediately. Rita’s hair had grown silver in the two years since they’d last seen each other, and her body thinner, but there was no mistaking the way Rita carried herself, with confidence and assurance. She was a strong woman, the kind of woman that Kat had always hoped to become.
Spotting her, Rita waved and headed over.
“Kat, how are you?” Rita’s warm voice asked as she drew closer.
Kat met Rita’s eyes, eerily similar to those of the man she’d once been engaged to. She looked happy. There was a glow about her—and not the kind that Val and Julie had accused Kat of having. “I’m good.” She scooted over for Rita to sit beside her, then they both watched the children play for a long moment. “And you?” Kat asked finally.
“Better.” Rita’s hand patted Kat’s lap. “Kat, I am so sorry that I didn’t call sooner.” Her voice broke as she said it. “I just—” Shaking her head, she sniffled while pulling a tissue from her pocket.
“You?” Kat angled her body to look at Rita. “I’m the one who should’ve called. I should’ve stopped by. I should’ve—”
The skin beneath Rita’s warm eyes crinkled. “You were grieving.”
Kat’s eyes suddenly burned. “Yeah, but you were, too.” It’d been a long, hard road, but they’d made it. They’d survived, just like John would’ve wanted them to. “I’ve missed you,” she said, allowing Rita to take her hand. Rita had been like a second mother to her at one time. They’d been closer than Kat ever remembered being to anyone outside her own family. And after John’s death, they’d simply stopped interacting.
Rita squeezed her hand. “You’re just as beautiful as you were back then. Have you found someone? A man?” There was no judgment in her eyes as Kat met them. Instead, she seemed eager to hear Kat say yes.
“I have,” Kat said, her chest immediately swelling as she thought of Micah. “A really good one.”
At this, Rita smiled. “I am so happy to hear it. John would be, too, honey. You deserve a happily ever after.”
Kat sniffed back the tears waiting just behind her eyes. She didn’t want to cry. This was a happy moment. They were two women who’d been dealt a hard hand, and here they were smiling. No tears were allowed today. “And Billy?” Kat asked. “How is he?” John’s brother had still been in high school after the helicopter accident. He’d be in college now, or working a job somewhere.
Rita took in a slow breath, looking out among the children in the park again. “He’s one of the reasons I wanted to meet with you. He’s found someone, too.” She was beaming again. “He’s going to ask her to marry him.”
Kat’s lips parted as Rita looked at her again. “That’s wonderful.” And sad at the same time. It meant she was getting old. “John would’ve been so proud.”
“Yes. He would have.” Rita hesitated, clasping her hands in her lap. “Kat, I hate to ask you this, but…”
The hesitation made perspiration rise on Kat’s skin. “But?”
“Billy would like to give Lindsay, his girlfriend, the ring.”
“The ring,” Kat repeated, waiting for the connection to form in her mind.My ring?Her hand immediately flew to the chain around her neck, where the gold band hung. “My ring?” she asked, hoping she’d heard Rita wrong.
“It’s been in our family for three generations. John was the oldest, so naturally he got to have it, but now that he’s…well, you understand, don’t you, dear?”
Kat glanced around at the children again, her heart beating so loudly that she could barely hear their laughter anymore. It was just a ring, but it had once symbolized so much. It was a promise that John had made her—one that would no longer come true.
She pressed her eyes closed for a long moment. Then with a deep breath, she slowly lifted her arms and unclasped the chain that held the ring close to her heart. Rita didn’t say anything as she waited.
Kat held the band of gold in her palm for a long moment, memorizing it, loving it, and then, when she was ready, letting it go. “I don’t need his ring to remember him,” she said, her voice quivering slightly. And she didn’t need a constant reminder of her past around her neck either—not if she expected to move forward with Micah.
The two women talked for another half an hour, in which time Rita insisted that Kat come to Billy and Lindsay’s wedding when it happened. She also insisted that Kat stop by and see her from time to time. Then, with a tight hug, Kat got back in her car and left the park. She’d been intent on not returning to work this afternoon, but going home with so much work hanging over her head would only lead to a restless night. Just an hour, she promised herself, pulling into the school’s parking lot.
Everyone was gone at this time, except for the lone Jeep parked along the side with a trailer attached.Micah.Opening her car door, she heard the distant hum of his mower around back, which conjured all sorts of images. Him sweaty, dusted with dirt, his T-shirt clinging to those rippling abs. Yeah, she couldn’t wait to lay her eyes on that. That would definitely improve her mood. But first she had work to do.
She flipped the lights of the school’s front entrance as she headed toward her office, stopping when a noise erupted from the other side of the building. It was late. No one was supposed to be here right now, which meant only one thing. Vandals.
Walking quickly down the hall, she silently thanked God that she hadn’t worn heels today. Instead, she had on fast-walking flats. The vandals had already blasted the school and her, and come hell or high water, she was going to catch them this time.
She started running.
