The Ten of Them – Chapter 2: A New Home

Mom stops on her way out pulling in to the Edward’s driveway. Mom exits the car on the front porch is Mrs. Edwards walks to Mom. Kathryn turns to me. “I bet Moms going to go too.” After saying this Kathryn moves into the middle seat beside me.

Mom and Helen walking to the Edwards’s house and about ten minutes later they return with Kara and Krystal with them. Kathryn and I had been talking and listening to the XM radio. When her sisters came out with her mother she visibly tensed up. They were dressed nicely, similar to Kathryn. Kathryn scooted closer to me and wrapped her arm around mine. She nearly begged saying. “Don’t let them take you away.”

I smiled thinking to myself. I really got to learn how to avoid having ten-year-olds have crushes on me. It is her birthday tomorrow so I will let her have this. I’ll keep her sisters from moving her away from me. “Okay I will not let them. I will always be here for you.”

She doesn’t relax her hold, but she does rise up and give me a kiss on my cheek. Of course her sisters do see it, glancing at each other they giggle. Setting down they attempt to separate the two of us. Until I tell them it’s Kathryn’s birthday tomorrow we can let her sit were she wants. Neither of them takes the back seat so it puts Kathryn practically in my lap. Helen turning around shakes her head and tells Kathryn. “Just go ahead set on his lap the four of you will be more comfortable.”

Kathryn grins and lifts herself onto my lap, setting down with her back to the door she rest her head on my shoulder. My arm seems to have a mind of its own as it slips around her waist to hold her close to me. I turn my head to ask if she’s comfortable just a she rises to kiss my cheek again, but our timing is off in our lips meet. I had kissed Joan.

I love the feel of lips against mine. Kathryn’s lips touching mine was totally different, I was instantly lost in our kiss as the world seemed to dissolve around us leaving just the two of us holding each other. When the SUV finally comes to stop were still holding onto each other, not until her mother moves her back and our kiss breaks that we come back to reality. I look in to Kathryn’s face and I no longer see a ten-year-old girl. I see my future. Like someone’s life flashing before their eyes at the moment before their death, I see my future in her eyes.

A voice from what seemed like quite far away is calling me. “JJ, JJ what do you think you’re doing?” It’s mom’s voice but it seems like it was a mile away.

Kathryn starts to lean back in but her mother stops her. Her sisters had already exited the SUV and her mother had undone the seatbelt. Helen giggled and playfully ordering. “You two, stop that now there’s time for it later.” She pulls her daughter away from me.

I blink twice then look around were already in town. “That was a fast trip.”

Mom and Helen both giggle. Then Krystal says. “You two were kissing the entire way here.”

We’re both out of the SUV, and they pull us towards the store as we talk. Helen releases Kathryn’s hand and she immediately takes mine.

Kara looks me straight in the eyes and asks. “Why her?” Looking at her sister she asks. “Why him?”

Now that is the most difficult question that an answer as ever been required of me. And if you ever find, the one, that will be the question you need to answer. If you find that answer you may be a wiser person than me. Looking into Kathryn’s face I say. “I don’t know, but I’m willing to spend the remainder of my life finding out.”

Kathryn’s reply is to me. “That sounds like fun.” She reaches up to kiss again our lips meet in the world again fades away.

Mom and Helen separate us again, Helen giggles and Mom says in frustration. “You two stop that. You can wait to we get home can’t you?”

Kathryn and I both reply simultaneously. “No.”

Mom, Helen, Kara and Krystal all giggle. But they keep us separated for the rest of the afternoon while we run our errands. I did manage to sneak away to a jewelry store just long enough to acquire a birthstone pendant for Kathryn. The clerk eyes got large as I started point out hundreds to pay for the beautiful ruby necklace that I picked out for her. It held three rubies two smaller ones with the larger one in the center. They were not overly large but rubies are expensive the necklace itself made of gold with what looked like roses stems with the rubies for flowers. I hope she loves it.

Just as I’m paying the clerk my cell phone rings and Mom is asking where I’m at. I asked her where she’s at I’m on the way there right now. To my surprise mom is right behind me as I exit the jewelry store, she takes the box opens it and says. “Let me see what you purchased. Guys never do it right… Holy Shit! That’s beautiful.”

“You think it’s okay, for Kathryn’s birthday?”

Mom giggles closing the box. “It will be great for her, She better love it. How did you pick it out?”

“I thought about what she meant to me. What she would like… I found something that covered both.” Actually when I saw it I knew right then it was meant to be hers. Even the story the sells lady told me how it was a special order that was never claimed. Seems to fall into place with my premonition, hell I remember seeing it on her neck at our wedding, how the light caught it as I raised her veil. How do premonitions work anyway, I saw what will happen, I remember that. Of course I’m not going to say that to my mother. Even a mother might have a tough time believing that only on fate.
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We speak as my mother leads me back to the bank. “Should I wait till tomorrow to present it to her?”

Mom shakes her head no before saying. “They’re going to the grandparents tomorrow and won’t be back for a week.”

Doing something I hadn’t done in years I reach out and take my mother’s hand. “I had better give it to her this evening.”

My mother smiles at me a little surprised by my action; she squeezes my hand and says. “You can’t be this serious about her this quickly. You’ll scare her off she’s only ten years old after all.”

Taking my mother’s words into consideration I give a thoughtful reply. “I never want to hurt her or scare her in anyway. I see my future with her and only her.”

Mom says. “It’s that last sentence if she hears something like that and she is not sure of it herself, you’ll scare the shit out of her.”

We deposit the check in the bank we have a joint account, I want $5000 back cash I figure you may need buy some items in the next week or so. The teller goes wide-eyed seen the check amount she calls over the bank manager who approves the deposit and the cash return. Leaving the bank I again hold my mother’s hand.

From across the mall I hear Kathryn called to me. I turn and drop my mother’s hand as she rushes to me. She dashed straight into my arms like we had been a part for a year. We move into a hug coming as naturally if we had spent a decade together. To everyone else it may look like a man holding a young girl. To us our age is of little consequence, we know we will be together in ten years, in fifty years will still be together. In a decade no one will care about the four years difference in age. Right now it doesn’t matter to me she feels good in my arms.

We all walk out of the mall together, on the way home we stopped for pizzas after leaving the pizza joint we sit in the backseat and talk quietly all the way home her hand in mine. We talked about everything from music to her favorite color, which is ruby red. We both have similar taste in music and several other items in common. She loves reading, and we shared several books as our favorite. It’s funny the more we learn about each other the more suited we seem to be for each other. Time flies as we are together and soon we are exiting the SUV at the Edwards home for dinner. Helen invited us to share the pizza there.

It really appears my little lesson has changed the fact no one calls Kathryn anything but Kathryn.

It seems everyone is quite relaxed at the table now with Kathryn being almost playful with her sisters and brothers. The coach seems quite happy even after Helen informed on me about the kiss. I know he observed me stealing a few glances at Kathryn but he only smiled. After dinner I asked him to speak with him privately. We walked out into the yard and I informed him I had purchased Kathryn a necklace for her birthday. He asked me if it was expensive. So I answered him. “Not considering my monetary income.” The coach laughs and says. “That is a very interesting answer.”

I confess to him. “Kathryn is a very special person to me. I like her very much; I want to be a part of her life. For as long as she’ll let me.”

The coach still laughing asks. “That sounds like you’re asking for her hand. You’re not planning on marrying her already are you?”

I don’t want the coach to think I’m a nut or anything damaging of me. “No just I want to be with her you know hang out, watch a movie, or listen to music. Maybe even walk down by the river once in a while.”

The coach laughs again. “That should be a good beginning to your relationship with my daughter.”

I then displayed him the necklace, as he looks at it closely he says. “Apparently you know my daughter better in eight hours than her last boyfriend did in a year. Her favorite flower is roses.”

I asked hopefully. “So it’s okay if I give it to her?”

The coach says. “After the conversation we just had and what my wife told me. You better give it to her.”

I noticed that we walked all the way to the barn as we leaned on the fence having our conversation. Kathryn was on the front porch watching us. She set alone in the swing while our mothers set and talked on the other end of the porch in adjoining chairs.

I walked back with the coach he went to a chair near his wife as I moved on to the swing. For some reason both of us seem nervous. I centered myself to calm my nerves. I brought the jewelry box out for her to see. Her eyes lights up in anticipation. As I present it I saying. “I wanted to get you something special for your birthday.”

Opening the box her mouth dropped in shock only an instant later she jumps into my arms. She kisses me several times on the face before saying. “I love it.” We hear laughter from our parents as they watch us. Kathryn hugs me tight then says. “Thank you, I love it. I love it.” Her mom asks to see it and she happily jumps up to show it to her. In the last light of the sunset the rubies seemed to glow even brighter. Her mom’s reaction is very similar to my moms, she shouts. “Holy shit! JJ you done good.”