Chapter 21

Cam

The same situation had risen again; Katie and I had been in a heated discussion, and she hadn’t come to the house again. I’d thought Tuesdays was my unlucky day with Katie, but that was just a silly thought and a feeble excuse to justify my actions.

I had stewed on the conversation all week, and even Owen, ‘Mr. Sympathetic’ himself, had also been supportive. I’d slipped back to my routine, and already I could see that the warmth that Katie had brought into the house had quickly vanished. Fuck, the atmosphere was cold and clinical, and the vibrant sound of laughter with Emmy had disappeared.

Even Emmy had noticed, over just a couple of days. Katie had not been at home to play with her, and she had already started to look, and see if Katie was hiding in the other rooms as part of a game. Once Emmy realized Katie was not there, she began to quiz me, and I hated the fact I had to make excuses of where Katie was and why she hadn’t visited. It had only been a couple of days, but it felt like a lifetime.

Come on Cam, man up and face it. You can’t be without her.

I decided to take some drastic action and ask Katie if she wanted to go on a date rather than just hanging around the house and having some great sex.

I searched for my cell phone and scrolled through my contacts. To I, J and stopped at K, I was just about to call Katie and noticed Karry’s number was the entry just before. Why not kill two birds with one stone… I nuked her number from my contacts. She had caused enough trouble.

Sorry, Karry.

I called Katie’s number without any hesitation.

“Hello,” I heard Katie say on the line.

“Hi Katie, I was wondering what you’re up to?” I asked quietly, waiting for hell fire.

“Well, look who it is. I suppose you’re after a sitter for this evening?” she asked sarcastically.

“As a matter of fact. And you’re very, very far from the truth. I just called to see if you wanted to go out to dinner? Hmm, that is, if you want to go with me?” I asked.

“Yes, I will go out with you to dinner. Can I ask where we are going?” she asked.

“Santino’s Italian restaurant, out on highway seven,” I replied.

“Ah, a very nice place that is. Have you ever been?” she replied.

“No, and my surprise would have been ruined if you knew it?” I said, slightly disgruntled.

“I said I knew it. I didn’t say I have ever been there. And there is a difference. Maybe you should use that methodology in your relationships,” she said with a slight giggle.

“Katie, I may just follow your advice from now on,” I said, excited that she’d agreed.

“I will make arrangements with Mrs. Hyndley and I will meet you outside the church at 8 pm. So don’t be late,” I said.

“Just worry about yourself, and I will worry about me,” she said jokingly.

I was overjoyed that she had accepted and I hoped it was a good step on the way to putting things right between us.

I showered, dressed and looked pretty damn hot for a Navy guy who was going out on a date. Mrs. Hyndley arrived on the dot as always, and I headed off toward the church.

I checked the time, and it was a quarter to eight. There was no sign of Katie approaching. I parked the car and waited outside the church. Just then, I noticed an elegant blonde lady walking towards me. Wow, she looked quite stunning from a distance. Whoever it was.

Come on Katie, show yourself…

I checked my watch and it was 7.55 pm. There was still no sign of Katie. I started to wonder if she had stood me up and changed her mind rather than meeting me.

The blonde woman stood at the far side of the church and looked down the road.

Eight o’clock and Katie had still not shown. The night sky had gone darker and the street lamps had started to come on. I bowed my head and thought I would give her another five minutes or so and then I’d have to call it a no show.

I heard the blonde woman’s heels as she clipped and clopped in my direction.

“Hi Cam,” I heard Katie’s voice.

I raised my head and was amazed at what I saw standing in front of me.

“Katie, you look, but you were, she…,” I tried to say as I pointed to where the blonde woman had stood.

Dear God, Katie, is that you?

“Yes Cam, it was me all along. I was watching you and I could see that you did not know it was me who had dressed up all fine like a woman,” she said as she ran her hands over her sexy curves.

“Wow!”

“I also noticed how agitated you were getting towards eight o’clock,” Katie said.

“You look hot, no, you look more than hot. Wow, you look absolutely gorgeous. Where’s the kid? The one I knew. Did you leave her at home?” I asked with a chuckle.

“Did I not say never judge a book by its cover?” she replied.

“Well, I was fucking wrong from start to finish,” I said and picked my jaw up off the floor again.

I was in total shock; Katie looked so God-damned sexy. I wished I had not booked a table at the restaurant. Fuck, I could quite easily drive straight home and have the greatest sex known to man, if this is how she usually dressed. I was aroused and wondered what she had on beneath her clothes.

“Come on, let’s get going. I’m starving,” Katie said as she sauntered toward the car.

We arrived at Santino’s and the waiter greeted us.

“Good evening, Sir, and Miss Katie. It’s nice to see you again,” he said and led us to our table.

“I thought you had never been before?” I asked.

“Cam, that is the first lie I have ever told you,” she replied and winked at me.

I was shell-shocked. I even found myself looking around the ornately-decorated restaurant at the other women, just to make sure I was not dreaming.

How could Katie transform from a bit of a rough jewel to a magnificent diamond that sat before me?

“Let’s order first, and then Katie, there are a few gaps in your life that you can have the pleasure of filling in for me,” I said.

“Now Cam, it will be my pleasure. Just make sure you’re not bored. I hate boring people,” she said, while rubbing her foot against my leg.

Damn, I would love to give it to her on the table.

The waiter came with our meals and we started to eat. All the while, my eyes were fixed on Katie’s beauty, and my ears were firmly fixed on her every word.

“I have said it already, and it is worth saying again. I’m impressed with the way you look,” I sat in awe of her beauty.

“Well Cam, thanks for the comments. I appreciate them. And that’s as good as anything to fill in the gaps for you,” Katie said and started to eat her dinner with all the correct manners.

Like a real lady.

“First off, that little girl you know and love so well, is not the real me,” she explained. “This is my natural persona.”

“What you see around the base is, well, that is not me by a mile. Daddy’s little rich girl is the side of me I hide from everyone until it is time for them to know the real me,” Katie said.

“I can understand that completely. And, it is better they know you as a spoilt brat rather than a princess with a deep bank account. Fuck, I would keep that quiet as well,” I replied.

“If you look in my closet, you can count the pairs of shorts and sweatpants I have on one hand. But dresses like this… I have God knows how many. So, when I’m at college, I’m a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde. Beauty school drop-out in college, and fashion debutant everywhere else,” she explained.

I listened to it all. She had a relatively large bank account as her dad was not just the Admiral, he had quite a sizeable amount of investments too. And as she said it, they were quite fucking rich. But she had no need to flaunt it and rub anyone’s nose in the fact.

Katie also explained that the way she's with Emmy is the real person behind the mask, and that is also a side that most other people had not seen, ever. So, when she had the chance to play with Emmy, I was privileged to meet that side of her so soon, in our slightly tumultuous relationship.

“So, what is the story with your dad and your mom? I know you said she left, why was that?” I asked.

“Cam, I’m not sure if you want to call it a little lie or not, but mom didn’t leave us,” she said with a bit of a grin.

“I’m sure you had your reasons,” I replied and shrugged my shoulders.

It was no big deal that Katie said it was her mom that had left, and it was irrelevant to our situation, and to our relationship.

“I will explain, and I hope you understand,” Katie started to say.

“Go ahead, try me,” I said as I leaned forward.

“Well, it was actually Dad who left Mom. And as you can see, I ended up with my dad. But this was not the case originally. I did originally live with my mom for a couple of years when I was twelve or thirteen. My mom died when I was fourteen, and that was when I came to live with Dad,” she said.

“Ah, I see, but why did you say she left?” I asked.

“It is a defense mechanism really. I find it easier to say Mom has left rather than saying dad left her and then she died. If I talk about it, I try not to get wrapped up in a lot of deep down emotions when I remember my mom died. And so, I can circumnavigate the issue just saying she left,” Katie explained in depth.

“I understand.”

“I also do it because I love my dad. And when I think he left mom, I hate him for a while. I sometimes think if he hadn’t left, Mom might still be alive,” she said.

“Wow, quite a lot to take in. Yes, and I thought I was the one person who had emotional barriers firmly wedged in place,” I responded politely.

“Just go with it. My mom left, and I’m happy with that explanation,” she explained.

“So, I take it you never had it easy earlier, with your dad being the Admiral? Then you had to be away at boarding school?” I asked.

“It was really fucking hard. It was like, I had no parents really, and well you know how busy Dad is. And even when I had holidays, he didn’t have much time for me,” Katie said.

“I bet you have a lot of bad memories, hm?” I asked.

“Hell no! I’m glad it went the way it did, well most of it, geez. I can still remember Mom collecting me from school, every single day. And Dad, when he was not busy, taught me how to horse ride and shoot, and anything else that you can imagine,” Katie said with a huge grin on her face.

“So, what’s your story, Cam?” Katie asked.

“Well, you know my Navy history, so not much more to add there. The only extra bit of info was when Emmy's mom died during childbirth, that’s the only painful memory I have. I said I was on duty and I should have been there for her. Maybe she would have died anyway. Hey, but at least I could have told her how much I loved her,” I explained.

“So, you have no bad memories?” she asked.

“Just regret… for that one moment, and I still think about it sometimes. But every day I see Emmy's eyes, I see her mom. And I know she's there with us. I can’t have bad memories when I see that bundle of joy in my life every single day,” I explained.

I looked across the table and saw that Katie’s eyes had glossed over; she looked like she was going to let the tears flood down her face, but she held it back. Her makeup was just too perfect tonight to be ruined by a few tears. She had become stronger over the past couple of weeks, and that could have been responsible for her maturity, or that our discussions had instilled a fair amount of resilience in her and that had enabled her to stand up to the truth. She would even stand up to me when she needed to.

“Well, Cam, apart from our situations and the losses we have incurred on the way, I think we have coped okay so far, and I don’t regret one moment being here, sharing my thoughts with you,” Katie said as she raised her glass.

“I couldn’t agree with you more. We are just like two lost souls, swimming in a fish bowl,” I said and raised my glass to Katie.

I locked my eyes on Katie’s and she stared deeply into my gaze. I could see things more clearly now, and I could understand why she had reacted the way she had at some things.

The loss of her mother, and living away from home, had certainly made her stronger, especially with her dad, the Admiral, teaching her a few manly things. She was well prepared for what the world could throw at her. That is, once she calmed down a little and let her feminine streak shine a bit more. Katie was growing up, and she looked like she was going to grow up just fine.

“Katie, I have been totally blown away by you tonight. Not just how you look, but in the way you have presented yourself. You look and sound like a dignified, fine young lady. Fuck, and if you keep going that way, you certainly have a lot of potential,” I said and called the waiter for the bill.

Katie smiled and looked deep into my eyes. “I might look like a lady, and act like a lady, Cam Cross the war hero. I can still kick your ass!”