CHAPTER TWENTY
The next day, after I spent time at the hospital wrapping up loose ends on my cases, filling out HR forms and packing up files, I met with a group of residents who had the afternoon and evening off. They were organized and were ready to work for pizza and beer.
I gave them directions, and we left the hospital for the house, ready to start packing. At the very last minute, as several residents were loading into my car, Sam walked up and tried to get in as well.
I stopped at the driver’s seat door and frowned at her. “I didn’t know you were coming.”
“Drake…” she said, her arms folded across her chest. “I’m not going to accost you or anything,” she said under her breath.
I exhaled loudly. I didn’t want to create a scene in front of the other residents, so I gave in.
“Maybe you could catch a ride with Serena,” I said, raising my eyebrows, hoping to send her a clear message. “My car is full.”
“Fine,” she said and turned away. I got in the car and slammed the door a bit too hard. Then I took in a deep breath and tried to get control over myself. Fighting with Sam would do no one any good. She could help out if she wanted. Soon, I’d be on a flight to Manhattan and Sam would be far behind.
Once we arrived at the house, the mood was jovial. I had Mbecki’s Cartage waiting so they could load up the van with furniture. I directed the residents to pack up the kitchen and bathroom, while I packed my office. Our most important possessions would go on the van to be shipped out as soon as possible. I would furnish the 8th Avenue apartment with the new pieces Kate and I bought together.
There were seven of us in total so the packing proceeded quickly. One of the male residents named Ben was in charge of the sound system. He plugged in his iPod and we listened to his playlists, which was mostly R&B and a bit of rap. It wasn’t my choice of music but the workers ruled.
An hour in, I saw Sam standing in the open front door. I wasn’t sure who she was talking to and thought perhaps it was a neighbor, curious about the moving van parked outside and nosing around for information.
I went over once she turned back to the living room, a smug expression on her face.
“Who was it?”
She shrugged. “Kate.”
“What?” A surge of adrenaline washed over me and I pushed past Sam to the door.
What was Kate doing back? Had she returned without even letting me know?
I cursed to myself as I walked down the lawn to the small retaining wall that surrounded the property. There, Kate sat, her suitcase on the sidewalk beside her.
“Kate!” I said as I rushed down the driveway.
She didn’t turn or acknowledge me. I sat down on the wall beside her, leaning over, my elbows resting on my knees.
"Kate…" I said, my voice soft. "I didn’t want things to happen like this."
"Like what?" She glanced at me, but quickly looked away.
Kate arrived home only to find Sam in the house... What must she think?
“I didn't think you were coming back so soon," I said, trying to handle things properly.
"Obviously," she said a bit tartly, but I could hear emotion in her voice and knew I had to explain, and right away. I reached out and took her hand in mine, stroking her palm with my thumb.
"You should have called me."
"I guess I should have," she replied.
"As soon as I got back, I gave Michael my notice and some of the residents are here to help me pack up the house."
Kate finally looked at my face, into my eyes. Her own eyes widened. "What?"
"I'm coming back to Manhattan."
I pulled her onto my lap, so that she straddled my hips, her arms around my neck.
"You should have called me," she said, shaking her head. "I would have told you that I was coming back to you."
"I thought you wouldn’t come back for weeks because of your father."
"I realized that you're my life now,” she said, her gaze moving over my face. “I couldn’t stand to be apart from you even one more night."
I closed my eyes and then pulled her hand up to my mouth, pressing my lips against her knuckles. Tears bit the corners of my eyes.
"I gave Michael notice because I realized you’re my life,” I said, choking back emotion, “and I couldn’t stand to be apart from you even one more night."
Then, Kate wrapped her arms around my neck more tightly and kissed me and that kiss said everything. Hungry, needful. We remained locked in each other's arms, and I squeezing her so tightly, not wanting to ever let go.
I pulled back and brushed hair off her cheek, smiling when I realized what she must have thought finding Sam in the house.
"Why did you leave just now? What were you thinking?" I said, my eyes on hers. "You had to know there was nothing going on between Sam and me."
She nodded. "I tried not to think," she said, smiling a little guiltily. "I tried to hold back judgment. But I didn’t know what to do so I thought I'd come sit here for a while."
"Of course, you would have to see Sam first before me."
"I would," she replied, and ran her fingers through my hair, which was hanging in my eyes. "You can imagine my surprise. When I saw her, I had this insane urge to run at her and claw out her eyes."
I laughed out loud at that. "Catfight?" I said, relieved. "I should be flattered, but really, Kate. I'm sorry you had to see her first. I didn’t ask for any help, but the residents volunteered to come and help pack up, and she invited herself along with them."
She nodded.
"I hope you never ever worry about me," I said, keeping my voice soft. "I'm yours, entirely, Ms. Bennet." I smiled at that, my eyes narrowing. "Every single inch."
She couldn't help but smile back. "Call Michael and ask for your job back," she said and squeezed my hand. "We haven't even gone on safari together yet. We haven't slept out under the stars like I wanted us to."
"He may hate me," I said, grinning. "He called in a locum tenens to help take on my caseload, and he was going to teach my classes himself."
"Then, I'm sure he'll be glad to hear you're staying."
I squeezed her, so happy that she wanted to stay. I nestled my face in the crook of her neck and just breathed in her scent.
"What will I tell him?”
She laughed. "Tell him you were temporarily insane but that you recovered your senses."
I sighed. "I guess I'll have to go in and stop the wrecking crew. Luckily, they haven't even started dismantling the kitchen."
"They'll all hate me," she said, her expression a bit reluctant.
"Nonsense," I said, smiling. "They'll be happy I'm staying. Besides, what the hell do we care what anyone thinks? It's what we think that matters."
"Will Michael give you your job back?" Kate said doubtfully.
I kissed her cheek. "The locum will want to keep a caseload so he'll get his salary, but I'm sure Michael will be glad that I'll take the classes back. I'll help Michael out where he needs me. It'll be fine. We'll stay and with the locum in place, I won't be nearly as busy."
We sat with our arms around each other and enjoyed the connection. After a few moments, I took out my cell and called Michael. I put the phone on speaker.
"Hey, boss," I said, keeping a playful tone in my voice. "Is there any chance you can rip up my letter of resignation?"
"What?" Michael said, his voice sounding shocked. "What happened? Why?"
"Kate came back and surprised me and she wants us to stay. So," I said, smiling at her, touching her bottom lip. "Can I have my job back?"
"Are you kidding me? Of course you can!" Michael said, relief evident in his voice. "I was dreading having to take over your classes. The students would be so disappointed to have an old geezer like me for their instructor instead of you. I already called Wangai and he’ll want to keep the locum. You won't have any OR time unless you want to help me out. I'm sure we can find lots for you to do."
We spoke for a while about logistics and then I went into the house to let everyone know we were staying. Kate didn’t want to come in with me at first, so she stayed outside and waited. When I told them, the residents let out a whoop, followed by applause. Finally, I went out and took Kate’s hand, leading her inside.
Sam stood off to the side of the room, her arms crossed, barely even able to manage a half-smile.
"I'll order pizza," I said to them. "Do they even make pizza in Nairobi?"
The rest of the afternoon was spent unpacking and eating pizza. The movers took the furniture out of the truck and put it back inside the house, then had a beer with us.
Finally, everyone left and as I said goodbye, I thanked them for their help. Sam was the last to go, but our goodbye was quick and perfunctory.
Good. I hoped she got the message loud and clear.
I was Kate’s. She was mine. There would be no one else taking her place.
I closed the door and turned to Kate, raising my eyebrows.
"I can relax," I said when I went to Kate, my hands on her shoulders. "Now that there's no fear you two will get into a catfight, although I must confess there's a little part of me that would have enjoyed it."
Kate laughed and slipped her arms around my waist and together, we enjoyed each other’s warmth.
Once we were alone, we sat on the couch, nestled in each other’s arms. I pulled out a bottle of Anisovaya and we toasted each other before shooting back the vodka.
"I had an interesting experience when I got back to the city," I said, conspiratorially. "I happened upon Claire and Sam having lunch together. Claire was Den Mother to the residents at the hospital, but I didn’t realize she and Sam were especially close.”
Kate nodded and so I continued.
“One of the OR nurses and I got to talking about office politics. Seems Claire and Sam became pretty good friends when Sam was here two years ago. Apparently, she wanted Sam and me to get together and wasn't happy when we broke up. In fact, Claire said something to Sam even before she got back from the safari. Sam seemed to think you and I would break up."
"I knew it," Kate said, her eyes wide. "I mean, I didn't know it, but I felt something was off with Claire."
I nodded. "She called me and left a message on the voicemail wondering if I had received her text about you and Sefton. I texted her back saying that I had, that I had spoken with you and cleared everything up. It was all a misunderstanding. She never responded."
"Do you suppose Sam told Claire about you being in the lifestyle?"
"If they know, neither Michael nor Claire said anything." I shrugged and said nothing for a while, still not sure if Michael was aware of Claire’s machinations or whether he was simply completely self-absorbed in his world.
"She wanted you to be with Sam instead of me," Kate said softly.
I exhaled. "Too bad for her then," I said and turned to face her. "I'm glad you're not in medicine. It would drive me crazy to come home to more of the same. Neurosurgery is intense and I need to escape. I escape into you."
I kissed her, cradling her face in my hands. Then I pulled her more tightly into my arms.
"I haven't found my passion yet," Kate said, her voice doubtful.
"Not painting?" I asked, sad that she felt uncertain about her art.
She shrugged. "I have to rethink what I'm doing."
I caught her eye and frowned. "Don’t let Sefton undermine your confidence. Both your teachers asked you to be in the Master Class. That's a huge compliment. Obviously, you have talent."
"Talent isn't enough,” she said plainly. “You have to have a voice."
"Kate, forget all that mumbo jumbo Sefton said. All that really matters is that you love what you do,” I said and stroked her cheek, remembering how she looked when she was wrapped up in her art. “You looked so happy that day I saw you in the studio, and after a long day painting. I think you have found your passion. You have to let yourself enjoy it and don't let what others think affect you. You can't really ever know what other people are thinking. You can only know yourself and how you feel. That's what matters."
"How will Claire knowing about us affect your relationship with her and Michael?"
I took in a deep breath. "I'll wait and see if she does or says anything else. But maybe from now on, turn down her requests to go out and do things."
"What about going on safari? She said she and Michael would arrange something for the four of us. Will we refuse to go with them?"
I shook my head. "I don't want my friendship with Michael to be strained, so I'd be willing to go on safari with them, but don't get too friendly with her, in case she really is that manipulative."
Kate nodded. "She was trying to break us up. She always said these things that made me feel insecure about our relationship. I took it as friendly advice from someone with experience, but now that I think of it, I think she was laying a foundation of doubt in me."
"I still can't believe it," I said, angry that Claire could be so manipulative, but I was finding out a lot about her that I didn't know before. "I hope Michael wasn’t part of this," I said with a sigh. "I don’t believe he'd go along with it, but still… to be so unaware of what your spouse is doing."
"You said he's very busy."
I shrugged. "I'm glad you're here," I said and pulled her onto my lap. "We were each thinking the same thing, not wanting to be separated any longer."
"We were," she said and smiled. Then she pulled back. "What were you and my father talking about before you left?" she asked, looking into my eyes. "I asked him but he wouldn't tell me. He told me to ask you."
I smiled. "I told him," I said, and paused, remembering. "I told him to make sure and get better because he was like the father I wished I'd had and I didn't want to lose him, too."
"What did he say?"
"He said that I was like a second son to him. He admired my father, loved him like a brother. He saw a lot of Liam in me and was so glad that you and I fell in love but that Liam's one regret was that he failed to put my mother first in his life instead of his career. He said I shouldn't make the same mistake. He was right. That's why I decided to come back to Manhattan. I didn't want to make the same mistake my father did."
Kate squeezed me more tightly. "I can’t believe you would have really left Nairobi,” she said softly. “I'm glad I came back when I did. I'd feel terrible if you quit because of me."
"I'd only leave because of you, Kate. I realized that I can't stand to be apart from you. I don’t have to be, and I don’t want to be. I want to be like Elaine and your father. Not one night apart by choice. Do you understand?"
"I understand," she repeated and we kissed, our hands reaching out, needing to touch each other.
Then I pushed her down on the couch, my hands beside her head, my fingers lacing with hers. "I love you," I said, holding her gaze. "Never leave me again."
Kate’s eyes filled with tears. Soon, we were lost in each other as the African night fell around us.
Over the next couple of weeks, our lives fell back into a familiar routine, but I made it my goal to spend more time with Kate. Kate kept busy at her art classes, working in her studio, and shopping. I worked much less because of the locum tenens and so we were able to enjoy each other the way we hadn’t before.
I still taught classes and was away several nights a week, but was home more often.
One night after I arrived home, we sat down to eat. Kate was quiet for a moment and then finally, she turned to me.
“Sefton and I spoke today,” she said. Immediately, my pulse increased but I tried to keep my breathing under control.
Kate proceeded to tell me how Claire had encouraged Sefton to pursue her.
"She said we were having problems and it wasn’t certain that we’d marry. She said I was unhappy because you worked so much and I felt neglected. She said that the relationship was shaky and that he should be there for me in case we broke up.”
"What?" I said and put my fork down. "I can’t believe she'd do that."
"She did, or else Sefton is lying,” Kate said. “But considering what you heard from the nurse at the hospital, I believe him. He's probably embellishing, but I think she hoped that Sefton would get in between you and me."
I took a long drink from my glass of wine. "I wonder if I shouldn’t have a little talk with her the next time I see her."
She reached out and took my hand. "No, don't," she said, her voice soft. "I don't want any hard feelings between you and Michael. It's best you let this die a natural death. We still have to go on safari with them."
"How can we even socialize with Claire after this?" I asked, shaking my head.
She squeezed my hand. "We don't have to invite them over, and I'm sure Claire won't be inviting us over anytime soon. Let's just let this go."
I nodded, but I would have preferred to confront Claire. Still, Kate was right. Claire wasn’t likely to invite us over any time soon.
Still, it made me so angry that someone could be so manipulative. Claire encouraged Sam to return, and then she encouraged Sefton to purse Kate.
She lied to them both about us.
I sighed and pushed the thought out of my head and tried to enjoy my meal with Kate.
It was the least that I owed her, now that I had time to spend with her.
Claire was not going to ruin things.
In the end, I didn’t have to confront Claire because Kate did it for me. One evening when we were lying on the couch watching television, Kate related a conversation with Claire, word for word. I listened and my heart rate sped up, but I took in several deep breaths.
"How did she seem?" I said, stroking Kate’s hair. "I wonder if she'll say anything to Michael."
"She seemed insulted that I would suggest she might get in between you and Michael. Let's hope that shuts her up."
I sighed and kissed her forehead. "I've had my fill of interfering friends. When we go back to Manhattan, I want us to marry right away so we can end any speculation about our relationship – with anyone."
"Will we invite Michael and Claire?"
"Of course. I want to invite Michael. Claire can come if she wants, but I have a feeling she'll be unable to."
"I'm sorry," Kate said, her voice sad. "I wish things could have been different between the four of us."
I hugged her more tightly. "We have each other," I said and ran my hand down her back. "We love each other. Madly. Deeply. In the end, that's all that matters to me."
"Madly," she said, echoing my words, tears springing to her eyes. "Deeply."
I pulled her against my body, needing her touch, her kiss. Soon, my anger at meddling friends and colleagues faded into nothingness. I was happier than I had ever been in my life, as I basked in the warmth of Kate's love.