Chapter 92: Is She Upset?
Victoria walked into the room and noticed Keith and Cathryn on the bed. Taken by surprise, she said, "Hello Keith, I wasn't expecting to see you here."
Flustered, Cathryn didn't know how to respond. She stared at her mother, silent for several seconds. Cathryn wondered what she was thinking, 'Is she upset?'
Cathryn didn't think so, but with her mother, it was always hard to tell. What she suddenly understood was that it didn't matter. Cathryn had no control over her mother's reactions and expectations. "He came to talk to the doctors," Cathryn finally explained.
Victoria stood there. No expression on her face. Victoria bent her head as if she was deep in thought. Her face relaxed into a contented smile. "Thank you, Mr. Clarkson, for being so kind to us these past few weeks."
Keith was surprised and overwhelmed, knowing he had earned her respect. He nodded and said, "I was glad to help."
Cathryn watched her mother as she glared at Keith. The way Victoria looked at him made Cathryn feel uncomfortable. Cathryn took Keith's arm in hers and said, "We'll be back in a while. We are going out for something to eat." Cathryn never waited for her mother to respond. They turned around and left.
Keith and Cathryn walked arm in arm through the long corridors of the hospital. The sun has been shining obscenely and unreservedly. The light from the sun threw their elongated shadow on the walls. Cathryn adored Keith. She looked up at him as he spoke. Mesmerized by the rich sound of his voice. "I have to go back to Douglas City after breakfast."
Seconds, maybe minutes, went by before Cathryn responded, "You're leaving so soon?"
There was a tone of disappointment in her voice, "I'm sorry if I sound ungrateful. I know how busy you are."
"That's not being ungrateful. At least I know I may have been aaaa....maybe missed?" Keith asked.
Cathryn nudged his arm and said, "Okay, a little."
"I forgot to tell you. I brought you something." Keith stood there waiting for Cathryn's reply.
"You do too much for me..." Cathryn was in the car, and Keith pointed to the back seat. There was a bag of delicious snacks.
"Where did you get those," she asked.
"Every time I go on a business trip. I always stop and pick out something new for you to try. I think I might have overdone it this time," Keith smiled.
After they finished eating, Keith left, and Cathryn went back to the hospital. She walked into her grandmother's room with a bag full of food.
"What do we have here?" Cathryn's grandma asked.
"Compliments of Mr. Clarkson," Cathryn said and turned to look at her mother's reaction, "Mom, I thought you had to leave." She put down the bag, and with a curious look on her face, she said, "Didn't you say you had a lecture this morning? I can stay with grandma."
Victoria nodded and said, "Yes, every Tuesday morning, I have a class. I only came over to bring you breakfast. I will see you two later," Victoria grabbed her bag and left. She waited outside for a taxi and decided she would go home first.
When she got home, Victoria stood at the bottom of the steps and glanced at Cathryn's room. She pushed the door open and entered. Cathryn's room was always kept neat and clean. For years the room remained untouched.
The second Victoria went into Cathryn's room, she felt a sense of loss. "Cathryn has been at the hospital since her arrival in Jonathan City and hasn't come yet," she said.
Every morning before Clement left for work, he would open the window to let the air flow through the room. When he returned in the evening, he would close it. This was a daily ritual that was started after Cathryn left for college.
Victoria wasn't a woman who expressed her feelings, but she loved her daughter with all her heart. 'My beautiful little girl lived in this room from the time she was born until the time she left for college.' The memories of Cathryn's childhood came flooding back.
Every day, Victoria would come into the room because it made her feel closer to Cathryn. She would straighten up the books on the shelves, dust and once a week, she would change the bedding. She walked over to the bed and sat down. The warm breeze blew through her hair. Victoria crouched down and took a box out from underneath the bed. This is Cathryn's treasure box. She opened it. There were love letters and little trinkets and all sorts of girlish things in it.
"This was about the age when Cathryn started dating and having crushes on boys," Victoria felt some regret. She never had the mother and daughter talk with Cathryn. The years went by, and the distance between them grew.
Although they were a close family, Cathryn and Victoria had never been on the same page and rarely ever seen eye to eye. Victoria didn't look at the letters, but as she was putting away the book, she noticed Cathryn's old phone. She took it out and examined it. "This is Cathryn's. She said it wasn't working anymore. Cathryn told me to take the memory card out of this one if I needed it."
Victoria took it out and thought about it. Realizing she would never use it, Victoria started to put it back. Her finger slipped and hit the power button on the phone. The screen lit up for a moment and flashed a low-battery warning.
Victoria took the charger out of the box and plugged it in. She noticed an album folder and touched it lightly with her finger. It quickly opened up. There was only one photo in it. A strange look appeared on her face. Victoria turned the picture this way and that and looked at it from every side. She found herself pondering the question, "Where are they, and what are they holding in their hands." Victoria flicked buttons, zooming and expanding on the image. "They're at the courthouse, and it's a marriage certificate with Cathryn and Jordan's names on it." She shook her head and focused on the words. "It's nearly a year old?" said Victoria in a loud voice.
Jordan has dressed in a dark suit, and every strand of hair was in place. Cathryn was wearing a beautiful dress, and her hair was tied up with a white ribbon in it. Cathryn leaned toward Jordan, looking so happy, but Jordan's eyes looked so dark and cold.
Victoria wondered, 'Is this a scene from one of her films?' She examined the picture again. She didn't know what it meant, but all Victoria knew was she couldn't take it any longer. She turned off the phone and soon saw her own reflection on the screen. She sighed and took a deep breath. "What is this, and why didn't Cathryn tell me about it?" her voice echoed in the room. It became clear in her mind that they were married, but the question remained. 'Are they still married?'
Victoria remembered seeing the news last year on New Year's Day. It made headlines around the world. Spreading like wildfire. Jordan Riggs proposed to Athena Green. With her mind racing from all that was happening, Victoria was trying to figure things out.
"What about my baby girl? What has happened to Cathryn?" A tear streamed down her cheek. She began to shiver, and something flashed in her mind. "The Alert," she said through clenched teeth.