Zac opened the front door of his house to see Katie standing before him. She looked worried. She wore dark khakis and a jean jacket, and her curly blonde hair was hanging loose around her tired face.
"Come on in." He said. "I'm guessing you got about as much sleep as I did."
"Probabally less. I swear, every little creak and groan I just about had a heart attack thinking Jeramy was outside my window." She said, following him into the kitchen.
"I don't think he'd go that far. Besides, we don't even know it's him."
"Zac, I swear it is. Something isn't right with him. Are you saying that you're changing your story?"
"No, nothing like that." he said, pouring himself a glass of milk. "Do you want something?"
"Nah." She shook her head. She sighed, then shoved her hands into the pockets of her jean jacket. She walked over to the sliding glass door that looked into the backyard. She couldn't help but feel like her every move was being watched.
"It's nice out today." Zac said of the mid March warm spell they were having.
"I guess." She said, shrugging her shoulders.
Zac sighed, and walked over to stand beside her. He leaned on the glass to look her in the eye. "Katie, you're letting this eat you up. I'm worried too, but you're going to worry yourself to death. You're okay as long as you're with people. Just don't do anything stupid. He can't get to you."
"I know. But it's different for you. You're just watching this. It's happening to me." She said.
"I guess." Zac replied, finishing his milk.
"I don't know what to do."
She and Zac were silent for a moment, watching the trees dance in the late afternoon sun. The rays of light danced across the backyard, making it look inviting.
"Wanna go outside?" Zac asked.
Katie laughed. "Why?"
"I dunno. It's nice out."
Katie glanced at the sunlit backyard. "Okay." She said.
"Cool." Zac replied. He set his glass down on the counter and walked out onto the patio. They walked down the steps and they down into the yard. They passed the covered pool, the swingset, and the Hanson's hot tub.
"Gosh, lots of memories here." She said sitting down on the swing that hung from a big oak tree in on corner of the yard.
Zac shoved his hands in his pockets and looked around. "Yup." he agreed.
"I remember on the fourth of July, standing against that tree..." She said, pointing to a tree nearby. "You were trying to explain to me why we couldn't go out."
Zac laughed. "Yeah, I remember that." He glanced around. "Do you remember our leaf mountain?"
"How could I forget? You know, I still have that picture hanging on my wall at home." She said.
"Really?" Zac asked. "Cool."
That fall, they had raked all the leaves in the yard into a huge mound, standing almost four feet tall, and at least twenty feet wide. Katie had spent the day with the Hanson siblings, jumping around in the pile.
"And remember when you almost broke my arm jumping on me in the pool?" Katie said.
"Don't remind me." Zac muttered. He walked behind Katie, who was sitting on the swing, and began pushing her from behind.
"You were so funny." Katie laughed, pumping her legs to go higher.
"I thought you hated me." Zac said in mock disbelief as he pushed her.
"No. Course not." Katie said.
"Coulda fooled me." Zac said. "You had to of hated me. You should have seen some of the looks you gave me."
"Oh come on..."
"If looks could kill...." Zac muttered.
"Right." Katie laughed.
"So you didn't hate me?"
"Well I pretended to." Katie said. She stopped pumping her legs, and enjoyed the view of the Hanson's yard from the height of the swing.
"Why?" Zac asked.
"Because you were a guy. And, according to Nicole, you were 'such a babe'." She said with a giggle.
"Oh fine." Zac said.
"What?" She asked, turning around to glance at him.
"You didn't think I was hot?" He asked.
Katie laughed. "Course I did. But you have to understand, I would have rather died than tell you that."
"Why? I thought you were the most gorgeous thing on God's green earth." Zac said with a laugh. "You coulda saved me a lot of trouble."
The two of them laughed. "I wanna go in the treehouse." Katie said. Zac helped her stop the swing, and the two of the scaled the ladder and went into the wooden shack in the big oak tree.
"I love this place." Katie said.
"I always have." Zac said. He sat back against one of the walls, and katie sat across from him.
"Did you and your brothers build this?"
"Yeah. My dad helped a lot though." Zac admitted.
"Wow. It's awesome." Katie said, looking around the small structure. She sighed and looked back at Zac.
"Good times." She said with a laugh."
"Yeah." Zac agreed.
"Though now...." Katie trailed off.
"Oh, stop it." Zac said. "You worry too much."
"I do not." katie said. She looked out the window, staring at the slowly lowering sun.
"You know, it's almost been a year since we met." Zac said.
"Oh really?" Katie said.
"Yeah. June 6th." Zac said.
"You remembered date and all." Katie said. She turned her head to look at the trees, the small leaves brushing against the side of the wood.
"Kinda an anniversary." He replied.
"Yeah." Katie said. "I know of another anniversary that's less than a month away."
"Cool. What is it?" He asked.
"On April 4, four forty five pm.." She swallowed and looked at her sneakers. "My dad died." She said.
Zac was speechless. Katie had only spoken about her father once, and he only knew that he was a business man.
"Tell me." He said quietly.
Katie looked up, her teary blue eyes meeting his brown ones. "What?"
"Tell me. Tell me what he was like. Tell me what your mom was like. Tell me what your old school, old friends, were like. Tell me what your life was."
"Why?" She asked, her voice just above a whisper.
"Because. I know this Katie. I don't know the Katie that was five years old. I don't know the Katie that had a mom or a dad. I only know you now; before that is an empty void. I want to know. I want to know everything. I don't know so much about you." He said.
Katie blinked, her eyes tearing. "Okay." She said.
"Go ahead. I'm listening." Zac said. He scooted closer to her on the floor. Katie wiped her eyes, took a deep breath, and began.
"My dad was Patrick, and my mom was Diana." She said.
"Like my mom."
"yeah." She nodded, wiping her eyes again. "I lived at 321 West Chatham Street. In a white house, with green shutters. It had a big oak tree in the front. And a little brick sidewalk. My mom would plant gerbera dasies along it every spring."
"That's why those are your favorite." Zac said.
"Yeah." Katie nodded. "And...there were gardens along the fence...and a rop swing. And the house was at the end of the street. It was so beautiful. In the summer, when everything was green, it was the most beautiful thing you'd ever seen. All the flowers. My mom loved Lavender. We had the bushes all over. She would clip some off, and put them on the dinner table at night. That house was so beautiful. Picture perfect, my dad used to say." She said. She looked down at her hands. "I would give anything to see that house again." She murmured.
"It sounds beautiful." Zac said.
"Yeah. It was." She said.
"Tell me about your mom." He said. "Was she like you?"
Katie smiled. "She was....the best mom. I loved her so much. We hardly ever fought, she was so cool. She was a lot less shy than me. She was beautiful. She had green eyes, and blonde, curly hair. She had the brightest smile. I think I remember that the most. That and the way she smelled. She used Dove soap and this purfume; it was French; 'L' Air du Temps'." She sighed. "and she would always tuck everyone in at night. And she watched old, black and white movies on the couch with me and Morgan at night. She loved to bake, and roller blade, and go to the beach. She was a terrible driver." Katie laughed. "She would hit things all the time. And she knew how to unside down french braids the best. And she used to make me soup when I was sick." Katie said.
"She sounds awesome."
"She was." Katie said. "She was so pretty. My dad loved her so much. They had been married almost seventeen years when she died; but I know he still loved her like the day they met. He was so sad when she died." Katie said, her voice just above a whisper. "It wasn't like a grandma or an uncle dying, Zac. It was so unreal. It was the most numbing experience I know I'll ever feel. Just knowing, deep down in your heart, that you'll never be truly happy or whole, and knowing that things will never be the same." She said.
"What about your dad?"
Katie smiled. "My dad was funny. He always had a new joke. He drove a little red convertible around. Was blonde, with blue eyes. He had to work a lot, but he spent a lot of time with us on the weekend. He liked to watch baseball. he used to take me and Krista to baseball games in the summer. He liked to play sports. He was so happy when he heard that Ben was a boy. He could make really good pizza, and he would always take us out for ice cream on Sundays, after church." She continued. "I went to a jr. high about ten blocks from my house. My best friend was Ashley Mullins. We'd been friends since third grade. I used to get all A's. I used to play soccer, and softball. We used to take vacations to florida every summer. We went skiing in January in Wisconsin." She said. "I remember it like it was yesterday."
"Tell me more. What were you like?" He asked.
"Me?" She laughed.
"Yeah. Anything. Tell me anything." He said.
"I was so shy. I still am, but I was even more so then. I liked strawberry ice cream the best. My mom painted flowers on my bedroom wall. I liked to draw. I played checkers will my dad every saturday morning. I read the comics every day over my cereal. I shared a room with Morgan and Sandra." She said. She looked over at him. "How's that?"
"That's great." He said. "Everything before June 6th was a mystery to me before now."
"Oh." She said. Katie felt tired. She looked out the window, and the sun was quickly setting. She had just revisited a place that she hadn't been in almost a year. It was the place that held the scent of Dove soap, a memory of white house with green shutters, a black and white movie, a flower painted on a wall, and the look of seriousness of Carol's face when she told them their father, their last hope, was gone forever.
Katie stood, and walked over to the doorway of the treehouse. She looked over the horizon where the sun was setting. It's light cast a bright orange and pink light over the sky. She leaned on the doorframe. It felt as though a small ounce of the weight that was on her shoulders had been cast off. She heard Zac get up and stand behind her.
"It's beautiful." He said.
"Yeah." Katie agreed. She turned around. "Thanks...for that. I needed to talk about that."
Zac smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind his ear. "Actually, you did most of the talking."
Katie nodded. "Yeah, but it would have never come out if it weren't for you."
"Well in that case, you're welcome." Zac said. He smiled at her, and shoved his hands in his pockets.
Katie studied his face for a few seconds. I can't believe I dumped him. How could I have done such a thing? He's never done anything to hurt me....he never would.
She tucked her hair behind her ears as she watched him. Zac was leaning on the other side of the frame, watching the sunset.
She couldn't controll it. "Zac?" She said.
"Hmmm?" He looked at her.
Katie leaned closer to him, and bit her lip.
She's not going to...she's getting closer...oh gosh....she's finally going to kiss me....
She pressed her lips against his, and held them there for a second, then pulled away slightly. It was Zac's turn to be bold. A few seconds later, he stood up from against the frame, and connected his lips with hers again. It felt too good to him. Their earlier tentative pecks lately hadn't been enough for him.
He stepped close to her, as close as their bodies would allow. His hands found her waist. They ran from her waist up her arms, then to her shoulders, up to her hair, and then to her cheeks. Her mouth opened more, inviting and inticing him. Mid-kiss, he opened his eyes slightly to look at her face. Her eyes were closed, and she had a dreamy look on her face.
They finally broke apart, ending with a few short kisses. Zac kept his forhead pressed against hers, and his hands on her cheeks. They both panted to catch their breath.
"That felt so good." She said.
"That felt so right." He said.
"It was right."
"We're right." Zac replied, looking into her eyes.
"Zac..."
"Come on Katie. We're perfect. This is perfect." he said, moving his head down to rest on her shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her waist.
"I don't know." She said.
Zac sighed, his breath tickling her neck. She smiled.
Zac moved his head to nuzzle behind her ear. "I want to be with you so bad. I want to be yours again. I want to make it official." He said.
"Zac, I don't know. Can I think about it?" She asked.
Zac sighed, and lifted his head. "Think about it all you want." He said. "Because I have a feeling we'll have that long."