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Chapter or Story
Disclaimer is that I don't own them other than Caitrin Parker, she is mine and mine alone, this started as an excerise to clear cobwebs out of my head to work on my other stories and here's what evolved. . . . there are character deaths and some spoilers in this part twisted to fit my personal taste . . . . . I have to thank Niceole for saving my behind . . . . my husband was cleaning out the mailbox last night and he threw out my story. .
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Memories Of Long Ago
part 2
by Trish
I dug in my handbag for my cell phone and called Broots. When he arrived, there was a reproachful expression on his face, one that I knew so well that sometimes I wondered way I tolerated it. I knew why, because my mother did.
"Wipe that expression off your face, Broots. I'm fine, no need to alarm yourself. It was a long flight and I had not eaten since I left Heathrow. Now to the matter at hand, the whereabouts of the sweeper known as Sam."
"He's living at Greenbriar Estates," he said as he cleared his throat, that look still upon his brow.
Having discovered the whereabouts of Sam, I made arrangements to meet him.
He had a small cottage in the middle of Greenbriar that looked out over the duck pond. Broots, at my request, accompanied me as far as the door. I wanted this to be informal and when he answered the door, his expression changed rapidly from shock to pure joy.
"Sam? I am Caitrin Parker, the daughter of Miss Parker, who you used to work with at the Centre. From what I understand you knew my father, as well as the other members of my family."
The statement, was wordy, but it was intended to put him at ease and erase the bewilderment that crossed his face, and it vanished the moment I mentioned my mother's name. His face all smiles as he asked me into the house, Broots declined the invitation and told me to call him when I was ready to return to the cottage.
Sam offered me a seat in one of the chairs that sat in front of the large bay window. He took residence in the other.
"My god, the resemblence is uncanny, but I suppose you have heard that as often as your mother did in her lifetime. My condolences on your mother's passing. She was a good woman, your mother. If it wasn't for her, I would have nothing to show for years of loyalty to a place that didn't deserve it."
"Excuse me, sir," his statement startling me.
"She arranged for me to leave the Centre. Alive, I might add. Something rarely done. I live comfortably, thanks in part to a trust fund she established for me and my family. However, my life's story is not why you are here, is it, Caitrin?"
I shook my head and grasped the arms of the chair, then settled into it.
" She sent me on a quest, a quest to discover the truth about my father and the relationship that the two shared."
"It's a strange and long story. I am only a part of it. There are others that could help you, such as Broots, Sydney and Angelo. There is also your cousin."
"Cousin?" I leaned forward with excitement." Mother always lead me to believe that all of her family had passed on."
" Not true, Jarod wanted her to believe that. He sacificed his freedom for her's, at the time, I never knew why. . . but seeing you, it becomes clear.
You may look like the Miss Parker I knew, but you are also his daughter, as well."
"Thank you, " I said softly. A candid opinion that didn't come attached with any strings regarding my father. " This cousin of mine that you mentioned. . ."
"Your uncle's boy."
"Mother's brother, Lyle. She had made mention of him only briefly and that was when Sydney had informed her of his death. How he died I don't have a clue? I was around three, I think. I didn't know he married. Mother would have said something about a child."
"Your mother was lead to believe that Lyle's son was her brother," Sam said, taking hold of my hands.
"The little boy that she regretted leaving behind," I murmured," I would catch her crying, every first week of May. When she saw me, she would wipe away the tears and tell me that they were caused by memories of long ago."
"It was Jarod. Four months after coming back to the Centre, he learned the truth and smuggled the boy out. I saw to it with Sydney's help that he found a good home. He comes to see me, he's a good man. Married with two children."
"She was told that the little boy died, complications of a ruptured appendix, he was just four years old."
"Yes, it was Jarod's way of getting the boy out of the hell he was living in. Jarod swore that no one would tell Miss Parker. She never knew that he was her nephew and not her brother."
"The family that raised him, it was a good one?" my mind reflecting upon my childhood, one that I would have gladly shared," She would have taken him in a heartbeat."
"I know that now, but your father did it the way he did, so that no one at the Centre was allowed to believe that your mother or the boy was still alive. Only five of us knew." I knew the five that he referred to----Sydney,
Broots, Angelo, the man sitting with me and my father.
He sighed deeply and gazed out the bay window. I looked at him and a feeling of delicious anticipation swept over me. Part of my quest was to be filled with revelations that not even my mother expected.
I was amazed that he seemed so inclined to trust and confide in me. Maybe it was because he was reminded of my mother, or he felt the need to unburden himself of a story every bit as remarkable as my mother and father.
"I remember the day that your mother brought him back to the Centre," Sam said, settling back in to the armchair. " What a day it was; everyone from sweepers to the Chairman was there because it was something that no one ever believed they would see."
"She waltzed in, the pretender in handcuffs; demanded her freedom, just like that," he snapped his fingers,"She didn't even wait for the Chairman to okay it, she just waltzed back out, never looking back." He looked at me with pain-filled eyes, "Sorry."
"It's all right, Sam," this time it was my hand the took hold of his, his eyes taking in the square silver ring on my left hand, my mother's," Please continue."
"I tell you, Caitrin, my blood froze in me when I heard those words escape her lips, yet there was this strange almost triumphant look upon the pretender's face as he stood there in the middle of all this. It was Sydney that took it hardest, he stood there in the shadows and the life seemed to have gone out of him and, instead of the invincible doctor there was an old man standing there. She was so cold, none of us were prepared for that. Then word of the crash and her death nearly shocked the Centre to its foundation.
The only one that seemed to celebrate your mother's death was Lyle. He saw it as his chance to shine but your grandfather pushed him farther away, he never was the same after your mother's supposed death. It was the death of the boy that did him in. He just seemed to grow older in front of us. That was the beginning of the end of the Centre that I knew. Raines tried to wrest control from the old man but Mr. Cox proved more powerful. Raines lost, and Lyle switched sides so many times even the sweepers lost count."
"My father?" I asked with held breath.
"He continued to work with Sydney and minded his own business. Then the holidays rolled around and Sydney went away for a convention in Switzerland for three weeks. I was left to watch over your father, I even offered to help him escape. He wouldn't hear of it. Murmured something about staying put until Sydney returned. For three whole weeks, he paced up and down in the SIM lab like an expectant father. Little did I know, that was one secret they keep from me. When Sydney returned, Jarod was upon him and he didn't have a moments peace. I couldn't understand what was so exciting about a convention of shrinks."
His eyes twinkled with warmth and a small laugh left his throat as he informed that my father did celebrate my birth, granted after the fact. I was a New Year's baby. Mother and I celebrated our birthdays together, her's being on the third.
Night was starting to settle upon us when I rose reluctantly from my chair, and said my goodbyes. I knew that if I lingered any longer that Broots would start to worry. Once a mother hen always a mother hen.
Sam made me promise to return once my quest was completed. I agreed and left the old man content and what seemed happier than he'd been in a long time. Perhaps his soul had been purged of the demons that plagued him. Again, I agreed to return and meet this cousin of mine. Mikhael Stamatis.
Feedback please : Ractrish@aol.com
. . Feedback please not that it matters . . .
part 2
by Trish
I dug in my handbag for my cell phone and called Broots. When he arrived, there was a reproachful expression on his face, one that I knew so well that sometimes I wondered way I tolerated it. I knew why, because my mother did.
"Wipe that expression off your face, Broots. I'm fine, no need to alarm yourself. It was a long flight and I had not eaten since I left Heathrow. Now to the matter at hand, the whereabouts of the sweeper known as Sam."
"He's living at Greenbriar Estates," he said as he cleared his throat, that look still upon his brow.
Having discovered the whereabouts of Sam, I made arrangements to meet him.
He had a small cottage in the middle of Greenbriar that looked out over the duck pond. Broots, at my request, accompanied me as far as the door. I wanted this to be informal and when he answered the door, his expression changed rapidly from shock to pure joy.
"Sam? I am Caitrin Parker, the daughter of Miss Parker, who you used to work with at the Centre. From what I understand you knew my father, as well as the other members of my family."
The statement, was wordy, but it was intended to put him at ease and erase the bewilderment that crossed his face, and it vanished the moment I mentioned my mother's name. His face all smiles as he asked me into the house, Broots declined the invitation and told me to call him when I was ready to return to the cottage.
Sam offered me a seat in one of the chairs that sat in front of the large bay window. He took residence in the other.
"My god, the resemblence is uncanny, but I suppose you have heard that as often as your mother did in her lifetime. My condolences on your mother's passing. She was a good woman, your mother. If it wasn't for her, I would have nothing to show for years of loyalty to a place that didn't deserve it."
"Excuse me, sir," his statement startling me.
"She arranged for me to leave the Centre. Alive, I might add. Something rarely done. I live comfortably, thanks in part to a trust fund she established for me and my family. However, my life's story is not why you are here, is it, Caitrin?"
I shook my head and grasped the arms of the chair, then settled into it.
" She sent me on a quest, a quest to discover the truth about my father and the relationship that the two shared."
"It's a strange and long story. I am only a part of it. There are others that could help you, such as Broots, Sydney and Angelo. There is also your cousin."
"Cousin?" I leaned forward with excitement." Mother always lead me to believe that all of her family had passed on."
" Not true, Jarod wanted her to believe that. He sacificed his freedom for her's, at the time, I never knew why. . . but seeing you, it becomes clear.
You may look like the Miss Parker I knew, but you are also his daughter, as well."
"Thank you, " I said softly. A candid opinion that didn't come attached with any strings regarding my father. " This cousin of mine that you mentioned. . ."
"Your uncle's boy."
"Mother's brother, Lyle. She had made mention of him only briefly and that was when Sydney had informed her of his death. How he died I don't have a clue? I was around three, I think. I didn't know he married. Mother would have said something about a child."
"Your mother was lead to believe that Lyle's son was her brother," Sam said, taking hold of my hands.
"The little boy that she regretted leaving behind," I murmured," I would catch her crying, every first week of May. When she saw me, she would wipe away the tears and tell me that they were caused by memories of long ago."
"It was Jarod. Four months after coming back to the Centre, he learned the truth and smuggled the boy out. I saw to it with Sydney's help that he found a good home. He comes to see me, he's a good man. Married with two children."
"She was told that the little boy died, complications of a ruptured appendix, he was just four years old."
"Yes, it was Jarod's way of getting the boy out of the hell he was living in. Jarod swore that no one would tell Miss Parker. She never knew that he was her nephew and not her brother."
"The family that raised him, it was a good one?" my mind reflecting upon my childhood, one that I would have gladly shared," She would have taken him in a heartbeat."
"I know that now, but your father did it the way he did, so that no one at the Centre was allowed to believe that your mother or the boy was still alive. Only five of us knew." I knew the five that he referred to----Sydney,
Broots, Angelo, the man sitting with me and my father.
He sighed deeply and gazed out the bay window. I looked at him and a feeling of delicious anticipation swept over me. Part of my quest was to be filled with revelations that not even my mother expected.
I was amazed that he seemed so inclined to trust and confide in me. Maybe it was because he was reminded of my mother, or he felt the need to unburden himself of a story every bit as remarkable as my mother and father.
"I remember the day that your mother brought him back to the Centre," Sam said, settling back in to the armchair. " What a day it was; everyone from sweepers to the Chairman was there because it was something that no one ever believed they would see."
"She waltzed in, the pretender in handcuffs; demanded her freedom, just like that," he snapped his fingers,"She didn't even wait for the Chairman to okay it, she just waltzed back out, never looking back." He looked at me with pain-filled eyes, "Sorry."
"It's all right, Sam," this time it was my hand the took hold of his, his eyes taking in the square silver ring on my left hand, my mother's," Please continue."
"I tell you, Caitrin, my blood froze in me when I heard those words escape her lips, yet there was this strange almost triumphant look upon the pretender's face as he stood there in the middle of all this. It was Sydney that took it hardest, he stood there in the shadows and the life seemed to have gone out of him and, instead of the invincible doctor there was an old man standing there. She was so cold, none of us were prepared for that. Then word of the crash and her death nearly shocked the Centre to its foundation.
The only one that seemed to celebrate your mother's death was Lyle. He saw it as his chance to shine but your grandfather pushed him farther away, he never was the same after your mother's supposed death. It was the death of the boy that did him in. He just seemed to grow older in front of us. That was the beginning of the end of the Centre that I knew. Raines tried to wrest control from the old man but Mr. Cox proved more powerful. Raines lost, and Lyle switched sides so many times even the sweepers lost count."
"My father?" I asked with held breath.
"He continued to work with Sydney and minded his own business. Then the holidays rolled around and Sydney went away for a convention in Switzerland for three weeks. I was left to watch over your father, I even offered to help him escape. He wouldn't hear of it. Murmured something about staying put until Sydney returned. For three whole weeks, he paced up and down in the SIM lab like an expectant father. Little did I know, that was one secret they keep from me. When Sydney returned, Jarod was upon him and he didn't have a moments peace. I couldn't understand what was so exciting about a convention of shrinks."
His eyes twinkled with warmth and a small laugh left his throat as he informed that my father did celebrate my birth, granted after the fact. I was a New Year's baby. Mother and I celebrated our birthdays together, her's being on the third.
Night was starting to settle upon us when I rose reluctantly from my chair, and said my goodbyes. I knew that if I lingered any longer that Broots would start to worry. Once a mother hen always a mother hen.
Sam made me promise to return once my quest was completed. I agreed and left the old man content and what seemed happier than he'd been in a long time. Perhaps his soul had been purged of the demons that plagued him. Again, I agreed to return and meet this cousin of mine. Mikhael Stamatis.
Feedback please : Ractrish@aol.com
