The Call Of The City – Episode 49
The Call Of The City by Katharine Swartz
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- 1. The Call Of The City – Episode 49
She had started to walk towards the subway station when a breathless voice behind her halted her.
“Grace!”
She turned around. Lewis jogged up to her, still holding her flowers, red in the face from running.
“Lewis!”
“I’m sorry,” he blurted out.
“Sorry?”
“For everything. These last few weeks…” He sighed. “I’ve been a jerk.”
His words should have made her feel better, but somehow they didn’t. Yes, he’d been a jerk, but why?
“I thought our friendship was more important to you,” she said after a moment. “That’s my fault.”
“No, it’s mine. I got a stupid big head about being chosen for the solo.
“When those second-years took an interest in me I was overwhelmed. I’m sorry.”
“So am I.” Even now, she found she couldn’t let go of her hurt. “I think your new friends are waiting for you.”
“I don’t care about them.”
“Don’t you?” Her voice was bitter.
“No. The truth is, I went with them because…” He paused, and Grace’s heart turned over at the look in his eyes.
“Because?”
“Because I felt you weren’t interested in me the way I was interested in you. At the party at your aunt’s apartment…” He blushed and looked away.
“I’ve regretted that ever since,” Grace whispered. “I wish I’d acted differently, but I didn’t know –”
“How you felt?” Lewis nodded slowly. “I knew it, and that hurt.
“But I shouldn’t have cut you off the way I did. It was stupid and mean.
“I wanted to be more than your friend, Grace, but I want to be your friend even more, even though I know I didn’t act like one myself.”
“Oh, Lewis.” Grace shook her head. “I want to be more than your friend as well. I just haven’t had the courage to say so, especially when it seemed you were dropping me.”
“Do you mean it?” Lewis took a step towards her. “Can you ever forgive me?”
“Yes.” Grace laughed. “I forgive you.”
Lewis took her face in his hands and kissed her.
A cold front had moved in and the big house of Kerry’s childhood was freezing.
She was wearing a cardigan over a fleece as she surveyed the pile of boxes in her old bedroom.
Before she’d left for New York, Meg had asked her to sort out all this memorabilia and junk, so the house could go on the market before Christmas.
Kerry had dreaded the task. It was one more step towards letting go of the house she still felt was home.
She was due in a little less than three months, and her home was with Daniel and her baby in the cluttered, cosy farmhouse she’d learned to love.
Adjusting to marriage had been hard, and motherhood might prove even more of a challenge, but for the first time Kerry felt fully up for both.
Letting go of the past could hurt, as could letting go of a future you’d wanted or hoped for. It was part of growing up.
“How’s it going?” Andrew appeared in the doorway. “Getting loads done?”
“Some,” Kerry answered. “It’s slow work.”
“Yes, it is. I’ve been going through my study and it’s taking ages.”
“How are you feeling about moving, Dad?”
Kerry had taken some time to get used to the news, but hadn’t yet asked how her father felt.
“I resisted at first,” Andrew confessed. “But your mum is a wise woman, and she knew when it was time to move on to the next stage of life. It’s a beginning as much as an end, and life is full of both.”
Kerry rested a hand on her bump.
“That’s how I feel now, but it took some getting used to.”
“Of course it did.”
“Have you heard anything from America?”
Her aunt had gone into surgery hours ago, and Meg had promised to ring as soon as she had news.
Though Kerry didn’t know her aunt well, she felt anxious about the operation.
“Not yet, but I was thinking…”
“Yes?”
“I had an appointment with the GP yesterday, and I’m doing very well recovery-wise.” Her father’s eyes twinkled. “Well enough, in fact, to travel.”
It took Kerry a moment to realise what he meant.
“You mean, you want to go to New York?”
“Why not? And not just me. We could surprise your mum and sister, and we could be all together again.
“I know Grace is coming home at Christmas, but Juliet won’t be able to travel by then, and life feels both precious and fleeting.
“Who knows how many more opportunities there will be to see each other? Why not make the effort?”
Kerry’s mind raced.
“Daniel, too?”
“If he can spare the time.”
In the past she would have been practical, no-nonsense, immediately settling on the reasons it couldn’t be done.
Today Kerry agreed with her father – life was both precious and fleeting, and opportunities needed to be grabbed with both hands.
“Are you sure you’re OK to travel?” she asked, her hands planted on her hips.
“Promise. Shall I book the tickets?”