| gg |
Since Catherine knew right where she wanted to go, she directed Vincent to the Sand Bar. And as their boat began to scrape bottom, they both hopped out on the mini island, and dropped the anchor.
As Catherine looked about, she excitedly said, "Oh look at this beautiful shell Vincent! The colors are almost translucent! We have to take some back for everyone!"
And so together they found some spectacular shells and stones for the others, and for themselves too.
Thinking they had gathered more than enough, Catherine asked, “Swim with me Vincent?"
To which he happily said, "Of course Catherine."
So as they swam and swam, they really had a wonderful time diving under the still waters, spotting fish and more shells, until after a time, Catherine wanted to rest. And so she happily watched Vincent swim. And when he finally emerged from the water, he looked like the Water god Poseidon, of whom Vincent said he always imagined he was when he swam as a boy.
And because he looked so happy, Catherine smiled, as she offered, “Here, sit in front of me Vincent, I want to loosen the tangles from your hair."
So there they sat on their own little island, with Catherine happily combing through his hair with her fingers, and Vincent feeling as though he was in Heaven.
And so they whiled their time away, swimming, lazing and sunning, until Vincent surveyed the sun, mentioning it must be well past the noon hour.
Turning toward Catherine, Vincent regrettably said, "We should go back to the cabin, and see how the others are doing."
And though Catherine was in agreement, she lamented, "I hate to leave our spot, but we have our beautiful shells, and stones to commemorate this day."
As Vincent wiped away a loan tear from Catherine's cheek, he said, "And our memories Catherine...I will never forget our time here..."
So they gathered their belongings, and began to row back to the cabin, and as they neared, they smiled at all the activity. Pascal, Jamie, and Mouse were out on the raft again, playing water tag. On shore, Jacob was talking with Peter, while he was prepping the grill.
As they passed by the raft, Mouse yelled for Vincent to come and swim with him, Vincent hesitated, saying he should help with the boat, which caused Catherine, to say, “Go on ahead Vincent! I’ll be fine; I have docked this boat a million times.”
So after receiving all the encouragement he needed, Vincent dove into the water to join the others!
Docking the boat Catherine hopped out, and as she looked back, she loved seeing Vincent clowning around with his tunnel pals on the raft.
Approaching Jacob and Peter, Catherine asked, “What can I do to help?"
Peter smiled and suggested, “Check on Mary, we’re good here kiddo.”
Stopping, Catherine had to ask, "Were the wildflowers as beautiful as Peter promised Father?"
To which Jacob replied, "Oh my yes, even more so. We saw some Queen Ann's Lace, Daisies, Columbine, Day Lilly, Tiger Lilly, and Wild Sweet Peas! Ah, the list goes on. I wish you could have seen Mary, she enjoyed it so. In truth, so did I!"
To which Peter chided, "Maybe it was the company that made it so enjoyable and not the flowers!"
Jacob smiled and looked down saying, "Well, perhaps being in good company did have something to do with it."
As he smiled at his old friend, Peter asked, "Now that didn't hurt too badly to admit, now did it?"
With a stunned look, Jacob animatedly said, "As a matter of fact, YES it did!"
The three of them stood, sharing a laugh, before Catherine went in to help Mary.
Meanwhile, the swimmers all came in from the raft, and as Mouse walked up, he hopefully asked, “Lunchtime?"
To which Peter said, "Just about. You guys must be hungry from all that swimming you did today."
And Jacob, feeling quite impressed by their swimming skills, marveled, “I had no idea you could all swim as you do! Good job, good job to you all!”
With a tip of his head, Vincent offered, "You must come with us to the mirror pool next time Father...perhaps you too could hone YOUR aquatic skills!"
With a bit of a spark, Jacob replied, "Perhaps I will Vincent!"
And then with a thoughfullness, Jacob suggested, what he thought would be another innovative change to their tunnel regime...and so he excitedly said, "Vincent...upon our return, how about giving Swim Lessons to the children!"
And because the children have been sneaking off swimming already, Mouse laughed as he squealed on them, saying, "They already swim like fishes!"
As Jacob scanned the rest of the group before him, Vincent, Jamie and Pascal, he could tell perhaps his Swim Lesson idea was NOT cutting edge! And so he groused, "I am learning alot this Holiday, I am learning I am quite often the LAST to know ANYTHING! Please do try to keep me better informed on the Tunnel's activities would you all...PLEASE!"
Everyone of course said they would, but knew, sometimes Jacob is much better off NOT knowing EVERYTHING that goes on! Oh if he only knew!
Meantime, Mary and Catherine, brought out the burgers that needed grilling, along with the potato salad, baked beans, condiments, and even a fruit salad, which was made with some of the fruit as well.
So as Catherine set everything out, she glanced over at Vincent, who was standing, talking with the others. She loved to see him enjoying himself as he was.
And she loved being able to observe him when he wasn't aware, but then pondered, maybe he was always aware, and was only indulging her, by acting nonchalantly, “Oh my.” she thought, “Could that be the case?”
Ah yes, this bond between them was a gift Vincent could not ignore or deny, and at times admitting, it definitely had its advantages! And because just now, he did sense her thoughts, he looked back, to return her gaze. Even though Catherine expected he may look, it still took her by surprise. Maybe it was because he looked so exquisite, with his hair blowing in the warm breeze, and his blue eyes glimmering, that he managed to take her breath away.
Without ever breaking eye contact with her, he excused himself from the others. Catherine could not help but smile as he walked toward her. She loved his slow graceful movements, and was in awe at Vincent's nature. A nature which permitted him not to reciprocate a smile with a smile, but rather with a deep penetrating gaze. It was as if he was searching her heart. Ahhh, and in his search, she was not afraid of what he would discover, he would discover, complete and total devotion there.
As he took the other end of the table cloth to help her set the table, he noted, "Catherine? Are you aware you are smiling?"
With a self consciousness, Catherine answered, "I know I am! I can't stop, I am just so happy."
As Vincent glanced about, he marveled, "I know...I am as well...Catherine it is this place, everything here is so intoxicating. I'll carry these memories with me always."
With care, she replied, "So will I, Vincent, so will I."
Just then Mouse came up with his raccoon, urgently announcing, "Rocky hungry, he wants lunch too."
To which Catherine replied, “I think I have the perfect meal for him." She then spooned a generous portion of the mixed fruit and offered the bowl so Mouse could feed his friend.
Mouse looked very pleased as he took the bowl, and said, "Rocky will like this Catherine."
As they watched Mouse leave with Rocky, Catherine smiled up at Vincent, and shared, “I know Mouse has a mischievous side, but I think he has the sweetest spirit. The simple way he views life, is a lesson to us all.”
In reply, Vincent thankfully said, “Mouse is very special to us, and the way you treat him so kindly, reveals your sweet spirit as well Catherine.”
Humbly, Catherine answered him with a smile, appreciating he viewed her in such a kind way.
Meanwhile, Peter announced lunch was ready, and Jacob walked over to watch as he took the burgers off the grill.
Noticing Jacob’s eagle-eye interest, Peter asked, "Is anything wrong?"
With his hands behind his back, and a raised brow, he replied, "No, no, probably not! Just wanting to make sure you cooked the food through properly this time."
To which Peter replied, "Yes, let's make sure, because this time if any additional cooking is required, you will be doing it my friend!"
In reply, as Jacob looked at Peter through the top of his spectacles, he said, “Don’t get excited, I am merely checking.”
As everyone began to sit down at the table, Jacob saw there was once again, an empty seat next to Mary, and happily thought, “Yes! This time I will not defer.”
Meanwhile, Peter saw what Jacob’s intentions were, and so he tried to beat him to the coveted seat again. So as they both approached the seat from opposite directions, they met face to face, and as the stare down intensified, just that quickly it softened, and they both laughed, knowing they were tweaking one another. Peter then gestured to the seat, and said, "Be my guest!"
Meanwhile, Mary, who was unaware of what took place behind her, said to Jacob, "There you are. I was saving a spot for you."
To which Jacob graciously replied, “How nice, I have noticed a good seat is hard to get around here.”
Then, unfortunately, just as Jacob was about to sit down, Rocky jumped up onto his chair, causing Jacob to screech, "AHHH, what in Heaven's name!"
Everyone started laughing once they realized what the commotion was all about, everyone that is except Mouse, who pouted as he rescued his pal, saying, "Father, be more careful, you almost squished Rocky!"
To which Jacob defended himself, saying, "I assure you it was not my intention to sit on Rocky! Oh never mind, let's just eat!"
As everything settled down, the talk around the table turned to plans for heading back home to New York. It was decided while Mary and Jamie would do the dishes, Catherine would launder the bedding, and the rest would make sure the boat and other items were put away, as well as load the van.
Firstly, Catherine went in take off the bedding from Vincent’s bed, and as she looked around her father's room, she saw a picture of herself, and it was from when she had attended her first prom. In the picture, she had on a long formal, with her hair swept up in a cascading petal hairdo, and proudly standing beside her hot date!
Meanwhile, Vincent stepped in, and thoughtfully asked, “May I help?”
Embarrassed by the fact this photo was in the room where Vincent slept, she quickly turned it over, and awkwardly said, "Oh Vincent, I wish I would have known this picture was sitting in here!"
Vincent turned the picture back over, and kindly said, "This photo has given me many moments of pleasure, please don't be embarrassed." As he looked at the young teenage boy who was standing beside her, he saw he had on a light blue tuxedo, smiling a huge metal filled smile. He had a bandage covering something on the end of his nose, most likely a pimple! And if Vincent looked closely enough, he could see a lucky happenstance of a growth, pretending to be a mustache! The Afro type hairstyle was so large that in the photo, Catherine had to almost peak around it. The young man's “look” was topped off with a cool pair of "Black rimmed Glasses"! And so in a soft amused tone, Vincent reiterated, "Yes, many moments of pleasure to be sure."
Not noticing his amusement, Catherine replied, “Well you are being kind, I just hope you don’t think I left the picture here to make you jealous, or anything like that.”
Vincent tried to stifle a burgeoning smile, as he honestly said, "Leaving this picture here to make me jealous had never crossed my mind!"
As Catherine gathered the bedding, in reply, she said, "Well good. I am glad you know I wouldn’t do something like that. Well, I better go start the laundry." And with that said, she started down the hall to the laundry room.
Meanwhile, Vincent picked up the photo once more, and as the sweet site of an adolescent Catherine touched him, along with her pubescent beau, he unintentionally let go of a soft amused chortle.
Stopping in her tracks, Catherine could have sworn she heard laughter coming from Vincent's room. Realizing it must have been her imagination, she reasoned, “What would Vincent have to laugh about?”
Catherine then threw the sheets into the washer, and as she stepped back, she looked up at the picture on the wall. It was of her and her Mother, holding hands, walking down the beach at sunset. Catherine smiled to herself, as she stepped up to examine how pudgy she had been as a three-year-old child, and
of how beautiful her Mother was.
This picture was her father's pride and joy, and a true treasure for Catherine as well. She felt so blessed to have two loving parents as she had, and though Charles always teased her that it was her Mother who doted and spoiled her, she truthfully knew, they both did!
As Catherine refocused, she could see her own reflection looking back at herself in the glare of the glass. She realized how sad she looked, and wondered, was she sad for the loss of her Mother or was it for another reason.
Her sadness seemed to reach something deeper still. Then she realized her sadness was not for herself, but for Vincent.
She knew Vincent would never have a picture like this of himself with his Mother, or know what it felt like to be loved by such a doting devoted Mother like the one she had.
Once again, Catherine thought of his birth, and wondered how his Mother could have left him out in the cold like that? How couldn't she have known how special Vincent was, and just love him for being who he was? Catherine's anger flared for this woman, and as the tears welled up in her eyes, she realized she needed to shed these thoughts, before Vincent sensed her melancholy.
Just then as Catherine reached for a pillowcase to fold, she heard Vincent question, "Catherine?"
Putting on a happy face, she turned toward him, and said, "Hi Vincent. I am almost finished here. How is everyone else doing?"
Because Vincent knew something was wrong, he dismissed the lighthearted comment, and asked, "What is it Catherine?"
After saying it was nothing, Catherine couldn't help it! She started crying the tears she'd tried to hold in.
And so sweetly, Vincent comforted her by saying, “Ahh Catherine, you may have your private reasons to cry, you don't have to tell me, however as you always advise, it may make you feel better if you talk about it."
Catherine loved him so much for saying that. She normally wanted to talk everything through, even when things were not tangible enough to touch. But this time, she did not want to make Vincent sad by telling him what plagued her. So in his arms she stayed, but somewhere deep inside she felt he knew the reason for her tears, for as she looked up at him, he too had a single tear glistening.
So in an effort to share her thoughts, she said, "I don't know what happened, I was looking at the picture of me and my Mother and then...I became angry...angry at your Mother for leaving you..."
Soothing her hair, he held her tenderly, as he understood, and inserted, "Catherine, although it may seem impossible, we must find a way to search our hearts, and forgive her."
As Catherine looked up at him, she asked, "Have you Vincent? Have you been truly able to forgive her?"
As a tear slipped down his cheek, he searched for a truthful answer, and when he felt, and knew what his truth was, he softly said, "Yes Catherine, I have."
Tearfully, Catherine asked, "How? How have you been able to forgive someone who hasn't asked for it, or hasn't tried to make up for what she did?"
To which Vincent thoughtfully revealed, "Because...because she is my Mother...and through the years...I have felt her lonesome cries speaking to my heart. I know my Mother must have been confused, frightened, and overwhelmed by my birth. And I realize she wasn't well, or she never could have left me.”
With a far away look, Vincent added, "I imagine too, she may have been alone in the world, and aloneness does things to the heart and spirit, confusing the mind, leaving one pitifully broken. Once I was able to understand these probabilites, my feelings of isolation turned into compassion, and I was able to forgive her. And I will always host an ache deep in my soul for my Mother. So Catherine, for your sake I want you to forgive my Mother too."
In reply, Catherine said, "The fact you forgave your Mother proves what kind of man you are, a kind, good man, and I know it is a tremendous example of what I must do too... "
So as a calm settled on her heart, Catherine said, "Because of all you have told me...I can understand what your Mother may have went through now, and I realize because of her, you are here with me now, and for that reason alone, I can forgive her too..."
Catherine then shared, "I've wanted to talk to you about these feelings for a long time..."
Vincent stood holding his Catherine, feeling so thankful for this loving woman in his life, and both feeling closer than they ever had to each other, by sharing these heart-wrenching issues, which touched both of their hearts so deeply.
And so Vincent then looked up at the picture of Catherine and her Mother, and in wanting to lightened the mood, he noted, "Catherine, you were quite the chubby little cherub, weren't you?"
Smiling up at him, through her tears, she agreed, saying, “I truly was, wasn’t I?”
So now, instead of feeling sadness when looking at a photo of little Catherine, with a smile in his eyes, Vincent heartfully noted, "And beautiful...you were a trully beautiful little girl..."
Just then, Pascal called for Vincent to help them put the boat away, and so looking at Catherine, Vincent asked, "Shall I stay with you a while longer?"
With a motion to her pile of bedding which still needed folding, she teased, "If you do, I fear I won't get my chores done. You go ahead and help Pascal. I am fine now Vincent..."
Pleased to see the light back in Catherine's eyes, he promised to come back to assist her as well, and left to help Pascal.
Well it wasn't a moment later when Mouse ran up to Catherine, frantically telling her Rocky was missing! He then worriedly added, “Rocky heard Father say he couldn’t come with me, so maybe he ran away.”
As Catherine put the laundry down, she assuredly she told him, "We’ll find him Mouse, don’t worry, let's look outside."
As they circled the cabin, Mouse noticed the double doors to the storm shelter, and asked, "Rocky in there, Catherine?"
To which she answered, "That is a great hiding place, but believe me, there would be no way for him to lift those doors. A human would have to do it."
Catherine then suggested, “Why don’t you check the back yard, and I will check inside the cabin.”
Feeling hopeful, Mouse said, "Ok good. Ok fine, when we find him, I won’t loose him again."
So as Catherine searched the cabin, Jacob came in, and asked, "Catherine, have you seen Mouse?"
To which Catherine clarified, asking, "Father, did you mean to say Mouse or Rocky?"
“Mouse!” Said Jacob, and then asked, “Why? Is Rocky missing too?”
So after Catherine explained the whole scenerio, Jacob worriedly surmised, “Oh my...my fear is Mouse found him, and is willing to stay behind with his new furry pal, and is most likely hiding someplace..."
Thinking Jacob is probably right, Catherine then thought about a place Mouse might be, and so she said, "Father, Mouse and I went by the cabin's storm shelter earlier when we first started looking for Rocky. So Mouse knows where it is, and that it would be a great place to hide."
With hope, Jacob said, "Take me there Catherine...we must look there first."
So as they went outside, they alerted the others to the situation, asking Vincent for his help. So as he lifted the awkward, heavy doors to the shelter, Catherine reached in, to pull the string to the single bulb, which dangled at the entrance for light, and said, “Mouse, Rocky are you here? We're all worried about you."
And though Mouse stayed quiet, Catherine could see two sets of eyes looking back at her, and so with a sigh of relief, she turned to Vincent and Jacob, to say, "He's here."
With a tone of relief, Jacob, took over, and called out to Mouse, "You must come out, please Mouse, we know you are in here."
So finally, after a moment or two, Mouse defiantly answered, "No! Won't come out! Stay to take care of Rocky."
Happy, to have a little dialogue started, Jacob then said to Mouse, “Please come out, it is difficult to talk to you when I cannot see you. Please..."
And so reluctantly, Mouse finally emerged with Rocky on his shoulder, saying, "Ok fine. I will talk...but won't leave if Rocky can't come too!"
As everyone welcomed Mouse out, saying they were so pleased he was safe, Jacob calmly explained, "Now, Mouse, I realize you and Rocky have become great friends, but this is HIS home. Home is where he MUST stay, but you on the other hand, must return to YOUR home, with us! Have you forgotten about Arthur? You have him to care for, and he is waiting for your return.”
And so because Mouse loves Arthur too, Mouse said, "Never forget Arthur! Thought Rocky would be Arthur's friend too."
Feeling desperate, Jacob then turned to Vincent for help convincing Mouse, and so Vincent stepped up, saying, "Mouse, there are a few facts you need to know about, for one, Arthur is what is called a Common Raccoon, and Rocky appears to be of another species called the Eastern Raccoon, it is quite likely they would not like each other...and second, Rocky must have family near by...and they would miss him."
Because these were things Mouse had not thought of, he stood silent, when just then, Rocky's Mother came into view, seemingly looking for her little Kit. Everyone including Rocky saw her, and when he started to wiggle, wanting down, Mouse said, "Stay Rocky!"
Meanwhile, Jacob with heart, consoled, "I know you want Rocky to be happy, let him decide for himself where he wants to go."
And so Mouse hugged Rocky before he reluctantly put him down, and waited to see where he would turn, back to him, or to his Mother.
Well, Mouse’s face fell, as Rocky waddled toward his Mother, propting Mouse to sadly say, "Good bye Rocky."
As Jacob gave Mouse a fatherly hug, he said, "Sometimes it is hard to let go, but it is right Rocky is back with his family."
Vincent also stepped up, to face his sweet friend, saying, "I am proud of you."
With a sad, yet bolstered look, Mouse kicked at the ground, and said, "Already miss Rocky...but now wanna see Arthur."
And so with that said, Peter turned to Catherine and said, "Well kiddo, the van is loaded, sounds like it's time to head home.”
To which Catherine agreed, and made one last round of the cabin, and thought things looked as neat as they found it. Locking up, she then headed for the van, just in time to catch Peter teasing Father once more, saying, "Mary, I think you'll find the passenger seat up front much more comfortable than the seat back there."
In a thankful tone, Mary replied, "Thank you, but I am quite comfortable sitting where I was before."
So as Jacob guided Mary to the seat they would share, they passed by Peter, and with a raised a brow, Jacob smiled at his old friend.
Peter kept his own smug smile hidden, thinking to himself, “Ah, this weekend went by too fast. I am gonna miss tweaking that old pal of mine.”
Meanwhile, everyone else had gravitated to their original seats, and as Catherine settled in next to Vincent, she suddenly remembered, "Our shells and stones, I left them in the boat!"
With a smile in his eyes, he reached into his pouch, and then displayed the beautiful keepsakes he and Catherine had gathered at the sandbar, and told her, "I noticed them as I was putting the boat away."
She smiled back at him and looking at one of the shells, said, "Thank you."
As Peter began to pull away, he announced, "Take one last look everyone. We're heading for home."
Jamie looked out the window, and yelled, “Good bye lake!”
Pascal yelled, “Good bye Cabin!”
And sweet Mouse yelled, “Good bye Rocky!”
Mary pointed out the window as they passed by the meadow of wildflowers, and said, “Look Father, there’s our field of flowers, oh so beautiful.”
To which Jacob agreed, saying, “Beautiful indeed.”
As they traveled onto the main road, Peter laughed as he suggested, “Who knows, maybe this time we'll really walk on the wild side, and stop at Burger King for dinner!"
A disgruntled Jacob, asked, "Burger Who? Can’t we just go back to McDoogles? I was so looking forward to another shake!"
To which Peter claimed, “I didn’t say we HAD to stop at Burger King, We can stop where ever you like! I only thought I would throw out another option.”
In reply, Jacob grumbled, "I was just saying, that I was beginning to get used to McDoogles!"
With a stern tone, Peter declared, "Then we'll go back to McDoogles...err McDonald's! Ahh, now you have me saying it!"
As Catherine and Vincent listened to the two, Vincent humorously said, “The squabbling between those two could make the trip home a long one.”
Happily thinking that could be true, Catherine snuggled into him, and said, “Yes. Remind me to thank them later on."
Vincent then thoughtfully tipped his head as he noted, "As our Holiday is ending Catherine, it will be back to reality...our reality."
Warmly, she replied, "That's alright with me Vincent, I can't think of anything sweeter than that...AND we have our special picnic to look forward to at the Chamber of the Falls."
With a nod, Vincent replied, "We must plan it soon Catherine..."
Then with a wistful smile, Catherine said yes, very soon, and then added, “I must admit though, it has been wonderful being here with you, far from the city, and the rest of the world."
She then asked, "Tell me, since everything went so well, do you think Father would ever allow us to come back for another Holiday?”
As Vincent looked forward, and could see a contented smile upon his aged Father’s face, he softly said, “I doubt it not Catherine...”
The End
Please read the sequel, Catherine and Vincent's Christmas in Connecticut!
Catherine came up with the idea to go to the cabin again
in the days leading to Christmas.
When she wanted Vincent to see the lake in all of its winter splendor!
| Holiday Anyone? By Sharon Holtz Chapter Seven |
