As Catherine decided she was too upset to go back to work right away, she instead retreated to her apartment. And as she unlocked her door, through tearful eyes, she smiled at Noodles, attempting to greet him, as happily as he so sweetly, greeted her.
And so lovingly, Catherine scooped him up, and sat down on her couch with him, and laying her head back upon the pillow, she wondered, what was she to do now?
Catherine could still feel Vincent in her heart...still see him so clearly in her mind, and knew her soul would be forever linked to his.
And the biggest certainty of all, she knew it was the same for Vincent.
As Catherine thought back on the course they had traveled to get to this point...she admitted to herself, it had not been easy, it had been truly an arduous journey, but it had been illuminating, enlightening, and so very enchanting. Yes...Vincent had brought the beguiling romance into her life, she had always dreamed of, and he had finally arrived at that place, where he could accept Catherine's love.
But sadly, simply over hearing Steven at the restaurant today, awoke his uncertainties anew, and changed everything. And Catherine thought of how ironic it was that NOW, when everyone else has accepted them together...it is now only Vincent, who cannot.
Yes...a life with Vincent had slipped away, and Catherine was powerless to stop it from happening. As nothing she had said, changed Vincent's mind, and the look of resolve in his eyes, gave Catherine little hope, he would reconsider his decision today.
And sadly, her only consolation was, that she had tried...and had given Vincent everything within her heart, there was to give.
And though her heart was broken, a resolve came over Catherine too. If Vincent changes his mind, and decides he does want to live their dream, it is he who will have to fight for it now...fight for their shared dream, as she has done.
And as Catherine realized, how easy it would be to be destroyed by this hurt...she had made a vow to herself, she would make her life count for something... as life must be lived, whether dreams come true or not. And she would do so, knowing all the while she would be hoping...waiting....and dreaming for Vincent to come back.
Meanwhile, Catherine was stirred from her thoughts, by a knock on her door, and she could hear Lin ask, "Catherine are you home?"
And so as Catherine wiped her tears away, she then opened the door, and looked helplessly at Lin, and it was then, Lin realized Catherine had nothing good to say.
But still with hope, and at the same time with great dread, Lin asked, "Did you find Vincent?"
To which Catherine softly told her, "Yes I found him..."
And then Lin frantically asked, "What did he say? Why did he leave? Was it for the reason we thought? Was it because he heard the things your ex-boyfriend said?"
To which, with care, Catherine replied, "That was part of it...but it seems that, well it appears Vincent has come to the conclusion, and believes...I would be better off without him."
Upon hearing this news, Lin wept as she said, "Oh no Catherine...I can't believe this has happened! It is all my fault! Henry said I should not have interfered, but I just wanted to help Vincent. He so much wanted to have a date with you like other couples. Vincent told me this was one of his great disappointments, that he could not do those kinds of things for you...and now in trying to help...I made a mess of things."
And because Lin was so upset, Catherine kept her own emotions at bay, and with a broken heart, she said, "Lin, what you tried to do for Vincent...I cannot find the words to thank you. And because of your efforts, the candles, the music, we would have had that lovely luncheon together...just like any other couple...yes, it would have been perfect."
And then Catherine regretfully added, "If only Steven had not been there."
To which Lin, nodded, and stood quiet in a tragic silence.
It was then, Noodles then came out, and as he looked up at Catherine, she could see he had something in his mouth.
As Noodles dropped it at Lin's feet, Catherine bent down to pick it up, and asked, "What have you got there Noodles? Are you giving Lin a gift?"
And so as Catherine picked up the item, she saw it was Vincent's friendship charm, the one he had gotten from Natalie!
And so after Catherine carefully inspected it, to make sure Noodles had not harmed it, Catherine petted Noodles, and said, "Good boy...thanks for letting me know, Vincent had forgotten this here.
And then, Catherine wondered why Noodles dropped it at Lin's feet, and not at hers!
Which then lead her to wonder if Noodles was that smart, to realize Lin's connection to Vincent.
And so after Catherine thought, and pondered all this, she then looked at Lin, and softly said, "This is Vincent's, I am thinking Noodles must know you are friends with him somehow..."
To which Lin replied, "Animals are very intuitive Catherine...perhaps Noodles remembers Vincent and my friendly exchange here the other night."
Thinking this must be so, Catherine then handed the friendship charm to Lin, and asked, "I know this is a lot to ask, but could you return this to Vincent right away? It is from Natalie, and she will be sad, if he is not wearing it."
As Lin hesitantly took the charm, she said, "I will, if you want me to. Although, would it not be a good excuse to go see him? Maybe by now, he has changed his..."
Knowing what Lin was about to say, Catherine cut her sentence short, as she inserted tearfully, "I...I can't. Vincent has made his decision...and if you had seen and spoken to him, you would be as certain as I am, that he has not changed his mind."
With a resigned sigh, Lin then asked, "Do you want me to tell him anything? Is there something you want me to relay to him?"
Sadly, Catherine shook her head, and tragically said, "Nothing Lin...there's nothing..."
To which Lin urgently coaxed, "There must be something Catherine! Something that could reach him!"
And though Catherine was about to say she had said everything already, she did think back on a dream Vincent told her he had once. And she remembered him saying how this dream, resonated with him after he woke up. Yes, and although this dream had haunted him...it had encouraged him as well.
And so, Catherine thoughtfully told Lin, "Maybe there is one thing you could remind him, Remind him of his dream..."
Lin continued to look at Catherine for further explanation, to which Catherine then explained, "In this dream...he questioned his self worth...and in this dream, an angelic figure told him to remember love, and showed him what he meant to all those around him...well, if you just tell him to remember love...He will understand."
Happy to have something to relay, Lin with hope said, "I will take this charm to Vincent and tell him what you said...to remember love...I will do my best Catherine..."
Lin then gave Catherine a commiserating hopeful squeeze to her hand, and said she would be in touch.
And as Catherine closed the door, she wanted to tell Lin, not to expect too much...but she did not...Lin at least for the moment, had hope that she could help, and Catherine didn't want to take that away from her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, Vincent gathered himself, and slowly walked over to the table where Catherine had set their Cupid and Psyche statues. And as he looked at them, he thought of how they were like he and Catherine, different but the same.
Over to see Picture of Vincent to the right
Vincent had felt weakened by what he had to do for Catherine, and his emotions were volatile and raw. And he wondered how she was, and knew through their bond she had blocked her heart from his now.
It was done, and he now felt she could go on, and find the life he wanted her to have.
And for the rest of his life, he would travel alone, finding solace in the beautiful memories she had given him, during their brief moment in time.
It was here he wanted to stay, forever within their chamber alone with the memory of where they were so happy. The thought of Catherine loving him so, brought him more happiness than he could bare, or felt he deserved to know.
As Vincent laid on the bed, he reflected on who he was. He felt in his heart, he had done the right thing, even though he was destroyed by this loss, as his dream is now ended.
It was then, a message came over the pipe system, invading his sorrowful thoughts. It was Mary informing Vincent the children were waiting for their afternoon instruction.
As Vincent laboriously rose from the bed, he tapped back, that he would be right there.
As Mary turned to the children she informed them, to prepare themselves as Vincent would be there directly. She then tapped a reply telling Vincent, she would stay with the children until he arrived.
Mary then released a sigh of relief, as she now knew, he had returned safely, and she couldn't wait to hear how the luncheon went.
And so meanwhile, Vincent walked toward the Library where the children were waiting, and as he walked, he steadily gathered himself, step by step, so he would not upset the children by his sadness.
And as he turned the corner onto the tunnel main, he crossed paths with Lin, who breathlessly said, "Vincent, I was coming to find you."
To be continued
Chapter Three
| Master of my Heart! By Sharon Holtz Chapter Two _______________________________________ Song |
