Chapter 82: Catherine and Michael

Monday, June 7, 1971

Someone was lying beside me, breathing softly. It only took a moment to realize it was Anna, and that she was asleep.

I listened without opening my eyes. Then I scanned. The house was still. The only ones awake were the three security people. And Catherine.

She was in her room, writing something.

“Good evening,” I thought to her.

“Good morning, Michael,” she thought back.

“I can’t lift my arm to see my watch. Do you know what time it is?” I asked.

“Is something wrong with your arm?” she asked. I sensed her alarm in her thought.

“No, it’s fine,”I chuckled, “I just didn’t want to disturb Anna.”

“It’s almost two,” she said. “How do you feel?”

“I don’t know. Okay, I guess. I feel a little weird waking up this time of morning,” I told her. “And very foolish!” I added as I remembered what happened at the pool this morning. Actually, yesterday morning now.

“Given everything you’ve been through, it’s understandable. Are you hungry?” she asked.

“As a matter of fact, I am!” I thought, as my stomach rumbled.

“Meet me in the kitchen and I’ll fix you something,” she replied.

“Give me five minutes so I can jump in the shower. I feel really sticky and I smell like chlorine!” I told her.

“Take your time,” she told me as I eased my arm from under the good doctor and headed for the shower.

After a quick shower and shave, I threw on a pair of jeans and padded barefoot and bare-chested downstairs to the kitchen.

I walked up behind Catherine, who was standing at the stove. Her hair was pulled back in a little ponytail, and she was wearing her robe. Without touching her anywhere else, I nibbled at her earlobe and whispered, “Good morning, beautiful.”

“Good morning to you, too. I’m glad to see you’re okay. I don’t mind telling you, you scared the hell out of a lot of people yesterday,” she said.

“I scared the hell out of myself. I don’t know what happened. One moment, I was telling Beth about my empathic abilities. The next, she’s going for her gun!” I said.

“I know. Vickie read her for me, so I got what happened. At least from her point of view,” Catherine said. “I’m fixing French toast and sausage. Why don’t you pour yourself a glass of juice and I’ll fill you in while you eat,” she suggested.

I vaguely remembered how she had walked me back to the house. And, along with Anna, who did a quick examination, put me to bed.

Catherine had sat down immediately with the security staff and explained my special gift. She brought Vickie with her, but did not tell them she had the same gift. Two staff members quit immediately. One thought we were all crazy, and the other was using it as an excuse to break his contract for a more lucrative opportunity. This, according to Vickie.

Beth was hovering between upset and hysterical most of the day. Between her guilt, her anxiety, and her first experience with an altered reality, she was pretty distressed. Anna had finally given her a sedative late yesterday, so she was asleep. I scanned to make sure.

David and Peter had been much more accepting and understanding. They remembered some of the strange things from working for my grandfather. Their only request, was the opportunity to talk with me themselves, so they could better understand my gift, and draw up new security plans accordingly.

“Vivian is going to be a problem,” Catherine told me. “She became angry when Amy told her about the position and the scholarship. Vickie says that she’s been using her money to control both of her kids. But with Robert entering his last year of college, and likely to inherit a nice fortune from his godfather, she can’t manipulate him like she can Amy. Or, at least, how she could before you showed up and offered her this wonderful opportunity.”

“How’s Amy?” I asked.

“Amy was upset, of course. She wanted her mom to be happy for her and support her,” Catherine explained. “But it’s supposed to be in the eighties today, so hell hasn’t frozen over yet!”

I chuckled. Catherine is not a vicious person, but she can’t stand injustice. And to her way of thinking, it was terribly wrong for a mother to treat her children like that.

“Basically, Vivian told Amy, that if that’s the way she wanted it, then she could just get out of the house and not to bother coming back!”

Catherine remained silent while I considered it. I’d have to scan Vivian more thoroughly, sometime soon, I decided.

“Michael? I’m sorry about your Aunt Lucille’s husband. It happened just as you said,” Catherine informed me. She was referring to the airline crash.

I had thought I would be more upset at the news. And apparently, so did Catherine.

But surprisingly, I found that, now that it was over, it didn’t hurt like it did when I was trying to find ways to prevent it. The crash had happened before, and now it had happened again. Fundamentally, nothing had changed. Except now, I found myself wondering more and more, about what this goal was, that ‘they’ wanted accomplished.

As I considered it from different angles, I still kept coming up with the same questions. How can you change some things, and not others? And, how was I to know the difference?

One thing was pretty clear. I was not supposed to do anything this time. I had experienced an internal agony every time I tried to even think of something to stop it from happening. Maybe this was how ‘they’ let me know?

“It could be,” Catherine said. She must have been following my train of thought.

“How can you do that?” I asked in amazement.

“To tell you the truth, I’m not sure,” she said as she grinned. “I kept telling you that I would explain later, hoping I would figure it out. I still haven’t got it yet, but I’ll share with you what I know, if you want?”

“Please. I’m afraid it’s got me buffaloed as well,” I replied.

“Well, first, it’s not consistent. But it’s getting more so. After our time together Saturday morning, I noticed I was picking up more of your feelings, and they seemed much clearer. Like Saturday night when you were speaking with that columnist,” she told me. “He called for you by the way. Several times, before we finally took the phone off the hook. If this keeps up, I’ll have to get a new unlisted number,” she said with a grin.

I wasn’t surprised. I’m sure he was going to have lots of questions for me now!

“I’m sorry he bothered you,” I said sincerely.

“Anyway, I could follow most of your instincts in what you were telling him, but not necessarily your logic as to why you did. That’s the second thing. It is definitely your emotions that we’re all picking up on. For example, your watch. Or lack thereof. At first it was just me, then I found out Anna and Nicky could sometimes hear your little outbursts too.”

“Sorry,” I said again, sheepishly.

Catherine just laughed. “I guess it’s funny now. But it wasn’t so funny when you kept waking me up so early in the morning with your cussing.”

“I’m really sorry. Especially since I know that I tend to be an early riser,” I said, explaining my apology to her.

“Don’t let it worry you. I kinda miss it now. At least before I gave you the watch, I knew when you were awake,” she said and laughed.

I laughed with her. It was kinda funny, the way she said it.

“Proximity and the level of your emotions also seem to be important. Again, at the party, when you were close, it came in loud and clear. But when you and Amy took off down the beach, I couldn’t feel you anymore. And yesterday, when you got really angry and upset, I could feel your anger all the way from the pool. But not before that. Afterwards, I believe you had your shield up because, while I was aware of your presence, there was nothing. Even when I walked up to the edge of the pool,” she said.

“You’re probably right,” I sighed, remembering the anguish I had felt.

“By-the-way, how did you do that? Stay down there for so long, I mean?” she asked.

“I have no idea. I just sank to the bottom, letting my breath out slowly. I figured I’d have to surface in about a minute, but I just never seemed to feel the need for any more oxygen. I’ll have to experiment with that one some more. But for now, I’m just as mystified as you are,” I told her.

“Well, be careful. If you do try it again, I want you to have someone with you. Preferably connected. And no shields, either!” she said. But not too sternly.

“Okay. I promise!” I told her, smiling.

“One last thing. I have noticed that those of us who can sense you, are all in love with you to some degree. I have talked about it with Anna and Nicky at length, and they agree with that part. I also mentioned it to Kalani, who said that both she and Ileana can sense you too. And I know that Julie and Jenny can as well. What about Candy? Can she feel you?” Catherine asked.

“Oh yeah! And you can add Randi to the list also,” I replied.

Catherine looked at me with one eyebrow arched, “When did that happen?”

I grinned back at her. I guess I deserved the inquisition.

“Friday night. We both decided that we weren’t in love with each other. But I’m not sure who was lying to themselves the most,” I said.

“Well, we’ve got to keep an eye on it,” Catherine said.

“Are you okay?” I asked. She had a funny look on her face.

“Michael, I have never been so happy, or so embarrassed, as I was Saturday,” she said with a nervous little laugh. “I assume that you figured out what happened from Kalani and Anna, Saturday afternoon?”

Catherine had stated her assumption as a question, so I nodded as I remembered our time together.

“I understand that they all felt my emotions. And you can add Vickie and maybe Debbie to the list as well. But I have no idea what to do about it,” I added.

“Me either. But I’m not going to worry about it now,” she said. “But that doesn’t stop me from wondering if this is all tied to reaching your unknown goal? And if all of us are going to play some part in it?” she asked.