Brother: Love and Adversity - Part Twelve
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Teaser: Harry looked at her for moment without replying. He hadn’t expected her to ask that. Why did she think he was blocking his own memory? “What do you mean?”
“Well, maybe you have memories about something, say, about your parents’ deaths, that you don’t want to remember. Or maybe there’s something else that you know, but don’t want to.”
Part Twelve
Remember Yesterday
- O - O - O - O - O - O -
Elroy
Mary Jane listened as the phone rang for the second time on the other end. It rang again. Peter must be out, she thought. She wondered if everything was alright back home.
Finally, he picked up on the fifth ring. Peter’s “Hello?” was music to her ears.
“Hi, Pete.” M.J. smiled as she heard him let out a breath. “How’s Aunt May?” She heard something in the background.
“Hold on a sec.” Mary Jane heard him say, “I’ve got it.” Which must mean that his landlord or the landlord’s daughter was about to get Peter’s phone if it rang again. M.J. could guess that Peter was in his Spider-Man costume. It wouldn’t be good if theycame in and saw Peter as his alias.
“Sorry about that. Aunt May is doing okay, but I think her hip bothers her.”
“What happened with your aunt?” Mary Jane only knew that Aunt May had fallen down.
“I talked to the doctor last night, she fell down the steps in front of the apartment building. She landed on her hip which got broken. The doctor says with time it should heal, but they want to watch its progress.”
“I hope it can heal properly. I would hate to see Aunt May in pain. Since I figured you were at the hospital last night I didn’t try calling you.”
”I wasn’t home most of last night. It isn’t because of Aunt May.” Peter didn’t continue.
“Is everything OK now?” Mary Jane was outside for some privacy. She could have gone to her room, but she wanted to enjoy the morning breeze and sun.
“Yeah it is.” But it could have gotten a lot worse, Peter thought. He remembered the holdup at a store where the robbers held some citizens hostage. It could have turned deadly.
Then there was the car chase at 3 AM. There were a few people in the hospital because of it. But luckily, thanks to him--or Spider-Man rather--the criminals and joy riders were behind bars.
Needless to say, Peter wanted to do nothing but sleep. He hadn’t gotten more than two hours last night and maybe the same amount the night before, because of Harry’s dream and the news about Aunt May. Peter didn’t count the nap he had taken in the hospital, it had been a restless one.
“How are you and Harry doing?” Peter asked to get his mind back on the present.
“We’re all doing fine. My guess is Harry slept like a baby last night. Well, we all did. He didn’t wake us up with another dream.”
“That’s good to hear.” Peter wanted to talk to M.J. about what he had read in the paper, but he didn’t want to use up her cell phone minutes. He’d have to wait until she and Harry came back in a few days.
Mary Jane heard a yawn from the other end. “Sorry about that, M.J.” Peter sounded a bit embarrassed.
“I’ll let you go, Tiger. You sound tired. Go on and get some sleep.”
“I’m planning to. Talk to you later, bye.”
“Bye. Sweet dreams.”
Smiling, Peter said, “They are when I’m dreaming about you.”
M.J. shook her head, but she was happy. “Talk to you later, Peter.” She cut off with that.
Sighing, Mary Jane looked around her. The birds where chirping. The morning wind felt lovely on her face. The sun was shining brightly, promising a beautiful day.
But Peter wasn’t here to enjoy it with her. This was the first time they had really been apart. They had their own lives, and schedules day to day. But Peter had always been nearby before. They had been next-door neighbors, even though she hadn’t given him much of her attention then. Then when they graduated high school, they both moved to the city. Even though she hadn’t seen him too much over the past two years before his birthday, M.J. had known that Peter was always close by.
I miss you already, Peter.
- O - O - O - O - O - O -
Heading toward the living room, Cait figured she could read for awhile, until she had to do some things before getting ready for work later. After working all day yesterday, she had come straight home and gone to bed.
Ivan had worked late yesterday, and he had to work early today. He just stayed at the hospital when his schedule was like that. Cait wondered how he did it. Once she was working all those hours as a nurse, could she do it? She would have to.
Stopping at the entrance to the living room, Cait saw that Harry was there. They hadn’t talked yesterday, what with Peter packing to go back to Manhattan. Not wanting to disturb him, Cait started to back away and leave quietly.
Whether Harry could sense someone was in the room or Cait was noisier than she thought, he looked toward her. Standing up, Harry said, “If you want to stay, go ahead.”
At least he isn’t angry or doesn’t sound like it, Cait thought. Shaking her head, Cait said, “You can stay to watch TV if you want. I was just going to read.” She held up the book she was holding.
“Pride and Prejudice,” Harry read the title out loud. “Is it any good?”
Smiling, Cait nodded. “I’ve read it a lot of times.”
“If you want to read in here, I don’t mind. There’s not too much on TV anyways.”
Sitting down on the couch, Cait didn’t open her book. Forcing herself to look at him when she spoke, she cut to the chase. “Harry, I’m so sorry about hitting you with my car. I should have told you about it sooner.”
“She made a mistake, maybe you should hear her out. I wish to this day I had gotten a chance to talk to my uncle again.”
Harry remembered Peter’s words from the other night. Come to think of it, he wasn’t angry with her. Maybe he had been disappointed. But why would he be feeling that? It wasn’t like Cait hit him on purpose, but still it was she that had hit him.
Waiting for Harry to speak, Cait wasn’t sure what he was going to say. Though she didn’t know him well, Cait could tell that Harry didn’t handle betrayal easily. Who did?
Even now, Harry must be trying to figure out what to say to her. All yesterday, Harry had wrapped himself in his anger like a silent cloak. But why? Why would he hold onto it?
It wasn’t that Cait didn’t understand why he was angry with her. Harry had been hurt by it, as well as lost without knowing who he was. But there was something more to this.
Harry must’ve been betrayed by someone before. Could that be why some part of him didn’t want to remember, the reason for his amnesia? But that’s absurd! Cait thought. Or was it?
She was so intent on her thoughts, Cait almost missed what Harry said.
“I guess I never thought you would say that you were the one that caused the wreck.”
“I can’t begin to understand what you’re going through. To not remember who you are, not to remember your friends,” Cait said, then paused. Swallowing, she continued on, “As much as I wish I could, I can’t undo the accident.”
“I know you didn’t mean it.”
They fell into a rather awkward silence.
Glancing over at Cait, Harry noticed that she was twisting her brown hair in an absentminded fashion. He thought it made her look younger then her years, which he guessed at somewhere between 18 to 20.
He knew that she was feeling guilty about the whole accident. It wasn’t like she had done it on propose. Plus, she had taken him in, along with Peter and Mary Jane. That wasn’t something she had had to do.
Not wanting to think any further about wreck and its cause, Harry asked, “So, what happened to your parents?”
Looking over at him with surprise, Cait stared at Harry for a moment. “Well, my mom died when I was three. From breast cancer. I don’t remember her much, just that she was pretty and smelled like roses.” Smiling sadly at Harry, Cait vaguely remembered what her mother looked like. She wasn’t sure if it was really a memory, or if it was more from what Cait had seen in old pictures.
“My dad died when I was seven, from a heart attack. Sometimes I wonder if he missed my mother so much that he wanted to be with her. So after my father’s death, Ivan raised me, while he was going through medical school.”
“You don’t have any other family at all?”
“My mother’s parents died before I was born. I haven’t seen much of my dad’s folks. Well, I got a gift from them on my high school graduation, but I haven’t seen them in years.”
Harry wasn’t sure what to say to that. He didn’t remember anything about his family. And, from what Peter had said, it sounded like he didn’t have any family.
“If you want to know, the last time I saw my grandparents, it was after Dad’s funeral.”
Harry looked a bit surprised. “That had to be more than ten years ago.”
“Twelve. Let’s just say that if I hadn’t overheard my grandparents arguing with Ivan, I wouldn’t know what really happened with my parents.”
- O - O -
Creeping down the steps, Cait knew she’d be in trouble if caught her out of bed. At age seven, Cait wasn’t a trouble maker. But everything in her world had been turned upside down the past few days. Would things ever go to back to some kind of normalcy?
Her beloved father had died three days ago. Had it only been three days? It had been a heart attack, she had heard. Cait didn’t understand much of anything. But she understood that she wouldn’t see her daddy again.
The house was quiet, all the well-meaning mourners had long ago gone home. Cait was supposed to be in bed, but she just couldn’t sleep. She wanted to talk to Ivan, maybe he could help. Her father was always there to help her to get to sleep. No, he had been. Dad wasn’t coming back.
The door to the study was slightly ajar. As Cait came closer, she could hear voices from within. Taking care to not be seen, Cait approached the door on silent feet.
“-you want something. What is it?” Ivan’s voice came out clearly.
Cait wondered if somehow she’d been caught, but another voice answered her brother’s question.
“Ivan, don’t be so unfeeling.” The voice of her grandmother replied.
Cait had only met her grandparents on a few occasions. They never stayed long, so Cait didn’t know them that well. But what she did know was that they were not like her friends’ grandparents.
“Me, unfeeling? I wouldn’t say I’m that, Grandmother.” Ivan’s voice came out hard and angry.
“I won’t take that tone from you, boy. You shouldn’t be so harsh to your grandmother,” their grandfather said in his wife’s defense.
“Look, I know you came to pay respects to your son, my father. But I know that you won’t stay longer than necessary. I know you want something, or have something to say. So now is the time to say it.”
“What do you plan to do with Caitlin?”
“I’m going to raise her. She’s my sister after all, Grandmother.”
Their grandfather let out a bark of laugher. “You? A young man barely out of his teens? How do you plan to be a doctor if you have to raise a child? Not to mention, how will you work and take care of Caitlin?”
“I’m 22, so I’m hardily a teenager. Dad’s will left me as Cait’s guardian if something were to happen to him. And as for becoming a doctor, I’m still going to do that. If it takes longer, than so be it. But I’m not going to abandon Cait just to follow my dreams.”
“That is noble of you, Ivan,” Grandmother said her voice was low, and it sounded sympathetic, “but your grandfather and I wouldn’t want you to sacrifice your future for Caitlin. We could take her, and raise her. I know your father would want that.”
“That’s not what he would have wanted! You didn’t really know Dad, I think.”
“Now wait just a minute-” Grandfather tried to say.
Interrupting him, Ivan said, “You weren’t happy with the choices he made, were you, Grandfather? That he didn’t continue the tradition and join the family in politics, right?”
“That’s none of your concern, Ivan,” his grandmother snapped.
“But isn’t that what you wanted me to do, instead of becoming a doctor? I still remember the objections you both raised about my decision on that.”
“We don’t want you to waste your life like your father did his.”
Ivan must have ignored the verbal jab from Grandfather. “But nothing infuriated you two more than Mom and Dad marrying. Was it because my mother wasn’t old money, or part of your social class? Or maybe it was because Gram raised her on her own without a husband?”
“I will not stay and listen to such nonsense!”
Cait heard footsteps heading her way. She’d be in trouble if caught. Scrambling backwards, Cait flew under a table covered with a blue tablecloth that brushed the floor. She heard her grandparents’ footsteps heading for the front door. Cait held her breath when she heard them stop abruptly. What she heard next sent a shiver down her shine.
“Mark my words, Ivan,” their grandmother voice was cold, “We will get custody of Caitlin.”
Grandmother said no more, but Cait could hear her heels along with her grandfather’s all the way to the door. It slammed shut. That was something Cait rarely heard around the house.
After waiting for what felt like eternity, Cait stuck her head out from under the table. She couldn’t see anyone, but Ivan might still be around. Getting up, she moved on silent feet toward the study.
Peering in, she saw her brother sitting at the desk with his head in his hands. “Ivan?” Cait timorously called. She didn’t dare walk further into the room.
“Come in, Cait,” he motioned her forward.
She did as he bided. Close up, Cait could see the pain on his face. Ivan hadn’t been crying, but they held a sadness and loss that Cait hadn’t seen even days before when her dad died.
All of this wasn’t on Cait’s mind, something else was. She didn’t fully understand everything that had been said, and some of it she wondered about. “What did you mean, about what you said about Mommy and Daddy marrying?”
Ivan looked surprised. “You heard what I said?” Picking her up, he set his sister on his lap.
“I couldn’t sleep, so I came down to look for you.” Cait shot Ivan a guilty look. “But when I came down you arguing with Grandmother and Grandfather. Why wereyouso angry with them?”
Sighing, Ivan shook his head. “They only see things from their point of view, Cait. They didn’t like Mom because…she didn’t think like they did, and she was different.”
Not understanding him, Cait asked, “Didn’t like Mommy, but why?” She didn’t really remember much about her mother, but she did, remember that she had been loved and there was a lot of laugher in the house when she was alive.
“You don’t always think like your friends, do you? I mean, you like something, but they like something else sometimes, right?”
Nodding, Cait asked, “So Grandmother and Grandfather don’t like some things that Mommy did?”
“Something like that. But instead of being happy for Mom and Dad, they were angry about it.”
“So they’re angry with you, now? Like you are with them? Is that why they want to take me away?” Cait’s lower lip trembled.
“Oh Cait.” Ivan held his sister close. He remained quiet.
Hearing Ivan’s heartbeat comforted Cait. She was still confused and scared. But she knew her brother loved her, even though these past years she hadn’t seen much of him.
Gently lifting her face up, Ivan looked at Cait in the eye. “Dad said he wanted you to stay with me. I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that happens. Do you believe me? You’re my sister, I won’t let anything happen to you, ok?”
Nodding, Cait didn’t say anything but hugged her older brother. She didn’t know what was going happen, but whatever might, she knew Ivan would be there, which made everything okay.
- O - O -
Harry was silent after she finished telling him about the day of the funeral of her father. But then he had questions. “What were your grandparents names?”
Cait swallowed, the memory still fresh. But she heard Harry. “Stephen and Virginia McKinnon.”
“What happened when your grandparents tried to gain custody?”
“Ivan and I weren’t sure we had a chance against them. But surprisingly, the judge was sympathetic to our plight. She granted full guardianshipto Ivan. We had a social worker check on us from time to time, but my grandparents didn’t interfere.”
Harry nodded, then changed the subject. “So now you’re going to join Ivan in the medical field to became a nurse?”
Remaining silent, Cait didn’t answer. No one knew about her real dream. But she couldn’t throw away her future for it.
“It is something you want to do, right?”
Sighing, Cait said, “I want to help people, just like Ivan does. I just don’t have the love for it like he does. Maybe one day…but for now, I’m happy enough to know that I’m helping people.”
“But it isn’t want you really wantto do, is it?” Harry looked at her, waiting for a response.
“I…want to be a writer.” Cait said in a rush, almost not believing that she had revealed want she longed to do. She broke eye contact with him. “I want to go to college, into publishing. Maybe became a publisher, or an editor. But most of all, I want to eventually write a book.”
“Why don’t you?” Harry asked, trying to get her to look at him. Taking a hold of her hand, he asked, “Cait?”
Swallowing the lump that wedged itself in her throat, Cait looked back up Harry. “I can’t do that. Not after everything Ivan’s sacrificed. It took him so much more time to get through medical school, then his residency. He all but lives at the hospital, to make sure we have enough money.” Cait let out a meaningless laugh. “I can’t even remember the last time he’s been out on a date.”
“Surely Ivan would be behind you no matter what you want to do.”
“But it’s always been about what I’ve wanted. Now it’s time for me to give him something in return.”
Harry remained silent. Cait seemed set in her decision. She was going to give up her own happiness for her brother. Harry doubted Ivan would want to his sister to think like that. Didn’t he care about her dreams?
Cait remembered some of the thoughts she’d had about Harry’s loss of memory. Maybe she could probe a bit, it just might trigger something that Harry could remember. At any rate, it was worth a shot and might get the conversation away from her.
Removing her hand from his, she asked him, “Harry, do you think your amnesia was caused by memories you’re trying to block?”
Harry looked at her for moment without replying. He hadn’t expected her to ask that. Why did she think he was blocking his own memory? “What do you mean?”
“Well, maybe you have memories about something, say, about your parents’ deaths, that you don’t want to remember. Or maybe there’s something else that you know, but don’t want to.”
Things I don’t want to remember? That’s easy for her to say. “I wish I could answer that.”
“It’s something to think about.” Cait got up. “I have to do some things before I have to go to work.”
“Sure.” Harry watched her leave the room. He was still thinking about everything she’d told him about her family.
His thoughts didn’t stay on that for long. Cait’s words came back to haunt him. Maybe you have memories about something. Or there’s something you know but don’t want to…
- O - O -
Harry couldn’t help but give a sigh of relief as he and the rest of Midtown High seniors left Columbia University. From the sound of it, he wasn’t the only one.
Most of the kids headed for the waiting bus, but the ones who drove took their time. Harry saw the black Rolls down the street waiting for him. Wonder what Dad would say if I rode the bus home?
It was bad enough that he got the brunt of Norman Osborn’s irritation-or at least it felt that way to Harry. No matter what he did, it wasn’t good enough for his father.
Peter was one of the last ones out of the building. Harry fell in step with his friend. “Reluctant to leave?” Harry asked in a light tone. He was fairly sure that Peter wasn’t happy with him for talking-no, flirting--with Mary Jane.
“I don’t mind going,” Peter replied, but didn’t look at him.
Peter had been quiet for most of the trip, since Mr. Sullivan told them, along with Flash and Hoops, that he’d fail them. Not that Peter really had to worry about that. Harry on the other hand…
Out of the corner of his eye, Harry noticed Peter rubbing his right hand. He’d been doing that through most of the fieldtrip. Harry hadn’t asked about it yet.
Looking at Peter, he noticed that Peter’s forehead was slightly damp with sweat. He’d seemed fine before. Was he coming down with something?
They were nearing the bus, but Harry figured he’d wouldn’t want to be on the bus if he was sick. Even as he asked the question, he knew his father would be pissed if Peter got sick in the car. “Pete, do you want a lift home?”
“No, I’ll just take the bus. I left my book bag on it earlier.”
Frowning, Harry asked, “You sure? You don’t look too hot.”
“It’s a bit warm, isn’t it?” Peter glanced at Harry, then looked around him to see why the weather changed.
Warm? It was one of the colder days they had, even for May. But Harry didn’t say that.
“Parker! Let’s go!” Mr. Sullivan’s voice held impatience.
As he watched Peter board the bus, Harry hoped nothing would happen to him on the way home. Harry knew well enough from school that Peter was an easy target. Turning, he headed for his own ride home, thinking that he’d call Peter later to see how he was doing.
Next Part
Parts: 1|2|3|4|5|6|7| 8|9|10|11|12
Teaser: Harry looked at her for moment without replying. He hadn’t expected her to ask that. Why did she think he was blocking his own memory? “What do you mean?”
“Well, maybe you have memories about something, say, about your parents’ deaths, that you don’t want to remember. Or maybe there’s something else that you know, but don’t want to.”
Part Twelve
Remember Yesterday
- O - O - O - O - O - O -
Elroy
Mary Jane listened as the phone rang for the second time on the other end. It rang again. Peter must be out, she thought. She wondered if everything was alright back home.
Finally, he picked up on the fifth ring. Peter’s “Hello?” was music to her ears.
“Hi, Pete.” M.J. smiled as she heard him let out a breath. “How’s Aunt May?” She heard something in the background.
“Hold on a sec.” Mary Jane heard him say, “I’ve got it.” Which must mean that his landlord or the landlord’s daughter was about to get Peter’s phone if it rang again. M.J. could guess that Peter was in his Spider-Man costume. It wouldn’t be good if theycame in and saw Peter as his alias.
“Sorry about that. Aunt May is doing okay, but I think her hip bothers her.”
“What happened with your aunt?” Mary Jane only knew that Aunt May had fallen down.
“I talked to the doctor last night, she fell down the steps in front of the apartment building. She landed on her hip which got broken. The doctor says with time it should heal, but they want to watch its progress.”
“I hope it can heal properly. I would hate to see Aunt May in pain. Since I figured you were at the hospital last night I didn’t try calling you.”
”I wasn’t home most of last night. It isn’t because of Aunt May.” Peter didn’t continue.
“Is everything OK now?” Mary Jane was outside for some privacy. She could have gone to her room, but she wanted to enjoy the morning breeze and sun.
“Yeah it is.” But it could have gotten a lot worse, Peter thought. He remembered the holdup at a store where the robbers held some citizens hostage. It could have turned deadly.
Then there was the car chase at 3 AM. There were a few people in the hospital because of it. But luckily, thanks to him--or Spider-Man rather--the criminals and joy riders were behind bars.
Needless to say, Peter wanted to do nothing but sleep. He hadn’t gotten more than two hours last night and maybe the same amount the night before, because of Harry’s dream and the news about Aunt May. Peter didn’t count the nap he had taken in the hospital, it had been a restless one.
“How are you and Harry doing?” Peter asked to get his mind back on the present.
“We’re all doing fine. My guess is Harry slept like a baby last night. Well, we all did. He didn’t wake us up with another dream.”
“That’s good to hear.” Peter wanted to talk to M.J. about what he had read in the paper, but he didn’t want to use up her cell phone minutes. He’d have to wait until she and Harry came back in a few days.
Mary Jane heard a yawn from the other end. “Sorry about that, M.J.” Peter sounded a bit embarrassed.
“I’ll let you go, Tiger. You sound tired. Go on and get some sleep.”
“I’m planning to. Talk to you later, bye.”
“Bye. Sweet dreams.”
Smiling, Peter said, “They are when I’m dreaming about you.”
M.J. shook her head, but she was happy. “Talk to you later, Peter.” She cut off with that.
Sighing, Mary Jane looked around her. The birds where chirping. The morning wind felt lovely on her face. The sun was shining brightly, promising a beautiful day.
But Peter wasn’t here to enjoy it with her. This was the first time they had really been apart. They had their own lives, and schedules day to day. But Peter had always been nearby before. They had been next-door neighbors, even though she hadn’t given him much of her attention then. Then when they graduated high school, they both moved to the city. Even though she hadn’t seen him too much over the past two years before his birthday, M.J. had known that Peter was always close by.
I miss you already, Peter.
- O - O - O - O - O - O -
Heading toward the living room, Cait figured she could read for awhile, until she had to do some things before getting ready for work later. After working all day yesterday, she had come straight home and gone to bed.
Ivan had worked late yesterday, and he had to work early today. He just stayed at the hospital when his schedule was like that. Cait wondered how he did it. Once she was working all those hours as a nurse, could she do it? She would have to.
Stopping at the entrance to the living room, Cait saw that Harry was there. They hadn’t talked yesterday, what with Peter packing to go back to Manhattan. Not wanting to disturb him, Cait started to back away and leave quietly.
Whether Harry could sense someone was in the room or Cait was noisier than she thought, he looked toward her. Standing up, Harry said, “If you want to stay, go ahead.”
At least he isn’t angry or doesn’t sound like it, Cait thought. Shaking her head, Cait said, “You can stay to watch TV if you want. I was just going to read.” She held up the book she was holding.
“Pride and Prejudice,” Harry read the title out loud. “Is it any good?”
Smiling, Cait nodded. “I’ve read it a lot of times.”
“If you want to read in here, I don’t mind. There’s not too much on TV anyways.”
Sitting down on the couch, Cait didn’t open her book. Forcing herself to look at him when she spoke, she cut to the chase. “Harry, I’m so sorry about hitting you with my car. I should have told you about it sooner.”
“She made a mistake, maybe you should hear her out. I wish to this day I had gotten a chance to talk to my uncle again.”
Harry remembered Peter’s words from the other night. Come to think of it, he wasn’t angry with her. Maybe he had been disappointed. But why would he be feeling that? It wasn’t like Cait hit him on purpose, but still it was she that had hit him.
Waiting for Harry to speak, Cait wasn’t sure what he was going to say. Though she didn’t know him well, Cait could tell that Harry didn’t handle betrayal easily. Who did?
Even now, Harry must be trying to figure out what to say to her. All yesterday, Harry had wrapped himself in his anger like a silent cloak. But why? Why would he hold onto it?
It wasn’t that Cait didn’t understand why he was angry with her. Harry had been hurt by it, as well as lost without knowing who he was. But there was something more to this.
Harry must’ve been betrayed by someone before. Could that be why some part of him didn’t want to remember, the reason for his amnesia? But that’s absurd! Cait thought. Or was it?
She was so intent on her thoughts, Cait almost missed what Harry said.
“I guess I never thought you would say that you were the one that caused the wreck.”
“I can’t begin to understand what you’re going through. To not remember who you are, not to remember your friends,” Cait said, then paused. Swallowing, she continued on, “As much as I wish I could, I can’t undo the accident.”
“I know you didn’t mean it.”
They fell into a rather awkward silence.
Glancing over at Cait, Harry noticed that she was twisting her brown hair in an absentminded fashion. He thought it made her look younger then her years, which he guessed at somewhere between 18 to 20.
He knew that she was feeling guilty about the whole accident. It wasn’t like she had done it on propose. Plus, she had taken him in, along with Peter and Mary Jane. That wasn’t something she had had to do.
Not wanting to think any further about wreck and its cause, Harry asked, “So, what happened to your parents?”
Looking over at him with surprise, Cait stared at Harry for a moment. “Well, my mom died when I was three. From breast cancer. I don’t remember her much, just that she was pretty and smelled like roses.” Smiling sadly at Harry, Cait vaguely remembered what her mother looked like. She wasn’t sure if it was really a memory, or if it was more from what Cait had seen in old pictures.
“My dad died when I was seven, from a heart attack. Sometimes I wonder if he missed my mother so much that he wanted to be with her. So after my father’s death, Ivan raised me, while he was going through medical school.”
“You don’t have any other family at all?”
“My mother’s parents died before I was born. I haven’t seen much of my dad’s folks. Well, I got a gift from them on my high school graduation, but I haven’t seen them in years.”
Harry wasn’t sure what to say to that. He didn’t remember anything about his family. And, from what Peter had said, it sounded like he didn’t have any family.
“If you want to know, the last time I saw my grandparents, it was after Dad’s funeral.”
Harry looked a bit surprised. “That had to be more than ten years ago.”
“Twelve. Let’s just say that if I hadn’t overheard my grandparents arguing with Ivan, I wouldn’t know what really happened with my parents.”
- O - O -
Creeping down the steps, Cait knew she’d be in trouble if caught her out of bed. At age seven, Cait wasn’t a trouble maker. But everything in her world had been turned upside down the past few days. Would things ever go to back to some kind of normalcy?
Her beloved father had died three days ago. Had it only been three days? It had been a heart attack, she had heard. Cait didn’t understand much of anything. But she understood that she wouldn’t see her daddy again.
The house was quiet, all the well-meaning mourners had long ago gone home. Cait was supposed to be in bed, but she just couldn’t sleep. She wanted to talk to Ivan, maybe he could help. Her father was always there to help her to get to sleep. No, he had been. Dad wasn’t coming back.
The door to the study was slightly ajar. As Cait came closer, she could hear voices from within. Taking care to not be seen, Cait approached the door on silent feet.
“-you want something. What is it?” Ivan’s voice came out clearly.
Cait wondered if somehow she’d been caught, but another voice answered her brother’s question.
“Ivan, don’t be so unfeeling.” The voice of her grandmother replied.
Cait had only met her grandparents on a few occasions. They never stayed long, so Cait didn’t know them that well. But what she did know was that they were not like her friends’ grandparents.
“Me, unfeeling? I wouldn’t say I’m that, Grandmother.” Ivan’s voice came out hard and angry.
“I won’t take that tone from you, boy. You shouldn’t be so harsh to your grandmother,” their grandfather said in his wife’s defense.
“Look, I know you came to pay respects to your son, my father. But I know that you won’t stay longer than necessary. I know you want something, or have something to say. So now is the time to say it.”
“What do you plan to do with Caitlin?”
“I’m going to raise her. She’s my sister after all, Grandmother.”
Their grandfather let out a bark of laugher. “You? A young man barely out of his teens? How do you plan to be a doctor if you have to raise a child? Not to mention, how will you work and take care of Caitlin?”
“I’m 22, so I’m hardily a teenager. Dad’s will left me as Cait’s guardian if something were to happen to him. And as for becoming a doctor, I’m still going to do that. If it takes longer, than so be it. But I’m not going to abandon Cait just to follow my dreams.”
“That is noble of you, Ivan,” Grandmother said her voice was low, and it sounded sympathetic, “but your grandfather and I wouldn’t want you to sacrifice your future for Caitlin. We could take her, and raise her. I know your father would want that.”
“That’s not what he would have wanted! You didn’t really know Dad, I think.”
“Now wait just a minute-” Grandfather tried to say.
Interrupting him, Ivan said, “You weren’t happy with the choices he made, were you, Grandfather? That he didn’t continue the tradition and join the family in politics, right?”
“That’s none of your concern, Ivan,” his grandmother snapped.
“But isn’t that what you wanted me to do, instead of becoming a doctor? I still remember the objections you both raised about my decision on that.”
“We don’t want you to waste your life like your father did his.”
Ivan must have ignored the verbal jab from Grandfather. “But nothing infuriated you two more than Mom and Dad marrying. Was it because my mother wasn’t old money, or part of your social class? Or maybe it was because Gram raised her on her own without a husband?”
“I will not stay and listen to such nonsense!”
Cait heard footsteps heading her way. She’d be in trouble if caught. Scrambling backwards, Cait flew under a table covered with a blue tablecloth that brushed the floor. She heard her grandparents’ footsteps heading for the front door. Cait held her breath when she heard them stop abruptly. What she heard next sent a shiver down her shine.
“Mark my words, Ivan,” their grandmother voice was cold, “We will get custody of Caitlin.”
Grandmother said no more, but Cait could hear her heels along with her grandfather’s all the way to the door. It slammed shut. That was something Cait rarely heard around the house.
After waiting for what felt like eternity, Cait stuck her head out from under the table. She couldn’t see anyone, but Ivan might still be around. Getting up, she moved on silent feet toward the study.
Peering in, she saw her brother sitting at the desk with his head in his hands. “Ivan?” Cait timorously called. She didn’t dare walk further into the room.
“Come in, Cait,” he motioned her forward.
She did as he bided. Close up, Cait could see the pain on his face. Ivan hadn’t been crying, but they held a sadness and loss that Cait hadn’t seen even days before when her dad died.
All of this wasn’t on Cait’s mind, something else was. She didn’t fully understand everything that had been said, and some of it she wondered about. “What did you mean, about what you said about Mommy and Daddy marrying?”
Ivan looked surprised. “You heard what I said?” Picking her up, he set his sister on his lap.
“I couldn’t sleep, so I came down to look for you.” Cait shot Ivan a guilty look. “But when I came down you arguing with Grandmother and Grandfather. Why wereyouso angry with them?”
Sighing, Ivan shook his head. “They only see things from their point of view, Cait. They didn’t like Mom because…she didn’t think like they did, and she was different.”
Not understanding him, Cait asked, “Didn’t like Mommy, but why?” She didn’t really remember much about her mother, but she did, remember that she had been loved and there was a lot of laugher in the house when she was alive.
“You don’t always think like your friends, do you? I mean, you like something, but they like something else sometimes, right?”
Nodding, Cait asked, “So Grandmother and Grandfather don’t like some things that Mommy did?”
“Something like that. But instead of being happy for Mom and Dad, they were angry about it.”
“So they’re angry with you, now? Like you are with them? Is that why they want to take me away?” Cait’s lower lip trembled.
“Oh Cait.” Ivan held his sister close. He remained quiet.
Hearing Ivan’s heartbeat comforted Cait. She was still confused and scared. But she knew her brother loved her, even though these past years she hadn’t seen much of him.
Gently lifting her face up, Ivan looked at Cait in the eye. “Dad said he wanted you to stay with me. I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that happens. Do you believe me? You’re my sister, I won’t let anything happen to you, ok?”
Nodding, Cait didn’t say anything but hugged her older brother. She didn’t know what was going happen, but whatever might, she knew Ivan would be there, which made everything okay.
- O - O -
Harry was silent after she finished telling him about the day of the funeral of her father. But then he had questions. “What were your grandparents names?”
Cait swallowed, the memory still fresh. But she heard Harry. “Stephen and Virginia McKinnon.”
“What happened when your grandparents tried to gain custody?”
“Ivan and I weren’t sure we had a chance against them. But surprisingly, the judge was sympathetic to our plight. She granted full guardianshipto Ivan. We had a social worker check on us from time to time, but my grandparents didn’t interfere.”
Harry nodded, then changed the subject. “So now you’re going to join Ivan in the medical field to became a nurse?”
Remaining silent, Cait didn’t answer. No one knew about her real dream. But she couldn’t throw away her future for it.
“It is something you want to do, right?”
Sighing, Cait said, “I want to help people, just like Ivan does. I just don’t have the love for it like he does. Maybe one day…but for now, I’m happy enough to know that I’m helping people.”
“But it isn’t want you really wantto do, is it?” Harry looked at her, waiting for a response.
“I…want to be a writer.” Cait said in a rush, almost not believing that she had revealed want she longed to do. She broke eye contact with him. “I want to go to college, into publishing. Maybe became a publisher, or an editor. But most of all, I want to eventually write a book.”
“Why don’t you?” Harry asked, trying to get her to look at him. Taking a hold of her hand, he asked, “Cait?”
Swallowing the lump that wedged itself in her throat, Cait looked back up Harry. “I can’t do that. Not after everything Ivan’s sacrificed. It took him so much more time to get through medical school, then his residency. He all but lives at the hospital, to make sure we have enough money.” Cait let out a meaningless laugh. “I can’t even remember the last time he’s been out on a date.”
“Surely Ivan would be behind you no matter what you want to do.”
“But it’s always been about what I’ve wanted. Now it’s time for me to give him something in return.”
Harry remained silent. Cait seemed set in her decision. She was going to give up her own happiness for her brother. Harry doubted Ivan would want to his sister to think like that. Didn’t he care about her dreams?
Cait remembered some of the thoughts she’d had about Harry’s loss of memory. Maybe she could probe a bit, it just might trigger something that Harry could remember. At any rate, it was worth a shot and might get the conversation away from her.
Removing her hand from his, she asked him, “Harry, do you think your amnesia was caused by memories you’re trying to block?”
Harry looked at her for moment without replying. He hadn’t expected her to ask that. Why did she think he was blocking his own memory? “What do you mean?”
“Well, maybe you have memories about something, say, about your parents’ deaths, that you don’t want to remember. Or maybe there’s something else that you know, but don’t want to.”
Things I don’t want to remember? That’s easy for her to say. “I wish I could answer that.”
“It’s something to think about.” Cait got up. “I have to do some things before I have to go to work.”
“Sure.” Harry watched her leave the room. He was still thinking about everything she’d told him about her family.
His thoughts didn’t stay on that for long. Cait’s words came back to haunt him. Maybe you have memories about something. Or there’s something you know but don’t want to…
- O - O -
Harry couldn’t help but give a sigh of relief as he and the rest of Midtown High seniors left Columbia University. From the sound of it, he wasn’t the only one.
Most of the kids headed for the waiting bus, but the ones who drove took their time. Harry saw the black Rolls down the street waiting for him. Wonder what Dad would say if I rode the bus home?
It was bad enough that he got the brunt of Norman Osborn’s irritation-or at least it felt that way to Harry. No matter what he did, it wasn’t good enough for his father.
Peter was one of the last ones out of the building. Harry fell in step with his friend. “Reluctant to leave?” Harry asked in a light tone. He was fairly sure that Peter wasn’t happy with him for talking-no, flirting--with Mary Jane.
“I don’t mind going,” Peter replied, but didn’t look at him.
Peter had been quiet for most of the trip, since Mr. Sullivan told them, along with Flash and Hoops, that he’d fail them. Not that Peter really had to worry about that. Harry on the other hand…
Out of the corner of his eye, Harry noticed Peter rubbing his right hand. He’d been doing that through most of the fieldtrip. Harry hadn’t asked about it yet.
Looking at Peter, he noticed that Peter’s forehead was slightly damp with sweat. He’d seemed fine before. Was he coming down with something?
They were nearing the bus, but Harry figured he’d wouldn’t want to be on the bus if he was sick. Even as he asked the question, he knew his father would be pissed if Peter got sick in the car. “Pete, do you want a lift home?”
“No, I’ll just take the bus. I left my book bag on it earlier.”
Frowning, Harry asked, “You sure? You don’t look too hot.”
“It’s a bit warm, isn’t it?” Peter glanced at Harry, then looked around him to see why the weather changed.
Warm? It was one of the colder days they had, even for May. But Harry didn’t say that.
“Parker! Let’s go!” Mr. Sullivan’s voice held impatience.
As he watched Peter board the bus, Harry hoped nothing would happen to him on the way home. Harry knew well enough from school that Peter was an easy target. Turning, he headed for his own ride home, thinking that he’d call Peter later to see how he was doing.
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