Special thanks to my editor, lokeman, who has been with me for the last six months, through thick and thin. He is an established author who writes under the name of Marc Jarrod.
"Hello, Richard."
"Kathryn," was his simple greeting, accompanied by a nod as he held the door open for her.
Kathryn walked inside her sister's home and did not look behind her as Richard closed the door. By the time she reached the kitchen, she was no longer trembling and was just barely able to speak without her voice showing how nervous she was. She hugged and greeted Elaine, wished her a happy anniversary, and went in search of her brother-in-law, to offer the same congratulations.
Although she saw Elaine and Howard often, she had not seen Howard's brother in five years, not since the afternoon of the wedding, and that was only the second time. He had come to town, arriving barely an hour before the rehearsal and the dinner that followed. Kathryn was no longer the immature twenty-two year old Maid of Honor. There had been changes in her life. A lot can happen to a person in five years.
Since the last dance of the wedding reception, when Richard had danced her through the wide open doors into a deserted hallway and kissed her, she had not seen or spoken to him. When possible, she had even avoided saying his name. During the rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, wedding, and reception, he was the Best Man and oldest brother of her older sister's new husband. The wordless kiss and the look in his eyes had frightened Kathryn...and he was a married man.
After closing the front door of his brother's house, Richard watched Kathryn walk away from him, just as he had watched her walk away five years ago. He had two or three hours, four at best, to make up for a very terrible mistake he had made that day. In a moment of clarity, or pure insanity, he wished he were a man of many earlier millenniums and could hoist the woman over his shoulder, take her with him, keep her until he could convince her she belonged to him, or until he had destroyed all their pursuers, thus making her calm once again.
Instead, he would need to be a modern man, use all of his skills at being polite and friendly. He had to take that one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind by invading the unknown to convince a woman he was not what she thought he was. He was aware he would never have a second chance to make a first impression so he had to see this thru.
For over an hour, Kathryn avoided Richard, never stepping close enough that she could smell his aftershave or allow him to see that when his attention was directed elsewhere, she watched him. If he looked at her, she was looking at her sister or brother-in-law. While everyone was outside, watching the small fire in the barbeque pit turn to coals dusted with white ash, Kathryn stood at the edge of the wooden deck, watching the squirrels cavorting in a few trees at the back of the yard where Elaine kept a feeder filled for the small animals.
As Elaine stood, announcing she was going inside to get the steaks and finish the salad, Richard also rose to open the sliding glass door for the two women. Kathryn stepped in front of her sister, escaping the chance that Richard might want to hold her arm, as he did for Elaine, when she walked up the three open steps.
Kathryn lifted one hip to sit on the edge of the bar stool on the opposite side of the kitchen island where her sister was working. Elaine asked, "Is your car still in the shop?"
"Oh yes, despite all their pretty promises they would have it out in one day. I just couldn't see paying half the rental fee for a car to drive to lunch, so I'm afoot. I had one of the other teachers from school drop me off here. Can you take me home, or I'll get a cab later."
"Sure," Elaine answered absently mindedly as she tossed the salad and began dishing it onto small plates. "Or we can ask Howard or Richard to drive you home."
Kathryn looked away, trying to think of a good reason to avoid letting Richard take her home. Noticing Elaine was only filling four salad plates, Kathryn asked, "I thought Mom and Dad were coming tonight."
Elaine waved her hand, dismissing their parents, "Aw, they wanted to go to their dance. We see them all the time anyway. It's just you and me, plus Howard and Richard. Golly, can you believe it's been five years?"
Kathryn allowed her sister to hear a moment of artificial laughter, "Five years, right." Her voice cracked when she added. "In some ways it feels like fifty."
"Kathryn," Cautioned Elaine, quietly as she looked behind her sister to warn her.
Howard placed the platter of steaks on the counter and Kathryn looked at the two men who stood, one on each side of her. Unconsciously, she leaned away from Richard, not wanting to risk that he would accidentally touch her, or worse, do so on purpose. The two men were the oldest, and youngest of five brothers. From the day she met Richard, Kathryn continued to marvel that the two brothers were so different. The youngest, Howard, was short and slender, had almost blonde hair with a fair complexion, and was barely two inches taller than his wife was. He often told of how he was lucky to have another brother, two years older, of similar size and weight, else he might have thought he had been switched at the hospital when he was born.
The oldest, Richard, and their two other brothers were more like their father, very tall men, broad shoulders and dark, with dark hair, dark eyes, and a darker skin tone. Kathryn wondered if all four of the dark Robinson men were as solemn and serious as Richard seemed to be. Howard was not nearly so solemn. He smiled often, loved to tell funny stories, and was a perpetual tease.
Howard nudged his elbow against Kathryn and winked at her, "My boss still wants to take you to dinner."
"Howard," Kathryn warned, giving little thought to her words. "I'll tell you the same thing I told Joel Hastings. I don't date married men."
"Well, he ain't gonna be for long, married, I mean. I heard he was served with papers earlier this week." Howard reached over and slapped his brother on the back, "I think she beat him to it by about ten days."
Richard leaned over with his forearms on top of the kitchen island, looking down at the swirled pattern on the marble top. His voice sounded deep and angry, "Lord, I'm glad I don't work out of that office any more. Which one of them caught the other cheating?"
Howard chuckled, but turned serious when he answered, "Both, as far as we can tell. He was just a little better at hiding his."
"Then why are they getting a divorce?" Howard's voice didn't turn any nicer, if anything, he sounded even angrier. "They have children, why don't they just give each other a little more rope and keep the family together? They deserve each other."
"Hey guys," interrupted Elaine, after one look at Kathryn's face. She stopped the uncomfortable conversation by telling the men, "If you two will go wash your hands, dinner is served."
The dinner conversation was rather quiet. Howard and Richard shared information about their other brothers, the frequent family get-togethers, and Elaine even demonstrated that she knew the names and ages of all the growing nieces and nephews. As Elaine placed dessert plates on the table, she picked up Kathryn's hand and squeezed it until Kathryn looked up at her. Elaine looked down at Kathryn for a moment, trying to offer an apology, but knew it would not be enough.
Without taking her eyes off her husband, Elaine said, "Richard, you better start being prepared. You're the last one to give your parents a grandchild."
Richard's head jerked up to look at Elaine, his head swiveled to look at his grinning brother, his smile began to show when he turned back to look at Elaine. "How far along are you?"
"Three months," Elaine answered, falling into her seat and watching her sister's face turn pale.
"Well, well, congratulations," Richard said and raised his water glass, silently waiting for Kathryn to do the same. When he saw the look on her face he started to stand, but Howard grabbed his arm and held him in his chair.
"Excuse me," Kathryn spoke very quietly as she stood and left the table.
