A Wee in the Mountains

Passion in James County XIV: A Week In The Mountains

Frankie woke up before Kay did the next morning. He rolled onto his side and, for quite a while, lay next to her, watching her sleep. "What happened last night was unreal!" he thought, recalling the unique and wonderful love making experience he and she shared.

As he lay there, he remembered what had happened to his parents and, even though it still seemed unreal, it brought tears to his eyes and caused a lump to form in his throat. Afraid he'd begin crying and wake Kay up, he slid quietly out of bed.

"I guess I'll go down and make breakfast," the young man thought. He hadn't eaten since lunchtime the previous day and was famished. He went back to the room Kay had put his things in, slipped into a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, then went downstairs.

Kay woke up a bit later and was disappointed to find the bed next to her empty. "I wonder where Frankie is?" she thought. Then she realized the house smelled good. There was a scent of brewing coffee, and something else that smelled very good, too. She got up, quickly brushed out her tangled hair, slipped on a robe, and went downstairs.

"Good morning, Kay," Frankie said when Kay walked into the kitchen.

"Good morning, Frankie," Kay replied. "What smells so good?"

Frankie reddened a little. "I...I was starved when I woke up, so I thought I'd make breakfast for us," he said. "There wasn't much here, but I did find enough stuff to make a quiche. It's bacon and cheese. There weren't any eggs, but there were some of those egg substitutes in the freezer. I...I hope you like it. There was coffee here, and it's ready."

Kay walked over to the young man, put her arms around him, and kissed him tenderly. "How are you today, Frankie?" she asked.

"If...if I keep busy and don't think too much, I'm...I'm OK, I guess," Frankie replied. "But it's hard...it's really hard."

"I know it is, my love," Kay told him, hugging him. "I know it is."

"Having you here helps a lot, though," Frankie said. "It really does." The buzzer on the stove sounded. "The quiche is done. Go sit down, I'll get it out for us."

Kay walked to the little glassed-in breakfast nook off the kitchen and sat down. Frankie had set the table, napkins and all. A carafe of coffee was already on the table. She poured some into her cup.

The young man brought the quiche, which he'd sliced, to the table, and put one wedge-shaped slice of it on Kay's plate and another on his, then he sat down.

"Frankie, that quiche smells delicious," Kay said.

"I hope it tastes OK," he said. "I never used those egg replacement things to make it before, but that was all there was."

"I'm sure it will be delicious, Frankie," Kay said. "Come on, let's eat."

The quiche tasted even better than it smelled. "This is fantastic, Frankie," Kay commented. "And the crust is so flaky. How do you do that? My crusts always get tough."

Frankie blushed. "Ah, well, I...I used a ready-made crust from a package I found in the refrigerator," he said. "I...I can make crust, though. Mom says..." His eyes reddened, he stopped talking, and took a deep breath as a tear trickled down his cheek.

Kay laid her hand on the young man's arm.

"...she says I make better crusts than...than she does," the young man said, finishing his statement. He looked at Kay. "Why did this have to happen to them?" he said softly. "Mom and Dad, they...they were good people, they...they never hurt anybody."

Kay trailed her fingers up and down Frankie's arm. "I don't have an answer for you, Frankie," she said. "I'm not sure there is one. Sometimes terrible things happen and we can't find a reason. We just have to accept the things that happened and move on with our lives, I guess. We'll get through this. We have each other, don't we?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Frankie replied. He took another slice of quiche and began eating it. "It...it isn't easy, though, is it?"

Kay shook her head. "No, darling, it isn't," she said softly. "And it will probably get harder when it's time for the funeral. I have a feeling that's going to be very hard on both of us." She finished her piece of quiche and, even though it was delicious, she decided she didn't want a second piece. She sat, sipping her coffee, while Frankie finished his second slice of quiche and went to work on his third. "It's nice to see you eat your own cooking," she said, smiling.

"I'm starved," Frankie replied. He finished his third slice of quiche, then he poured himself a cup of coffee.

"I didn't know you liked coffee," Kay said.

"I drink it once in a while," Frankie said. "Sometimes I ride with Greg when he's on patrol. He drinks a lot of coffee. I guess it's kind of a cop thing." His face grew serious. "Will...will Mr. Tobin be coming back up today?" he asked.

Kay shook her head. "I don't think so," she replied.

Frankie looked surprised. "How come?" he asked. "Doesn't...doesn't he want to, you know, be with you now?"

Kay took a deep breath. Should she tell him? She might as well, he'd find out sooner or later. "Frankie, one of the...the reasons Stu came up yesterday..." she said hesitantly, "...was to tell me he...he wanted a...a divorce."

Frankie's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. "What?" he exclaimed. "He...he wants to divorce you? How come?"

Kay shrugged. "I guess both Stu and I have been aware that our marriage hasn't been what it should have been for a long time," she replied. "He finally decided he had enough and wanted out."

"Oh, wow," Frankie said. "I'm sorry. Boy, yesterday really sucked, didn't it?"

Kay smiled. "I'd say that's an understatement," she replied.

They both looked around when someone began knocking softly at the back door.

"I'll get it," Frankie said, standing up. He walked across the kitchen and opened the door. "Hi, Abby," he said to an attractive blonde woman, dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt, standing there.

"Hi, Frankie," the woman said. "I saw the note on your door, so I came up here. I hope you don't mind. How are you?" She stepped into the house and gave the young man a hug.

"I'm OK right now, sort of, " Frankie said, returning the woman's hug. "Come in, Abby, I want you to meet Mrs. Tobin."

Frankie led the blonde across the kitchen to where Kay sat. "Abby Atkinson, this is Kay Tobin," he said.

Kay stood up and took Abby's offered hand. "I'm very pleased to meet you, Abby," she said.

"Abby's married to Greg, the sheriff's deputy who came and...and...yesterday," Frankie said, his voice breaking. "They...they live down the road a way."

"This is all so awful," Abby said.

"It certainly is," Kay agreed.

"Greg said you offered to take care of Frankie," Abby continued. "I was glad to hear he had someone to look out for him, and that you were here when it happened."

"I'm glad I was, too," Kay replied.

"Frankie's a really special guy," Abby said. "We were good friends with his folks, too. I sometimes think Greg sees Frankie as the little brother he never had. Most summers they're always together, aren't you, Frankie?"

"Ah...yeah," Frankie replied.

Kay found herself liking the woman she was talking to. Abby seemed like a very caring person, just like her husband. And it was obvious they were close to Frankie.

While the women talked, Frankie cleared the table and washed the dishes. When those were finished and put away, he sat down at the table with the women.

Abby laid her hand on Frankie's. "You know Greg and I will do anything we can for you, Frankie," she said. "Don't be afraid to call on us if you need something."

"Thanks, Abby," Frankie said. "That...that really means a lot to me."

"Some of the women who live here at the lake full-time are going to get meals together for you folks for a couple of days," Abby said. "We figured with the funeral and everything, you'd be too busy to cook and, well, we wanted to do something to help."

"Thank you so much," Kay said. "I'm sure it will be a help. Frankie made breakfast for me this morning."

Abby looked surprised. She turned to the young man. "Frankie, you can cook?" she said.

Frankie's face turned bright red. "Ah...yeah, a little," he replied. "You know, simple stuff."

"Simple stuff like Quiche Lorraine," Kay said.

"Greg, my husband, he cooks sometimes, too, and he's quite good, better than I am, I think," Abby said. "It's nice having a man who cooks for you once in a while."

"Until Frankie did it this morning, I've never had a man cook for me," Kay said.

Abby stood up. "Well, I have to go. My husband's uncle and his new wife are visiting, and they're watching little Greg," she said. "But Uncle John has a tendency to let our son do things I wouldn't let him do and don't want him to do. I better get back before my son winds up in a tree somewhere. It was nice meeting you, Kay. And Frankie, don't forget, Greg and I are here for you."

"I know you are, Abby," Frankie said.

Kay walked Abby to the door.

"How's he doing, really?" Abby whispered.

"I'm no expert on these things, but he seems to be bearing up pretty well," Kay replied softly. "He has crying spells, but then so do I. Gloria was one of my best friends. I still keep thinking this has to be some kind of bad dream."

"I do too," Abby said. "What I said for Frankie goes for you, too, Kay. If you need anything, just call. Have you got my number?"

Kay nodded. "Your husband gave me his card yesterday," she replied. "He wrote your home number on the back of it."

"Abby seems very nice," Kay said when she returned to the table. "How long have she and her husband been married?"

"A couple of years, I think," Frankie replied. "She used to be married to a doctor who had a cabin next door to Greg's, but somebody burned the cabin down and was trying to kill Abby or something. After that she got divorced and she and Greg got married. They're about the happiest married couple I ever knew. Even happier than Mom and..."

Kay leaned forward, put her arms around Frankie, and he leaned against her while he sobbed. He finally settled down and leaned back in his chair.

"I suppose we ought to go down to your cabin and see if there are any messages on the answering machine," Kay said. "I'm sure Stu called to let us know how Mike Ervins is." She stopped and took a deep breath. "And, even though I know it's going to be hard for you, we need to talk about the funeral, too."

"I...I know," Frankie said.

Kay stood up, planning to go upstairs, take a shower, and get dressed.

"Kay?" Frankie said.

"What, darling?" Kay responded.

"Last night...it...it was...neater...the neatest..." he stammered, searching for words.

Kay sat down and took him in her arms again. "Last night was the most incredible experience I've ever had," she murmured. "When you came to my room, all I intended to do was hold you and try to ease your pain. And I wanted to be held by you and have you do the same for me. I...I had no intention of making love."

"I...I didn't either," Frankie said. "I...I never even thought about it, you know? How come it was so neat, then? I mean, after what happened yesterday and all..."

"I don't know, Frankie," Kay said. She smiled gently at the young man. "I've been wondering the same thing. All I know is that last night was more wonderful than anything that ever happened to me before. It was almost magical-I don't know-almost mystical for me."

Frankie nodded. "Yeah, mystical, that's exactly how it felt to me, too," he said. "It was kind of like out of this world, wasn't it?" He looked at her for a while, then he took a deep breath. "Last night you...you said you loved me," he said softly. "I thought I'd dreamed that when I woke up this morning. I wasn't dreaming, was I?"

Kay smiled and caressed the young man's face with her hand. "No, Frankie," she said softly. "You didn't dream that. I do love you."

"I love you, too, Kay," Frankie said, hugging her fiercely.