Finding Kylie (18 page)

             
“So he found us?”  Chastity asked herself - not expecting an answer.  “Why don’t I remember any of this?  Everything is so fuzzy.” 

             
Chastity stared at the table in front of her, trying to remember the details of that day.  She couldn’t recall anything past the green sweater she’d found.

             
Cheryl laid her hand on Chastity’s arm.  “Are you okay?”

             
Chastity made eye contact, but Cheryl could tell she was a million miles away. 

             
“Why can’t I remember what happened next?”  Her voice shook.

             
“Kylie called me from a pay phone outside of town, and said you were pretty shaken up.  Children often block out things that they can’t make sense of - things that scare them or take their security away ... what little of it you had.  It doesn’t surprise me that you don’t remember.” 

             
Cheryl picked up Chastity’s portfolio once more.  “I guess part of you did or you wouldn’t have drawn him for all these years.”

             
“That makes sense.”  She pressed her lips together and breathed in through her nose.  She was ready to know.  “So tell me.  What happened next?”

             
“Kylie obviously didn’t have a job.  She just left the one she had with the Mackenzie chain.  She was supposed to open the their newest restaurant in North Carolina.  They were pretty upset that she left, so she knew she wouldn’t get a referral from them.” 

             
Cheryl stood to put the plates in the sink.  She turned to lean against the counter, arms crossed. 

             
“She told me to call Mr. Mikale for her and tell her that John found them.  She wanted me to find out what John knew.  She said she’d call back later after you’d been on the road awhile.”

             
“So what did Mr. Mikale have to say for himself?”

             
“He was very distressed when I called.  John had already made contact.  I guess he put two and two together and figured out why he’d been suddenly shipped off.  The timing and Mr. Mikale’s rash decision gave John all the information he needed to finally understand that his dad had known about you all along.  Mr. Mikale promised me that he wouldn’t help John find the two of you, but that John was hell bent on tracking Kylie down.  He said John wanted contact with his daughter.”

             
“Hadn’t he done enough?” Chastity’s face was bright red, from anger.

             
“It’s natural to want to know your child, but you’re right he’d done enough.”

             
Chastity gave her an evil eye when it sounded like Cheryl was taking up for the man, who was supposed to be her father. 

             
Cheryl continued as if she didn’t notice.  “Mr. Mikale’s promise gave me the in I needed to segue into why I had called him.”

             
“What happened next?” Chastity’s questioning eyes searched hers from across the table.

             
“I told him that it would be hard for his granddaughter, and I used that word heavily, to live life on the run - on limited funds.  I also said that Kylie would need permanent monthly installments to protect the both of them.”

             
Chastity’s jaw dropped. “You blackmailed him this time?”

             
Cheryl’s eyes gleamed.  “This is the fun part of the story.  I finally got to stick it to him and it felt good!”

             
Chastity tried not to laugh, but couldn’t help it.  The look on her face was priceless.

             
“Good for you Aunt Cheryl!  Did he go along with it?”

             
“Mmm.”  She hummed through her lips before speaking.  “He didn’t want to at first, but he didn’t have a choice.  This time I had the upper hand, and was the one in charge.  He told me to give him a bank account number to deposit to, and he’d transfer a monthly fee.” 

             
Cheryl took a sip of water before continuing.  “I had a nagging feeling that one day he’d get old and sentimental, and end up breaking his promise to me, by helping John.  I told him that he could mail me a monthly check.  Then, I opened a savings account at my local bank to deposit his monthly installments.  Then, I withdrew the cash – and had Dave drive across town to deposit it at another bank. With that much money each month, I didn’t feel safe doing it on my own.  I mailed Kylie checks each month from the second account I opened.  This way there was no trail for the Mikale’s to pick up on.”

             
“Wow, you had it all thought out.  How much money did you get every month?”  Chastity leaned forward.

             
“Well it started out being just a few thousand a month.”  Cheryl winced, waiting for her response.

             
“Started out?” She sat there, in shock. 
Three thousand a month is a lot - especially for back then.

             
“
As your needs grew or circumstances changed, I would up the amount Kylie needed.”  Cheryl squirmed.  “This makes me sound like a major deviant.  If Dave knew I told you this part, he’d flip out.” 

             
Chastity gave Cheryl a questioning look, to which she elaborated. “You know the whole ‘serve and protect’ thing.  Blackmail and fraud isn’t part of his obligation to the force, but I never gave him as much detail as I am giving to you.  I kept him out of the loop … for his own protection.”

             
“I can’t believe you did it.  You blackmailed one of the most powerful men in the Midwest, and used your cop husband as a courier?”  Chastity burst out in laughter.  “This is crazy!” 

             
Cheryl let out a breath.  It felt good to finally let go of all of it.               

             
“You’re right.”  She grimaced.  “It is.”  She almost couldn’t believe it herself.

             
Chastity leaned back in her chair, crossed her arms, and said, “Okay, one more question.”  She looked deep in to Cheryl’s apprehensive eyes. “If we had so much money, why didn’t we live a little better?  We never really hurt for anything like food or necessities, so why wouldn’t mom let go of some of it to make our lives a little easier?”

             
“At first she didn’t know how long she’d get installments from Mr. Mikale, so she wanted to save up as much as she could for your daily survival … paying bills, rent and so forth ... but after awhile, she was afraid to use any of it for just in case.” 

             
Cheryl poured herself some more water.  “She always assumed something bad was going to happen to the two of you and you’d need the money.  Plus, she wanted to lay low and figured living modestly was the best way.  Later in life, so much money had accumulated that she decided to put it into some investments for your future.  It was Kylie’s way of providing for you.” Her mouth was getting dry, so she lifted her glass for a quick drink before continuing.  “So that was, in small part, her letting go of some of her fear … just a little bit.”

             
Chastity shook her head, and wiped away a tear.  “All this time, I thought I knew my mom and she’s someone completely different!  She lied to me and I don’t know what to do with that!” 

             
Cheryl swallowed, and spoke slowly.  “Your mother lived in fear your whole life and that wasn’t very fair to you, but she did the best she could by you.  All she wanted was to protect you.” 

             
“Did you ever try to get her counseling?  Why didn’t she see anyone or talk to anyone?” 

             
“Oh sweetie, I tried so many times.  I took that role upon myself because your mom wasn’t ready to see some one officially.  You can’t force someone into therapy that isn’t ready.  Your mom relied on me to help her and you, as much as I was able.” 

             
“Didn’t you ... and Uncle Dave resent that?  You have your own lives!”  She squeaked out with as much voice as she could through the tears that started to well up. 

             
Cheryl nodded, fighting back tears. “Part of me did, and then I would beat myself up for it.  The experience she went through affected me too and I was part of it.  I couldn’t turn my back on her and break her trust.  She’d already been broken enough.  I didn’t want that responsibility, so I did the best I could.  I met Dave when you were a couple of years old.  When Kylie was ready, I clued him in on the whole situation.  He and I loved you, and we promised ourselves that we’d bring some balance to your life.  At that point we didn’t know your life would be so chaotic.  We assumed Kylie would eventually get help.”

             
“That’s a lot to take in.” Chastity paused.  “You know growing up, whenever you came to town ... it was almost peaceful.  I looked forward to your visits more than you could imagine.  You brought fun into my life and to me, you were always fun Auntie Cheryl.” 

             
Chastity looked at her with guilt. “And then, as I got older, I was angry about how my mother and I lived. I took that out on both of you.  I’m sorry ... I guess my thankfulness that you could make my mother feel secure turned into resentment that you were the one who made everything better.  I wanted to be the one to do that.”

             
“Oh sweetheart, I know.  It wasn’t fair.  You didn’t have the most normal upbringing, and I knew your anger wasn’t really directed at me.  Kylie understood your anger too.  She didn’t like feeling the way she did.”

             
Chastity silently processed it all and nodded her head.

             
“I don’t agree with how she handled things, but I wasn’t in her shoes to make the decisions.”  She sighed.  “Life with her was so, I don’t know…” She leaned back and softly said, “...sad.  It was tiring being in the situation we were in.  I never understood why she didn’t get a job that would give us something stable ...  somewhere to call home.” 

             
I resented her and she knew it,
she told herself.

             
Cheryl saw the guilt on her face and tried to comfort her. 

             
“You both did the best you could, under the circumstances.  Don’t beat yourself up for being angry with her.  It would have been natural to feel that way. Kylie knew her issues had a ripple effect on you.  That’s why I would come visit as much as possible to help her out.”

             
Chastity quickly changed the subject, hoping to keep any more tears at bay.  She wiped her face dry, determined to move past it.

             
“So tell me, did she contact the attorney after she got sick?  This attorney, Timothy Banks, said mom contacted him because of his advertising.  He told me that she liked his smile, but you and I both know that mom wouldn’t trust just anyone.” 

             
“Huh, so she used him after all?”  Cheryl was taken aback.

             
“Do you know him?”

             
“Yeah, actually I do.  When she was looking to set up a trust for you - I told her to look him up.  He’s my second cousin’s son, who had set up a practice in San Francisco.  You know how your mom is about strangers, so I thought he might be a convenient and safe choice for her.  She took down his name and said she’d think about it.  I didn’t know who she ended up using.  She never brought it up again.”  Cheryl scratched her head.  “She kept things from me too apparently.”

             
This story keeps getting wilder by the second,
Chastity though before inquiring,
“So does he know the connection?  I asked him how she found him, and he didn’t mention a family connection.”

             
Cheryl shook her head. 

             
“No, he wouldn’t have a reason to recognize Kylie’s name.  My cousin, Janie, was a few years ahead of us in school.  She didn’t hang out with underclassmen, and would barely remember her.  Heck, my family is so big that most of us don’t even know each other.”

             
Chastity put both hands on the table and leaned in.  “So help me remember ... a lot of my childhood is so fuzzy.  When we packed up from the east coast, I kind of remember driving through a few states in our station wagon.  What happened after that?” 

             
“Kylie and I put our heads together.  She called me back and I told her about the money that would be coming her way.  She wasn’t very happy with me by the way.  She didn’t think stooping to Jackson Mikale’s level would do anything but end up getting us in more trouble.” 

             
Cheryl paused to remember her friend.  Her eyes began to well up.  She grabbed her napkin to blot them dry.

             
“Your mom was a good woman.  She wanted only the best for you.”  She waved her hand in front of her, trying to discourage any more tears from tumbling down.  “Anyway, she told me that you two had decided to drive to Alabama.  She’d bought an atlas, and opened it in the front seat.  She asked you to look for a place that you’d want to visit.  She said you flipped through it, and found Friendswood, Alabama.  You told her that it sounded nice, so she agreed to drive south.”