The Exception to the Rule (17 page)

I walked back into the room. My dad was basically incoherent from all of the medication being pumped through his body. I knew that he wouldn’t understand anything I wanted to say so I just kissed him on the forehead. I sat down in the chair next to his bed, etching his face into my mind so I would never forget it. I held his hand as he opened his eyes briefly, smiled at me, only to close them again forever, as I whispered - “goodbye, Daddy.”

Chapter 15

The funeral was small and intimate, just as my father had re-quested. After a small luncheon with a few of his close friends, and Charles and Claire, of course, I was glad to be home. I just wanted some alone time to be able to feel however I wanted without being on display where everyone felt sorry for me.

The late afternoon sunlight was coming through the living room window. I plugged in the Christmas tree and turned on the fireplace. Tomorrow was New Year’s Eve and while everyone else would be getting all dressed up and going out looking forward to a fresh new year, I would be sitting here reflecting on this one, wishing that I could go back and change it. I thought about previous New Years’, when I was younger. My mom and dad would never go out; instead we would always have our own little party with lots of junk food that I wasn’t normally allowed to eat. The best part was being able to stay up way past my bedtime to watch the ball drop. I smiled, thinking that all of those happy memories occurred right here in this same living room I was sitting in right now, but such a long time ago. Things were definitely different now. I was all that was left of those cherished New Year’s Eve parties and it scared me being all alone. I looked under the tree at my dad’s opened presents and started to regret my decision to buy them. I knew that it was only going be harder deciding what to do with them now. I quickly erased that thought from my mind, not wanting to think about it.

I looked out of the big picture window at the enormous oak tree in the backyard. That tree was my favorite play place when I was growing up. It provided shade from the hot summer days. It was the perfect climbing tree during my tomboy phase and the best thinking spot as I got older. It looked so barren in the winter, stripped of its green leaves of summer or the majestic hues of red and orange that it would unveil every autumn. I felt like that tree–empty. I had no one left; I would never be able to have one of my long insightful talks with my dad again. I focused my attention on the lone wooden swing that hung from the limb of that tree. I remembered how my dad had built it for me the summer after my mother had died. It had withstood the test of time, the harsh winters, the hurricane winds that would blow through–just as our love for one another had survived. I grabbed my coat and made my way out to the swing. The cold December air immediately hit me in the face. I sat down on the swing and closed my tear-filled eyes. 

“Push me higher, Daddy.”

“Okay, hold on, Katrina–here you go!”

I could hear the laughter and feel the happiness that filled the backyard that day.

“I love you so much, Daddy!”

“I love you too, baby girl.”

The tears rolled down my cold face as I began to sob. I leaned back in the swing and began to pump my legs, swinging as high as I could, just like that eight-year-old girl all those years ago. The cold air filled my lungs as the wind burned my tear-stained face. But I didn’t care. I needed to be in this place now–I needed to be close to my dad. I finally slowed down and came to a stop. I closed my eyes and rested my face against the rope.

“What am I going to do without you, Dad?”

I sat on the swing silently for some time until a seagull squawking overhead broke me from my daydreaming. I looked up at the sky; the late afternoon sun was just beginning to set. Even the beauty of a winter sunset couldn’t break me from my melancholic state. I could hardly feel my hands, they were so numb. I reluctantly got up and headed back to the house.

I stood by the fireplace and tried to warm up as best as I could. Claire was stopping by so I put on a pot of coffee. I went into the bathroom and washed the dried-up tears from my face. I had just finished changing into my most comfortable sweatpants when I heard a knock on the front door. As I walked to the door I began to think how perfect Claire’s timing was; the coffee had just finished brewing. 

I turned on the front porch light before flinging the front door open. “Perfect timing…” I stopped myself as I realized it wasn’t Claire. My stomach began to do somersaults, and I wanted to smile so badly but I couldn’t; I was just too shocked. I had to do a double-take to make sure I was seeing correctly—was it really Julian’s beautiful eyes that I was staring into? 

He was standing on the front porch, looking more handsome than I remembered, if that were even possible. I couldn’t help but check him out from head to toe. The black jacket he wore was as dark as his hair, which looked freshly cut. Under his unbuttoned jacket he had on a light blue Oxford-type shirt with a white tee underneath, jeans and black shoes.

I temporarily pulled it together and invited him in. 

“Were you expecting someone else?” He grinned.

“Well yeah, Claire…” I stopped myself midsentence, stood on my tiptoes and gave him the biggest hug ever, no longer able to hide my joy at seeing him.

He hugged me back, sending warmth and contentment throughout my body. It felt as if all the loneliness that I was feeling just a short time ago had been sucked out of my body completely. My cheek rubbed against his freshly shaven skin which smelled so good, not like he had drenched himself in cologne but more of a fresh, clean scent. 

“What are you doing here?” I asked after finally loosening my hold on him.

He explained that he had found out a few days ago that his trip to Germany had been pushed up. He had thought that he would have a few months back in Chicago, but now he had to head to Germany as soon as he was done in Africa. So he had to fly home to Chicago at the last minute to get all the paperwork straightened out with his hospital. He said that while he was there he had gotten a phone call from Charles, who told him that my dad had passed away. He said he had left a message on my answering machine, letting me know that he would be in Chicago. It was then that I remembered I hadn’t checked the messages on the machine in days.

I was listening to everything he said, still in absolute amazement. I just couldn’t believe that he was standing right beside me. “I’m sorry, I just can’t believe you’re here,” I blurted out, realizing how long I had been staring at him.

He smiled that same beautiful smile that made me melt. I took his coat and hung it up, offering him a drink about a million times until he finally agreed to some water, probably just to appease me. I grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator and led him over to the couch. I sat down next to him, catching myself staring at him again. I began to speak, trying to come out of my surreal state of mind.

“So how did you get here?” I asked in amazement.

“Um, let’s see; a plane, a car, some directions from Charles,” he said, laughing.

I began to laugh too, thinking that was a stupid question to ask but I wasn’t thinking as literally as he was when I asked it. “So Charles knew you were coming?” I asked.

He nodded. So I guessed Claire wouldn’t be coming after all since I was sure she was in on this little surprise with Charles. Somehow I believed she may have actually played the bigger role of the two, convincing Charles to contact Julian.

“So how long can you stay?” I asked.

“Two days,” he said as the lights from the Christmas tree reflected in his eyes.

My heart dropped a little hearing that I only had two days to spend with him, but I would take whatever I could get. Less than an hour ago I wasn’t sure if I would ever even see him again, and now here he was sitting right beside me.

He explained to me that he had to fly back to Africa and finish his commitment, helping the other team of doctor’s transition so they could take over after he left. As soon as he was done there he had to jump on a plane to Germany. He sounded a little disappointed, almost as if he was looking forward to having those few months back in Chicago between trips, which I understood. I couldn’t imagine traveling as much as he did. Then again, I was such a homebody; most people would find me out of the norm.

 “Oh, wow, I really don’t know how you do it,” I said.

He seemed as if he didn’t want to talk about it, quickly asking me how I was doing and how the funeral had gone. I told him about the funeral and the days leading up to my dad’s passing. He was absorbed in what I was saying, flashing me a caring, sympathetic smile. When I started to get emotional, talking about my dad, I quickly changed the subject, asking him how Tau was doing. He said that Tau had the surgery three weeks ago and that he had been keeping in touch with the surgeon and as far as they could tell, he was going to be okay. He said that Tau had to stay in France for the next six weeks for observation and if all went well then he could go back home after that.

“That’s great news,” I said happily.

Julian nodded but I could still sense some regret in his face over Rapula. I knew that he felt like he had let Rapula and his parents down, but he had done everything that he possibly could. 

 “Are you hungry?” I asked.

“No, I’m fine, I swear,” he said, laughing, knowing that I would probably ask him about another hundred times.

We talked for some time and I could tell he was getting tired, his skin looked paler than usual and the light color of his eyes just enhanced the dark circles that were beginning to form underneath.

 “Are you tired?” I asked.

“A little,” he finally admitted.

“But I thought you didn’t get tired,” I teased as I got up to grab the blanket from the other couch, turning off the overhead light. I looked out the window to see a light snow falling. I sat back down on the couch covering us both with the blanket as we watched TV with just the glow of the fireplace and Christmas tree lights. He had his arms wrapped tightly around me as I rested my head on his chest. 

“Thank you,” I whispered.

“For what?” he asked.

“For being here.”

 I smiled when he pulled me closer and gently kissed my head. It didn’t take long before I heard his breathing begin to change and as I looked up I saw he was sound asleep. I put my head back down on his chest, kissing it softly. Just knowing he was here beside me, listening to his heartbeat and feeling him breathe, put my mind at such ease that it wasn’t long before I was fast asleep too.

Chapter 16

The bright sunlight shining through the window woke me from my sleep. I touched Julian lightly, he was still here, I wasn’t dreaming. He was still sound asleep as I quietly got off the couch and gently covered him with the blanket. I looked out the window, to find a light blanket of snow covering the ground and flocking the trees creating a picture perfect winter scene. I quietly tiptoed into the kitchen and dumped the full pot of coffee from last night. I quickly rinsed it out and made another pot. It seemed like an eternity before it was done brewing. I peeked into the living room and noticed that Julian was just starting to wake, looking very boyish as he rubbed his eyes trying to come out his sleep stupor. I watched him for a moment, thinking how absolutely adorable he looked. I quickly poured him a cup of coffee and brought it out to him.

“Good Morning,” I said laughing at the perplexed look on his face.

“Good Morning,” he said when he saw me as if he had finally figured out where he was.

“You were in a pretty deep sleep there,” I said.

“Yeah, well that was the first time that I had more than two hours of sleep in a while.” 

“Here you go?” I said handing him a cup of coffee.

“Wow, you’re good,” he said still looking like he was half out of it.

“Nothing but five star service here.” I joked.

I went back in the kitchen to get myself a cup of coffee and returned back to the couch. Julian was staring into space looking like he was still half asleep. “Are you okay?” I asked as I sat down next to him.

“Yeah, I just didn’t realize how exhausted I was.” 

“Well working nonstop will do that to you,” I said.

The coffee started kicking in and he started turning back into his normal self. He told me that his flight was scheduled to leave tomorrow night which made me happy and sad at the same time. Happy because I knew I had one more day left with him but sad because I didn’t know what would happen past that. He apologized for ruining any plans that I might have had with him being here. Little did he know, I had no plans and even if I had, I would have canceled them for him in a heartbeat.

“I can’t begin to tell you how happy I am that you’re here,” I said. He smiled as I kissed him on the cheek.

His cell phone was vibrating away on the coffee table. He picked it up and looked at the number on the caller ID. “I got to take this,” he said reluctantly.

I got up and went in the kitchen to give him his privacy. I sensed that it was a work call just by the way he was talking. I was unloading the dishwasher when the phone rang. I looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Claire’s cell phone. 

“Well, I’m glad I didn’t hold my breath waiting for you to get here.”

She laughed. “Well, I figured you would like that surprise better than my boring company.”

“Yes, it was a pretty nice surprise; thanks Claire,” I said sincerely. 

“You’re welcome. You deserve some happiness after all you’ve just been through,” she said, the tone of her voice confirmed that she played a big part in Julian’s visit.

“Yeah, even if it is just for a couple of days,” I said.

She was calling to invite Julian and me over for dinner, reminding me that it was New Year’s Eve and that she was dying to meet him. I quickly accepted, not even checking with Julian, who was still on the phone but I had a feeling he wouldn’t mind. I hung up the phone feeling a little selfish for wanting to have him all to myself in the short time he was here, but I couldn’t deny him the chance to taste Claire’s excellent cooking. Just as I couldn’t deny Claire the opportunity of meeting him. I felt a little flutter of excitement about introducing him to Claire, knowing that she would instantly see the same wonderful man in him that I did.