Chapter 173: Katrina V

Chapter 173: Katrina V—Take Care of Him

 

            Montreal--1986

 

            They weren’t going to a funeral. The nice lady, Michele, drove up to a big house, bigger than any house Katrina had ever seen. Her eyes grew big when Michele stopped the car and she momentarily forgot how uncomfortable she was in her pee-soaked T-Shirt. “Is this Snow White’s house?” Katrina asked, trying not to hope.

            “No baby,” Michele said. “No this is a friend’s house.”

            Katrina nodded and then she squirmed in her seat. “What about Teddy?” she asked. “He needs a funeral.”

            “He won’t need one,” Michele said as she got out of the car.

            Katrina sniffled and watched her as she opened the back door first and scooped out Teddy’s remains and then she opened her door.

            “Come on,” Michele said brightly and Katrina unclasped her own seatbelt and reached out to Michele as she lifted her out of the car. She buried her face into her nice smelling breast for warmth as she was carried to the house.

            Michele knocked on the door. There was a silence. Then she rang the doorbell. Katrina peeked up. “Daddy will find us,” she said. “He always does.”

            “No, no,” Michele said. “And even if he does, I wouldn’t let him touch you.”

            Katrina smiled, she had never heard words like that leave a woman’s mouth. She was reinforced in her belief that this woman was a fairy queen or a grand empress in disguise. “Can you be my mommy?” Katrina asked.

            Michele looked at her with surprised, blue eyes and Katrina closed her own when the woman kissed her cheek.

            “No, I cannot,” she said. “You belong to your mommy.”

            Katrina didn’t sigh although she felt it inside her body. Of course, why would a grand lady want a scrawny little girl who peed in her chair?

            The door finally opened and Katrina heard a voice as sweet as one she had ever heard. “Mimi? My God who is this?”

            “Oh Coco,” Michele said. “Please, just for a little while, this little girl needs help.”

            “Of course,” the woman named Coco said and Katrina peeked at her. Tall, slim, soft brown hair and eyes. She looked safe. “Bring her in, whose child is she?”

            “Connie Volanges,” Michele said. “She’s trying to run from her husband, he almost attacked me today trying to take this child. She’s in danger, Coco.”

            “I peed,” Katrina said mournfully feeling her wet underwear burning against her skin. She wanted to scratch there but she knew that would be dirty.

            “Oh!” Coco exclaimed and Katrina looked away in shame. This was a beautiful house, like a palace and she was dirty and pee soaked in it. “Get her into a bath, quickly!”

            A bath? Katrina’s heart leaped. “Will it have bubbles?” she asked.

            “Ooo what’s this?” Michele exclaimed in the bathroom as she pulled off Katrina’s sock. The crumpled ten dollar bill fell onto the floor.

            “It’s mine,” Katrina said. “Larry gave it to me.”

            Michele frowned. “He did?”

            Katrina nodded. “Cause I was pretty, he said.”

            Michele nodded. “He would,” she said softly.

            This time they let her stay in the bubbles for a very long time. It was so warm and smelled so nice that Katrina wanted to sink into the water and stay there forever. Maybe if she did then no one would ever find her and she would be safe. She hummed to herself and grabbed bubbles in her hands, blowing them into the air, staring into them and seeing oily rainbows winking at her. The nice lady came in and washed her hair all over again and then left her. Katrina contented herself with the pink cake of soap, sinking it into the water, watching it bob and then rolling it in her hands, feeling the slick suds all over her fingers.

            “No!” Katrina exclaimed when Michele came back into the bathroom with a large towel and clothes over her arm. “I wanna stay here forever!”

            Michele sighed. “No you cannot, now don’t make a fuss, this isn’t our house yes?”

            Katrina frowned and she felt the tears in her eyes and the trembling in her lips. Her chest was hurting and she closed her eyes, wailing, “I want Teddy! He killed Teddy! He killed him! He killed him!”

            “Oh my love,” the nice lady whispered and Katrina clung to her as she lifted her out of the water and wrapped her into a towel, hugging her. “Don’t cry, shhh. You cannot hurt Teddy like we can get hurt. He isn’t dead at all.”

            Katrina hiccupped, feeling worse. “But if he isn’t dead, he’s hurting with no head!” The lady didn’t answer her and Katrina whimpered and hiccupped as she was dried and then dressed in a pretty green dress, and new underwear and socks.

            “See,” Michele said. “Mr. Lacroix was nice enough to go out and buy this for you, so now you look like a princess.”

            Katrina shook her head. “No I don’t. Princesses don’t cry.”

            Katrina held onto Michele’s hand as they left the bathroom and she resisted the urge to scratch at the ruffled sleeves on her arms, they were itchy. Michele led her into a large room where a large, soft bellied man with dark eyes was sitting on a couch. She felt shy and hid behind Michele. The man smiled.

            “See, here she is,” Michele said and she nudged Katrina out from behind her. “Katrina say hello to Monsieur Lacroix.”

            Katrina blinked. He didn’t look mean, he just looked soft.

            “Hello little one,” Monsieur Lacroix said, “Do you like your new dress?”

            Katrina nodded. “Thank you Monsieur Lacroix,” she said and then realized she had said it in English so she repeated it in French.

            Lacroix raised his eyebrows. “She can speak two languages at such a young age?” He looked at Katrina and she wrinkled her nose in nervousness. “Smart little girl, yes? Stay that way.”

            Katrina nodded and pressed into Michele’s warm leg. “Where’s the other lady?” she asked. “She can see me not dirty now.”

            “I’ll go get her,” Michele said. “Stay right here.”

            “But…” Katrina said and Michele patted her on the head and left the room, leaving her all alone with Monsieur Lacroix. She looked at him. He didn’t look mean but she didn’t like being alone in a room with any sort of man. They always found ways to hurt people.

            “Do you like magic?” he asked.

            Katrina shrugged. “Magic’s not real.”

            “Well, then,” he said and Katrina decided that she liked his voice, it was smooth and there was no hint of meanness or taunting in it. “Would you like this quarter?”

            He was holding out his hands, pinching his thumb and forefinger together as if he had a quarter. Katrina shook her head. “I don’t see a quarter,” she said.

            Lacroix smiled. “It’s right here,” he said.

            Katrina felt her mouth drop open. A quarter had suddenly appeared in his left hand, sitting in that spot where there had been nothing. And he hadn’t moved his hands! She was certain of it.

            Katrina blinked and ran towards him, grabbing his large soft hand in her own and yanking it towards her. She looked intently at the quarter. “How’d you do that?” she asked.

            “Like this,” he said.

            Katrina gasped as the quarter disappeared from his hand. And she hadn’t blinked or let him move his hand or anything like that. It was real magic! Just like in the movies. She let go of his hand and took a step back. If he were a magician was he evil or good?

            “Would you like the quarter?” he asked.

            Katrina swallowed hard. Would he be mad if she said no? “Yes,” she said.

            He frowned and looked at his hands. “Oh no I’ve lost it,” he said and he began to twist his large body every which way peeking into his pockets and in the cushions of the couch. Katrina felt disappointed that a magic man could lose something like a quarter.

            “Oh wait,” he said sitting up and smiling. “I remember where I put it.”

            All of a sudden, Katrina felt something metallic and yucky tasting in her mouth. She wrinkled her face and spit only to stare in shock at what she had spat out onto the carpet. A round, shiny quarter. She looked up at the smiling man not knowing whether to feel terrified, horrified or elated.

            “It’s yours,” he said.

            Katrina gulped and picked it up, wiping it on her skirt and peering at it. It was a real quarter. “It’s magic!” she breathed, her pulse racing in her throat. She gave it one last reverent look at arms length and then she slipped it into the lace trimmed pocket of her dress.

            “Is Pierre teasing you with the magic quarter?” she heard Michele’s sweet voice.

            Katrina turned around and saw Michele and the nice lady, Coco. She beamed and nodded patting her pocket. “It’s magic!” she exclaimed. “Real magic!”

            Coco laughed and Michele nodded. “Yes, he made a mistake with me when he tried it. I was coughing up quarters an entire evening, it took me a week just to forget that taste.”

            “Who said it was a mistake?” Pierre said in a low, monotone voice.

            Katrina smiled at him and then at the nice ladies. She couldn’t ever remember so many nice people and so much safety. “Coco has a gift for you,” Michele said with twinkling blue eyes.

            Katrina sniffed. “I’m not going to spit it out am I?” She was feeling suddenly worried.

            “No,” Coco said with a laugh glancing at Mimi. She had her hands behind her back and she revealed them. Katrina screamed in disbelief. Coco was holding Teddy in her hands and his head was back on, and he was smiling she knew he was cause he really wasn’t dead. She wasted no time in running to her and snatching the bear, hugging him to her cheek.

            “He’s alive!” she cried.

            Katrina forgot to thank Coco as she sat on the carpet and began to inspect every little inch of him. She noticed the pale, tan stitching going around his neck. It was a scar from his operation, she could only hope that Coco had used something to make him not hurt while she had fixed him.

            “What pretty eyes,” Coco said to Michele. “They’re pure green, not even hazel. How rare.”

            Katrina sat quietly in the room, hugging Teddy and lying on the carpet while the grown ups talked amongst themselves. She closed her eyes and heard the knocking on the door. She sat up, refusing to pee and feeling no breath in her body. “No,” she whispered.

            Pierre answered the door and she heard, “Where’s my baby?”

            Katrina wrinkled her nose. It was Mommy. If Mommy was noisy again, then Daddy would find them.

            “Oh Patrick!” she heard Michele say.

            Katrina squeezed Teddy to her body and went to greet her mother. Mommy had an ugly black eye with the green part glittering through. She also saw Michele kissing the skinny young man with the crooked nose and ginger hair. She was kissing him like she had been kissing Larry earlier. She frowned, did she have two husbands?

            Mommy scooped her up and hugged her, crying again, as usual. She tried not to listen to her mother as she gushed thank yous to Michele and to Coco and to Pierre for giving her the green dress. Katrina yawned as Mommy picked her up and cuddled her on the couch, she closed her eyes.

            Katrina woke up when she smelled the food and her stomach roared at her again. She slid off the couch and wandered to the source of the smell, a plate full of steaming, hot sandwiches. Katrina looked around but didn’t see anyone, she ran her tongue over her lips and grabbed one of them. It was gooey with cheese and there was also something crisp and sweet in there. Katrina swallowed it down and then grabbed another one.

            This time she peeled the bread back to peek inside. There was white cheese in there but it also looked like apple slices. Gross? Katrina took another bite and decided it was not gross. Where was everyone?

            She wandered down a hallway, munching slowly on the sandwich which didn’t taste as good as it got colder. She heard the voices. Katrina stopped and leaned near the doorway.

            “……must have done something horrible, why don’t you tell me, Mimi?”

            “I can’t, it wouldn’t be right to tell you, to put it on your shoulders.”

            She could hear the tears in Michele’s voice. Katrina felt sad that she was a lady who could cry too.

            “Well it is on my shoulders whether you want it to be or not.” Coco said calmly. “You break into tears as we’re making lunch, which concerns me too. It worries me.”

             “It doesn’t matter what happened to me,” Michele said. “It’s nothing compared to what they did to her.”

            “The little girl?” Coco asked.

            “No,” Michele said. “I don’t know who she was… but they killed her.”

            There was a long silence and Katrina felt fear. Who were “they”?

            “What?” Coco gasped. “Mimi you must be mistaken!”

            “No I am not!” Michele exclaimed. “I am not. They drowned her right in front of me. Some poor young woman, they drowned her and I don’t know if they meant to do it. And it was all because of me.”

            “No, Mimi, no!” Coco gasped.

            “It’s my fault!” Michele choked. “All of it because I loved him too much and made him break their rules and to punish me they killed her. They were trying to scare me, to show an example of what they’re capable of and… Oh God Coco it was like watching someone drowning a cat or some small creature. She was fighting and clawing and she cut him up and he still did it.”

            “Patrick would have stopped it!” Coco said in a trembling, rising voice.

            “He would have if he were there,” Michele said, “which he was not.”

            Katrina swallowed. She was not supposed to be listening to this. She didn’t want to listen to this anymore.

            “There’s nothing we can do, is there?” Michele said in a soft voice.

            “No child,” Coco replied. “I’m afraid there isn’t.”

            Katrina turned and ran away down the hallway, running from the monsters that could catch her and drown her, monsters that scared those nice ladies.

            After the grown ups had eaten lunch it came time to leave with Mommy. They had tickets to go to a different place a place far from here. They would fly in an airplane. Katrina didn’t want to go, she wanted to stay with the nice ladies and the magic man. She knew that a fit wouldn’t help her and it might call Daddy so she only obeyed quietly.

            “Good luck, little one,” Michele whispered to her kissing her on the cheek.

            “Take care of that dress little princess,” the magic man said.

            And when Coco was saying good bye to her, Katrina held up Teddy and pressed him to her body. “Take him! Take Teddy!” she exclaimed, knowing she had to do it.

            “What?” Coco exclaimed. “No he is yours.”

            Katrina shook her head and felt the tears. “He’s not safe with me and he likes you so much. Please take care of him. Please! I know he’ll be safe with you I just know it! He wants to stay he wants to stay!”

            Coco’s cheeks turned red and she took the bear, cradling him to her body. “I won’t let anyone hurt him, child. Now go with your mother.”

            Katrina let out a sigh of relief and ran into her mother’s hug and she let her carry her out of the big house, into a car and towards a new and different place, a place far away from Daddy so he could never find them, ever.