Chapter Twenty One
The Hangover (or just the day after the night before)
Kaylen woke to find the fairly large crease left in the bed where Ashton should have been laying. Suddenly she heard pots fall on the floor so she found her dressing gown and went down to inspect. Ashton was in the kitchen making breakfast. He looked up and saw Kaylen walking down the stairs and smiled. �Sorry, I was trying to be sneaky. I had planned on surprising you with breakfast in bed.�
�I was hoping you would surprise me with something else in bed.� Kaylen purred as she put her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder. She pulled away again and went to sit on a stool and watch Ashton work his magic. He worked away making French toast and fetching orange juice from the fridge. Ashton was very determined in his job and even went so far to find a tray. He carried it over to the table and even pulled out Kaylen�s chair. Ashton sat down across from her and they ate their breakfast in silence.
�So what are your plans for today?� Kaylen asked as she sipped her juice.
�I�m taking you out.� Ashton smiled; this was another sneaky little plan of his.
�Where and for how long? I have to be here this afternoon to show some people the apartments.�
�Lots of places, and all day. You tell me when you need to be back and I will get you here on time.� Ashton cleared away the dishes and sent Kaylen off to have a shower.
�I�ll only go if you come with me.� Kaylen said in her huffy pretend voice, with a little smile on her face.
�And what good would that do, we will be here forever and I have a schedule.� Ashton knew that he would also be having a shower, why did she do this to him. He couldn�t resist her feminine charms.
�Schedule smedule. You come with me now and I will go with you later.� They went up stairs and forty five minutes later were in Ashton�s car, heading for his place. His cellphone rang at a time when he really couldn�t answer it so Kaylen offered. She pushed the button and put the phone to her ear. �Hello, Kaylen speaking on Ashton�s phone, how may we help?� Kaylen was in a very good mood, Ashton had cleared everything up for her and no pressure would be placed to have a relationship with her father.
�Ah, hello Kaylen. It is Will here.� As soon as Kaylen heard who it was she thrust the phone over at Ashton and turned away. He talked to Will and told him he would call tonight. The good mood had been broken but Ashton was sure his plan would work. Back at Ashton�s he changed into something more comfortable and instead of getting back into the car they walked off on foot. Kaylen would ask where they were heading but she was silenced. They grabbed a tube for a couple of stops and then climbed back up to the overcast January day. Ashton pulled them into a little coffee shop and they grabbed take away. Onward they marched and Kaylen could hear noise getting louder as they approached the corner of the road. As they made their way around to the next road, Kaylen saw where they were headed. Kaylen also realised why some of the roads were beginning to look familiar. She hit Ashton on the shoulder and they headed into the very large street market. They had found themselves at Portobello Road. �Surprise, we are going to spend all day here buying cool stuff for your apartment, I know it is looking a bit sparse at the moment. Think of this as your flat warming present.� Kaylen couldn�t help but smile, even though they had driven from her house to Ashton�s, caught the tube and ended up about two blocks from Kaylen�s shop. This was also only about a fifteen-minute walk from Kaylen�s house. She could see the humour and they headed into the market.
They spent a good long part of the day at the Markets, dodging people and stopping to look at nearly all of the stalls. It was a good thing that Ashton had suggested wearing comfortable shoes as they walked nearly all day. Lunch was on the run and the picked one small thing from different food stalls as they passed. Thankfully the rain stayed away as the crowds of people would not have fit under the flimsy awnings of the stalls. When they knew they had too much to carry they walked back to Kaylen�s house and dropped stuff off before returning to the markets.
They headed backwards and forwards during the day and met with people who wanted to rent the apartments. At one point Kaylen was carrying four cushions, a mirror, three candlesticks and a small footstool. Ashton was carrying another four cushions, a couple of sofa throws and a painting. After they had completely exhausted themselves with all the buying, bargaining and walking they decided it would be fun to return the way they had arrived and piled back onto the tube and went back to Ashton�s where he offered to make dinner. �Oh, no! I couldn�t eat another thing!� Replied Kaylen as she lounged in one of his chairs, absolutely stuffed full. They decided that instead they would get back in Ashton�s car and drive back to Kaylen�s where they could relax in her spa bath. This was an essential luxury she decided was needed to make her apartment complete and was made for two.
Kaylen almost fell asleep in her bath but Ashton kept shaking and kicking her to remain awake. A water fight ensured and then they both decided that enough was enough and it was time to act their age and not their shoe sizes. Kaylen climbed out and put on her dressing gown. Ashton dried himself off and found his boxer shorts. As they made their way downstairs to watch television on the sofa Kaylen put her head on his shoulder and asked him if they could talk. �About what, Kay?�
�Ash, I want to know about Will.� Ashton looked at Kaylen and smiled.
�Anything I know I will tell.� They settled down on the couch and Kaylen snuggled up under Ashton�s arm. �You are quite lucky, Will and I may only be brothers-in-law but we only have sisters so we have become quite close over the last few years. I was even his best man. Where do you want me to start?�
�Can you start at the beginning, do you know anything about his family and where he grew up and stuff?� Kaylen played with the cord of her dressing gown and listened as Ashton told her the story of Will Campbell, well as much of it as he knew.
�Well you know how you went to that little country, New Zealand? That happens to be where Will was born.� Kaylen looked up at Ashton, surprised and wanting to know more. �He is half African-Caribbean and half Maori, it is the local indigenous culture of New Zealand. His father was born and raised in New Zealand and then travelled to England when he was about eighteen to see the world and make a new life. That was where he met Will�s mum and they courted, married and moved back to New Zealand. They stayed there for a few years and after Will and his two sisters were born they came back to England to live. That is where Will has stayed but his parents decided that once the kids were old enough to look after themselves and spread their own wings they moved back to New Zealand to live. They came back to see Will and his sister at Christmas. Will and Jennifer have been back to New Zealand and even lived there for a time but they always come back, it is a really nice place for a holiday I hear. I would like to see it for myself.� As Ashton was speaking Kaylen was getting a flashback to the place in the north of New Zealand where she stood and felt free from her mother�s spirit. Kaylen had felt so comfortable in New Zealand and she was there for such a small amount of time. Was there some internal force that was trying to tell her that she had come from here?
�I don�t think I need to hear anymore Ashton. I think that I know enough about this man to want to meet him properly. I know you probably don�t believe me but when I was in New Zealand I felt a connection to the place. I felt comfortable and free. This was before I knew the lies from my past. I felt my mother�s spirit leave me and set free. I finally felt free of the intense pain I had been feeling from her death and up until that moment I knew I had not been living. I have learnt about my birth mothers family and become a part of them. If Will has some connection to this land I have come to feel a deep admiration for then I need to know more. Thank you so much for being here with me Ashton.� Kaylen sighed and scratched her head.
One hour later saw Kaylen and Ashton walking through the doors of a small pub. They looked around and found Will sitting at a booth in the corner staring intently into his lager. Ashton pushed Kaylen forward softly and they came to stand in front of Will. Kaylen put out her hand and sighed once more. �Hello Will, nice to meet you.� Will stood up and shook Kaylen�s hand. Ashton went into the booth first and sat between the two virtual strangers. Ashton tried to make light conversation and was talking about their visit to the markets that morning. Will talked about how impressed he was at the finished apartments and Kaylen sat and nodded quietly. Kaylen was thinking long and hard about how to have this conversation. Things had moved so quickly there was not time for planning or imagining what her father would look like or be like. �I have just been to New Zealand, Ashton was saying that is where you come from, where do your parents live?�
Will was a bit surprised by the question, Kaylen�s first addition to the conversation and smiled, at least she was talking. �They live in a very small village called Coopers Beach. It is near Taipa, which is about thirty to forty minutes away from Kaitaia. It is north of Whangarei by about one hour forty-five.� Kaylen knew then that everything was going to be okay. She knew that what Will said meant that part of her came from where she had travelled. Maybe Kaylen could feel some connection to this stranger sitting across the table. After talking a bit more easily over the next half an hour Kaylen discovered that Will�s dad didn�t exactly set out to see the world, he had been stationed in England at various times while he was fighting in World War II and met Will�s mother on his tour of duty. Because it was not really acceptable for her family to send their daughter to some foreign country so she could marry Mr Campbell, Will�s dad went back to England to claim and marry his bride in a small ceremony before coming back to New Zealand. Will could tell that is was getting to a point in the conversation where Kaylen wanted more answers to difficult questions, she had become quiet and was looking at her drink. �Emily was a wonderful person, and my first real girlfriend. I loved her as much as any fifteen-year-old boy can. She didn�t find out she was pregnant until she was nearly three months gone, then her family whisked her away to the Chapman country estate and I was only able to talk to her over the phone and in letters. I never saw her again until the hospital.�
Kaylen was very interested in what Will was telling her, but she was confused that he was allowed to see Emily at all. �How, I thought they had her in some private clinic and only the Chapman�s were allowed inside?�
�I found out through Caroline where Emily had been taken and that you had been born. I sneaked in and dressed up in a spare orderly uniform so I could sneak inside. In the middle of the night after you were born I was able to sneak into Emily�s room and see her, for what I didn�t know would be the last time. I will never forget those few minutes I spent with Emily. From what I can gather she fell in and out of unconsciousness after that point and I was the last person that she spoke to. I don�t know if you want to be hearing any of this.� Will was twisting a serviette up in his hands and did not look at Kaylen while he was speaking of his Emily.
�No, it is good. I do want to hear. These are all real thoughts, feelings and actions. I have had a lot of time over the last few months where I have wanted to know this kind of thing. The Chapman�s have never really volunteered anything about specific things that happened in the hospital. I guess it is really hard to talk about it, but I need to know these things. What was the last thing she said to you?�
�When we were talking in those few hurried minutes, I think she knew she was going to die. Emily never admitted it but she had been so scared and she told me that because of my presence with her, she felt free. I think she was waiting for me to see her before she let herself go. She told me that she loved me, and that I was not allowed to forget her or our child. Emily knew you were a girl and told me that much. She knew I would never be able to keep you myself but that I had to at least try to find you at some point. I was not allowed to forget about you, our child. To this day Kaylen, I have never forgotten and there is hardly a day gone by when I have not thought about you and wondered what you have done with your life. I never went to Emily�s funeral but I visit her grave every year, either on your birthday or the day after.� Will threw back his glass and drained the remainder of the contents. It had been quite an emotionally exhausting few days and he had not slept at all last night. He could not stop thinking about the look of terror on Kaylen�s face the night before as she ran past him on her way to the safety of her room. There was no way he had ever expected meeting her, especially accidentally. Will had expected that the Chapmans would have at least let him know they were looking for Kaylen or that they had found her. They knew where he lived and had even passed him in the streets and talked casually over the years.
Kaylen really did not know what to say to Will. It had been as much a shock to here as it obviously was to Will. She had intended at some stage to find her father but now had definitely not been that time. Kaylen had finally found the stability that had been lacking from the last few months of her life and things were on track. She had a job, home and great boyfriend. Kaylen had also made up with her family and found new friends. I guess she could now add to that list that she had a father. �Thank you for meeting with me, Will. It has been good to hear what you have to say about Emily. I doubt either of us had planned on meeting under such circumstances. But I hope that now we know that we exist and live in London that we will not be strangers for very long. I know it will be strange but we need to make an effort. And what with our common person in Ashton, I do not think we could avoid each other even if we wanted. I hope you will take this as an invitation to drop into the bookstore every now and again to say hi.� Kaylen extended her hand to Will as she stood. They said goodbye and Kaylen walked out of the pub and towards the bus stop. Ashton was out of the door and running after her as she spun around and headed back into the pub to find Will. Kaylen rushed up and laid both hands flat on the table and looked directly at Will who was surprised to see her back. �Do you blame me for the death of Emily? Because if it was not for me then she would still be alive to this day and you wouldn�t have become a father at fifteen.�
Will was definitely taken back with Kaylen�s question. He knew he could not tell her the truth; the truth would hurt but he also couldn�t lie. Will did not think Kaylen would want to hear that for the first few years he despised this baby for taking away the girl that he loved. He had never thought that he would find another person like Emily and that this baby had taken away all the happiness and left only pain not only to Will but also to the Chapman�s. He was sure they felt the same way. Maybe the doctors had not done exactly the right things but people make mistakes. This baby had been the cause of the pain and deep down Will still had thoughts like this inside. It had not been until he met and fell in love with Jennifer and found that another person could make him as happy as Emily that he managed to somewhat forgive the unknown baby and that was when went to the Chapman�s and found out where the baby had gone. It was then he had approached the Knight�s and tried to see Kaylen. Now Will was sitting in front of that daughter and whatever he said now would affect the relationship they had from this point. �At the beginning, when it first happened, I have to admit to you that I did feel like the baby was the cause of Emily dying.� Will was not proud of what he had said to Kaylen and whatever he thought she might say it was not what she said to him.
�Thank you.� Kaylen smiled before turning and holding Ashton�s hand and walking out of the pub for the second time that day.