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Monday? Some classmate responds with compassion,
"Maybe Kris associates Mondays with something
traumatic."
At her words, I sob uncontrollably and blurt out, "That's the
day my father died."
Chapter 22
When the phone rang, it took me a minute to get oriented. I
When the phone rang, it took me a minute to get oriented. I
finally figured out I was in the living room, it was eleven o'clock
the same night, and the phone was on the dining room table. I
hurried to answer it.
"Kris, are you okay?"
"Destiny?" I rubbed my eyes.
"Of course it's me. Where've you been all night? I've been
worried sick, waiting for you to call."
I yawned. "I went to see my dad. I met him for dinner, then I
must have fallen asleep."
"I can't believe Rosemary Walker's dead. My mom told me
about my father about Freeman visiting her. Do you think
that's what put her over the edge."
I blinked rapidly, trying to gather my bearings. "Probably."
"What are we going to do, Kris? We can't let him get away with
this!"
"Don't worry, we won't. I've got a plan do you think he'd
agree to meet with you again?"
"Of course. He thinks we're great friends and I adore him. Little
does he know!"
"Good. Get us an appointment, for tomorrow if you can, but you
have to make it early evening, after his secretary's gone home.
And whatever you do, don't tell him I'm coming with you."
"Okay, that'll be easy enough, but what's the plan?"
"Part of it involves Abigail Monarch. She had a story to tell!"
I brought Destiny up to date on my afternoon with the founder of
the Monarch Center. "But that's only half of it. I'd rather not tell
you the rest until I make sure I can follow through on it."
you the rest until I make sure I can follow through on it."
"Is the other part illegal?"
"Not exactly."
"Too bad."
"If it's any consolation, it's highly unethical."
"C'mon, what is it? I'm dying to know!"
"Destiny, you have to trust me on this. The less involved you are,
the better."
"Maybe I'll just have to come up with a plan of my own. I have
resources, too, you know," she teased. In a more serious vein,
she added, "By the way, what were you doing going to dinner
with your dad? Why didn't you tell me you were seeing him
tonight?"
"It was kind of impulsive. I called him right after I left
Rosemary's. I couldn't let him get away with it for one more
hour."
"You mean you talked to him about " she hesitated.
"The incest. You can say it. I talked to him about the incest," I
said wearily.
I heard a sharp intake of breath and then, "I'm coming over. You
shouldn't be alone."
You can't, you're supposed to be watching your mom."
"I'll wake her up and bring her along."
"No, don't!"
"Are you okay?"
"I guess."
"How do you feel?"
"How do you feel?"
"I'm not sure. It's weird...when I said the word 'incest' in front of
him, a huge amount of terror left me. But so did something else:
the last piece of hope that it didn't happen. I guess I went to
dinner half-wanting him to deny it. When he didn't, and who
better than he would know what actually happened, the full
impact of it hit me. All the way home, I felt terribly sad and
completely exhilarated at the same time! It's pretty
overwhelming."
"I'll bet."
"Do you think I'll look any lighter tomorrow?"
"What do you mean?"
"When I was driving home, I thought about how I look in
photographs. Even when I was little, I was always so intense. I
wondered if I'd look lighter, now that I've done it."
"Maybe," she said softly. "I could come over and see."
Destiny, no, I said with a sigh and a smile.
"How about if you come here then. I'll make up the guest room,
and it'll be ready by the time you arrive. Or I could come pick
you up, whichever you want."
"Destiny, please!"
"Why not?"
"I think I need to be alone."
"You've done so much for me, why can't you let me do
something for you?"
I bent over and closed my eyes. "I just can't. Not right now.
Ever since I can remember, whenever something big happens,
good or bad, I need to be alone."
good or bad, I need to be alone."
"You really want to be alone?"
"Yes!" I said, exasperated.
"Okay, but I'll be here if you need me. I'll sleep with the phone
on the pillow next to my head, in case you change your mind and
call."
"I won't, but thanks for the offer. It means a lot to me."
Her voice wobbled as she said the words I had waited months
to hear. "I love you, Kris."
"I know," was all I could say.
***
The next day, Tuesday, was like a hundred packed into one.
Early in the morning, Chase Weston called to report she was
"holding the goods" and would messenger them over within the
hour.
Next, Destiny phoned to say we had an appointment with "the
son of a bitch rapist" at six o'clock that evening.
Ten hours to go, and everything was falling into place. I smiled
broadly. When Ann arrived at work two hours later, looking
haggard, my smile dimmed.
I motioned for her to enter my office. She sat down, clutching the
sides of her head with both hands, refusing to relinquish her
sunglasses.
"How come you didn't call me last night?" I demanded.
"What do you mean?"
"I left a message on your machine and told you to call me back,
no matter how late it was."
"I never went out. I turned off the phone and went to bed early.
"I never went out. I turned off the phone and went to bed early.
Why? What's so urgent?"
"It's over. I talked to Dad last night, and he admitted it. He
incested us."
"You're kidding!" She started to cry.
I filled her in on the previous day's events, and after I finished she
groped for words. "What did he say exactly? Maybe he was
mistaken. Or maybe you misunderstood. Or maybe he didn't
understand what you were saying."
"No, Ann, it's true," I said softly. I handed her a Kleenex from
the box on the filing cabinet.
"Don't you feel like crying?"
"Strangely enough, no. Maybe if I could, the knot in my stomach
would dissolve. As it is, I feel very, very tense."
"I can't believe it's over. All the waiting and wondering and
worrying. It's over, and we know for sure it's true. Everything
should be different, but it still feels shitty."
"It'll probably feel shitty for a long time, on some level."
"I can't believe he did it. I can't believe he admitted it. I can't
believe we were right, and he was wrong. What do we do now?
Are you still going to have a relationship with him?"
"I don't know. Not now, that's for sure."
"I didn't think you had it in you."
"Me neither. But something snapped. It's amazing what the
human spirit is capable of if you put it under enough stress."
"What a bastard! Our father's a bastard, Kris!"
"I know," I murmured. "I've known for a long time, but today, I
really know."
***
I was just getting back to work when the phone rang. This time,
it was Destiny's mother. Ann quietly left the office as I listened to
Liz Greaves' update.
"Rosemary's brother called to tell me the police have determined
Rosemary died from a prescription drug overdose. Isn't that a
shame? Glenn said she'd had a long history of anxiety attacks
and depression. Until recently, I guess, the doctors were able to
control her illness. Glenn says she started to go downhill about
six weeks ago, right around the time she read about Richard
Freeman's award in Catholic News. That's all she talked about,
to anyone who would listen to her, bless her heart."
"Could the overdose have been an accident?"
"I'm afraid not. She left several notes, one for me. Glenn read it
to me over the phone, and it was quite troubling. If you didn't
know better, you'd think Rosemary and I were still best friends.
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