The Handfasting Read online

  The Handfasting

  Text copyright 2013 David Burnett

  All Rights Reserved

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Table of Contents

  Birthday

  Handfasting

  Dinner

  Home

  The Picnic

  New York

  Richmond

  Bill Goes to New York

  Aftershock

  Thanksgiving

  Proposal

  New York Again

  Willy

  Engagement

  Epilogue

  Other Books by David Burnett

  Sample of Those Children Are Ours

  About the Author

  Birthday

  August 1977

  The twang of the electric guitar and the whine of the singer’s voice drowned out the conversations from the other tables, as Katherine sat with Becky and Sara in The Shining Stallion Restaurant, not far from Central Park.

  Friends in college, the three of them now shared an apartment in a converted brownstone on the Upper West Side. While Sara and Becky had moved to New York several years earlier, after graduation from UVA, Katherine had completed med school and her internship. She had then taken a position in the emergency room at St. Vincent’s Hospital, joining her friends in June.

  “Ow!” Katherine’s hand flew up as a couple of peanuts bounced off her forehead. Others hit the posters of Loretta Lynn and Kenny Rogers hanging on the wall behind her.

  A young guy sitting at the table next to them laughed. “Sorry, lady.”

  Bowls of roasted peanuts sat on each table, and he and his friends were tossing them at each other, trying to catch them in their mouths. Katherine looked for the peanuts on her table, planning to throw them back at him, but they had fallen and were now lost on the sawdust-covered floor.

  She appraised their waiter as he strode across the room. He stopped to deliver fresh drinks to a group of guys, then he approached their table. He looked good in his white Western shirt, red bandana, and cowboy boots. He touched the brim of his Stetson as he smiled, speaking loudly to be heard.

  “Everyone all right? You ladies need more to drink?”

  He reminded Katherine of the clichéd man in the white hat in her father’s favorite Westerns—the hero who rode into town, cleaned it up, and then in the last reel, rode away with the girl.

  She returned the waiter’s smile. She supposed that almost any girl would be willing to ride off with this guy.

  “Another for the birthday girl,” Becky replied, pointing at Katherine.

  “If I have much more, I’ll be the birthday blimp.” She patted her stomach, as the waiter went off to get their order. “This barbeque is good. Reminds me of what we eat in Hamilton.”

  Becky laughed. “That was the point, child. That was the point.”

  As the song ended, a line of waiters formed near the entrance and began to snake through the restaurant toward their table. Before Katherine could react, the waiters began to sing their own song. “Happy birthday! Happy birthday! Happy birthday to you!”

  Katherine’s eyes grew wide and her face felt warm. “You didn’t!”

  The waiters circled the table, still singing. On cue, they stopped. The crowd fell silent.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, this is Katherine.” The lead waiter pointed to her. “Katherine came in tonight to celebrate her twenty-eighth birthday.”

  “Woo-hee!” A voice rang out from the other side of the room.

  “On the count of three, let’s all give her a big, Shining Stallion birthday wish. One. Two. Three.”

  The crowd roared, “Happy Birthday.”

  Katherine covered her face with her hands as the waiter set a cowboy hat on her head, kissed her on the cheek, and placed a giant cupcake in front of her.

  “I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you both!”

  Becky and Sara were doubled over, laughing.

  “Death is certain!”

  The waiters drifted away amid diminishing applause as the conversations around them resumed.

  “Okay, old lady, what words of wisdom do you have for us?”

  “Old lady? I won’t be old until—”

  “I guess you’re right,” Becky cut in. “Twenty-eight isn’t thirty…but it’s getting awfully close.”

  “Hey. You two are only a couple of months behind. Just wait until October.”

  “Sweet twenty-eight and never been kissed,” Sara sang.

  “Stop it. Someone might hear you. Besides, it’s not true. Of course I’ve been kissed.”

  “Not true? Tell us. Who has been able to pry the book out of your hands to even get close enough to kiss you?”

  “Stop!” Katherine laughed.

  “Who? Was it Robert Carson, that guy who was sweet on you your senior year at UVA? Maybe what’s his name?” Sara snapped her fingers three times, as if recalling the name. “Yes, Bill Wilson, that attorney from Hamilton who calls sometimes?”

  “Leave her alone, Sara, or she’s going to get upset.”

  “She knows I’m teasing.”

  “I know she’s teasing, but if she doesn’t stop, I’ll start asking her about Will.”

  “You don’t want to go there.” Becky laughed. “You’ll hear a lot more than you bargained for.”

  “Not true,” Sara replied. “I always behave myself.”

  “Right.” Becky turned to Katherine. “Back before you moved in, they used to sit in the living room while I was trying to sleep. The things I heard!”

  “You heard nothing.”

  “Sara and Will sitting in a tree…”

  Sara rolled her eyes and the others laughed.

  “So, Katherine, what are you doing this weekend?” Becky asked. “Did you say that the aforementioned Bill Wilson is coming to town, going to take you to dinner for your birthday on Saturday?”

  Katherine shrugged. “I had a letter saying he would be in town—that he wanted to take me to dinner. He was supposed to call or something, but he hasn’t, so I guess not.”

  “That’s not nice.”

  “He wasn’t coming just to see me, Sara. I would have told him not to do that. I’m not sure that he knew Saturday was my birthday.”

  “He wasn’t your boyfriend?”

  “In his mind, maybe. We dated a little in high school, but he wanted more than I did. He would show up at random times when I was in college and med school. Really weird. You know, I haven’t seen him in,” Katherine looked up, recalling, “oh, over a year, at least. He dropped in to see me in Atlanta last summer, at the hospital. We went to lunch. He got really upset about something. I never knew what.”

  Sara pouted. “You’ll be all alone on your birthday.”

  “That’s right. Sara is going to Boston to see Will.” Becky turned toward Katherine. “I’d like to be a fly on the wall at his apartment.”

  “You’re terrible. I’m staying with his sister.”

  Becky ignored her protest. “And I’m flying to Denver for that sales meeting.”

  Katherine waved it off. “I’ll be fine. It’s just a birthday. Anyway, I volunteered to work a shift for one of the other doctors. I’ll be in the ER until three or four o’clock.”

  The recorded music stopped and a live quartet began to play. A boy tapped Katherine on her shoulder.

  “Uh…birthday girl, would…would you like to, uh, dance?”

  Katherine looked at the guy standing beside the table. He might be twenty-one, she thought. Probably not, though. Must have a fake ID. His face was red and
his eyes darted everywhere, except to hers. She glanced over her shoulder at the table where he had been sitting and saw five other guys, snickering.

  “How much?”

  “What do you mean, how much?”

  “How much is the bet?” She smiled, trying to put him at ease.

  He looked at his feet. “Uh, twenty bucks.”

  “To ask me or to dance with me?”

  “I have to get you on the dance floor.”

  Becky started to laugh, and the boy turned a deeper shade of red.

  “What’s your name?”

  “Chris.”

  “Well, Chris, I’m Katherine. I’d love to dance with you.” She took his hand and they walked onto the floor as the musicians began to play.

  Katherine glanced over Chris’s shoulder and saw his friends staring, mouths open, eyes wide. She smiled and put her head on his shoulder. It had been years since she had been to a dance. He put his arms around her waist and she put hers around his neck. They began to sway in time to the music—the same song they’d heard earlier, a woman growing older without a man in sight. Katherine attempted to ignore the lyrics.

  It was true, she was only twenty-eight. That wasn’t old. Not for having finished med school and all. She thought about the boys she had dated in high school, in college. Almost all of them were married now. Most of them had children. Back then, there was so much time, so many guys, but now? She suddenly felt all alone, and a few tears slipped out.

  The song ended. Katherine quickly wiped her tears and kissed Chris on the cheek.

  “Thanks for asking me to dance. I enjoyed it.” She smiled and Chris blushed.

  “I…I did too.”

  “That was really nice,” Sara said when Katherine reached the table.

  Katherine looked back at Chris’s table and saw the other guys reaching for their wallets. “I hate jerks like them.”

  “That’s why you shouldn’t encourage them,” Becky replied. “But you were nice to Chris.”

  “Are you crying, Katherine?” Sara reached across the table and patted her hand. “What’s wrong? You were really nice to him.”

  “It’s nothing, really. Just that song, I guess. I feel so alone. No boyfriend. You know, I really would like a family someday.”

  “Well, you’ve been in school—”

  “And almost everyone in my med school class was married by the time we finished. The young nurses at the hospitals look forward to the new interns because they know that those who are not married are looking for wives. And they find them.”

  “Prince Charming will come along. Any day now.”

  “Only in fairytales, Sara. Maybe I should chase Bill Wilson. He would marry me.”

  “But you don’t love him.”

  “No, but sometimes there are other reasons for marriage.”

  “Not good ones, Katherine. Not good ones.”

  “I’m being silly. I’ll be all right.” Katherine wiped her eyes. “Ready to go?” She stood up. “Dinner was delicious. Thank you.”

  ***

  Bill Wilson sat at the end of a long table at the Pub Beside the River, in the fishing village north of Charleston.

  “To friends, fun, and fish!” His friend, Johnny Metzger, raised his mug high.

  “Hear! Hear!”

  “Fantastic trip, isn’t it, Bill.”

  “In more ways than one, Johnny. In more ways than one.”

  “We certainly reeled them in today.”

  “Certainly did. Two more days like this and we’ll be able to feed the whole town of Hamilton for a month.” Bill smiled. “Great fishing.”

  “You were supposed to be in New York this weekend.”

  “Yeah, I was going to drop in on Katherine Jackson.”

  “You still sweet on that woman? I thought you lost interest last summer.”

  “Oh, I thought I’d give her another chance.” He sighed. “But she would have dragged me around town, poking in antique stores, going to museums. You know how Katherine is. She’ll be at home next weekend, anyway. I’ll see her on Saturday at the cookout.”

  “Missed a weekend with your girlfriend? Wouldn’t the nights have made up for the museums?” His buddy, Eugene, snickered.

  Johnny laughed too. “You’ve never met Katherine Jackson.”

  “No action, huh?” Eugene shook his head.

  “Not for lack of trying on Bill’s part.” Johnny motioned toward the group sitting around the table, all of whom had turned to listen. “Tell them Bill. Tell them what happens when a guy gets fresh with Katherine Jackson.”

  Bill reflexively rubbed his left side. “You brought it up, Johnny, you tell them.”

  “It was—what?—about ten years ago, just before graduation. Bill and Katherine had been to a movie over in Richmond. They stopped for a burger and then Bill drove her home. Now, you fellows have never met Katherine. The word fox doesn’t even come close to describing this girl—beautiful, smart, funny. Every guy wanted to date her, and a bunch of them tried.” Johnny took a swig of his drink.

  “Well, they drove up to Katherine’s house. The lights were on, but Bill didn’t see any cars. They walked in—he didn’t hear anything. Dead silent. He checked his watch, saw that they made it home a lot earlier than they had planned, and he recalled that her parents were going to a dinner party a couple of blocks down the street.”

  Johnny looked around the table. “You guys aren’t from Hamilton—in Hamilton, dinner parties are long-term affairs. You might start with drinks and appetizers at seven, move on to dinner at eight, and find yourself eating dessert on the deck around ten. People often don’t leave until after eleven o’clock. Her parents wouldn’t be home for at least an hour. Maybe longer.”

  Johnny chuckled. He had told the story many times and it appeared to Bill that it never got old for Johnny.

  “Well, Bill tells Katherine, ‘Your parents aren’t at home. I’d better make sure everything is safe.’”

  “She asked me in!”

  “That’s his story.” Johnny waved him off. “Katherine’s version says Bill had been drinking and he pushed his way in.”

  Bill didn’t need to finish listening—he clearly recalled what happened next.

  “No one’s here, Katherine.”

  “I know. I’ll be fine. Mom and Dad are down the street. I’ll reset the alarm as you leave.”

  Bill locked the door and stepped toward her. “That might not be for a while.”

  “What do you mean?”

  He ignored her question and pushed her down on the sofa in the living room.

  “Bill! Stop!”

  “There’s something I want to do before I leave.”

  Katherine tried to push him away. “Bill, let me up!”

  “When I’m finished.”

  Holding one hand firmly on her chest, he began to unbuckle his belt and unbutton his pants.

  “Let me go!” Katherine rolled from side to side, struggling to free herself.

  Bill laughed.

  She hit him, kicked him, scratched at his face. “You’re hurting me!”

  “You’ve been asking for this and it’s past time I gave it to you.”

  “Let me up! Get out!” Katherine was shouting. Her face was red. She hit at him, tried to push him away again.

  She screamed.

  He laughed.

  “Scream away, Katherine. No one is home.”

  She started to cry. “My father will use you as crab bait!”

  Bill stared down at her in utter contempt. “Typical female,” he snorted. “You tease a guy all night long, but when the time comes to fill your part of the bargain you don’t do it. You cry,no, no, and turn on the tears.” He chuckled. “Well, darling, tonight I’m going to get what I deserve, and I don’t give a damn about your tears.”

  He turned his head as he dropped his pants, and Katherine shifted her position, throwing him off balance. As he started to fall backwards, she sat up and pounded her fist into his side.

&nbs
p; “Bitch,” Bill mumbled.

  Johnny laughed. “Well, after she KO’d good old Bill here, Katherine called her dad. He found Bill on the floor, writhing in pain. Katherine had her dad’s pistol, pointing it at Bill’s head, daring him to get up.”

  The entire group was laughing now.

  “A real spitfire,” one guy said.

  “The pistol was loaded and the safety was off.” Johnny cackled. “She was ready to blow him away.”

  “I spent three days in the hospital. Two broken ribs.” Bill sighed. “If I hadn’t been buzzed—well, things would have ended really differently.”

  “Yeah, Bill. We hear you.” Johnny laughed again. “Guys, you don’t mess with Katherine Jackson. Not without backup. Not if you want to live.”

  ***

  “Birthday girl gets first shower,” Katherine called as they reached home. She slipped into her bathrobe and picked up a towel. As she tied the belt around her waist, she glanced at her desk, covered in medical books, papers, a couple of bills, and the novel she had been trying to read for over a month. There was a birthday card from Bill Wilson.

  He was really a puzzle. He would tell anyone who would listen that he and Katherine would marry, but he visited her very occasionally, wrote seldom, almost never called. The birthday card wasn’t even really a birthday card. It was generic—a picture of a bowl of flowers on the front and Have a Happy Day printed inside. She wasn’t even sure that he had signed the card, and it had arrived a full week before her birthday.

  She shrugged. It didn’t really matter. He could be fun on a date, if it was something he wanted to do and if he had not been drinking.

  She recalled their last date. He had been drinking that night for sure, the night he’d tried to assault her. She supposed he had probably been outright drunk. That had been her mother’s explanation anyway. And afterwards, her mother had insisted that Katherine be nice to him, even if she refused to date him again. The Wilsons, after all, were friends of the family. Katherine wanted to please her mother, and she had been able to tolerate the occasional contact with Bill over the years.

  As she started for the bathroom, she heard a knock at the door.