Goodbye, Big Apple

Chapter 18

Good bye, Big Apple

The day after the wedding, Nora started packing up her belongings. She set aside the fakes from her closet for storage, and only packed a few original branded ones that she happened to have gotten as gifts or endorsements.

She knew it would be embarrassing to bring fake items into Leon’s house. She would send them to her mother’s house, to be kept in her old room, as she felt it would be a shame to throw them away.

Thinking of her mother, Nora felt indecisive. Her mother would ask her where she was moving to. Washington D.C. was the seat of government, so what would the ‘wild’ Nora do here?

Ever since she decided to leave Bar Harbor and rarely came home, her mother called her a wild pigeon, in both positive and negative contexts.

Perhaps it was her mother's frustration. Beth Williams had lost her husband and eldest daughter, and her remaining daughter had left her.

Following her heart, Nora called her mother. It had been months since they had spoken.

Her mother rarely called her, simply because she didn’t want to be seen as intrusive. Meanwhile, Nora’s distant behavior was due to her strange feeling that her mother was hiding something.

“Nora.” Her mother’s voice sounded happy. Nora felt a little touched. Maybe her mother had missed her all this time.

“Mom, how are you?”

“I’m fine, honey. Are you okay? I haven’t heard from you in a while.”

“Sorry, Mom. I’ve been so busy lately. I always forget to call you. How’s your knee? Does it still hurt.”

“Not anymore. I got a very good physiotherapist.”

“Thank goodness. Mom, I need to tell you. I’m moving to D.C. next week. Can I leave some of my stuff with you? I’ll send it via Fedex.”

“Of course, honey. But, why are you moving there? Didn’t you tell me New York City is so much fun?”

“Uhm... I wanted to find new experiences...” Nora said. She wasn’t going to tell her mom about her contract marriage. Beth, who was very traditional, might get angry.

Her mother was silent for a while. “Oh, well, that’s your decision. Send me your things. I’ll keep them in your old room,” her mother said later. “But Nora, come home once in a while. You can’t keep flying around like this. You still have a home here.”

“Mom, I promise I’ll come home, but I haven’t set a time yet.”

“It’s up to you then.” Her mom sounded resigned. “Look, I just don’t want you to suddenly come home with a husband. We don’t live like that in Bar Harbor. Tell me when you're getting married, so you won’t be the subject of gossip. Do you understand, Nora?”

Nora winced at her mother’s words. Her guess about his mother was right. “Yea... yea... I understand, Mom.”

When she finally ended the phone conversation, Nora let out a long breath. She had no regrets for not being honest with her mother.

-----

Her mother told Nora the same thing over and over again, that they found her sleeping curled up in the corner of her father's tool shed.

It was so dark, dusty and rat-smelling that it was rarely touched.

She disappeared at the same time as the accident that killed Katie. The police conduct a search because they thought Nora's Disappearance had something to do with her sister's accident.

Her hysterical mother thought Nora had been kidnapped.

She was not found for almost 36 hours. It was her father who finally found her when he heard her moaning softly from his tool shed.

He found Nora delirious. Her body was very weak when she was woken up and moved. An ambulance was called, and Nora spent three days in hospital.

The police thought she saw something that frightened her, but when questioned Nora did not remember anything frightening.

Her last memory was of eating ice cream at her favorite icecream cafe with some school friends. Her friends confirmed that what Nora said was true.

Her mother only told Nora about Katie's death after Nora was discharged from the hospital. Nora burst into tears. Beth told her about the accident and how they found Katie's bloodied body in the middle of a deserted road.

Katie's funeral took place immediately.

The church was filled with mourners, as Katie was a popular girl, known for her friendliness and cheerfulness, even since she was a little girl. Nora never moved from the side of her sister's coffin. She stared at her sister's beautiful face, which seemed to be asleep.

Katie's friends and her own friends came to pray and comfort her. They took turns hugging her. However, her heart was too empty to feel their kindness.

Six months later, her mother's cousin Aunt Debbie picked her up and took her to England.

She left Bar Harbor without saying goodbye to her father, who had not been home for days since he left to go fishing.

By that time, her father had become a drunkard. When he died a year later, her regret over it lasted a lifetime.

“Mom, why don’t I remember anything after I went to the ice cream cafe with my friends?” She asked her mom once, a few days before Aunt Debbie’s arrival.

“The doctor said you probably had a heat stroke, honey,” her mom mom replied. “It was so hot that day.”

“But why don’t I even remember going home and hiding in the shed?”

“Of course you don’t remember anything because you almost passed out and were delirious.”

“No, I don’t. I don’t think that’s how it happened.” Nora insisted. “Why are the police questioning me about Katie? That’s very strange, isn’t it? I don’t even remember anything about Katie that day. Did she go with me, Mom?”

“No, of course not,” her mother snapped.

“Since when didKatie want to hang out with you and your friends?”

“But I feel like I should remember something. Why do I feel so uncomfortable?”

“Nora, sweetheart... When you go to live in England with your aunt, that bad feeling will go away. Believe me. You’re just still missing Katie so much. We’re all like that.”

Nora remembered her mother’s tight embrace, her teary eyes, but also the frightened tone in her mother’s voice.

-----

Nora felt that she had to tell Gwen about the wedding, as Gwen had been very kind to her. However, there was no longer time to meet and talk about it.

She decided to call her after she arrived in D.C.

She was on her way to the airport, with only two large suitcases in the trunk of the taxi. Mojo had been shipped using the specialized animal shipping service Gina had recommended two days ago and would probably arrive the same day she did.

Leon called her early in the morning to confirm her departure. "Try to relax," Leon said gently. "I know you must be nervous about leaving the city you love."

"It's only for a year," Nora said. "That's not a problem."

"Okay then," Leon said. "Oh, one more thing. Apparently your cat has arrived home and is playing with Diego."

Nora's brow furrowed. "Does Diego live there too?"

"Of course not. Diego came because he was curious. He was waiting for you and wanted to be the first to meet my wife."

"Sure. I'll be happy to make him an acquaintance."

"Oh, I don't know if you will be happy or not...."

"Why?"

"Because we have to start acting like happy newlyweds in front of him. Let's just say we're practicing for the scene in front of my parents. Well, I guess I'll ask your permission again."

"Well, go ahead."

"It seems we’ll have to kiss affectionately in front of Diego."

"Wait, what?!"

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