“Kate?!”
Kate couldn’t decide what confused her more. Her mother’s dramatized worrying for no reason fell completely flat since Kathleen (a) knew where Kate was and (b) gave permission to be there. Who else would walk through their front door? Wait, did she just call her Kate?
“I would’ve picked you up from the train station had I known what train you were arriving on. Vivian gave you cab money, did she? I’m a little surprised you bothered coming home, I got the impression you might go straight to RBU from Feverfew.”
Kate’s angry stare was fixed to the tile floor, she didn’t see how Kathy’s lips curled a little for the timid beginnings of a smile. Maybe if she did, the teen would’ve heard more sincerity in her mother’s voice.
“You don’t want me around either, huh? Figures. Sorry, Aunt Kathy.”
“Pardon me?”
“I’m moving to RBU tomorrow, there’s nothing you can do. Ground me, I don’t care.”
“Is that what you think? That you can just take, take, take and come and go as you please? Hm? What makes you think you can talk to me this way, Catherine? I am your mother and I deserve respect.”
“What about you respecting me, huh? You’ve been lying to me for years! Why didn’t you tell me Vivian is my—" She couldn’t say it, not yet. Kathy’s scowl stopped Kate in her hurtful tracks.
“Forget it,” the teen spat, marching past the mother. She might as well have walked right through Kathy.
“One trip to Feverfew and you think you know everything, do you?”
“I do know everything. I know more than you do.”
“I highly doubt that.”
From the top of the stairs Kate declared, “I met my grandmother. I met Caroline Murphy.”
Kathy crossed her arms, unimpressed. “Yes, when your father called he told me all about your little meeting. And?”
“Oh yeah? Did you know Rose isn’t even our real last name? It’s Rowe. Grandpa Will changed his name before they moved here.”
“Rowe? Are you sure?”
Kathy had come across William Rowe in the town records once or twice, she simply assumed it was a miswrite of Rose. She wasn’t entirely wrong apparently, just a little backwards.
Kate didn’t wait for her to catch up: “It’s true. Grandma Lila’s girlfriend Caroline Murphy told me the whole story.”
“Her friend, you mean her friend. There’s no need to say it like that.”
“Yeah, Vivian warned me you were bigoted. Caroline was in love with Grandma Lila. They shared a room together in university.”
“Oh Catherine, most student housing was separated by sex back then. Love? That’s absurd. Everyone knows Caroline and Lila were just—neighbours before the Murphy’s divorce and Carol left town. I thought she took all of her shame with her, but it seems she’s spreading it to you now. Allow me to set the record straight: from the day they met, your grandparents Will and Lila were always devoted to each other. How dare you talk ill of your own family like this! In their home!”
“Whatever.”
Suddenly Kathy was decided. “That’s it. You’re not leaving, you’re not going to university. I won’t allow it.”
Kate scoffed, “You can’t do that, I’m an adult.”
“And you will work like an adult soon enough, trust me. But you are not leaving this house; you clearly haven’t learned the right lessons here yet. I should’ve known you weren’t ready for Feverfew.”
Kate was decided now too: “You’re crazy. You’re actually crazy! This whole damn family is so insane! I’m getting my stuff and going to Jo’s.”
Kate ran up the stairs then, hearing Kathy shriek helplessly after her: “Wh—? Kate?! You can’t walk away from me!”
“Just did,” she muttered.
Kate scanned her bedroom for what few belongings in her mother’s old room that were fully her own, stuff her mother didn’t touch. There wasn’t much.
She was eying the dollhouse when Kathy shouted, “Catherine! Catherine!?”
Kate refused to answer. Instead, she yearned to pick up the stupid, miniature happy home and smash it. Destroy the dollhouse, destroy the Rose house, or both; either way, there was no coming back to this place after tonight. Wasn’t that what she wanted now anyway?
She decided to leave the room in tact.
Kate stormed down the stairs, past Kathy, determinedly headed for the front door. “I don’t know why I came back. Don’t worry, I’ll never make that mistake again, ever. I’m not your idiot anymore.”
“Catherine! Stop this behaviour immediately!”
“You can’t keep me here. What part of that don’t you understand? I will leave right now with nothing but the clothes on my back and everyone will blame you for being a bad mother.”
Bull’s eye. Kathleen Rose was crushed. An eerie silence lingered just long enough for both women to feel badly about what they had said tonight, but it was too late to take any of it back now.
“I—I wasn’t prepared for this,” the mother confessed quietly, “but I was prepared once; I married a good man from a good family. I was prepared to give you only the best with every opportunity at your fingertips. But then you never came. Infertility destroyed my marriage.”
Kathy’s unusual display of vulnerability touched Kate in a way that momentarily stunned the teen, compelling her to stop and turn around. Her giant mother looked so small to the fledgling young adult now. But the sympathy didn’t last long before Kate tripped over something else:
“You were married?! When? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It was before you were born.” And I don’t want to talk about it, it hurts!
“Argh! It’s always some new lie with you. If you were married, why aren’t there pictures? Why hide it? Why hide the fact that you aren’t my real mom? You should’ve been the aunt, and Aunt Vivian should’ve been my—”
“Vivian didn’t want you, I did! You’ve seen how she lives now. Do you really want that mess to be your mother? I gave you stability! I gave you a home, family! She—arrgh. This was all her stupid plan in the first place.”
“H-her plan? You mean the grad trip present, right?” Kathy sniffed instead of answering, so Kate sensed her silence was confessing something else. “Oh. So then, how much could you have really wanted me if this was all just her idea?”
“That’s not what I meant. My mother had just died. A door was closing. I don’t expect you to understand.”
“I’m leaving,” Kate told her.
“What about your things?”
“It’s all yours up there. All of it. Keep it. I don’t need anything from you anymore, Aunt Kathy.”
The nighttime quiet felt especially so once Kate was outside the Rose house, away from the shouting and tears and confusing attempts at love. She half expected Kathy to kick down the door and chase the adrenaline-enraged teen down the street in an embarrassing display only fitting for their screwed up family. But when Kathy didn’t give chase, was it guilt that held Kate there on the porch, or something else? She couldn’t be sure.
One thing she did know, however: Kate Rose was on her own now.
