Catching Caitlin (11 page)

“I think we’ll stay here
for a while. We just came from a vacation in Massachusetts, so Hugh isn’t
expected back at work for the rest of the week at least.”

“You don’t have to, Cat.
God knows...” Her voice started to waver a little. “I haven’t... really been
around.” Tears welled up in her eyes, and started to spill over. My chest
tightened.

“Mom...” I reached out to
try and touch her. My dad hadn’t moved, but I could sense a change in him.

She waved me away. “It’s
okay! My doctor says that I’m just going through a lot of stress right now, and
it’ll get harder before its easier. I’ve been sobbing on and off all night.”

“Will you be okay?”

“I will, I just have to,”
she gulped down her rising throat. “Stay with it. Having your father here is
probably one of the best gifts I could have.”

She looked at him, and
squeezed his hand. “I don’t know how he didn’t leave me before.”

“You know how Tammy,” he
said. He squatted down next to her bed and kissed her hand. “I love you and
I’ve always loved you.”

My mom cried harder, but
through the wet mess, she smiled.

“I’ll leave you guys
alone again.” I said. I was ready to leave. If I didn’t, I was liable to start
crying too, and I really didn’t want to do that. I already felt so raw inside.

“No, you come here
first,” my mom said. She reached her hand out. I moved next to her on the
opposite side of my dad, and she squeezed us both. I hugged her, and my
emotional dam broke loose.

Tears streamed down my
face, hard sobbing shaking them loose from my chin, I buried my face into her
and tried to quiet my wails. She stifled her own tears, and stroked my hair,
assuring me everything was going to be okay.

“I missed you Mom,” I
choked out. “I missed you so much.”

“I know, I know Cat. I
missed you too.”

After a few minutes, I
pulled away from my mom and found her fast asleep. Her chest moved quietly,
contrasting the beep of the machines connected to her. My dad nodded to me.

“She’s exhausted,” he
said. “I can’t believe she stayed awake even this long. I’m glad you got here
after she became lucid, she was a mess earlier.”

I didn’t take my eyes off
her. “It couldn’t have been worse than what I’ve seen before. What I’ve been
avoiding seeing for the last couple of years.”

“Things will be
different. I’ve been working the program for a while now. I can show her the
ropes.”

I sighed, trying to
control my emotions again. My dad looked at me.

“You don’t have to stay
if you don’t want to. She’ll still be around when you come back to Maine... to
visit.”

I shook my head. “No. I
want to stay. I have to.” I bit my lip, and searched the room. I looked
outside, the glow of the city horizon peeking through the venetian blinds. My
dad cupped his forehead in his hands, his elbows planted on the bed.

Nodding, I started
gathering my things to leave. “You look exhausted, Dad. You should get some
rest too.”

“Never mind me. I’ll be
okay. I can do this much for your mom.” I paused and he went silent.

“When could I visit
again?”

“Just give me a call and
I’ll let you know how things are going okay? We might have to wait a couple of
days, we don’t know. They’ll wait to see if she’s stabilized tomorrow morning
before they discharge her.” He cracked a smile. “Then we’ll start looking into
rehab clinics. It’s a good thing your mom wants it.” He sighed heavily. “Finally.”

“Okay.” I gave him a hug,
and he squeezed me. My dad probably hadn’t hugged me like that since I was
little, before he was a raging drunk. It felt nice to have one parent back, and
soon, two.

I left the room and met
Hugh in the hall again. He glanced at his watch.

“While you were saying
good bye, I was able to grab the penthouse suite at the Ritz again.” He took my
hand and we made our way out of the hospital. Hugh had a taxi waiting for us.

***

O
nce we reached the
hotel, my emotions ripped themselves out of me again. I felt a mixture of rage
and emptiness.

I dropped my bag at the
door and threw myself on the bed. I turned to watch Hugh move about the room. I
wondered how many times he had stayed at this hotel. It was already really
strange for me, a kind of nauseating sense of déjà vu.

“Come to bed,” I whined.
He was pacing the room, his socks scraping against the carpet. I looked at the
clock. “It’s nearly 4 am, why are you restless?”

He stared through me.
“I’m just thinking about things...” then he focused on me, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, I’m going to
sleep though.” I started taking my clothes off, and moving the sheets to climb
under. He helped take my shoes off before propping a pillow at the head of the
bed.

“You should rest.”

“Gladly.” I sighed. “Anything
to make today end already.”

***

T
he night went by quickly
and dreamlessly. I was glad I often forgot my dreams, because I’m sure they
would have been nightmares. The sun trickled into the penthouse and twinkled
between the blinds. I groaned, rolling over to face away from the light.

I slowly opened my eyes
and saw my phone sitting on the nightstand. I picked it up and called my dad.
The phone rang for only a couple of seconds before he answered.

“Hi... Dad.”

“What’s going on?” he
asked. I swallowed hard.

“When can I see you guys?
You told me to call.” I sighed.

“The doctors are still
finishing up some tests. I’ll let you know soon. You and Hugh should do
something besides worry anyway. Get some fresh air maybe?” It sounded like he
was wrestling with some papers.

“Okay. I’ll try to
distract myself.” I hung up, letting the phone rest in my hand for a minute
before putting it away. I rolled back into the pillows, a slight groan in my
voice. I looked at Hugh. “What should we do?”

“Why don’t we get out of
the hotel and go visit my dad? Seeing your family made me think of how little I
see my own.”

I pulled my head out of
the pile of pillows and sheets. “Okay.”

He stood up and walked
into the bathroom, his feet slapping the tiled floor. I heard the shower turn
on.

Hugh’s dad. It’d been a
long time since I saw him.

I looked through the open
bathroom door and watched the steam coil out of the shower, the scent of
shampoo mixing in the air.

I should be joining
him, so why don’t I have a little bit of fun?

I cracked the seal on the
mini-fridge and peeked inside.
I really shouldn’t be thinking about alcohol
right now.
I considered it for a moment, then decided to take a shot of
rum. Loosen my inhibitions a little bit, get my mind off last night. After
feeling the weight of the smooth liquid coat my mouth, I shivered. I went into
the bathroom and thought about what I was going to do to him. The mirror was
fogged and the steam made me feel hotter than I already was.

Just as I was gathering
the courage to step into the shower, he shut the tap off and climbed out. The
water was still running in channels off his chiseled abs. He looked a little
surprised to see me, but his expression quickly turned coy. I moved closer to
him and ran my hand over his slick body, the scent of his minty shampoo washing
over me.

Wordlessly, he cupped my
face with his hand.

I teased him. I brushed
his hips, dragging my finger down that canyon in his skin. I didn’t touch his
cock though, which I think only excited him more, judging by the twitch he gave
me.

I knelt down in front of
him, spreading out. The steam rising off his body wetted my face.

I squeezed his cock,
feeling it throb beneath my fingers. It grew hard almost immediately, and there
was only one thing I really wanted to do with it.

“Would you be offended if
I sucked your cock?”

“Not at all,” he
whispered. He brushed my hair away from my cheek.

I pulled his cock into my
mouth, tasting the hard shower water as I replaced it with my spit. He groaned,
moving to maintain his balance. I felt the alcohol slam into me, slightly
inebriating me.

I slurped up my spit, and
pushed my head down over his cock, reaching his balls. He shuddered when I
pushed my tongue against his head, rubbing it on the roof of my mouth.

“Jesus, Caitlin,” he
mumbled. His hand moved from my shoulder and gripped the back of my head. He
started thrusting into me, and I braced myself to match him, his salty skin
tasting glorious.

“Come in my mouth Hugh,
that’s all I want,” I said. I gripped the base of his rod and sank it back into
my mouth, dabbling the back of my throat. He shuddered again, and I felt a
twitch.

Then he came, his cock
throbbing in bursts inside my mouth, each one punctuated by the salty and
chemical aftertaste of his pleasure. I drank it, swallowing it.

“Oh god,” he cried out,
seizing my hair in a fistful. I winced as he released me.

His clean body was
tainted with sweat now, which I relished. I grinned at him as I stood up, and
he brought me in for a kiss.

I fell into him, his
tongue dancing inside my mouth. As he pulled away, he caught my lip and sucked.

“Mhmm, that was a good
way to start the morning.”

I gave him a devious
smile, before turning to leave the bathroom.

***

H
ugh’s parents’ house
hadn’t changed much from when I last saw it. It was a quaint little home, with
horizontal siding and a black roof. The yard was a bit overgrown, but it gave
it a charming feeling.

As we climbed the front
steps, I spotted a set of soft chairs nestled next to each other on the porch.
A humming bird feeder was dangling half-f from the eave.

Hugh gave the door two
hard knocks, and stepped back to wait. An older man answered the door. He was a
dead ringer for Hugh, just about thirty years older. He had an impressive
moustache. “Hugh?” the man answered, “What’re you up to comin’ around here?” He
opened the door and pushed the screen door out. Hugh grabbed it and we stepped
in.

Hugh joked, “I’m just
visiting my old man, is that a crime?”

“If you spend so much
time away from me, it might start being a crime,” he answered. When he talked,
his mustache seemed to twitch a little on its own.

“Dad, this is Caitlin,”
Hugh said. He gestured to me as if I was being presented. “Caitlin, this is my
dad, Sam.”

Sam’s face wrinkled as he
studied me. His face was slightly sunburnt.

“Nice to meet you, Sam.”
I shook his hand.

“Pleasure’s all mine,”
Sam said. He pulled my hand in and planted a kiss on it. I was surprised.
People still did that? His upper lip tickled me.

“I don’t remember you
being such a lady-killer, Mr. Evans.” I said, taking my hand back.

“Remember...? Is this the
same Caitlin from high school, Hugh?”

“I am,” I answered for
Hugh. “I remember coming over a bunch of times.”

“We mostly stayed out and
about, Dad. It’s okay if you don’t really remember... you are getting old.”

“I’m not that old, not
yet,” Sam said. He grinned. “I never forget a pretty face, and I remember you
talking about her before you left for college.”

I studied Hugh’s face,
“Oh really?”

Hugh seemed
uncomfortable, and he fidgeted, which made Sam laugh.

“Why don’t you come in
and sit down? We’ll have some coffee or something fancy like that.” Sam
vanished into the house, as Hugh and I walked in. While I didn’t remember every
detail of the house, it did come back to me as I moved through the hallways.

The front entry expanded
quickly into a living room, with a small TV planted in a corner. A set of love
seats faced each other, and the hardwood floor was covered in thick rugs. It
felt warm and inviting.

Hugh and I made ourselves
comfortable on a small love seat, and I admired the paintings. They were all
signed with a flourished “
E
,” and were mostly of small sailboats along
the coast.

I pointed at a painting.
“Did your dad make these?”

“No, those are my mom’s
paintings. Before she died,” Hugh said. “She has hundreds, and my dad trades
them out every couple of months. I love coming to visit because I swear there
are always paintings I’ve never seen. It’s like she’s still here.”

Sam called out from the
kitchen, “You two want any coffee?”

“I’d love some,” I said. I
wasn’t a big coffee drinker, but it seemed right to accept the offer.

Hugh agreed, and Sam
shuffled back with two cups of coffee. After handing us our cups, he sat down,
facing us.

“So what brings you
here?” Sam asked. I drank a little of my coffee. It was hard and black, just
the way I liked it.

“We just thought we’d get
outside for a little bit.” Hugh covered for me. I was glad, I didn’t want to
talk to Sam about my mom, not yet.

“When did you two get
back together?” he asked, there was a curious undertone in his voice.

Hugh blushed and shook
his head. “About a week ago, I’d say.”

I got a word in
edgewise, “A really quick week.”

“That’s so wonderful,”
Sam said. He held his hand to his chest, and looked up. “You two are welcome to
stay as long as you want. God knows I got nothing going on anymore.” He
grinned, pushing up from his chair. “More coffee?”

***

A
couple of hours later,
we decided to get going. We said goodbye to Sam, who said he’d have to meet my
parents sometime. I agreed.

Back in another taxi, I
called my dad, who picked up pretty quickly.

“Are you and Mom free?”

“Yeah! I was just
thinking about calling you,” he said. He sounded like he was in a much better
mood. “Everything checked out and they’re releasing her. We’ll be at home for a
couple of hours before we look into the local clinics.”