She Never Knew Read Online Free Page A

alive!” she raged, slapping
Kat in the face hard. “What were you thinking?”
    There was a
collective gasp as the remaining onlookers stood frozen, shocked from what they
had just witnessed. All eyes were on the sisters as the pastor quickly intervened.
    Kat felt ill as
her sister continued her tirade. Her face burned and her head felt dizzy. She
thought she would faint but snapped back to reality when Mary again raised her
voice.
    “You think you feel sick? How do you think the rest of us feel?” Mary glared at Kat, waving
her hand at the few who remained. It was an awkward and embarrassing moment as
people stood around uncomfortably, unsure of what to do. Uncle Chucky and Aunt Barbara
stood quietly, holding each other for support. Kat couldn’t believe her eyes. Did
everyone blame her for her parents’ deaths? Were they for real?
    When Kat tried
to speak, nothing came out. Instead, she hung her head and began to cry. No one
came to her rescue as Mary uttered her final words to Kat.
    “I don’t ever want to see you again,” she seethed. “I will never forgive you for this!” Before
Kat could respond, Mary stormed off. Through blurry vision, Kat watched her
sister stagger her way across the cemetery to the parking lot. Feeling alone
and helpless, Kat stood rooted for a long time as she observed her parents’
friends and remaining family members slowly depart. One of her father’s
friends, a lawyer, wished her well and said he would be in touch to discuss her
parents’ estate. Her aunt and uncle were among the last to leave.
    A luncheon had
been scheduled at her aunt’s house immediately following the service, but Kat
didn’t attend. She didn’t want a continuation of what transpired at the
cemetery and besides, she was still reeling from the chain of events. Instead,
she returned to her parents’ house where she found solace. She spent an hour there,
wandering from room to room, studying their contents, and remembering the
things she and Mary used to do together when they were children.
    Sitting on her
bed that she slept in as a child, her thoughts drifted to Michael. A tear slid
on her cheek as she recalled his last words to her before he left to take her
parents to the airport. After he had teased her about her sprained ankle, he
made sure she was comfortably resting in bed. He had joked that when he
returned, they would walk to the hotel’s dining room for dinner as a
three-legged person. Then they would attempt a three-legged dance afterwards.
Later that evening, they would order dessert through room service.
    But none of
those things ever happened. Michael never came back to her. Her parents never
returned home. Nothing would ever be the same again.
    Wiping her tears
away, Kat meandered into the family room. She mused over framed photos
displayed on the mantel and was reminded of the many vacations she and Mary had
taken with their parents over the years.
    In the foyer, a
large portrait of her parents hung prominently on the wall. Kat had had the
portrait made in honor of their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary and they had
loved it. It was the perfect memoir for Kat to display in her apartment next to
the portrait of Michael and her. She couldn’t explain it, but she felt her
parents would have wanted her to have it.
    As she looked
around, Kat knew that at some point, she and Mary would need to start sorting
through her parents’ belongings. In fact, she dreaded the process of saying
goodbye and never returning to her childhood home. She pushed the thought from
her mind and called her aunt.
    When her aunt
answered the phone, the luncheon was in full swing. Aunt Barbara wasn’t
surprised to hear that Kat had gone to her parents’ house directly after the
service. When Kat asked if it was a good time for her to swing by, her aunt
admonished her. After what happened at the cemetery, she felt that her presence
would only upset the family members, especially Mary. No, it wasn’t a good idea
to attend