Run To the Sea With relief, Catherine moved back into her apartment and returned to life Above. It was good to be back at work. Joe scolded her gently about placing the health of "her friend in California" above the priorities of the office, but he was willing to chalk it up to vacation time if Moreno was. She spent her evenings Below, reading to Vincent, and taking short walks with him through the Tunnels. He refused to speak of the events which had led to his injuries. Father confided to Catherine once that he believed it would be healthy for Vincent to talk about that night, but every time she approached the subject, Vincent found a reason to talk about something else.
Chapter 6
by Sue Glasgow
Father remained civil in his attitude toward Catherine, but the closeness she had imagined in him faded away. They had brought Vincent safely to good health, and Father was again feeling the threat he believed she represented to Vincent's happiness. Catherine worried sometimes when she remembered Father's statement that he would "deal" with her relationship with Vincent when he was well.
On one of her visits Below she remembered to ask Vincent about a book she had left on his table. He nodded, and later that evening he brought her to his chamber and pulled the book from a shelf over his bed. "Brigit O'Donnell...I had not realized she had depth beyond her children's fables."
"Did you read it?" she asked.
He shook his head. "No."
"I wish you would. It's beautiful."
He turned the book in his hand. ""300 Days"."
"Brigit has become very involved as a peace activist in Ireland. This is the story of her marriage...and the sense she is trying to make of her husband's death."
He frowned. "Not the most casual of reading."
She shook her head. "No, I suppose not. But I found it very uplifting somehow. Special." She put the book on his table. "I read it twice while you were sick...you keep it."
He looked at her and cocked his head. She slipped her arm through his, "Walk me back a little ways?"
"I'll take you to your basement."
She looked up in surprise. "Are you sure? You haven't been walking that far."
"I'm sure."
He reached for his cloak and winced as he tried to pull it around his shoulders with his right hand. Catherine took it from him, "Turn around." It was not an easy reach for her, but she brought the heavy garment up over his shoulders and told him to turn again. She settled the cloak over his sling and adjusted it as he looked down at her with amusement glinting in his blue eyes.
"Catherine, I think you are enjoying this."
She smiled at him and gave the cloak one last pat. "It's just that sometimes you need a good woman to take care of you."
"I shall remember that."
She laughed, and for the first time she felt this whole painful experience might be behind them.
*** It did not seem strange to Catherine that Vincent should continue meeting her below her basement instead of on the balcony. The trips to her terrace had always been hazardous, and now the ascent was definitely more than Vincent should attempt in his physical condition. She missed their time on the balcony, but Vincent more than made up for it in their long walks back to the home chambers. Now that he no longer wore the sling, his slight limp was the only physical reminder of his last experience Above. His gentle sense of humor returned, and he spent a great deal of time with Father. Of course, this pleased Father, and Catherine certainly could not consider it a problem. Still, there was something which tugged at the back of her thoughts and made her feel uneasy.
On the next Saturday afternoon Catherine went for a walk in the park, but as she drew near the drainage ditch, she knew her true interests were not in the park, but below it. Uncertain how Vincent opened the gate at this entrance, she returned to her apartment building and entered Below through the threshold under her basement. It was strange being in the Tunnels alone. Even when he was not expecting her, Vincent always felt her nearness and came to guide her. But she had heard him say he would be spending this afternoon in special lessons with four of the older children. Catherine thought perhaps she might be able to invite herself to watch those lessons.
Just when she decided she was hopelessly lost, she found a familiar passage and followed it to Father's chamber. The study was unoccupied, but it was an easy walk from there to Vincent's chamber. He was there with the children, and the look he gave her when she approached his doorway let her know her visit was no surprise. One of the children was reciting, and Vincent motioned Catherine into a nearby chair. The lessons went on undisturbed, and the young woman was fascinated by Vincent's perception and patience with his students. He had the ability to turn a question into a quest, and, through discussion with the help of an imposing stack of reference books, the children seemed to evolve their own answers.
When the class was at last dismissed, and the children were gone, Vincent remained in his chair across the chamber and gazed at her. "You found your own way."
"Barely...with luck."
"If you had tapped the code I taught you, someone would have come for you."
"I was planning on that if I got lost."
He smiled with his eyes as he pushed himself to his feet. "Father sent a message before you came." He stood over her offering his hand, "He asked me to come to the hospital chamber as soon as I was free."
She frowned. "Are you all right?"
He looked at her strangely. "Of course." He paused. "I suspect he has a chore for me. Will you come?"
She accepted his hand.
In the hospital chamber they found Father working at the medicine cabinet counting out tablets and taking inventory. He glanced up at Vincent. "Ah, there you...," Catherine moved into view and Father fell silent. After a moment he nodded to her. "Catherine. I didn't know you were Below."
Vincent had a hand on her arm. "She was interested in the logic class I am attempting to develop with some of the older children." Catherine noticed he did not tell Father she had arrived uninvited.
Father nodded. "Very well." After a pause he added, "It's...good to see you, Catherine."
"Thank you, Father."
Vincent released her arm and walked to the cabinet door. "You sent for me."
Father cleared his throat and turned back to his work. "Yes, I did." He reached for a small paper bag and began putting several bottles of pills and liquids into it. "I need you to run an errand for me. It's been a month since you took Sam's medicine up to him. I have decided to change his prescriptions slightly, and I want you to take these up to him with an explanation of his new schedule. He's lost quite a bit of weight, and I think..." Father kept on talking as he worked, preoccupied with his task. He did not see what Catherine saw.
Vincent was suddenly rigid, unmoving. For an instant she saw an expression on his face which she had never seen before, then he turned away. The tension in his shoulders showed her something was wrong. Father's voice droned on as he carefully outlined a medication schedule...although his son was not listening. "...just before bedtime. Tell him if there is any problem, to send word down on the pipes. But I seriously doubt..." Father started to hand Vincent the sack, and for the first time he saw his son's reaction. "Vincent, are you listening to me?" Vincent did not move. "Son, are you all right?"
His answer was so low Catherine could barely hear him. "I am all right. Catherine just asked the same question..." He looked up through darkly hooded eyes. "How long will it be before you both will believe that I am...all right?" He looked from one of them to the other, then he stepped toward the door. "Catherine, I will walk you back. I'll get my cloak." And he was gone.
Father stood holding Sam's medicine, watching Vincent leave. He turned to Catherine. "What on earth was that all about?"
Catherine shook her head in surprise. "I have no idea." She hesitated only a second, then followed Vincent. "But I intend to find out."