North Road {HS}

5. Kitty

"And a one, two, three, one, two three," Mrs. Knapp's gnarled hand beat out the rhythm on my shoulder as I struggled to stay focused on the piece and not bite the arthritic thing off.

"Slower, Kitty, you're rushing it," she reprimanded.

I sighed and slowed my pace, glancing at the clock. It was 6:55. I only had to make it through five more minutes.

After finishing the song I turned toward her expectantly, wondering if she had cleaned her teeth in the last decade.

"Better," she mumbled, "It is unfortunate that your sister couldn't be here to work on the duet."

I rolled my eyes. I didn't understand why she couldn't be here either. She had claimed she needed the time to prepare for the festivities later but when I had left she was still sleeping.

"You can be done for today," she sighed, tucking a wisp of her yellow white hair behind a veiny ear.

I bolted from my seat at the piano before I heard her clearing her throat quite loudly.

"Remember, Kitty, a lady never rushes," she reprimanded.

I slowed down and turned to her.

"My apologies Mrs. Knapp. I'll see you next week."

"Yes, next Saturday, six sharp, and don't forget Adelaide next time."

With a quick curtsy and a goodbye I grabbed my coat and ran out the door ignoring her shrieking at me to slow down.

Once I was outside on the cobblestone road, I slowed and took in a deep breath of morning air relishing in the absence of the strong smell of cat Mrs. Knapps' home possessed.

The slight drizzle was typical for this time of year and I watched, unphased, as it fell over the bay.

"Do you always go on walks alone this early in the morning?" a voice disturbed me.

"As you can see we're quite close to home and normally I'm with Adelaide," I answered.

"You're telling me that Miss Adelaide agrees to these walks of her own free will," he asked sounding entertained.

"No, typically she goes kicking and screaming," I explained.

"And what is the purpose of your Saturday morning ventures?"

"Piano lessons," I answered, "With the old hag."

We fell into stride as we walked toward home together and I took the opportunity to examine the man next to me. He walked with a slight limp that seemed to bring him some discomfort. His face was scrunched up in determination and his eyes were focused on the bay to our right.

"It's beautiful here," he said quietly, "You said your father owns all the land below us on the hill?"

I was distracted by the amount of conversation he was initiating this morning as most often he remained quiet while his friend did the talking.
I nodded my head in agreement then asked, "What was your home like? In England."

Surprised by my own willingness to be a part of this conversation I waited for his answer.

"The weather was the same," he began, "Always raining. I lived on a dirt road with my parents and sister in the middle of green, English country."

"Is your family still there?"

His eyes hardened, but he nodded.

"What were they like?" I asked.

He walked on quietly for awhile and I didn't think he was going to answer.

"My mother is the kindest woman I know. The very epitome of grace. My sister was training to be a school teacher and my father is a country doctor. He's a hard and unforgiving man," he muttered his voice growing bitter at the end.

"I should go," he said suddenly as we neared the house, "I've got an errand to run."

I tried to act as if I wasn't bothered by his sudden turn after our first friendly conversation, but I watched him go with a brief goodbye before entering the house.

The house was waking up as I entered the kitchen. I breathed a thankful sigh that we had bothered to ask Hilde to come in today to help with the wedding. She could deal with breakfast.

I padded up the stairs and slipped into the first door on the right.

"Morning," I said quietly smiling as I settled under the covers next to her, "You look good this morning."

"It's the festivities."

"Well if that's the case then we ought to have more," I laughed.

She chuckled along with me but added, "I'm not sure we could keep up with that."

I breathed in the morning air and watched the rain outside and leaned my head on her shoulder.

"Are you gonna come down for it?" I asked hopefully.

She sat quietly with her eyes closed as if thinking about it and I turned to examine her. My mother used to be such an elegant woman who dressed herself with grace and the latest fashions. Now she lay in bed twenty pounds lighter dressed in her favorite night dress and a baggy hand knit sweater.

Her hair, which had been cut just above her shoulders in order to make it easier to maintain, was grey and thin despite her relatively young age.
When she had become sick she had traded fashion for function with a certain stoicism. The only emotion that she had shown was a few tears when she had cut her hair. She was a ghost of who she once was but she still carried a certain elegance with her even sick in bed.

"I might," she said nodding her head, "maybe if those nice boys we have staying now help me down the stairs."

Her eyes were still closed so she couldn't see me rolling my eyes. Nice was not the word for Harry Styles.

"Time I got around to meeting them," said my mother.

"I'll talk to them," I sighed.

"I heard one of them's taken a fancy to Laidy."

I laughed. Every young man in Tacoma had taken a fancy to Adelaide at some point.

"It seems it," I shrugged.

"She better wear that pretty blue dress tonight," she commented, "and you wear your green one."

"Mother," I rolled my eyes.

"What, Kitty? You are seventeen and a beautiful young woman. Don't let it all pass you by."

"I'm not," I muttered.

I thought about what she said surprised by the fact that I was actually considering wearing the green dress when I had originally just planned on just wearing the grey one I normally wear to church.

"And have Marjorie help you with your hair," she suggested.

"Yes mother," I sighed.

We sat quietly for a moment listening to the sounds of the house running about downstairs.

"Well, if I must dress nice and make this reception happen then I best be going," I grumble as I climb out of her warm bed and head toward the door.

Before I got to the door she called out to me.

"I'll see you later my beautiful girl."
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Wattpad's been dead af this week...

Let's talk Harry's past. It seems everyone's got a reason they don't want to go home. 🤷🏻‍♀️
(Pierce and Harry??? 😏😱)

I'm sorry but I love these characters. I hope you can find it in your heart to love them too.

This is my first story on here so it won't be super long. When I first mapped out this story I had intended it to be a short prequel story for something else I was writing. But now I'm bulking up and making it longer.

I have another story in the works that will be quite long. I'm excited to be at a point where I feel like I can release it as well.

Love you guys and thank you so much for reading. ❤️