Behind The Church

XXXV

Kate

I march into the visiting hall where Josh is. I decided to pay him a visit so I could see how he feels about this whole thing. Once my eyes connected with his, I felt that bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. It was nauseating.

I sat down in front of him and his eyes scan my face.

"Hi there." he mumbled. I notice that he has been handcuffed to the table.

"Hi." I say back. I have to spend an hour with him, and I can't leave before that.

"I take you've come to have a go at me." he said.

"Depends. I wanted to see you because you've been in here for two years, I need to see if there was change." I say.

"I guess so. I don't feel so angry anymore. I feel terrible for what I did to you all. And besides, I got my karma in here. The other guys heard what I did and they were sure to teach me a lesson. They still teach me that lesson now."

"So, you're saying that you are feeling remorse now?" I question.

"Yes. I don't know what was going through my head two years ago. Even in the courtroom, I wasn't right. Something was and still is seriously wrong. How is Christina?"

"She's currently in a Mental Hospital for trying to kill herself for the third time." I state.

"So, not good, then. What about Eliza?"

"She also tried to kill herself."

"Oh. What about everyone else?" he asked.

"Hunter is married to a lovely lady called Jenny and they have two or three kids. They live in San Francisco. Adrianna has a girlfriend called Eden and they have a daughter called Sarah, they're living with Tina and I during the pandemic. Eleanor left the state. We have no contact with her. We don't give a flying fuck about Joel."

"That kid was never right in the head." Josh shook his head.

"You're one to talk." I remind him.

"Yeah, I know. But Joel, he even weirded me out. He was so strange around Christina."

"Perhaps that's a story for another day. Joseph is a firefighter but we don't really talk to him either, I've never met him."

"Joe was a good kid."

"Sure. Quinn is an officer and Audrey is a surgeon. Elijah is training for the police force. Christina and I have just finished high school and I plan on teaching and Tina wants a career in music. Hopefully she can start college in September. Malachi is going to med school. Psalm and Esther want to go into teaching, too. Luke is in middle school. You killed Obediah and Olivia is still in elementary."

"So, you're all growing up. I'm happy that they're not being held back by me. They're living their lives and moving on, or at least trying to. And there are lot of lesbian couples, aren't there?" Josh smiles a little bit.

"It's not as if you have them a good example of men. They have serious issues and anxiety." I admit.

"I know. I'm sorry for everything I did. Is there a chance that I could send Christina a letter?"

"I'd have to talk to her therapist and see if she thinks it's right."

"Okay. How's your family? How's Peter?"

"He died." I spit, angry at the mention of my homophobic father.

"Oh no. I'm so sorry. How did he pass?" I will admit, seeing such sympathy coming from this man is strange. This must be the guy Eliza fell in love with.

"Cancer. Brain and lungs."

"You seem angry at him. Did he do something?"

"He told me to go to Hell because I was dating Tina and refused to break up with her as his last dying wish. He called me homophobic slurs and told me that he hated me." I say, casually.

"Kate, that's terrible. I'm sorry. I never thought Peter would be like that. Ever. How's Kat holding up?"

"She doesn't like him for doing that to me. But she's moved on. Found herself a nice woman."

"Kat always gave off bisexual vibes." Josh chuckled. This man, who had spent years and years abusing his kids, their friends and his wife, smiled and chuckled. To say I was taken aback, would be an understatement.

"You're really weirded out by my change, aren't you?" he asked.

"One hundred percent." I stare at the man in front of me, wide eyed.

"Didn't Christina have two little girls?"

"Yeah, she did. They're five now. The sweetest things to roam this Earth."

"Are they like Christina?"

"Definatley. They're kind, brave, patient, understanding and charming. They make their teachers and classmates swoon." I joke. But not really. Ruth and Zoey truly have a way with words and I've seen multiple people blush from their compliments and behaviour. Very much like Christina.

"I never truly thought that Christina was a bad kid. I thought she was an angel but my madness, insanity and anger blinded me. The world needs more of what she has. Unconditional love. She always saw the brightside in life. Even after I was the world's worst father, if you can even call me a father. She always managed to smile and laugh."

"Her smile is a killer. I melt everytime I see it." I grin. I rest my chin on my hand, Josh's eyes find the ring sitting happy in my finger.

"Did she pop the question?" he asked.

"She did. On my birthday. She's quite the romantic."

"She got that from Eliza. She was always one for romance and dates and stuff. How I miss the days where I wasn't such a dickhead."

"But if you weren't a dickhead, then Tina wouldn't be here. There's still a brightside to it, even if the origins are nothing but evil and dark intentions." I shrug.

"I see she's passed that gift onto you." Josh grinned.

"Yeah, her good traits are contagious. So is her smile. She's perfect." I gush.

"I'm glad she has you, Kate. She really loved you back in the day. I'm sure she loves more than anything. But I really want so say something. Warn you. Joel sent in a letter the other day saying that he wants to reconnect with Christina. Keep the kids safe. I don't trust him." Josh says, a darkness spreading across his features.

"Okay." I nod.

"And it might be worth getting a hold of Eleanor. She'll slap a bitch silly. I've seen the way she'd speak to Joel after he'd done something. Like that time he trapped Christina on the roof. I walked in on her shouting and cussing him out. I was slightly scared, I won't lie. She truly knew what he was, or is. Nothing but sick."

"Okay. I'll see what I can do."

"And be careful if any one of the kids get too drunk. Alcoholism runs in the family. My brother had it, I had it, my dad did and way down the line of my family. Can you do that?"

"I'll try."

The bell to signify that the visiting hour was closing rang, so I prepared to say my goodbyes to Josh.

"I'd like it if you'd visit again." Josh said, hopefully.

"We'll see. I'll speak to Christina's therapist for you and I'll get back to you. Thank you for this. It brought a lot of closure." I tell him. It did. It's great to see the change in the man.

"I'm glad you were able to gain closure."

"Goodbye, Josh."

"Bye, Kate."

With that, I left the visiting hall and the prison, having a lot of investigation to do, especially to find Eleanor and convince Tina's therapist about a letter.