THE TAINTED TRUST (Volume 2 of The King Trilogy)

CHAPTER 41

         Newark Airport. Saturday, March 17, 1990.

Kerri boarded an Eastern Airlines DC-9 at nine-twenty, A.M. After switching planes in Toronto, she took a direct flight on an Air Canada 747 to Vancouver.

Time had been unkind to Barbara. Her once tall and slender frame now sported considerable excess weight. Her elegant blue eyes were now surrounded by wrinkles and pronounced crow's feet. Her long flowing blond hair had grayed. Her elegant single chin had doubled. Thrilled and excited to see her daughter again, ran to her and hugged her. "I can't tell you how happy I am to see you again," she said with tears of joy. "You mean so much to me," she said, constantly plagued by the memory of the daughter she had given up for adoption. She touched Kerri's swollen cheek with her index finger. "What happened?" she asked.

"...It's a long story," Kerri said, shifting her focus to a tall well dressed man standing beside her mother. He wore a brown tweed sport coat, gray flannel pants, and well buffed brown shoes. A brown bow tie adorned his pale blue buttoned down shirt. His hair was shoulder length, thick and white. He looked like a hippy who had morphed into a college professor.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Barbara said, embarrassed by her oversight. "I should have introduced you two right away." She turned to her elderly companion. "David, I want you to meet my daughter...Kerri, this is David Harmon, the man I'm going to marry."

Harmon offered a warm smile, then took a step in Kerri's direction and extended his hand. "I'm very happy to meet you, Kerri. Your mother's told me nothing but good things about you."

In spite of Harmon's age, Kerri immediately understood why her mother was attracted to him. His smile and deep brown eyes exuded kindness and a knowing awareness. She held his hand and grinned. "I'm happy to meet you too, David," she said, struggling to suppress her sadness.

"I'm sure you girls have a lot to talk about," Harmon said. He pointed to the exit. "I'll get the car and meet you just outside the Arrivals door."

Barbara smiled and blew a kiss to Harmon. "Thanks, darling," she sang, then turned to Kerri. "Now, tell your mother all," she demanded.

As if a dam had burst, Kerri released her caged emotions. Tears streamed from her eyes as she hugged her mother and wept.

Barbara elected to postpone insist on an explanation. "No matter how bad it is, please remember I'm here for you. I always will be." She kept her arm around Kerri's shoulder and led her toward the door.

The shrill horn of Harmon's car caught Barbara's attention. "There he is," she said, pointing to Harmon's steel-gray Jaguar, splattered by heavy rain and parked more than fifty yards away. "Let's run," she said, reaching for Kerri's hand.

Kerri remained silent in the back seat of Harmon's car while it inched northward on Granville Street toward downtown Vancouver. She was in no mood for small talk and unwilling to discuss her situation in the presence of a man she barely knew.

"Did I tell you David's a writer?" Barbara asked, loud enough for Harmon to hear.

Kerri interrupted her constant stare out her window to glance at Harmon. She forced a pleasant smile. "What do you write, David?" she asked.

Harmon focused on Kerri's face in his rear view mirror. "Most of the material I've written lately is..."

Barbara interrupted. "David's far too modest. He has a doctorate in biochemistry and he's written five books on genetic codes. The last one's been published in thirteen different languages."

Kerri was both interested and fascinated. "Congratulations. Would it be possible for me to get a copy of the last one? Even if I don't understand it, it would be an honor to read a book written by my stepfather."

Harmon smiled at Kerri via the rear view mirror. "It would be an honor to have my stepdaughter read it, but I'm afraid it would bore you."

Thirty minutes later, Harmon maneuvered his car into a parking space very close to the front door to Barbara's apartment building, an aging but clean ten story structure facing English Bay. He turned to face his passengers. "I doubt it will disappoint either of you to learn that I'm going to have to leave you here for a couple of hours. Some rather urgent business requires my attention."

Barbara commenced her interrogation when they entered the elevator. "Okay, start from the beginning...No. First tell me what happened to your cheek. Was it Brian? Did he hit you?"

Kerri nodded. "Everything was fine until Brian's knee was hit last November. That was the beginning of the end."

"Why?" Barbara asked, then leaned against the mirrored elevator wall.

Kerri exhaled and shook her head. "I wish I knew for sure. I can only guess...He replaced center stage with booze. I had no idea it was a problem. We laughed about it at first, but eventually it stopped being funny."

"Did you ever confront him about it?" she asked.

"Miles Dennis suggested I get one of his teammates to do it instead, so I did. That was a big mistake. Brian really resented the interference. He hit me for the first time ever. Then he left and stayed out all night...He came home yesterday. Foolishly, I decided confront him. That turned out to be the coup de grace."

"What did he do?"

Kerri burst into tears and covered her face with her hands. "He went ballistic and hit me again. Then he packed a bag and left."

"He'll be back. I know he will," Barbara promised, then wrapped her arms around Kerri.

"I don't care what he does any more. He's ruined the marriage, mom. It can never be the same."

Barbara lifted Kerri's chin with her fingers. "I can't believe it!" she said, shaking her head. "You two were so much in love."

"I really tried, mom. The man I loved got lost in a bottle."

"Is there another woman?"

"I don't know."

Barbara, exuding empathy for her daughter's emotional turmoil, kissed her forehead. "I've got a great idea. Take a hot bath. I know you'll feel a lot better."

Kerri entered the room where she had spent so many nights as a teen. She frowned as she stared at her one and only window and saw the same narrow view of English Bay, wedged between the same two ugly apartment buildings she had grown to hate. Minutes later, she lowered her head to one of the numerous pillows on her bed and fell into a deep sleep.