Undeniable

Chapter 13: Janice

The kids left for school and I immediately began making calls. I called Michael first to ask him some questions about Katarina.  Michael has always been an early bird so there's no doubt he's awake by now. He picks up on the third ring.

"Hello?" He picks up.

"Hey Michael it's Janice." I say to him.

"Ohhh hey what's up? Everything with Kat okay?" He questions.

"Well that's actually what I'm calling about." I confessed.

"What happened? Is she okay? Do I need to get in my car and come over?" He rapid fired questions at me.

"Michael calm down. The kids are at school. They're fine. I'm calling to make sure that it's okay with you if me and my parents maybe gave her some money to go shopping for new clothes and a phone plus maybe some room items like furniture this weekend."  I assured him.

"Oh whew! You had me going for a minute. I'm perfectly okay with it however, I tried numerous times to get that girl some new clothes and stuff but she's so stubborn." Michael tells me.

"Hmm... Do you think its possible to tell her that we're going on a surprise trip so she doesn't have a choice? I don't want her to go through the winter with torn up clothes." I chuckled.

"You might give her a panic attack by doing that. My suggestion is to sit her down with Deklyn and make him try to talk to her. I've seen how he's been acting around her, he's got this interesting protective vibe around him when he's with her." He relays to me catching me off guard but realizing he was right.

"Actually I've noticed that as well. He seems to always get closer to her when they're in the same room." There was silence after my statement for a few seconds before I realized. "Oh my god Michael." I gasped.

"What?" He asks in a concerned tone.

"He likes her. I can't believe I didn't see it till now. He's got a crush on her!" I exclaimed.

"Are you sure?" Michael laughs.

"Absolutely! He is protective, caring and, very sweet to her. There's no other explanation." I reply. "I'm glad he likes someone like her though, Deklyn doesn't have very nice friends so I'm glad they have each other." I add.

"You might be right about that. If you want Deklyn to limit his time with ruffians send him over here I'll have him spend time at the gym with Kat instead." Michael mentions.

"I think that's a good idea but I do have a few more questions for you about Katarina." I pointed out attempting to change the topic.

"Go for it." He says.

"What does she like? Style perhaps? Maybe a favorite color? I just want to know so I know what places to take her." I queried.

"She mostly wears all black so I don't know if you can get her to wear different colors. In my opinion she has a skater vibe to her so maybe hoodies, jackets, leggings and, snapbacks might be an option for her if you know stores that carry clothing like that." He suggested.

"Thank you Michael, I'll call Deklyn during his lunch to discuss it." I smiled even though I knew he couldn't see me. 

"No problem Jan, just give me a shout if you need anything or if any problems arise please." He says and I can hear the pure care in his voice. We both disconnect the line as I put my phone on the counter taking a sip of water before I look at the time and realize I was on the phone with Michael for almost forty-five minutes. I take a deep breath before calling my own parents as I pick up the phone and press the call button. 

"Helloooo?" My father says.

"Hi dad it's Janice." I say to him.

"Hi darling it's good to hear from you." He replies as I hear his voice start to perk up.

"I need to ask you for a favor." I hinted.

"Oh what might that be?" He questions.

"Well as you know Deklyn and I recently took in a girl by the name of Katarina, she needs help. I want to ask you if I could borrow some money to help her and get her clothes without holes in them, some proper school supplies and, maybe some room furniture and decorations." I say nervously.

"Honey you are such a wonderful daughter, how much do you need?" He asks.

"Well I don't know exactly, whatever you're willing to provide I'm sure I can make it work and budget it out for her." I reassured.

"You know money is never an issue hun, would eight grand work? Is that enough for a new wardrobe and miscellaneous items?" He queries. 

"I think it will be and if anything is left over which I'm more than sure there will be, I'll transfer if back over." I promised.

"If any is left over just keep it for her Jan, she might need it one day. I have to take your mother to her doctor's appointment but I'll send you the money in a few minutes. I love you sweetheart." He says as we say our goodbyes and end the call. 

I sit at the counter flipping through a magazine that came in the mail yesterday admiring all the celebrity drama that has unfolded on the pages. I can't help but sigh to myself as I stare blankly at the pages while my mind wanders off thinking about how to help this poor girl. Memories and flashbacks flood my mind of Katarina's mother and how it was always me, her, and Michael when we were in high school. I smile unknowingly at the happy memories waving through my head. The sad memories started to crash in as I remembered how alcoholism started to deteriorate Irena's life. I think of when her daughter was first born and how excited she was to be a mother. I didn't support the man she had a child with but I supported my friend and what she wanted to do with her life. Shortly after Irena, Michael, and I graduated her alcoholism and gambling habits began. She met a man who was not fit for her in the slightest and ended up getting pregnant by him. Everyone in town hated him and he left her as soon as he found out she was pregnant. She was devastated but decided she needed to do what was best for her new life and moved to Czech Republic where her family still resided. Unfortunately her life was short lived as she shielded the true reason as to why she wanted to leave. She said it was because of her new baby but she indeed left because the owner of a casino wanted his money that Irena owed him. He relentlessly hunted her down and eventually found her. I was horrified to find out Katarina was present during everything. I couldn't begin to imagine that poor child's trauma but she's here now and I'm going to make sure I can make her feel more than welcome. 

My thoughts must have gotten away from me because I felt my phone vibrating on the counter and its my son. 

"Hey Deklyn." I say picking up the phone.

"Hey mooooom." He says in a tone he uses when he wants something.

"Yes hunny what is it?" I chuckle.

"Did you talk to grandpa?" He asks.

"Yes I did you won't believe what he did for Katarina." I cheer.

"Well don't keep me in suspense mother tell me." He pokes at me.

"He said he was going to send eight grand for her." 

"Jesus mom grandpa is feeling very generous today isn't he?" He puzzles.

"Dek, he did have a huge soft spot for Irena, I mean Katarina's mother." I correct myself.

"I didn't know you knew her mother." He says after a brief pause.

"Yes it was me, Irena, and Michael when we were all in high school. We'll talk about that later, but there's something I need you to do for me please." I explain.

Oh boy Deklyn please get her to do this.