Forbidden

Chapter 10

Soon enough everyone had arrived, with Peter being the last. He slipped into the seat next to hers, winking at her as he pulled a pen out of his pocket. She smiled back, quickly turning away as heat rose to her cheeks.

The hour and a half of class sped by, and before they knew it Kenneth announced they were finished for the week. "Don't forget your assignments for Monday, folks. Have a nice weekend."

They all thanked Kenneth for his time, and each went their separate ways. Just as Catherine started towards home, she felt a light tap on her shoulder.

"Hey." Peter smiled at her.

"Hey." She couldn't help but smile back.

"I'm going that way too. Want me to walk you home?"

Red covered he cheeks, and a goofy smile spread across her face. She silently thanked God it was dark. "Sure, that would be nice. Thank you."

And so they set out together towards home. They walked in silence, but it was a good silence. Neither felt the need to talk, the presence of the other being reassuring in itself.

It was Peter who broke the silence. "So. Tell me about yourself. Who is Catherine...?"

"Porter. She's a 14 year old who loves books and school. A part from that, she's not very interesting."

"I doubt that." Peter smiled. "So why are you here then, if you love school so much? You taking extra night classes after regular school?"

Catherine lost her smile. "No. My dad says women aren't worthy of education, so I have to stay home with my mom and learn how to be a good house wife. The lessons aren't too bad, actually. I'd just much rather be at school. This one time I snuck out to school with my older brother. He told people I was his mute cousin. Mom and dad found out about it though, and we both got punished. Even after that he continued bringing me work to do at night, but that was found out too." She stopped talking, realizing what she had just done. "I...I don't know why I'm telling you all this. I haven't told anyone that before."

"I have that effect on people. They trust me easily. But don't worry, your secret is safe with me." And oddly enough, she believed him.

"What about your story, then? Who is Peter?"

"It's a long story. And it's late."

"Oh. Uhm, this is me." Catherine pointed to her house, stopping in front of it.

"Oh, okay. Tell you what. Do you know Greenspring park?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Meet me there after lunch on Saturday. I'll tell you all about Peter Smith."

"Okay. See you Saturday then, Peter." They stood there, neither one wanting to leave. Finally, Catherine gave in. She walked up to the front door and waved goodbye, hardly believing what had happened. She burned with desire so tell her mother about this boy, and her confused feelings about him, but that involved explaining how they met, and that was definitely out of the question. With a sigh, she pushed open the door and went inside.

"There you are! I was beginning to worry. Where were you?"

"Sorry mom, lost track of time! It's a beautiful night, and it felt great to be surrounded by fresh air."

"That's okay honey. Just, be careful next time okay? That was a really long walk."

Catherine hated keeping the truth from her mother, but it was her only option. "Okay, I will. Sorry for the scare. Goodnight mom, love you."

The next day, Catherine and Julia moved from socks to scarves. The scarves were longer to knit, yet less complicated in their shape. They took a break from knitting in the afternoon, doing laundry instead. They made chicken and rice for dinner, and soon enough it was time to sleep.