She tried to think of the last time Wade took her anywhere that required she dress up, but she was at a loss, thinking all the way back to the senior prom. She and her mother had gone shopping for a dress and shoes at the mall in Great Falls, only to be disappointed when a very drunk Wade practically rolled out of the limo onto her front lawn. He’d lain there laughing his head off, then turned his head to the side and vomited on the grass. They eventually made it to the prom, but Katrin had been furious with him and broke up with him the next day. It was the first of three or four times that she would break up with him before her father died, before she slept with him and feared, a few weeks later, that she was pregnant.
Losing that pregnancy had been a sad, mixed blessing.
Wade had already “done the right thing” in proposing and assuaged her guilt over having pre-marital sex. But, truthfully, she had never felt good about bringing a baby into such a tumultuous relationship. Plus, they were so young, and as much as Katrin wanted children one day, she knew she wasn’t ready to be a parent yet.
She should have broken off the engagement after the miscarriage, but she was mourning her father, and the baby, too, and she felt like she needed Wade more than ever, imperfect though he was. In his own unreliable, haphazard way, having him in her life was comforting to her then, and her belief in his love for her had carried her through some very dark days. No matter what he had done later, she would always feel a small, certain gratitude for that.
That said, however, the most recent news about Wade from Ingrid was troubling.
He had shown up at Kris and Ingrid’s house hollering incoherently about Katrin and horses and all manner of nonsense at three o’clock in the morning on Tuesday, stumbling around their front yard, making no sense at all. Katrin had never owned a horse, nor was horseback riding something they had in common.
Ingrid and Kristian had warned Wade two weeks before that a second occurrence would result in arrest and they were as good as their promise. The police were called, Wade was arrested, they pressed charges for harassment, and filed a restraining order that prohibited Wade from coming within a certain number of feet of their house. The police added the additional public intoxication charge, which all added up to Wade being in a whole lot of trouble.
It had also gotten Katrin in trouble when her brother and Ingrid discovered that she’d never filed the restraining order as she’d claimed. While Ingrid clucked disapprovingly over the phone, Katrin reminded her that the move to Skidoo was protecting her far more than any restraining order could have. Not to mention, if she’d filed one, she’d have a court date looming over her head and frankly, the idea of facing Wade in court made her shudder. The less contact she had with Wade, the better.
Somewhat mollified, Ingrid had shared that Wade was held for seventy-two hours before his parents had arranged his bail and he was released on Saturday morning. No surprise there. The Doyles were good people, but they wore blinders, always holding out hope that Wade would suddenly get his act together. Ing went on to say that it would be a couple of weeks until his arraignment. She assured Katrin that everything was under control and that she shouldn’t worry.
“Kat, it’s about time one of us had his ass hauled into jail. Enough is enough.”
“I was hoping it wouldn’t have to come to that. I hope it doesn’t get worse when he gets out, Ing.”
“Well, he better not come around here, or he’ll be in violation of the restraining order, and that’s serious. Even more serious is how much Kris wants to kick his ass into next week.”
Ing had called back yesterday afternoon with more news. Wade and his parents had stopped by Ingrid and Kristian’s house on Saturday afternoon. Ing said that Wade was in poor shape, but he had apologized for Tuesday’s outburst, if somewhat belligerently, his mother actually prodding him in the back to say the words.
“Sorry for bothering you,” he had muttered.
“Wade’s real sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Svenson,” Mrs. Doyle had assured Ingrid and Kristian. “He went hunting up north last Sunday and came back in a terrible mood. But, he’s all fine now, aren’t you, Wade? Hasn’t drunk a drop in three days. We were wondering…if Wade agreed to go down to the rehab center in Great Falls, would you consider dropping the charges?”
Ingrid had asked Katrin her feelings on the matter.
“Oh, Ing, if he’d get help, I think that would be the best thing of all, don’t you?”
“Starting to feel like this intervention stuff may be my calling,” Ingrid had joked dryly, before hanging up.
Ingrid and Kristian had agreed with the plan for Wade’s treatment. They told the Doyles that as long as they could prove that Wade had entered a sixty-day licensed program, they would drop the charges against him and desist with the restraining order. That still left the county’s public intoxication charge, but unlike the harassment charge or the record of a restraining order, it was only a misdemeanor that wouldn’t affect Wade’s permanent record or chances to restart his teaching career.
Katrin spoke to Ingrid one final time this morning and was
