Storymania - Kate & Louis by Roxanne Kendrick

Kate & Louis (1)
Roxanne Kendrick

Kate was a typical university student. She enjoyed her studies, enjoyed hanging out with friends, skipping the occasional lecture, and lazing her weekends away. She was pretty, though not exceptionally beautiful. She had warm brown eyes and shoulder-length black hair which cascaded in soft waves down her back. Everybody liked Kate's soft, wavy hair.

Louis was also a typical university student, except that he was the darling of the female population there. Tall, dark and handsome, he was the star striker on the varsity football team, and was a pretty decent basketball player as well. Occasionally he took part in swimming finals and won gold medals in the 100m freestyle and 200m butterfly events. His well-toned physique, tousled dark hair and crinkling blue eyes made him the certified hunk of the university. The fact that his grades were constantly in the top 5 positions despite his heavy sporting schedule was an added plus point. Girls swooned over Louis. He paid them scant attention.

Kate was drawn to Louis because of his sporting prowess. She couldn't swim for nuts, her basketball skills were rusty after years of non-practice and her football skills were zero, but she admired Louis because he could do all that she wished she could have done. Louis couldn't have known that Kate existed, for she was just a typical girl who didn't stand out among the other more beautiful girls on campus. The two however enjoyed a love-hate relationship on paper.

Kate wrote for the school newspaper, which was very popular among the student population. Despite her zero-football skills, she knew her football well. She watched all the Serie A and La Liga matches she could, she knew the tactics and players, she could discuss the game as well as any boy. It had taken her nearly 10 years of watching the game to be properly respected by the guys on this male-dominated topic, and Kate was proud of her knowledge of the game.

Writing for the paper allowed her to use a pseudonym, and she wrote reviews of both the European context and the varsity scene. Louis was also an avid contributor to the paper, and he was often both annoyed and amused by the reviews of "El Zorro". He wrote, and "El Zorro" replied; "El Zorro" wrote, and Louis replied. Faithfully, week in week out, the newspaper would always carry reports of their written exchanges. The entire university knew of Louis's spirited exchanges with "El Zorro", but nobody except the editor of the newspaper (who was Kate's good friend) knew the identity of "El Zorro".

Kate was always on hand to watch the varsity football games. Louis never noticed her; he preferred to concentrate on his game, and he preferred to keep to himself. Despite being the dream hunk of the female population, Louis was still a mystery to most of the university. He spoke little, smiled little and rarely mixed with people. He had a few close friends in school, and was occasionally seen having fun with them outside school. The general impression of Louis was that he was not a party animal, and despite his quiet, detached, aloof manner, he was not the stuck-up kind and would offer a helping hand or listening ear if one was needed.

It was the helping hand occasion which led Louis to discover Kate's presence. In the past whenever Louis had submitted his contributions to the paper, he'd either done it through email or via a diskette slotted into the newspaper's mailbox. This time, he'd written a rather scathing reply to "El Zorro"'s review of a recent Champions' League match and was quite regretting the harsh tone of his words. Louis knocked and entered the room where the newspaper staff were busy putting together the next edition of the paper.

Kate saw him and came over. He told her he'd like to retrieve his diskette and make some changes, but she apologized and said they couldn't possibly find a small diskette, given the mess the room was in.

"Moreover, we may not be printing your response until the next issue, since the opening of the new sports complex will take up most of this issue, and we also have to cover the arrival of some exchange students."

Louis understood, but said he'd still like his diskette back as there were some important files he'd forgotten to copy to another diskette. Kate looked so harried that he relented, and offered to help her when she mumbled about not being able to finish her work on time. Kate smiled.

They spent the rest of the day helping to put the next edition together. When everything was done, a tired Kate collapsed onto a nearby chair. She looked at Louis and smiled gently.

"I should treat you to dinner, for helping us like that."

"Good idea. How about now?"

They laughed. Louis drove Kate to a nearby eatery where they shared a hearty meal and discussed football animatedly.

"You wouldn't happen to be 'El Zorro', would you?" Louis asked, his tone suddenly quiet.

Kate, caught by surprise, didn't know what to reply.

"Maybe it's just a coincidence," Louis said after an awkward silence.

"Yeah, 'El Zorro' wouldn't be someone as ordinary as me," Kate replied, feeling relieved and sad.

Louis drove her home after that. They promised to keep in contact and have lunch the next day.

For the next few weeks, Louis tried to find out the identity of "El Zorro". He didn't know what had possessed him to do something like this, since he'd never had the urge to find out "El Zorro"'s identity. But after that brush with Kate, he was sure she knew who "El Zorro" really was. He did think that it would be Kate, but he dismissed that possibility from his mind.

Kate knew about Louis's efforts. She also knew what was going on in his mind. He suspected, but wasn't willing to confirm that she could be "El Zorro", simply because she did not fit into the image of "El Zorro" that he had conjured in his mind. She made no move to assist him, though she continued meeting him occasionally for lunch, and continued watching the varsity games.

Louis started noticing Kate at the varsity games. He also noticed that she consistently kept up with developments in the football world. A check with the newspaper crew revealed that Kate was one of the very few who knew so much about football and sports. There were a couple of other guys who wrote about basketball, cricket, baseball and other sports. Kate's name however was always brought up if someone had to name an undisputed football expert. Another subtle check with some of Kate's close friends revealed that Kate zealously watched the European, Serie A and La Liga games, "El Zorro"'s area of expertise. The dead end came when Ann, the newspaper editor and Kate's close friend, refused to reveal the identity of "El Zorro" and forbade Louis from harassing her or Kate about it. Louis couldn't help but feel frustrated.

Louis and Kate allowed their friendship to develop despite their misgivings regarding the “El Zorro” issue. They met up regularly for lunch or dinner, caught a few movies and watched several football matches. They went for walks along the beach, shopped for books and clothes, and they went to the ice-skating ring where he taught her how to skate. Kate was so afraid of losing her balance that she clung tightly onto Louis’s arm despite his reassurances that he wouldn’t let go. After a few more visits to the rink, she finally got the knack of it.

They discovered that they had similar interests and goals. Both liked reading, writing, football and music. Both enjoyed travelling and learning new languages. Both hoped to settle down either in Italy or Spain, open some sort of café, bookshop or run a football-related business. Kate hoped to write football reviews for the major newspapers while Louis wanted to train young kids aspiring to be the next Maradona or Maldini. Both were against abortion but not one-night stands, though they agreed that they had to be responsible when it came to relationships. Kate felt that although Louis was not the marrying sort, he could still eventually settle down with that one special girl. Louis was amused that Kate listed her desire to get married as one of her priorities in life. But both looked upon marriage as something sacred and not to be rushed into, so they had no quarrels on this point.

Kate warmed to Louis despite his rather detached manner. She discovered his subtle caring ways and his small, thoughtful gestures touched her immensely. If he discovered that she had skipped her lunch because of her newspaper work, he would pop by with food for her or haul her off for lunch with him. If she stayed back in school and left too late to catch the bus, she could always count on him to drive her home. He would comfort her if her favorite team lost or if she felt upset that things weren’t going well. It scared her a little that their friendship was progressing so quickly, but she couldn’t help feeling pleased to see another side of Louis, and since he didn’t seem to mind, she didn’t say a thing either.

People began noticing Kate with Louis. Ann cautioned Kate that Louis’s legion of female admirers did not take kindly to Kate spending so much time with Louis. Kate felt too that some of the girls whom she didn’t know were sending her rather venomous looks. But not one of the admirers complained to Louis himself that he was spending time with the “wrong type” of girl. Apparently, Louis breezed through school life with a thick wall of ice around him. He neither cared nor bothered about what the others were saying. So long as he felt like doing something, he would. Eventually, realising that the stares were bothering Kate, he took the effort to assure her that what mattered was their friendship and not what other people said. Kate was touched that Louis would do something like that, and she tried hard to ignore the stares. She told Ann about Louis, and Ann teased Kate roundly for having fallen for him.

Kate’s father also liked what he saw of Louis, and often asked Kate to invite Louis home for dinner. Kate always laughed it off, despite her father’s persistence in calling Louis her “boyfriend”. She knew nothing of the sort existed between her and Louis, and she was so tied up with schoolwork and working for the newspaper that she had little time to think of developing a romance with Louis.

A few days later, Louis suddenly flew to Mexico and returned only after two weeks, annoying both his tutors and his football coach. Upon his return, he declined to talk about his sudden departure and relapsed into his detached self. He didn’t talk to Kate or any of his close friends, and worried them very much with his silence.

Kate finally took it upon herself to ask Louis what had happened in Mexico. She couldn’t contain her curiosity, not after his close friends started speculating whether it had something to do with “Isabel”. Louis was reluctant but the name “Isabel” finally opened a few doors.

“Someone vandalised Isabel’s tombstone,” he said flatly.

Kate clamped her hand over her mouth, shocked. “Who? Is the damage serious?”

He lowered his head and stared at his shoes. “We suspect David, her ex-boyfriend. But there’s no proof. The tombstone isn’t severely damaged.”

Kate was silent for a while. “Why would he do that? Why would anyone do such a thing?”

Louis raised his head. His expression was bleak. “She left him for me.” Anguish flashed past his eyes before he got up and strode off, leaving Kate feeling saddened and helpless.

Kate did not pursue the “Isabel” issue, sensing that Louis preferred to leave the matter as that. He did not volunteer any more information regarding Isabel or their past relationship, but Kate could see that Isabel must have meant a lot to Louis for him to be so upset about the damaged tombstone. She was very curious, but she refrained from asking him further.

They spent less time together because work was piling up. Both, being in their final years, had to submit a 10000-word thesis each regarding the topic of their choice. Kate chose to write about the ancient Greek and Roman civilisations, whereas Louis wrote about Spanish culture and history. Kate was surprised to find that Louis was fluent in Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, and had studied Latin when he was younger. She was less surprised that Louis did his thesis entirely in Spanish and received an A+ for his efforts.

Louis was also occupied with his football practices. Kate saw less and less of him; he seldom dropped by the newsroom to drag her off for lunch, and they exchanged phone-calls only about once a month. She was also tied up with newspaper work and tried not to think too much about his absence in her life. Ann was perceptive to her troubles and tried to comfort her.

In mid-April, Louis flew off to Mexico again. He returned, tired and subdued, after 10 days. This time, he sought Kate out and apologised to her for neglecting her. Kate was happy to see him and instantly forgave him.

“It wasn’t David,” he told her, after summing up the events of his trip. “Miguel and I interrogated him but he denied it. And a check with the police proved that he was speaking the truth.” Miguel was Isabel’s elder brother.

“How do you know?” Kate asked, very curious. “Who could it be then?”

“David was at the station at the time the tombstone was being damaged. He’d been caught assaulting someone outside a bar.”

Louis looked frustrated as he clenched his fists. Apparently he and Miguel were at a dead end as to the real identity of the culprit. Kate felt sad to see him in this state, and she impulsively gave him a hug. Louis, surprised and touched, hugged her back.

They resumed their close friendship and watched the semi-finals together. Louis was by now used to Kate’s rather erratic moods during the games, and not surprised to find her angry and disappointed by Real Madrid’s first-leg loss to Bayern Munich, and Valencia’s draw with Leeds. Kate’s father allowed her to spend the nights at Louis’s house for the second-leg of the semis. Kate was gloriously happy that Valencia finally saw off Leeds, who’d annoyed her immensely during the competition. She and Louis shared a long and exuberant hug, then spent the night celebrating Valencia’s emphatic 3-0 win.

They curled up on the couch to watch Real v Bayern. Kate had a very ominous feeling about the match, and was agitated to see that Savio and Morientes were not included in the first 11. When Elber scored, she swore. Louis put a comforting arm around her and drew her close. They both cheered when Figo replied about 10 minutes later, and Kate dared to hope that things would get better. Real were not playing up to standard, whereas Bayern were peaking at the right time.

Jeremies’s stunner virtually killed off all hopes of a Real win. Kate buried her face against Louis’s chest, dismayed. She did not cry, but continued watching the match with, her face expressionless and detached. Occasionally she urged Real on half-heartedly, but mostly she remained silent. Louis was worried but he kept quiet. Kate didn’t feel relieved that Savio and Morientes finally came on in the middle of the second half; she knew it’d been too late to save the game. It pained her to watch Real muster some sort of fight-back, and she knew exactly how the players felt.

The game ended. Kate switched off the TV, refusing to watch the Bayern celebrations. She got up numbly and began mechanically clearing up the mess they’d made on the table. Louis did not stop her, sensing she needed to work things out. He was also disappointed about Real’s loss and he could understand how Kate felt at this point. But her wooden behaviour worried him. In the past when Real or Juventus lost, she would be angry and curse or swear at the opposition, but she wouldn’t be this silent, this numb. He watched her with anxiety as she came out of the kitchen, got her knapsack and began preparing to leave the house.

Louis caught her by the shoulders. “Kate,” he said quietly.

Her eyes were shimmering with tears. She wanted to fling herself into Louis’s arms and sob, but she remained standing there silently, staring at the floor. She had nothing to say about Real’s loss. She wanted to strangle the Bayern players and Del Bosque, but she said nothing.

He shook her gently. “I know you’re upset, but it’s over. There’s always next season.”

“You don’t understand,” she replied, almost calmly, looking at him for the first time.

“I do. I watch football too, remember? I love it as much as you do.”

“But Raul…” A sob finally escaped her and tears started flowing down her cheeks.

“Raul will get over it,” he replied softly. “Hush now, don’t cry.”

“He was so disappointed,” she continued, not having heard him. “I saw his face…”

He shook her shoulders. “He doesn’t know. He doesn’t know you’re crying for him, understand? I’m worried about you and you’re telling me you’re upset over Raul Gonzalez!”

She wrenched out of his grasp. “I love Real, I don’t want them to lose!” she yelled.

“You’re not upset over Real, you’re upset over Raul, and the guy doesn’t even know you exist!”

“You obviously haven’t seen me at WC98 and Euro2000,” she retorted frostily.

“Where you presumably cried over Raul and Alex Del Piero, is it not?” He folded his arms and leaned against the wall. They eyed each other as opponents would before the start of a war.

“It was Italy and Spain,” she replied evenly.

“No, it was Raul and Alex.”

“It’s none of your business that I love Raul and Alex.”

“You’re taking it too far. They don’t know you exist, don’t know you cry for them when they lose, yet I’m here trying to comfort you and you’re yelling my head off!”

“I love Raul and Alex as much as I love you!”

A stunned silence descended after Kate’s outburst. Shock washed over Louis’s previously detached demeanour and he stared at Kate, speechless. Her face flamed and she grabbed her knapsack and stormed out of the house. Louis was too surprised to move an inch, let alone stop her.

Kate got home, flung herself onto her bed and sobbed her heart out. She berated herself for the unwanted declaration, and resolved to avoid Louis at all costs. It was too hard to face him now.

Louis also avoided Kate. He felt he needed time to sort his feelings out. To be honest, Kate’s sudden declaration was not unwelcome, and Louis admitted to himself that he really liked spending time with her. He would use the study period to think things through.

They didn’t watch Liverpool v Alaves or Bayern v Valencia together. Kate couldn’t be bothered now that Real was out of the competition, and she turned her attention to studying for the exams.

During the last week of May, Louis received a call from Isabel’s younger sister Maria, who insisted on coming to visit Louis. Miguel could do nothing about his wilful sister as he was preoccupied with work, but Louis managed to stave off Maria by promising to visit her after the exams.

After the exams, Louis sought Kate out but she refused to answer his calls and avoided him studiously. Kate’s father could do nothing. Louis’s persistence paid off and he finally found Kate in the newsroom, packing her stuff to make room for the new crew who would come in for the new school term.

Kate ignored him when he called her name. He went to stand behind her but still she would not acknowledge his presence. So he apologised.

“Sorry?” Kate fairly snarled at him as she finally turned to face him. “Why should you be sorry? For spending too much time with me?”

Louis sighed. This was going to be difficult. “Sorry for taking too long to talk to you about this. I needed time to sort things out.”

Kate brushed past him to go out. He held onto her arm and she stopped immediately.

“Kate,” he said softly, gently. “I was jealous.”

“Of Raul and Alex?” she mocked. “But they don’t know I exist.”

“I do,” he smiled. “And they would have been touched to know how much you care for them.”

She could not move, arrested by the tenderness she saw in his eyes.

“You must think me a fool,” she whispered.

“Not if you really love me as much as you love them.”

“But you don’t love me,” she replied flatly. “And I do not wish to be Isabel the second. I cannot be her.”

Louis responded swiftly, pulling her into his arms and kissing her gently. Kate’s initial shock wore off and she returned his kiss. He sensed her increasing trust in him and he deepened the kiss, letting her know how much she really meant to him. They broke apart after a good while, both a little stunned and disoriented.

“I hope that answers whatever questions you had,” Louis said, raking a hand through his hair.

Kate began to smile. “I have some more questions. I was hoping you’d continue answering them.”

Louis laughed quietly and drew Kate back into his arms. “I’ll be very glad to.” And they continued where they’d left off.

They decided to spend some time together before Louis’s trip to Mexico. They pigged out at their favorite eateries, caught a lot of movies together, went shopping for books, CDs and the like, and basically enjoyed themselves. In between, they kissed a lot, made love, backpacked to the Scottish Highlands and prepared for the trip to Mexico. Louis intended to bring Kate along, and had already informed Miguel of his new romance. Miguel was very pleased, said it was about time Louis found a new girlfriend, and was eager to meet Kate.

Miguel and his family lived in Tijuana, located 200 km west of Mexicali via Federal Highway 2 in the State of Baja California, Mexico. It is on the border with the U.S. in the northwest corner of the Baja California Peninsula. Miguel’s sister Maria was a very pretty brunette who pointedly ignored Kate the moment their eyes met, and pulled Louis away from Kate to talk to him. Miguel was embarrassed by his sister’s behaviour.

The family took to Kate. They were pleased that Louis came to visit them, and they didn’t blame him for finding a new girlfriend three years after Isabel’s death. Kate got on especially well with Miguel’s mother, who was happy that she spoke Spanish. Only Maria remained distinctly aloof, made no attempt to speak to Kate, and often sent her venomous looks.

Louis and Miguel took Kate around Tijuana. They visited the Revolution Avenue, one of the biggest shopping areas, took in the lovely Cathedral, dropped by the Art Morisco Palace and Aguacaliente hippodrome, and gushed over the El Toreo bullrings, amongst other tourist attractions. Kate enjoyed herself immensely, although she still took time getting used to the local dialect. She tried not to mention Maria’s disturbing attitude to Louis, who had actually noticed but refrained from saying anything. Miguel however had a lot to say, but Maria blithely ignored him.

Maria was especially nice to Louis, something Kate didn’t fail to notice. Maria would do all sorts of little things for Louis, talk to him whenever she could, and get him away from Kate. As a result, Kate never really got to spend much time with Louis, and at first she tolerated it. She was finally provoked when, after having planned a special day for Louis and herself, she discovered that Maria had already made it impossible for Kate to spend any part of the day with Louis at all. And Louis didn’t protest. So Kate saw red and refused to talk to Louis for the next few days. Maria happily shot gloating looks and remarks at her.

Miguel apologised for his sister’s behaviour, but Kate didn’t see any reason to blame him. Maria was an adult, and it was her business if she continued to behave in such a childish manner. Kate however did spend more time with Miguel, and learnt about his career and girlfriend, and about life in Mexico in general.

One evening, Kate was in the kitchen cutting some fruits for the family. Maria was happily out for the evening with friends. Kate was just cutting the final piece of fruit when the knife slipped her hand and made a slit on her finger. Kate was stunned when she saw blood flow out, but Louis dashed in, tore a piece of cloth from his shirt and wound it tightly around her finger to stem the flow of blood.

He managed to do so, dashed out to retrieve the First Aid kit that the family kept handy, and started applying medicine to the wound. Then he carefully bandaged it. All this while, Kate was silent, tense to feel him so close. He was gripping her wrist with such force that she bit her lip.

“I won’t, won’t let you ignore me like that again,” he whispered fiercely, his gaze intent on her face. “You are not to do anything which breaks my heart, understand?”

A reluctant smile touched Kate’s lips. “Let go of my wrist so that I can kiss you,” she said softly. He crushed her in his embrace, and she held him tightly. Then they exchanged a tender yet passionate kiss.

Later that night, Louis made passionate love to Kate to reassure her of his feelings for her, and she was glad. She had missed him very much. He asked her to excuse Maria’s attitude, explaining that the girl had not really accepted the fact that Louis was now someone else’s boyfriend instead of her sister’s. Kate doubted this very much but didn’t argue.

The next morning, Kate noticed that the venomous looks had returned, and sighed at the significance of that.

They went to pay a visit to Isabel. Miguel and Louis silently laid bouquets of roses at her grave. Roses had been Isabel’s favorite flowers, and everytime Louis came, he made sure he brought a big bouquet. Louis stood, his head bowed, while Miguel dusted the tombstone and made sure everything was tidy. Maria greeted her sister but otherwise stepped back to stand next to Kate, who could say nothing. The photo showed a dark-haired green-eyed beauty smiling merrily at them. Kate suddenly felt very inferior.

Maria folded her arms as she eyed her sister’s photo. “How can you ever match up to my sister?” she sneered.

“We are two different people,” Kate replied with indifference she didn’t feel.

“You can’t replace her even in your dreams. And no one knows Louis as well as I. He won’t dally long with the likes of you.” With that, she turned pointedly away and left the cemetery.

Kate was very upset after that. Curiosity forced her to find out more about Isabel. Apparently, the girl had been everything Kate was not. Louis had been smitten with Isabel the moment he saw her, and they had shared a passion-filled four-year relationship before Isabel was cruelly killed one night by a murderer who was never caught. Devastated with grief, he became subdued and withdrawn, became the person Kate knew from her university days, who lived in a world of his own.

Kate felt very insecure. She was quiet and Louis could not get a word out of her. She suddenly decided to wander in the streets alone and Louis had to follow her to make sure she was ok. Sometimes she cried but refused to tell him why. There was once when he found her sitting in front of Isabel’s grave, and this made him very worried.

To make things worse, Louis quarrelled heatedly with Maria, causing the girl to accuse him of not making good his promise to Isabel to take care of her. Louis was not blind to Maria’s feelings for him, but he couldn’t reciprocate. First there was Isabel. Now there was Kate. He was already very worried about Kate, who was growing more distant from him everyday. Now Maria was yelling at him because Louis had criticised her about the type of friends she was hanging out with.

Maria was crying. To Louis, she looked very woebegone and lost. She was like a little girl who had lost her favorite doll and was very upset and agitated. Then she yelled at him and suddenly she resembled Isabel in a temper, or Kate in one of her angry moods. Louis felt very tired.

“I don’t want you to take care of me like a little sister,” she was shouting. “I’m already past twenty-one, why can’t you look upon me as a woman?”

Louis sighed. “You are indeed a lovely young woman, but unfortunately I will always love your sister.” It was best to be forthright.

Maria’s lower lip trembled. Her eyes shimmered with tears. “After all I’ve done for you? I could have had so many others, but I love only you. Why can’t you accept me?”

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