The Heart Make of Ice

Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Kate

The doctors were able to remove the brain tumor. Kate had to spend two weeks in the hospital, and she hated being in there. She couldn't finish the rest of the school year and had to stay at home which left my feeling bored. James called three times and sent her a get well present. Kate was happy to hear from him and liked the present he sent. Rose and Lisa also called but the phone call that Kate was surprised by was from John. He called more times than James did. She knew James had been busy with school and other things. Kate had headaches after the surgery but once they stopped, she was able to start reading again.

Aunt Polly picked up Kate's schoolwork, so she didn't fall behind. Once she finished everything for school, she had nothing to do. Kate received another letter from James telling her that he was doing good and missed her. He explained that he couldn't write often because school kept him busy and she understood. Kate longed to see James face to face, so she planned a surprise visit when school was out. School was winding down and would be done soon so Kate held on to that thought.

Kate went back to school in the ninth grade and her classmates were a lot nicer to her than they had been before. She joined the art and writing clubs which had her so busy that she couldn't write James as much as she had before. When she did write, she explained to him that school kept her busy just as it had kept him busy which he said he understood. Kate went on a lot of field trips and she looked forward to going to Florida at the end of the school year. The writing club was taking the field trip to Florida and she saved money especially for that trip.

Christmas had come and Kate received a lot of gifts; the best one was a ruby ring. James gave her a beautiful jewelry box and she gave him a book called Hamlet. She never understood that book. Kate gave Sara a silver locket and Sara gave Kate two books; Alice in Wonderland and A Little Princess. Aunt Polly cooked a big dinner that everyone enjoyed. They watched Christmas movies all day and Kate read the books she received for Christmas. Aunt Polly and Kate went to donate some food to the Good Will and Share and Caring. Aunt Polly and Uncle Martin also threw a party for the neighbors. It was a great Christmas for Kate.

It was the last of the year and Kate was looking forward to the New Year. Maybe more exciting things would happen in the New Year. Sara and Kate planned to go to the movies and had talked about going to a party that Sara's cousin Alex was giving to help him make some friends. Kate had never met Alex. Sara's Aunt Sally married a man name Harry that lived in England and they moved to England after the wedding. When Sara's Uncle Harry died her Aunt moved back to Mississippi. Alex did not like living in Mississippi but made the best of it.

After the movies, Sara and Kate went to Alex's house for the party which had only a few people in attendance. Kate felt badly for Alex because she experienced some of the same issues with making friends. While going to school in England, Kate hadn't made many friends. Sara introduced Kate to Alex. Kate went home about 11:00 pm after a great time at the party although she didn't have to be home until 12:00 am. She just wanted to be home early. The following day Sara went to Kate's house to visit. "I think Alex likes you," Sara announced. "Sara, I am already spoken for," I boasted. "Well, a long-distance relationship usually doesn't work," Sara needled.

The next day Kate received beautiful roses from Alex. She didn't know what to do because she didn't want to hurt Alex's feelings or her friendship with Sara. Alex invited Kate to go to the movies with him. Sara was happy that Kate would be hanging out with Alex. Kate told Alex about James and he understood.