Date: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 18:12:11 -0700 (MST) From: "Katherine R. Freymuth" Subject: Memories - Part 14 Message-ID: Quantum Leap Memories by Katherine R. Freymuth Copyright 1997 Part 14 The doorbell rang gently, calling her to her feet. She slowly walked to the front door, a knowing smile on his face. She opened the door and smiled at her visitor. "I knew you would keep your promise." Al stepped into the house and hugged her tightly. "You remember the leap," he concluded. "I remember everything that happened then," she told him. She looked into his eyes as she gently pulled away from him. "But I'm not supposed to, am I?" Al smiled, shaking his head. "No, you're not. But I'm glad you did." Maddie smiled at him. She was gray-haired now but she had retained her beauty over the years. She was very thin - too thin, Al noticed sadly. Maddie noticed the look in his eyes and smiled sadly. "Yes, the premonition came true," she told him. "I do have cancer. Bone marrow. It isn't quite bad enough that I can't walk but it can be painful at times." She took his hand. "Come. Let's sit down and get reacquainted." "She led him into a well-decorated living room and beckoned him to sit. Al did so only after he was sure Maddie was comfortable. "You really are a very beautiful sixty-seven year old woman," Al told her as he sat. Maddie laughed. "I remember that. You've really fulfilled your promise." She looked into his eyes. "Yes," she said. Al frowned slightly. "What?" Maddie smiled. "Yes, I'm being treated for the cancer. But, unfortunately, it doesn't look very good. My doctors give me a year to live at the most." Al lowered his head at the news. "Madd, I'm sorry." Maddie touched his hand gently. "Don't be. I'm not. In fact, I'm thankful." Al rose his head in confusion. Maddie smiled at his expression. "I've had a wonderful life, thanks to you and your friend. What is his name, again?" "Sam," Al told her. She nodded. "Yes. Sam. You and Sam have prevented me from living an insignificant life." She saw Al's frown and exhaled. "I remember my original history, Al, even though I never really lived it. You never did check my history when you found out Linda and John's history, did you?" Al didn't answer. Maddie nodded. "I understand. You have more important things on your mind. It doesn't matter, though. You still greatly affected my life and I thank you for it." She paused and looked into Al's eyes. "Instead of being alone, I had Christa, Michael, Linda and John. Yes, Christa, Joe and I had started a bakery shop together. But Christa and Joe had left over time because of our differences. I couldn't keep the business going. I was forced to sell it. I spent the rest of my life with very few friends and working as a housekeeper." She smiled broadly at Al. "But you changed that. Thanks to you and Sam, I've had a full and happy life." She laughed slightly. "I'm not a housekeeper and I've lived long enough to see you again. And I have no earthly needs in the world, thanks to Macris Bakery Goods. If I have to die of bone marrow cancer, so be it. I can accept it. But I'm not going to surrender." She stood up and moved so that she was sitting next to Al. "But enough of this talk. I didn't make you promise to come see me so I could dwell on the past. We had so little time together in the Waiting Room." Al nodded in agreement. "So," he said with a deep breath and a smile, "how do we catch up on the past forty-six years?" "He's an admiral _and_ he cooks." Maddie smiled at Al over the dining room table. "That was terrific, Al. Your wives must have thought you were something special." Al laughed slightly. "If it's my cooking that makes me special, then Maxine definitely did. In fact, sometimes I think she did marry me for my cooking; she was a terrible cook." Maddie laughed. She looked at Al with deep friendship. She knew that it was now or never. She leaned gently into the table. "Al, there's a specific reason I asked you to come see me now. I have something that you should have - that you need to have for closure." Al's smiled faded. For some odd reason, he wasn't sure he wanted whatever she had for him. He watched her carefully as she stood and walked to a nearby cabinet. "I don't know why I've kept it in here," she said as she opened a cabinet drawer. "Maybe I subconsciously knew we'd be in this room." She took out a faded yellowish envelope and brought it to the table. She gently offered it to Al. "Open it. Read it," she instructed. Al gently took the envelope and looked at it. It was definitely very old but well cared. With a brief look at Maddie, he opened the envelope and took out two sheets of yellowed paper. Taking a deep breath, he unfolded the paper and read the first line. Dear Gino, Al quickly raised his head and looked at Maddie with questioning. "My father?" "Read it, Al," Maddie told him with a gently firmness. Al exhaled and obeyed, his face growing longer with every word he read. When he finally came to the signature at the end, "Katrina", he lowered his head and the letter simultaneously. "Oh, my gawd," he muttered. "Madd, where'd you get this? How did you..." He exhaled, all of his strength draining from him. "In your house, after you had moved. I don't think your dad knew he'd left it behind until it was far too late." There were tears in Al's eyes. "Why didn't he ever show me this? I thought she had left without even a good-bye. Why didn't he explain?" Maddie touched Al's hand gently. "You were just a child, Al. You left the house when you were seven. You were ten when your father died. How could he explain what happened?" Al closed his eyes. "He still should have explained it." He paused for a moment, raising his head. "Do you think she's still alive?" he asked quietly. Maddie shook her head slowly. "She isn't. She committed suicide a few months after she left. That is probably the strongest reason why your father never explained it to you - to protect you... and himself. No matter what your mother did, he couldn't hate her and he never wanted you to hate her." Al leaned back in his chair. "I know." He exhaled and looked at Maddie. "Closure. Right? That's what this is all about?" Maddie nodded. Al thought a moment. "In that case, there's only one other thing I don't understand. Why did I think she ran off with an encyclopedia salesman?" "Mrs. Lorenzo," Maddie told him. "She spread that rumor all around the block. She must have said it in your presence without thinking." There was a thoughtful look in Al's eyes. "She had a boarding house on the other side of the house. She mentioned it as she watched me and Trudy while Dad called for an ambulance." He huffed. "Dad always said that she was far too gossipy." There was a moment of silence between the two. Al took the letter gently in his hands and carefully replaced it in its envelope. He then extended it to Maddie. "It's yours, Al," Maddie told him. Al lowered his arm. "I'm not sure I want it. The only thing I have of my mother's and it only reminds me of her leaving." "It's for you to decide whether to keep it or not," Maddie said gently. Al took a breath. With one swift move, he tore the envelope and its contents in half before placing the halves on the table. He smiled slightly at the surprised look on Maddie's face. "Closure," he explained to her. Maddie smiled with understanding. "Now there is only one more thing you need closure with." Al smiled with a little confusion. "And what is that?" Maddie gently touched his shoulder. "He will come home, Al. I know he will." Al laughed slightly but not with disbelief. "You can see it in my eyes?" Maddie laughed gently. "Exactly." Al nodded. "Well, you don't have to worry about me with that. I'm never going to give up hope and, now that you've predicted it, I know it will happen." He exhaled. "But for now...." Maddie nodded with understanding. "Don Quixote needs his Sancho." AND SO DR. BECKETT FINDS HIMSELF LEAPING FROM LIFE TO LIFE, PUTTING THINGS RIGHT THAT ONCE WENT WRONG AND HOPING EACH TIME THAT HIS NEXT LEAP... WILL BE THE LEAP HOME.