“Kate.  My name is Kate.”

That name. 

Kate. 

JC hadn’t expected that and he could feel his blood drain from his face and the anger from his body.  His not quite steady legs became even more so.  He felt behind him for the bed and almost fell onto it. 

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed as he tried to come to grips with this news.  Head in his hands, he could feel his chest moving so he must still be breathing.

Time stopped and he became aware of every little sound.  The click of the fan as it turned off; the television show from the room next door; the sounds Pete made as he crossed his arms; and the soft breathing of the woman across from him. 

“You’re making that up!”  JC mumbled into his hands, somehow this woman had found a way to unsettle him. 

Pete cleared his throat from near the door.  JC suddenly wanted privacy.  There were only two people in the world who knew the secret and if this was her, she would be able to tell him.  “Pete – can you step out for a moment?”  JC demanded. 

He stopped Pete’s refusal with a shake of his head and a raised hand.  “This woman won’t hurt me any more, stand outside the door if you must, but I need you to leave now.”  JC held Pete’s stare until he turned toward the door.  Then something occurred to JC, “Pete, before you go remove the cuffs from…from Kate.”  In disbelief, JC watched as Pete turned a hated look his way then slammed the door behind him. 

On wobbly legs, JC stood over Kate to better see how to remove the restraints.  What he saw snapped him into action, the restraints had been pulled so tightly they were cutting off the circulation to her hands.  That was why she had been wriggling her fingers, try to keep the blood flowing.  The tips of her fingers were beginning to turn blue.

JC snatched the phone from the nightstand and dialed the front desk.  In a brisk tone, he ordered a pair of scissors to be sent up immediately to the room.  “It’s an emergency,” he said just before hanging up. 

He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, if this was really the Kate, he owed so much to her and wouldn’t see her in restraints any longer.  It was strange how his attitude had changed in just a few moments – from complete and utter rage to protective and grateful. 

But at the warmth of his hand, Kate jerked away from his touch.  “Please just let me go, you’ll never see me again, please just let me go.”  It was the hint of tears that caused JC to lower his guard completely. 

Gently, he asked a question, just to make absolutely certain that she was who she said.  “Kate, there is only one other person in the world that knows why I named my album Kate.  Can you tell me why that is?”

She sniffed, delaying her answer.  “Because you found the poem I wrote and sent to the heavens one night.  Please, I’ll never bother you again.  I’m sorry I hurt you.”

One last question, “Kate, how did you send your poem to the heavens?”

Sighing raggedly, she answered just above a whisper.  “In a green balloon, tied with a silver ribbon.  The poem was on one side and a note on the other of the paper rolled up inside.”

With that, JC knew that this was the real woman in front of him.  The real Kate.  The woman he had never dreamt he would find.  His reverie was interrupted by a knock on the door.  Striding quickly to the door, he opened it and grabbed the scissors from the concierge.  “Thank you, I’ll send these back down shortly.”  He let the door close behind him and immediately used the scissors to cut through the hard plastic. 

He kept a firm hand on her shoulder as he set the scissors down out of Kate’s reach.  He was afraid that she would bolt from the room.  As soon as JC had released her, Kate moved her hands in front of her and started massaging the blood back into them.

A small tug of war ensued as JC reached for one of her hands to see the extent of the damage.  He knelt on the floor in front of her and got his first glimpse of her face since she had left his room. 

Shocked, he trembled now in rage, this time directed not at Kate, but Pete.  Standing he looked down at the innocent woman in front of him.  Gritting his teeth, he couldn’t hold back the roar of outrage that escaped involuntarily from his throat. 

“I will have his head for this.”