A Promise Kept Ch. 04

I went back to work two weeks later, and if it hadn't been for my students, my girls on the Karate team and leave us not forget sweet little Jayne, I think I might've gone completely off the deep end. But God had not abandoned me, he never does, and through his wisdom and grace, he kept my heart protected through all of the crap that I'd been through thus far. Don't get me wrong, it took me a couple of years to get over Kara's death, and working at the U of H made it even worse for me sometimes; but knowing Kara the way I did, she wouldn't have wanted me to grieve all of my life. She would've wanted me to be happy, just as I know my beautiful Jill wanted for me so many years before.

~~~~~~

TWO AND A HALF YEARS LATER
FALL SEMESTER

Its funny how things work out, and what happened to the spring made me truly realize how much I'd come to love some of life's little quirks. I'd received a notice from the Board of Regents, who, with Dr. Robert Dresden in jail for at least the next thirty years, had become a shining example for the proper administration of curriculum at the University of Houston. Anyway, they told me that I would have three foreign exchange students, females, from the United Kingdom as members of my Karate team that following spring. One of them was from Ireland, one was from Scotland, and the other was from England.

I knew that the martial arts competitions on the European circuits were well known for being very tough and exacting. I was hoping that at lest one of the new might've had a little experience on those circuits as well. However, until I had a chance to look at their transcripts, I wouldn't know what they had done. Still though, I looked forward to the addition to the team.

Speaking of the Karate team, my girls had place not only first in the state for the past two years, but they'd also placed first in the nationals last year, and were poised to do it again. I'd only lost one girl, and that was because she was a senior that first year, and her name was Alexandra Hill. Alex was one of our girls that competed in forms, and hers were by far, the best that I'd ever seen anywhere. My only regret was losing her once she graduated, but she still popped in often if for any reason just to say hello.

Things were starting to get back to normal for me. I'd been teaching Karate to Jayne, who was now in the final degree of her brown belt and was set to test for black at the beginning of next semester. She continued to live with me, and after I bought Kara's car from Ken and Sara, I gave it to Jayne to drive so that she would have a way to go back and forth between college and home, and not have to depend on me for a ride. At first she cried when I handed her the keys, but when I told her that I knew Kara would've wanted her to have it, she took a little easier.

I must say this about Jayne though, with the absence of Kara for the past two and a half years; she began to look at me the same way my little sister Brittany did after she had been raped and beaten by Tommy Powers, who is now sitting on death row, in Huntsville State Penitentiary, in Huntsville, Texas awaiting execution.

There were many nights that Jayne and I slept in the same bed together and simply held onto one another, for the purposes of nothing more than emotional security so; she, too, had become like a little sister to me as well. Also, the love with which the other girls on the Karate team used to help me teach sweet little Jayne was something that the memory of will last a lifetime.

~~~~~~

SPRING SEMESTER

By this time, Jayne had met, and fallen in love with a boy from her English class. His name was Matt Hearn, and I thought he was a pretty good kid. She wept like a baby on the day that she moved out of the house to go live with Matt. Personally, I was going to miss her, but I knew that I would be fine in the long run; and besides her happiness was paramount to any thing else as far as I was concerned, and that is what made everything else...

~~~~~~

It was the second day of the spring semester and I was sitting in my office, after having come in a couple of hours early to work that morning. I wanted to make certain that everything was not only in order, but that the new text books I'd ordered had arrived on time, which, they did. I got everything I could think of ready to start day, and also finishing any last minute details that I'd not yet taken care of.

Once that was complete, I walked down to the dining hall to grab a quick bite to eat, and as soon as I walked in, the older lady behind the counter that took the student's food orders, Mrs. Tonya Bearden, met me with a bright smile, just as she'd always done since I'd known her. She'd also been good friends with Kara, and I remembered seeing her at Kara's funeral, and I later thanked her for coming.

"You're a good man, Coach Walker, "she once told me, "And bad things don't last forever, they never do...I promise."

"Thank you, Tonya," I sincerely replied, "That means more to me than you know..."

~~~~~~

That afternoon I went into the gym to discover that my Karate class had almost doubled; and it was then that I was thankful for having enough black belts in my ranks that would be there to help me teach. There were a couple of faces that I didn't recognize, and then I discovered three black belts that I most certainly didn't know. However, just then I remembered the Board of Regents informing me of the arrival of three students from the United Kingdom so; I figured that these three girls must be them.

~~~~~~

Jillian Hendricks was now a senior, earning her fourth dan (Degree) on her black belt in the process. She was the second highest ranking black belt on campus, with me being the highest. With Jillian's rank came not only the responsibility of having the class called to order by the time I got there, but also for keeping the attendance records current. The really cool part about that particular class was that no one, unless it were a life or death situation, ever missed my afternoon Karate class as, it had become very popular by this time...even moreso that it was strictly for females.

Class went well that afternoon and we were all duly impressed with the capabilities of not only my new students, but their new classmates. The three girls from the U.K all politely introduced themselves, and were warmly received.

The girl from Edinburgh, Scotland was a green eyed brunette that stood about five feet, seven inches tall, weighed around one-twenty, and her measurements were proportionate to her height. Her name was Elizabeth McTeague, and she was twenty years old, and as sweet as she was pretty.

The girl from Dublin, Ireland was a nineteen year old, light auburn haired, hazel eyed, cutie named Kathryn "Katie" O'Leary. She stood right at five feet, five inches tall, and I would say that she weighed somewhere between one-fifteen and one-twenty. She might've been a tiny thing mind you, but let me tell you now that she packed as hard a punch that I've ever felt, even coming from another man.

The last of the three was a twenty year old, blonde haired, blue eyed, beauty from London, England named Alyssa Carsley. She stood at the height on five feet, nine inches tall, weighed a hundred and thirty pounds, she wasn't fat by any means, it was the fact that, at the height she stood, she seemed formidable in the ring, as I'd earlier witnessed.

As a whole, my new student were in fact very sweet girls, but suddenly a ghost of my past got my attention when Alyssa asked, "Excuse me, sir, but have we ever met before?"

"No," I uneasily replied, "At least not that I know of."

"You seem so familiar to me, somehow," she quietly replied, then she shook her head and giggled, "But then again, it could simply be a bad case of jet-lag," and then she quickly turned her pretty head, giggling as her pretty blonde ponytail swung behind her as she walked away...

~~~~~~

That night I slept uneasily, tossing back and forth until I couldn't take it anymore. I got out of the bed and threw on a pair of shorts, a tee shirt, as well as my favorite running shoes. After I locked up the house, I placed the key around my neck on a small chain, and then took off running into the night...

~~~~~~

My little talk with the new girl from England, Alyssa Carsley, had stirred up some old feelings inside of me that I thought were long dead. And with those feelings came the sweet memories of Lady Natalie Wickham, as well as the same longing I'd felt when I was, due to being in the Navy at the time, forced to leave her so many years ago.

I could still remember what it was like to make love to her, but then again, I knew that what had happened so long ago was a one time thing, and that she was probably married by now, with a couple of children as well. Still though, I kept running because I wasn't anywhere hear being tired, and I knew that in order to sleep like I wanted to, I was going to have to literally exhaust myself...

~~~~~~

Chapter Seven

The next day of class went by smoothly, as it always had. All of my students, bar none, paid attention in my class and actually learned; giving my particular classes the title of having the highest success rate on campus. I taught the same materials that were being taught in other colleges, hell, I investigated that myself. However, I think the reason that my students were all so successful was because I tried to make my classes as interesting as possible.

All of the students on campus each year were either taking, or had already taken one of my classes so; therefore, we knew one another. I really liked that part of being a college professor; I also never gave a damn about tenure either, I simply did what I felt would make me a better teacher. And from what I was told, I would be awarded tenure the following year if I decided to stay at the U of H....

~~~~~~

That afternoon on my way to the gym, I had no idea what was about transpire over the next seventy-two hours, and I also leaned that fate always had a way of making us do that which we were meant to do...what we were born for...and revealing the meaning of life, or at least my life anyway.

~~~~~~

This was the day that Jayne would test for her black belt. Of course I would administer her test, making certain the she was sufficiently skilled at each phase of that particular level of training.

She performed her Katas with perfection and a razor sharp edge of detail that I'd not seen in a lot of the other girls. She chose two weapons to qualify with, the Bo Staff, and the Tonfa, a forearm length piece of oak, with a handle mounted at a ninety degree angle, roughly one forth of the way down it.

When she performed with her weapons, it was like watching an exact, yet brilliantly flowing dance, which, if you were within reach of whatever particular weapon she was using; it would quickly become a deadly dance, that much was certain.

And of course she quoted her creeds of honor and balance, ending it all by breaking one brick, which after the brick shattered and fell; she looked at me with a bright sense of pride. Once that was done, I handed her her own black belt, and then her certificate, shaking her hand when it was all done. Of course the whole class stood and applauded her, making it that much better for Jayne.

"Thank you, Michael," she sweetly smiled, hugging me after the ceremony, "I couldn't have done this without you."

"Michael, that's it," Alyssa Carsley suddenly gasped, "You're Sir Michael, Knight-Companion to the Duke and Dutchess of Essex, Knight Errant to England, and protector of the appointed Royal Princess, Lady Natalie Wickham herself. All of England wondered what happened to you for the longest time, but Buckingham place said nothing...But oh, my God, sir...it really is you, isn't it?" bowing as she said these things...

By this particular time, my whole class stood staring at me with astonished looks on their faces, and while I knew that there was no way out of this, I did the next best thing; I stood up and said, "Class is dismissed. May I see you in my office, Miss Carsley?" and of course she followed me, looking loopy eyed like some star struck teenager..."

~~~~~~

Alyssa walked into my office and sat her pretty English self right down in front of me, with no invitation, smiling dreamily as she did so.

"I don't know what to say," I told her, "But that part of my life is over now so; I would appreciate it if you left it alone, and not say anything further to the others. Please let this be, okay?"

"Yes, sir," she quietly replied and then she slowly rose from her seat then turned and left my office.

"Besides," I said to no one, once Alyssa was gone, "I'm sure that Lady Natalie is probably married to some English Nobleman by now, and hasn't given me a second thought in a long time," and then for reason that are still unknown, my eyes filled with tears, as I sat down behind my desk, and then in sweltering anguish, I laid my head in my hands and quietly wept, releasing tears that I'd kept pent up for far too long.

What I hadn't known was that my door didn't shut completely, and Alyssa had seen, and heard the whole thing. "We'll see about that," she sniffled, wiping the tears from her own eyes as she quietly ran down the hall...

~~~~~~

After going out to eat with some friends of mine that evening; I went home and sat down at the table to take a look at the mail that I'd dropped there earlier. When I saw that it was nothing but bills, I simply smiled, and after shaking my head, to no one, I said, "Well, life goes on...

~~~~~~

That night as I slept, I dreamed that I was walking across a big, pretty green meadow. Suddenly a figure appeared before me in the distance. As it got closer, I plainly saw that it was Kara, making me run to her and pull her tightly against me.

"My beautiful Kara," I wept, looking into her big brown eyes "I love you and miss you so much."

"I know you do, my love," she softly told me, the mere sound of her voice soothing the pain that once raged within me, "I love you, too, but there's something you must realize, Michael."

"What," I asked, "What is it, baby?"

"It's about your past, my love," she said, "Your past must become your future, or you will end up living alone for the rest of your life. You know of that which I speak, Michael...go to her...go to her...go to..." and then I sat straight up in bed to find that it was six o'clock the next morning and my alarm was about to go off...

~~~~~~

The next day, all day long, I felt like everyone had a secret that they weren't telling me. Still though, I chalked it up to not having slept well, as well as the unnerving dream I'd had about Kara, and quietly made my way to the gym.

"Hello, Coach," Jillian Hendricks smiled, the moment I got to my office, "Or should I call you Sir Michael?"

"Come on, now," I groaned, "Please don't start that crap, especially before class."

"Can I talk to you, Coach?" Jillian suddenly asked, "It's really important, okay?"

"Alright," I smiled, shaking my head, "This better be good."

Jillian quietly squealed as she closed the door to my office, and then took the seat she'd just occupied.

"You could say that I'm a good student, "she said, "Couldn't you, Coach?"

"Of course," I proudly replied, "You're one of my best, if not the best and I'm very proud of you, Jillian, what makes you ask me these things?"

"If I'm your best, then you need to listen to me," she began, her beautiful blue eyes beginning to fill with tears, "You're the closest to a father I've had since my own father left Mom and me ten years ago."

"You honor me, sweetie," I humbly replied, "But that's not what's really going on, is it?"

"No," she sniffled, using the handkerchief I gave her to wipe her eyes with, "But you'll get mad if I tell you the truth."

"What could possibly make me angry about you telling me the truth?" I asked, "What is one of the things I stress in the dojo when it comes to the truth?"

"You said that telling the truth comes with having honor," she continued sniffling, "But not this truth."

"Why don't you let me be the judge of that?" I smiled, "Okay?"

"I need to let you talk to Alyssa," Jillian smiled, "She's one of the new girls from the United Kingdom..."

~~~~~~

Thirty minutes later, forty-one bright eyed, pretty female faces, all stood together lined up by belt ranking, each one of them watching my every move.

"Good afternoon, ladies," I cordially greeted them.

"GOOD AFTERNOON, SIR," they resoundingly replied in unison.

As I'm sure you've all heard by now, I was Knighted by the Queen of England many years ago," I pointedly told them, "That is why I'm going to let Miss Carsley come up and explain it all to you so that you all know that it's nothing special...Miss Carsley, would you come to the head of the class, please?"

~~~~~~

Moments later Alyssa Carsley stood before the rest of the class amongst the knowing whispers that emanated from therein before she spoke.

"This is one of the most beautiful, tragic, yet true love stories that you'll ever want to hear," she began, "There was a very beautiful lady that the Queen had appointed Royal Princess of all of Great Britain," Alyssa began, every female in class now paying close heed to what she was saying, "While she was on vacation in America, she got caught by the riptide of the Pacific Ocean while relaxing on the beach in Malibu, California. Her last memory before she was pulled beneath the waves was that she'd managed to give her two S.A.S. bodyguards the slip. However, she struggled to free herself of the current, and the harder she struggled, the deeper she felt herself being pulled. The last thought she had before her vision went black was that her mother and father would be so upset that she'd drowned. She felt herself beginning to slowly drift away, until she felt her body brush against something warm, something human, and then the next thing she knew, was that she was lying on her back, breathing fresh air, and looking into the eyes of the most beautiful man she'd ever known...our beloved Coach Walker, or, Sir Michael, if you will," and by this time, there wasn't a dry eye in the house, and every single one of them was now on me, as Alyssa continued...

"...She let him take her back to her hotel, after he'd given her his shirt to keep her warm on the long ride there. When she got out of his vehicle, she took one last look at him and realized that she would never be able to live without again. A few weeks later, Lady Natalie sent Michael an invitation to an Embassy dinner, and when he showed up at the front entrance, she though her heart was going to stop because he looked so dashing in his ceremonial, dress uniform. They danced together that night, sealing her love for him. However, she knew that he was a mighty warrior in his own country, a United States Navy SEAL, I think is what it's called here..."

"...And because he still had commitments to his own country, their love couldn't be. Still though, because he'd saved her life, and because of the fact that she loved him so, she got her father to petition the Queen in Michael's behalf, requesting that he be knighted. Inquiries were made, as was a thorough investigation into Lady Natalie's love made. When it came back that he'd been very highly decorated by his own country, there was no objection within the aristocracy as to whether or not he would be knighted, it became only a matter of when..."

"...When next Michael faced Lady Natalie, his title was Sir, Michael, Knight-Companion to the Duke and Dutchess of Essex, Knight Errant to England, and Protector to the Royally appointed Princess of England, Lady Natalie Wickham, daughter to the Duke and Dutchess of Essex.. She recently said that she can still smell the fragrance of his body's natural smell, and hopes that maybe one she'll be united with the only man she's ever loved..."