BUTTERFLY STREAMS

By Eric D D Budd

Born with none of the five senses, how would a person have any connection with the world around them? Unable to see, hear, feel, smell, or taste, what kind of life could one possibly expect to have? Katherine Buchanan is an expectant mother, living in a new city, with no family, no friends (outside of her new neighbor Megan), and a husband who is growing increasingly distant. As her due date draws closer, odd coincidences begin to illustrate the importance of the choices she makes in her life and the "butterfly effect" she has on those around her. It's when the baby is born that Katherine's descent into madness begins. Following a stream of murder, deception, and suspense, she uncovers a plan that could lift mankind to glorious new heights or set the world to ruin. Set in Atlanta, Georgia, and Lakeside/Marblehead, Ohio, Butterfly Streams begins a series that explores how the choices we make daily affect the course of our lives, our careers, and our relationships with others, with ourselves, and with our Creator.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Aug 3, 2019
• ISBN: 9781684564705

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BUTTERFLY STREAMS

Eric D. Budd

Copyright © 2019 Eric D. Budd

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING, INC.

New York, NY

First originally published by Page Publishing, Inc. 2019

Some of the names of people, places, and organizations in this book are important to me and, therefore, are real. But the characters and events are not. This is a work of fiction.

ISBN 978-1-68456-469-9 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64584-383-2 (Hardcover)

ISBN 978-1-68456-470-5 (Digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

To all the people who have been

touched by my butterfly effect.

Good or bad, our encounters have

been instrumental in making me

the person that I am today.

It is my sincerest hope that we

are all the better for them.

Part One

Photons

Prologue

How do you pick out one voice from billions all speaking at the same time? That was the task he was faced with now, dealing with this flood of sensations.

Sense. He already understood the irony of that word. But of course, he thought, all words are ironic. Multiple meanings in multiple contexts. How much simpler it is to just know, rather than dealing with feelings. If everyone could see things the way he could, then there would be no more need for words. No more misunderstandings, disagreements, or lies. Only knowledge.

This is how things could be. This is how things should be. He just had to develop the plan that would allow him to see his dreams come to fruition. So he focused on that one voice, that one path, that stream flowing past him. Flowing through him. This was true knowledge. Knowing how all the pieces and parts that make up the universe could work together to achieve his goal. His gift. His present to the world that would end all wars; abolish racism, prejudice, and hate; eliminate all crimes against humanity; and put a stop to poverty, hunger, and greed.

His plan was in place, and it was a good one. In fact, it was perfect. Of course, with so many moving parts, anything could go wrong. But all contingencies had been prepared for. Just follow that voice, that path, that stream of knowledge that would take the world and mankind to its greatest heights. And with him as its new leader.

As its new god.

But he would have to be born first.

Chapter One

The Georgia sun was just peeking through the treetops in the backyard, and out the bay window, Katherine could see two fawns grazing along the tree line. They were just brave enough to stray from their mama, who had to be somewhere close in the dense woods.

But Katherine couldn’t spot her this time. The doe and her fawns cut through her property almost every morning, and she never tired of watching them.

When she and Nick first moved to Atlanta from Ohio, they were amazed at all the different animals that visited their backyard, even though they lived so close to the city. The deer family, raccoons, squirrels, and rabbits were frequent visitors. A red fox, armadillos, and one time even a bobcat came by.

Megan, who lived next door, said there were reports of a black bear roaming through the woods of their neighborhood a couple of years earlier. But she never saw it.

Katherine thought, Maybe we should put up a fence in the back. You don’t want bobcats and bears hanging around when you have a small child playing in the backyard.

She was sitting at the table in her breakfast nook, sipping decaf from her World’s Greatest Mom mug. The decaf took a little getting used to, especially without her morning cigarette. But no caffeine and, certainly, no nicotine for the baby.

Katherine brushed an auburn curl from her forehead. The motion caused the fawns to look up nervously until they were sure that there was no danger and they went back to munching on the undergrowth.

She rubbed her belly and was pleased that the baby was quiet this morning. Dr. Hastings had first showed concern that little Louis or little Alexandra was more passive, less responsive than normal. But the baby had a healthy heartbeat, and the ultrasounds showed no abnormalities.

Maybe we should have asked to know the sex of the baby, she mused. But Katherine wanted to be surprised, and Nick didn’t seem to care.

So this morning, she could enjoy the peace and quiet outside her kitchen window.

Until she thought again about the argument.

What was Nick’s problem? Stop at the store and get her the latest issue of Pregnancy & Newborn. That’s not so difficult. But he had to make a battle out of it.

Why don’t you just read it online? he had asked.

Katherine didn’t want to have to explain that she preferred the feel of the glossy pages. That she was actually more interested in the ads than she was the stories in the magazine. Or maybe this was her way of telling Nick that she wanted him to come home after work, rather than going out again.

She just wanted him to say, Of course, dear. I know how much you’re going through right now, and I am happy to do anything to help. Hah! His idea of helping was picking his feet up off the floor when she vacuumed around his recliner.

But Nick was planning to hang out with Daniel after work again.

I guess watching the game with your buddy is more exciting than spending time with your wife, she had said.

Yep, it is, Nick had replied, muttering, here’s another morning where I have to start in a bad mood, before slamming the door on his way out to work.

It wasn’t always this way. Nick was so attentive during the first year of their marriage. He took the time to listen. He was patient, compassionate, and he made her feel like she was the most important person in the world.

Her mother-in-law always took the credit for raising such a fine gentleman. My son was taught to respect women, she would often say.

But that was just the way he was. Romantic, polite, kind, and spontaneous. Those were the qualities she found so attractive when they first met in the break room at work.

That was five years ago, when Nicholas Buchanan was a rising sales executive for Thomas Brothers Realty in Cleveland. Katherine Leary worked in the office as a loan processor and was drawn to the confident way he strode into the building after each successful sale. She also noticed the way that others in the office seemed to hang on to his every word. He had such a way with words. Of course, it didn’t hurt that he also had beautiful, deep-brown, soulful eyes; a sparkling smile; and a trim, athletic build.

Their courtship was a blur. Spring weekends were often spent at Progressive Field to see their beloved Tribe. That summer featured trips to the beaches in Ocean City, Maryland, and Charleston, South Carolina. Fall was the perfect time for tours of the many wineries along the coast of Lake Erie. (Katherine had no idea there were so many.)

Nick proposed at Christmas as they drove through the holiday light display at Blossom Music Center. She remembered how much her engagement ring sparkled among the thousands of twinkling lights.

They were married at the Old Stone Church on Public Square and rode Lolly the Trolley to the Arcade on Euclid Avenue for photos and back to the square for a four-star reception at the Marriott. With a quiet, relaxing Mexican honeymoon in Puerto Aventura, away from the bars and noise of Cancun, it was the start of what she thought was going to be an amazing life together.

Then the recession hit. Sales were harder and harder to close, and companies were laying off employees left and right. Katherine’s job was safe, since she was the senior loan processor. But with no seniority, Nick was the first to go.

That hit him hard. It seemed to take all the life out of him. Without a college degree and with no specialized skills, he struggled after that to hold down a job. Bank teller, data processor, bill collector, nothing seemed to capture his interest.

Many times Nick found himself in between jobs. Katherine tried to be supportive, but money was tight, and more often than not, she found herself having to light a fire under him.

Nick, you’re talented and intelligent, she told him. You just need to find something and stick with it.

What I need is for you to get off my back, he replied. Let me take care of myself. We’re doing okay.

But what if something comes up? What if the car breaks down or I lose my job? Katherine craved stability and needed his support. She needed to know he was in this with her.

His answer for everything was Don’t worry about it. And then he’d go out to the bar.

The drinking was getting worse. It didn’t get any better when Katherine announced that she was pregnant.

I thought you were on the pill? he screamed in her face. This is all your fault, Kate! It’s a good thing we have your medical insurance, or we’d be screwed.

Katherine had forgotten to refill her prescription. There were just so many other things to worry about at the time.

You just ‘forgot’ to take the damn pill, Nick had said, using air quotes. We talked about waiting until I got my career started again. But you just couldn’t wait. You even had the names picked out already.

That much was true. Katherine’s parents died in a plane crash shortly before Nick proposed. If the baby was a boy, they would name him Louis, after her father. They chose Katherine’s mother’s name, Alexandra, if it was a girl.

At first, they weren’t even sure if the baby would make it. It rarely moved, but eventually the doctors ruled out spina bifida or any other defect that would cause paralysis. Baby Buchanan is just happy to be where it is. Some babies are kickers, and some aren’t, Dr. Hastings said during her last appointment.

Katherine felt lucky to have him. Megan and Daniel had recommended this doctor for his gentle manner and his attention to detail. As nervous as she was about her pregnancy, both of those qualities helped put her mind at ease.

Nick knew Daniel from high school. He was now the minister at the Northside United Methodist Church in Buckhead, the uptown district of Atlanta. Katherine wondered how someone who seemed as cold and impersonal as Daniel could ever become a minister. He was tall and rail thin, with fair hair, pale skin, and a face that seemed older, wiser than it should for his age.

Daniel Bryant was the odd kid in school, Nick had said. But he was also the smartest, and he really helped me get through my senior physics class. Never Dan, not Danny, always Daniel. Katherine found that to be a little odd too. But not as odd as the way he looked at you with those pale-blue, almost white eyes. Almost as if he was looking through you. Sometimes, when talking with him, she would practically turn around to see what he was looking at.

Daniel’s wife, Megan, was a sweetheart, though. She had lived in Georgia all her life, and her sweet Southern drawl was a dead giveaway. She also worked at the church, but she was the polar opposite of Daniel in appearance: short, plump, and tanned and in personality, warm and inviting. She often said, There are Atlantans and there are Georgians. There aren’t many Atlantans who are from Georgia. And she wasn’t too far off. It seemed like everyone in the city was from somewhere else, just like her and Nick.

Daniel had called Nick out of the blue one day just a couple of months earlier. We need a good business manager, and I heard you might be looking for something, he said. There’s a house available for rent right next door to us, and I think you and Katherine would love Georgia.

Maybe a change of venue is just what we need, Nick had said. He seemed like a little kid who couldn’t wait to open his Christmas present. My job isn’t keeping us here, and you’re going to have to stop working soon anyway when the baby comes. We should make this change now.

Katherine was not one to make snap decisions. But she was so happy to see Nick excited about something, anything again, that she relented.

So they made the move. Finally, she had thought, this new experience is going to bring us closer together.

But Nick just immersed himself deep into his new job. The church needs me, Kate, he said almost pleadingly. And when he wasn’t at the church, he was with Daniel.

At least, whenever Nick and Daniel were out together, Megan would come by and keep her company. Katherine had few friends of her own since she and Nick had been together, and with Nick growing increasingly distant, it was nice to have someone to talk to.

Katherine scooted her chair away from the breakfast table. The movement spooked the fawns, and she watched their white tails dance in the air as they bounded back into the woods.

Where’s your momma? she thought.