Kiss Me Cate Pt. 09

"I don't know, I did a fairly thorough examination earlier. I think I've got it down."

Cate turned her eyes to me without fully lifting from her reading. "Dear boy, you have barely scratched the surface."

"If that was the introductory lesson, then I think I'm going to really like this class." I said chuckling. Her hand lay between us on the couch, a clear invitation without demand and I slid mine beneath, her hand spread into mine. I noticed a little smirk on her lips as I did so, clearly taking the cue. The sound of pages being flipped, tea being sipped, and the soft moan of a woman eating chocolate were all that broke the silence of the storm. Cate sighed deeply and looked up blinking and began stretching her neck, tilting it side to side. I put my book aside and walked around behind the couch and began rubbing her shoulders, digging my thumbs softly into the muscles of her neck.

"Mmm, you spoil me rotten. You know that don't you?"

I kissed the top of her head. "Get used to it."

"That's the problem, I am getting used to it." She tilted her head back smiling up at me, and I kissed her forehead.

"I should go clean the car off and dig it out."

"Need any help?" Her eyes opened wide.

"No I'll be fine, stay in here where it's warm. I'd advise on a break from reading for a bit so you don't go cross-eyed on me. It will look funny in the wedding photos." Cate laughed and set the book on the coffee table.

"Yes dear." She set her computer aside, and stretched again. I went and dressed for the outdoors and made my way out into the storm. "If you don't come back I'm going to break out the sled dogs and come after you." She said laughing as I tugged on my hat.

"Don't worry, I know how to make an igloo." I smiled as I closed the door behind me. The snow was light and thankfully, easy to throw. There were a few neighbors digging out too, the only sound was the scrape of shovels, the wind, and the hiss of the snow. I was beginning to miss Ireland myself right about now as I tossed shovelfuls of snow out from behind the car. I chuckled at the thought of her father getting upset with Cate over our engagement. "Maybe I don't miss it that much." I paused and looked up to the second floor windows. They weren't even our windows, we were on the back side of the building facing the field. He had apologized, and said he would in person when we went back on spring break. She was alternately sad and angry with him for his reaction but after a few days had stopped dwelling on it and returned to her normal self. She was champing at the bit to be done with her dissertation, and needed to deliver the final version of it soon. I was finally able to move the car to a cleared out area so the plow would be able to clear my space on its next pass. I brushed off as much of the snow as I could on the landing before going in.

I opened the door and was overcome by the smell of onions and garlic. Cate was making dinner. I'm not sure if she took it as a personal challenge after I teased her about the strawberry and pickle omelets, but she'd taken up cooking, researching recipes and trying new things. Smelled like we were having something Asian tonight. I got out of my snow gear and went to the bedroom to change into my warm sweats again before poking my nose into the kitchen.

"Smells good."

"Smells like onions." She said blinking watery eyes.

"That it does. Would you like a hand?" She had me switch places with her so she could start the chicken. After a lot of chopping and dicing she started cooking and I watched impressed as she whipped up an impressive stir fry. "That looks like a lot of food." I said laughing.

"I know, I hope it's good because it's my lunch tomorrow too." She poured the contents of a bowl over the top and kept stirring, then she tossed the scallions in and I immediately thought of a cooking show.

"Chef Cate." I said chuckling as I handed her the rice filled bowls. She turned and smiled.

"I'd never go to this trouble for myself. You should consider yourself very lucky."

"You have no idea." I said smiling. The double entendre caught her by surprise and she blushed. She turned off the stove and moved the pan off before turning and giving me a long kiss.

"I figure that I'd get that in before we indulge in all that garlic."

I looked at the bowls and back at her.

"What?"

"Just deciding which I'd rather indulge in." Cate rolled her eyes, albeit with a smile as she took the bowls.

"I think we've indulged quite a bit on that count today. Get the silverware, clown." I did as told and brought a couple of beers with me.

After dinner, I cleaned up the dishes while Cate went back to the books. I joined her for a little while and eventually closed my book an hour later.

"Is the fairer sex too much for you to handle?" She giggled, not looking up from her own book.

"No, it's the handling part I like most actually." I let my head drop back against the sofa cushion. Cate reached out and rubbed my thigh. She let out a deep sigh and marked her spot and set the book down and reached for her laptop. "Shakespeare and women, both written in languages difficult to decipher."

"I don't agree there. You're handling this one rather nicely. Find us something to watch. I'm just going to punch in a few notes and I'll call it a night."

I turned the TV on. Cate put her things into her bag to get it ready for work tomorrow and went and got the remainder of a pint of ice cream. We settled on an old movie. She snuggled up under my arm and pulled an afghan off the back of the couch across her lap. I smiled because I'd seen this ritual before and guessed she'd probably be asleep in short order. She alternated a spoonful for her, a spoonful offered to me. I declined the third spoonful.

"You're going to make me finish this all by myself?"

"I'm sure you'll do your best." A few minutes later I heard the tell tale scrape of the spoon on the bottom of the container. She set it down on the coffee table and laid her head on my shoulder. I looked down ten minutes later and her eyes were closed, the flickering glow of the TV dancing on her face. When the movie ended I tried to keep from waking her but she flinched when I tried to sneak out from under her to clean up. She rubbed her eyes, and I sent her off to bed.

"It's beautiful." Cate said as she viewed the landscape through the car window. There were still a few flurries from the tail end of the storm. Everything as far as you could see was under a blanket of white.

"It is pretty nice once you're shoveled out." The main roads were pretty well plowed. Orange lights flickered where trucks cleared driveways and parking lots. There were occasional white rooster tails where snow blowers chugged away at the drifts.

I dropped her off at her building and went to class. The lot had been partially cleared and I found a space quickly. I guessed that most of the professors sent out email or posted info for the weekend and took today off too. Unfortunately for me my women's studies professor wasn't one of them. I made my way up to class and took a seat.

I went off to my next class and opened my laptop and went over my notes on Henry V, barely even reading the words on the screen. I pulled out my phone and texted Cate.

"Is it cheat night? Pizza & beers?"

She replied a little while later. "Absolutely. See you later! xoxo"

"Forsooth! Is this a pepperoni which I see before me? See you later sweets! xoxo"

"Wrong play, that's Macbeth. xoxo"

We met up after classes and I let her drive home. We put our bags away and she opted to go change into jeans before we went out. She came out of the bedroom in a turtleneck sweater, jeans, and the boots she'd indulged in when we got back last month.

Our waiter set down our beers and Cate took a long pull from her glass. "Ooh, that's different." We'd tried one of the local micro-brews to see if it was up to her standards. She leaned back in her chair, her hands on her lap looking at me intently. "So that we're better prepared. What can we expect tomorrow?"

"Let's see, I expect a high pitched gasp from Mom, and a congratulations from Dad followed up at some point with 'Are you sure about this, you're so young' and definitely a 'You've only known each other a few months. Isn't it a little soon?' Mom may get me in a corner when you're not around and ask if I've looked into the legal stuff, green card status, things like that." I was about to continue but I bit my tongue. There was an awkward pause.

"It's a valid question you know."

"I know, and she's going to get a very quick response. No pre-nup. Please understand that she wouldn't ask as a criticism of you. She's a lawyer, and in my case she's both my mother and power of attorney. Which I will be changing after the wedding, obviously."

"I did a little homework myself a few days after we got home. The eligibility for citizenship is three years in residence, for both of us, and both here and Ireland recognize dual citizenship. A marriage is legally binding in both countries, so long as it was performed and licensed correctly."

I started laughing. "I guess you have been doing your homework. Here I thought I was being smart by asking your Mum to nose around and find me a good lawyer there that wasn't affiliated with Samar's firm."

"She told me, and you got a name and number as I heard."

"Yes, a lawyer by the name of Aoife Tobin."

Cate pursed her lips trying to hide a grin.

"Aifee?" I tried again.

"It's pronounced, 'Eefuh'."

"Probably just as well that I opened with Ms. Tobin then." I said laughing.

Cate smiled for a moment longer and it faded.

"What?"

The smile returned but with a bit of a nervous look in her eye. "Do you know if Pam and Jimmy set a date yet? It will be incredibly awkward to say the least if we do and they haven't. I don't want to step on toes."

I shook my head. "Hopefully we can find out tomorrow from my mother."

Our dinner arrived and we did turned our attention to demolishing our large pizza. Despite my attempts to teach her the New York fold technique, she tended to eat the point with a fork until she could pick it up more easily.

It was late and Cate was was still sitting at the desk in the office, her laptop docked so she could use the larger screen and keyboard, a pen clenched in her teeth. She tapped away, looked at her references and tapped away some more. I walked up behind her and laid my hands on her shoulders making her jump.

"Sorry." I said as I began rubbing, my thumbs digging into the soft flesh in slow circles.

"It's alright, I was a thousand miles away. I found another source to defend the idea that my mentor called me out on. I hope two sources will help, it's too new to have a lot of studies completed yet. Maybe I'll publish my own afterwards."

"Publish, publish, publish, the life of an academic." I said laughing.

Cate sighed and leaned back in the chair. "Keep that up and I'm going to fall asleep right here."

"Good, once you're out and defenseless I can put you to bed without a fight." I said kissing the top of her head.

"Just a bit more. I need to get this down while it's fresh." She said putting her hand on the book she had open.

"Okay but if I come in here and you're out cold, I'm going to save your place and toss you in bed." She reached up and patted my hand where it lay on her shoulder.

"Just remember to hit the cloud back up." She pointed at the icon on her screen. "A few years ago my old laptop hard drive crapped out on me, so I don't trust them any more." She showed me how she had it set up, all I needed was to click an icon and it would back up all of her folders.

I made her a cup of tea, opting for an herbal blend that she liked, knowing she wouldn't want the caffeine this late. "Keep treating me like this and I'm likely to marry you."

"Likely?" I said in mock concern causing her chuckle. She reached out and took my hand after I set the cup down, her fingers cool in mine. "Are you warm enough?" I asked concerned. She smiled and nodded. Her fingers slid through mine as she tilted her face up to me for a kiss.

"Get out of here or I won't finish this bit."

"Yes dear." I said smiling, Cate reached up and whacked me in the ass when I turned to go. "Keep that up and I'll take you to bed right now."

"Dylan? You know it's not always going to be like..." she paused grasping for words, "like..."

I used her own one raised eyebrow expression against her. I turned back to her and squatted down beside the chair. "Cate, I'm well aware that we'll occasionally disagree, you might even throw something heavy at my head." I added laughing. "I'll probably want to take you over my knee or soak you head first into the sink at some point. There might be shouting, there might be angry silences, but at no time, ever, will I ever stop loving you as much as I do right now. Stop worrying about what you think I expect. Please?"

She reached out and hugged my shoulders and kissed my temple. "You don't know what it feels like to wonder what you did to deserve someone. I constantly wonder if I haven't dreamt you up in my head and I'm going to wake up any moment."

"Yes I do, sometimes I feel like I'm in that moment, staring through the window of the tea shop at you and thinking that this is all taking place in my head while the rest of the world stands still." I turned my face and kissed her. I reached between her and the back of the chair and gave her a little pinch. She growled into my mouth and smiled as pulled away.

"Shoo, or I'll never get anything done."

The next morning dawned gray. Cate's hair spilled across the pillow in the dim light. She was turned away from me, the skin of her shoulder shone creamily above the twisted flannel of her pajama top. I noted, with no little amount of humor, that the top was all she was wearing, the round warmth of her bottom nestled against me. Rather than tug the flannel to cover her, I gently lifted the comforter and pulled it over her shoulder to keep her from getting a chill. I'd untangle her from the flannel when she awoke. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

Somewhere between wakefulness and sleep I began to dream. The ocean waves broke over rocks below, the constant thrum of the tide reached way up here at the top of the cliff. The ebb and flow of the tide was a steady rhythm, and I felt it sink into me, all the way to the bone. I took a deep breath, the salt air mixed with the smell of green grass and wild roses and filled me with calm. A hand laid on my shoulder and I turned to see my brother Jimmy wearing a tuxedo with a green cravat. I looked down and realized I was wearing the same thing. I turned quickly, behind us a small pavilion tent was set up, the sides drawn back to the poles, flowers and ribbons held them in place.

"You okay buddy?" Jimmy said smiling. I just nodded, still scanning the area. The gardens were in bloom, bees were floating in the breeze visiting each blossom in turn. "Come on." He turned me gently and we walked back toward the tent. Inside were rows of white chairs, people milled about. Dad wore a similar suit to Jimmy's, Mom was there in a long blue dress, her hair done up. The breeze lessened as we walked away from the overlook and I began to look around more gathering details. Where were Cate's parents? I began searching, wondering where she was. There was Shannon and Mik and the relief washed over me. Sinead was trying to wipe something off of Declan's face. I watched as Cate's mum walked out of a gazebo and up the center aisle between the chairs taking a seat in the first row. "Do you have a comb?" I looked at Jimmy, not entirely understanding the question. "Your hair is mussed up from the wind back there." I reached up and ran my fingers through it. "Get it together Dylan, you look like you're about to face a firing squad. It's not that bad." He said laughing.

"Where's Cate?"

"Relax, we made sure she came. It would hardly be a party without her now would it." He nodded towards the gazebo, the trellises full of roses.

"Come on, I saved you a spot up front." Jimmy said with a chuckle as he steered me towards a small table set with a white cloth and flower vases on each end. A man in a suit, with a smile on his face nodded to us and turned and nodded elsewhere. I hadn't realized there were sounds in the background until they went silent. Jimmy turned me slightly so I was facing the back of the pavilion and music started. The gazebo door went from dark to light as Cate emerged, her father taking her hand and looping it under his arm as they walked towards me. She was so beautiful with her hair piled atop her head in loose whorls, wisps blowing free around her temples. Her eyes blazed as she looked right at me and I froze, wanting to remember this moment forever.

"Dylan? Dylan!" Cate shook me awake. I came awake with a gasp and gulped air for a few moments. "What's the matter? Were you having a nightmare?" I gathered my wits and looked up at the tangled mass of hair, sleepy eyes with faint dark circles beneath, her lips thinned, an anxious expression on her face. I sighed and let my head fall back to the pillow.

"No, just the opposite." I said with a laugh. "I was dreaming about the wedding." I told her what I had just witnessed and the smile on her face was brighter than any sunrise.

"You sir are an incurable romantic." She said kissing me deeply. "I hope a cure is never found. Tell me what the dress looked like. I need ideas."

"I hadn't gotten that far, I was still looking at your face. Your cheeks," I rubbed my thumb gently up her cheekbone, "were the color of those antique blush roses, your lips the color of dusky roses, almost a gray tinged pink." My thumb caressed her lower lip, and she kissed it as I traced the rest of the way across. "Your eyes."

"What about them." She said smiling.

"They were like ice had caught fire, cool and smoldering all at once."

"You flatterer, don't stop now."

"Your hair was bundled up, like in loose whorls, a few wisps blew in the breeze at your temples."

"So we're outdoors are we?"

"A huge garden, with a small pavilion tent at the end of a stone walkway. It's near the ocean, Jimmy walked me back to the tent from where I was looking out over the sea."

"Thinking of jumping to get away were you?" She closed one eye looking down at me, her expression shrewd and comical all at once.

I shook my head laughing. "Not a chance. I'd never have survived the rocks at the bottom. Ouch!" She jabbed a finger into my ribs. "Why did you wake me up?"

"You woke me up mumbling, incoherently for a change, then you stopped breathing. I waited for a moment and you didn't take another breath, that's when I shook you to wake you up."

I smiled. "You take my breath away even in my dreams."

"Dear God I love you." She said, mumbling something incoherently into my mouth as she kissed me.

"What's that?"

"Don't ever do that again. You nearly gave me a heart attack."

"Sorry but I'm not going to promise that I'll stop dreaming about you."

"That part I encourage, just remember to keep breathing while you do."

I noticed the shoulder of her flannel was still off. "I meant to fix this for you earlier but I didn't want to wake you." I said reaching for the button at the front. A soft giggle escaped her throat as the rest of the buttons came undone.

"Do you think complete removal is necessary?"

"Oh yes, to do a proper job of it." I shook it free over the edge of the bed, as soon as her lips met mine I dropped it.

We sat with bowls of oatmeal covered in berries, Cate sipped her coffee. "Any more health food and I'm going to lose my willpower and make another one of those huge Irish breakfasts." I said laughing.

"You ate nearly half a large pizza and had two beers last night!" Cate responded quickly.