Rick's Book Launch Party
Kate was feeling energized today. She walked through the loft, looking for something to do. Rick was working in his office and she needed an out for all of this energy. She plumped the throw pillows on the couch for the fifth time and looked up to find Rick staring at her with a silly smile.
"What?' she asked, annoyed.
"Nothing, " he said innocently.
She moved from plumping the couch pillows to straightening pictures on the wall, that really didn't need straightening. As she turned from the picture on the stairwell landing, she noticed that he was staring at her again. She rolled her eyes and he pretended to bury his face in his laptop again.
She walked into his office and stood in front of his desk. "Okay. You've been staring at me all morning and it's really starting to piss me off and I want to know why."
" Okay. It's just that you're beginning to waddle and I think it's adorable!"
" I'm not wad…" she started to protest.
Rick chuckled. "Oh, yes you are and like I said, it's adorable"
" You're making fun of me", she said, crossing her arms across her tummy.
Okay. She was 5 ½ months pregnant, and she was feeling insecure and probably nervous about tonight's Book Launch Party. Pregnant women were prone to having mood swings and having emotions off the charts, he thought.
He swiveled his chair to the side and patted his lap. "Okay. Come here.
" She didn't come , just stood there, tapping her foot.
He grabbed her hand and gently pulled her forward until she was standing right in front of him and then pulled her onto his lap.
" Honey, I never meant for that to sound insulting. Pregnant women waddle, it can't be helped. After the baby is born, the waddling gait will go away."
Kate lowered her head and said, " I know. It's not all about waddling. I guess, I'm just nervous about tonight."
"Well, there's nothing for you to be worried about. You'll be the most beautiful woman there.," he said.
She scoffed.
He tilted her head up and said, " I think pregnant women are the most beautiful and sexiest people on Earth. Having said that, you were beautiful when I first met you, you are still beautiful and I will always think you're beautiful. I have loved you from the first time I met you and I will always love you."
Humbled, Kate leaned her head against his. "I'm sorry, Babe. I'm so sorry. I love you with all my heart. Forgive me?" she asked, kissing him.
" Hmmm. Not yet," he teased, sliding his hand under the tee-shirt she was wearing and lightly caressing her tummy.
She continued kissing him and asked, "How about now?"
"Hmmm. I don't know. I can be pretty hard to convince," he responded, continuing to lovingly caress her tummy and nuzzling her neck and ear..
" You're trying to drive me insane, aren't you?" she teasingly asked.
" I don't know. Is it working?" he playfully answered.
She giggled and said, "You know which room you usually drive me insane in, so why don't we continue this in that room.?"
He didn't answer, but kept kissing and nuzzling and caressing until she was completely lost in his kisses. His hand crept higher beneath the tee-shirt, causing Kate to moan softly in his ear. He held her tighter and she melded into him.
Rick's cell phone rang, interrupting them. Rick groaned and looked at the screen. It was Paula, his book agent. He showed the screen to Kate.
"You might want to answer that. It might be important." she said.
He pushed the accept button. "Castle. Yes, that's right, Paula. Of Course, we'll be there. Okay.. We'll see you there at seven. Of Course, we'll be on time."
As he hung up the phone, he asked Kate, " Now where were we? before we were so rudely interrupted?"
She disentangled herself from him and stood. "About to take a nap," she replied.
"Seriously? You want to take a nap now?" he asked.
She leaned over him and whispered in his ear. "Not to sleep. Surely you don't want Martha or Alexis coming through that door and catching us in a compromising position, do you?"
"You know when you say " compromising positions" I conjure up ..." he said.
"Rick"... she teasingly admonished him
"Oh . Right. I'm coming, " he said, rising from his chair.
She was halfway to the bedroom door when she turned and replied, "Oh, you'd better not be . At least, not, yet."
With Rick still napping next to her, she slipped from bed and taking her journal and pen, went to the kitchen counter to make her daily entry. This evening was going to be so busy and most likely a late night so the chances of making an entry later were almost zilch.:
My precious baby ,, We went back to see Dr. Clay yesterday. He ran an ultrasound on me ( an ultrasound is a test that takes pictures of you while you are still in mommy's tummy waiting to be born)
This test allowed us to see all of your tiny fingers and toes and tells us how much you are growing, if you are a boy or girl. (we now have our very first pictures of you for the Baby Book that our friend, Linda Simpson gave us last week.)
Your dad had this test recorded on dvd, so we now have a dvd with your movements inside mommy's tummy as your first movie.
We asked the technician to place your pictures in an envelope so that we could go out for dinner to celebrate and find out together. We went to Le Cirque for dinner and opened the envelope. We were thrilled to learn that you are a baby boy and you will be named Montgomery James Castle, but we will probably just call you Monty.
I hope you like your name. Your first name is after an amazing man that we loved very much and one day when you are older, we'll tell you about him. Your second name is after your Grandpa James. He is so proud and can hardly wait to meet you. When you get older, Grandpa James will take you to all the major league baseball
I was hoping that you would be a boy. Your dad was hoping for a girl, but you should have seen his face when we found out that you are a boy . He could not be any more proud or happy and he loves you so much!
But the important thing is that your are healthy and Dr. Clay assures us that you are and that you're growing and getting stronger.
Tonight is a big night for your dad. We're having a Book Launch Party at The Four Seasons Hotel and Resort for your dad's new book. Mommy doesn't care too much for these parties, but they are important to your dad.
You know how your dad loves to make up stories to tell you at night and always makes mommy giggle because he's so funny?
This is what your dad does to make a living and these parties are important, it's just something he has to do.
So mommy will always have to go to these parties because I love your dad with all my heart and want to support him. These parties are important to him and he's important to me, to us.
Know who else I love with all my heart? You, my darling baby boy.
Love, Mommy
Kate took a sip of the white grape juice from the cocktail glass in her hand and wished it was a glass of wine, instead. But, being 5 ½ months pregnant, she couldn't do that.
She and Rick were chatting with Stephen King and mingling with guests.
She wished that they could go home and she could curl up and watch a movie with Rick.. But she wanted to be supportive of Rick and his career. She was proud of him.
As they were greeting Mayor Weldon, she caught a glimpse of Captain Gates in her peripheral vision, and her jaw fell slack. Captain Gates was not normally a fan of fiction. She had, however, read the Nikki Heat series and had really liked it. They had invited her out of courtesy, but never expected her to actually come so Kate was surprised to say the least.
She excused herself and went to greet Captain Gates.
" Captain Gates, How nice of you to come. " she greeted her.
"Kate, we are on neutral ground here. You can call me by name. In fact, I wish you would. I thought we had reached that understanding some time ago."
"Yes, we did. Welcome, Victoria. Please, help yourself to the bar and food table," Kate said, waving her hand gesturing in the direction of the bar and food table.
"You look lovely , Kate. Positively radiant."
"Thank- you, Victoria.. We were hoping to meet your , husband, Robert."
"Ah, yes. He had to leave town to go on a business trip." Victoria said.
Rick had noticed Victoria's arrival and came to join them.
"Captain Gates, what a pleasant surprise! Thank- you for coming." Rick said in greeting.
He glanced toward the door and noticed that James Patterson had just arrived. " If you ladies will excuse me, I see someone I need to speak with. Kate, honey, please see that Captain Gates is escorted to our table," he said. , dropping a kiss on her cheek and whispering, "most beautiful woman here," in her ear.
The gang had all arrived. After Victoria had arrived, Jenny and Ryan, and shortly after that, Lanie and Javi. Ryan and Jenny both were fans, as well as Lanie. Javier wasn't so much a reader, but he admired Rick and when there was a party, he was all in.
She had been mingling with Rick and in between times, visited with the people at their table. It seemed like the night was going to be deemed a success, when she noticed her dad arrive with Aunt Theresa.
Oh, Hell! Maybe it wasn't going to be as successful as she thought.
She loved Aunt Theresa, really, she did, but Aunt Theresa was very opinionated when it came to Rick. She was very bold and outspoken and more times than not, not very favorable when it came to Rick. She could only imagine the damage control they would have to do if Aunt Theresa did not behave herself.
She couldn't imagine why Aunt Theresa did not like Rick. He had tried so hard, but no matter how charming and gracious he was to her, Aunt Theresa would still not be charmed. Far from it..
She linked her arm through Rick's and whispered in his ear. He turned and saw Jim and Theresa step through the door.
"If you'll excuse us for just one moment. There's someone we need to speak to," Rick said, politely.
Arm in arm, they strolled across the room to greet Jim and Theresa.
Kate greeted her dad with a hug and dropped a kiss on Aunt Theresa's cheek. Jim and Rick shook hands and Jim clapped his son-in-law on the back.
Rick turned his charming smile on Aunt Theresa who only scowled at him in return.
"Aunt Theresa, how nice to….." Rick started to greet her.
"Don't you dare, Aunt Theresa me. You make a living with words! How are you going to support my favorite niece?"
Kate had attempted to interrupt her aunt, but not being able to get a word in edgewise, now took a deep , breath trying to control her anger at Aunt Theresa, said, "I'm your only niece , Aunt Theresa, but that can change in about 2/10ths of a second," she warned. "And in all fairness, Rick is a famous mystery novelist and perfectly capable of taking care of me. He is my husband and I will not stand here and let you tongue lash him like this ." Kate continued.
Jim grasped Theresa by hand and said, "Theresa, if you don't shut your mouth, I can escort you out of here the same way I escorted you in here and you will never be invited again."
About that time, Martha appeared and positioned herself between Kate and Rick.
"Theresa, darling. How lovely to see you again! Have you seen our buffet table? Come, darling, let's get you something to eat and drink.," Martha said, placing her arm through Theresa's and leading Theresa away.
As Martha was leading Theresa away, she glanced back over her shoulder and a very thank-ful Kate mouthed ' Thank- you' to her mother-in-law.
During the reception at the wedding, they had discovered that Theresa had been a fan of Martha's back in the 80's and had been to all of her shows, on Broadway and off.
Kate and Rick escorted an apologetic Jim to the food table and coffee bar and to their table.
As Kate and Rick went to mingle with more guests, Rick said under his breath, "You know when you said tongue lashing back there..."
" Shush! Just stop! Now!" she replied.
" Got It ! Shushing Now." he said.
"Good!" she replied.
Later, as the party went on, she noticed Aunt Theresa at one of the display tables examining Rick's book. Kate had tried to keep a watchful eye on her Aunt Theresa, but she had been so busy mingling with Rick's guests and their friends at their table that she had lost sight of her more than once.
As Kate stood watching her from across the room, she noticed Aunt Theresa open the book and begin to read. Probably trying to find some ammo to use against Rick. Aunt Theresa so needed to evolve past this. Why couldn't she see how much she and Rick loved each other and accept it?
She was standing at the table talking to Lanie when she felt a solid thump against her rib. It was a fleeting feeling and had disappeared as fast as it had come on, so she dismissed it . A few moments later, there was another one in her left side. And another a little more to the center of her left side. She placed her hand on her abdomen and a look of awe and joy crossed her face.
" Kate, are you alright?" Lanie asked.
Kate realized that she had not heard the last part of Lanie's conversation, but looked at her and replied, "Yeah, I'm fine. I need to talk to Rick for a moment. Will you excuse me? I'll be right back."
Kate excused herself and went to find Rick. She could not wait to find him and tell him the news. He'd be so excited..
He was standing across the room near the book tables talking to James Patterson.
Linking her arm through Rick's, she said, "Excuse me , Mr. Patterson…."
"Kate. I thought we had come further than that. It's James. And might I add that you look stunning tonight? Positively radiant.," James said.
Kate blushed and replied, " Of course, James. Thank- you. Babe, can I have a word?"
"Yes. Of course. Are you okay?" Rick asked.
She smiled and nodded in the affirmative.
" James, if you'll excuse us for a moment, please".
She laced her fingers through his and led a puzzled Rick from the Conference Room and down a hallway, looking from one side of the hall to the other.
"Honey, What's going on?" he asked.
"You'll find out in a minute," she replied. They continued down the hall a few more paces before he stopped abruptly causing her to be jerked slightly back to him.
"Kate, honey, you are okay, right?"
"Im fine, really", she replied, tugging on his hand again and pulling him down the hall again.
He grinned that impish grin of his and asked, "Why Kate Castle. If I didn't know better, I'd swear you are trying to get me alone in a supply closet or something. "
She spotted their destination 2 doors down on the left and once at the door, on a hunch, she twisted the knob and found that it wasn't locked.
Rick read the sign on the door. Supply Closet.
He laughed and said, " Kinky! Honey, I appreciate the fact that you want to be alone with me in a supply closet…."
"Will you just shush for one moment and follow me?" She opened the door and ushered him inside.
She pulled the door closed behind them and he turned to her and said, "Okay, Kate . Now you are scaring the hell out of me. What's wrong?"
She took a deep breath and said, " Our son, Monty is on the move tonight and I wanted to share this moment alone with you."
She had often referred to Monty's movements as butterfly wings.
"Butterfly wings?" he asked.
She shook her head no. "Stronger. Here. Feel", she said, placing both of his hands on her abdomen.
She locked her arms around his neck as his hands traveled ever so lightly over her abdomen.
Kate giggled and put her hand on top of his and said, " It's okay, Babe. We won't break. You're going to have to push a little harder, I think."
Smiling, she looped her arms around his neck again and Rick continued his hesitant but firmer journey across her abdomen. He was always so tender and loving when he touched her .
She just couldn't resist. " Owww! Not so hard!"
Startled, Rick quickly pulled his hand away as if he had been burned and Kate burst out in laughter.
"I'm sorry, Babe. I just couldn't resist."
" That is sooo not funny, Kate." he said.
Still giggling, she replied, " I know, but you should have seen the look on your face."
She continued more seriously, " It's okay. I'm over it now. You can continue. The last time I felt him move was right here. " She guided his hand to the area.
After a few moments he finally felt the tiny thump against his palm.
She watched as a whole range of emotions crossed his features, awe, excitement, joy, and pure love.
For a moment he was unable to speak. He swallowed past the lump in his throat and blinked back the tears that had formed in his eyes.
He pulled her as close as he could and kissed her thoroughly. "Oh, God, Kate. I love you so much."
Kate looked down toward her abdomen and replied, " I think that's pretty evident , don't you? I love you, too. And while I would love to stand here and make out with you in a supply closet, we still have a party to finish so I think we should get back before we get missed. So let's get this done and go home.
" Let's do this," he said.
It was well past midnight when the party ended and the last of the stragglers were leaving. Over all the party had been a huge success with a complete sell out of the book.
Kate and Rick stood at the door, thanking people for coming as they left.
Kate was exhausted , but happy that the book party hurdle was behind them and they had not had to do any damage control because of Aunt Theresa. Largely due to Martha's help in diffusing the situation.
And she was so thankful to Martha for that.
She stifled a yawn behind her hand.
Rick squeezed her hand and said, "You're tired, honey. I hope we haven't overdone it tonight.''
"No, but I am pretty tired and the thought of our bed is pretty appealing., " she replied.
" Then, lets get mother and Alexis and go home."
" Sounds good to me," she smiled up at him.
As they were turning to find Martha and Alexis, Jim and Aunt Theresa approached them.
Jim hugged Kate and clapped Rick on the back.
Theresa approached Rick and said " It's occurred to me that I may not have been fair to you , Rick. I love Katie like a daughter and will stop at nothing to protect her. I know about your reputation with the ladies , Rick. If you hurt her in anyway…."
" In all fairness, Aunt Theresa, that was in his past , a long time ago and it's not fair to hold that against him. Rick will never hurt me, " Kate said.
" No! I love Kate with all my heart and would never dream of hurting her," Rick said defensively.
"I only want the best for Katie and for her to be happy. See to it that she is and we'll get along just fine . " Theresa stated emphatically.
After a few moments Rick asked. " Does that mean you'll come to our family Christmas Eve and for dinner Christmas Day?"
" I love you, Aunt Theresa and it would mean so much to all of us if you would let this go and give us the benefit of the doubt.. Family gatherings aren't the same without you and we want you to be included in our family. Please, Aunt Theresa."
" Katie, I love you so much and have never been able to tell you no, so how can I say no to you now? Of course I'll come. " Theresa said.
Kate hugged Theresa and said, " I love you, too, Aunt Theresa, and I've missed you sooo much."
Jim and Theresa said their goodnights and left. They had not gotten out the door before Rick turned to Kate and asked, " How the hell did that just happen?"
" I don't know, but at least she's willing to try and that makes me so happy ," Kate replied, stifling another yawn.
" C'mon, honey. Let's go home," Rick said.
"Yeah, Let's go ," she said.
Once inside the hired stretch limo for the ride home, Rick asked Martha, "Okay, Mother. Spill. What did you say to get Aunt Theresa to change her mind about me?"
" Richard, What on Earth are you talking about? " Martha asked.
" You know what I'm talking about. Aunt Theresa. What did you say to her?"
" No, Honestly, darling, I didn't say a word. Scout's Honor," Martha replied.
Rick had barely begun his explanation when beside him, Kate flinched and put her hand to the upper left side of her abdomen.
Concerned, Alexis leaned forward and asked, "What's wrong? Are you okay, Kate?"
" Yes, honey. Tonight has been the first time Monty's movements have been stronger and more pronounced. His movements tonight have caught me off guard because now he's moving around more and growing." Kate explained.
"Does it hurt?" Alexis asked.
Kate smiled. "No. At least they haven't so far. I just feel a small thump every once in awhile. Here. Place your hand here and apply firm pressure."
Hesitantly, Alexis touched the spot Kate had indicated.
" A little harder. It's okay." Kate said.
After a few seconds, Alexis felt the tiny thump against her palm. An incredulous look crossed her lovely face as she smiled and asked, "That was him? That's my baby brother?"
Alexis was an intelligent young woman, who had experience working with dead bodies when she had worked as an intern with Lanie and as far as education in pregnancy , Rick was fairly sure only the very bare basics had been covered . Alexis had never been around a pregnant woman before and Kate had just shared a monumental experience with her that would be life affirming. He could not be any more proud of either one of them.
Kate smiled and nodded. "Yes. That was your baby brother."
"Oh, Kate. I'm so excited! Thank-you for sharing this experience with me. I can't wait to hold him." Alexis said, excitedly.
"Of course. We are family, why wouldn't I want to share this with you?"
Their conversation became a hum in his ears as his thoughts turned toward the word family. His family. Kate, Alexis, his mother, Jim, his yet, unborn son , Aunt Theresa. Aunt Theresa. He would find a way to make her accept him and together they would be an incredible family unit. And maybe one day , he and Kate would have another child . A daughter. A mini replica of Kate. Love and family. That's what made life an incredible journey and worth everything.