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Chapter Six
Dinner was an unequivocal success, with William looking relaxed for the first time in weeks as he revealed that he felt quietly confident in regards to the results of his exams, Laurence talking excitedly of the paintball park he was going to on Saturday for a friend's birthday, and both Kate and Caroline listening intently to all that was said while each inwardly hoping dinner would be over and done with as soon as possible so they could get some much needed alone time with one another.
Despite Caroline's earlier fussing, the lamb had gone down very well, and though Laurence had been slightly miffed that he was the only one having to abstain from a glass of wine, such suffering was soon forgotten as conversation flowed with an ease that quite surprised Kate. Though she'd been very much looking forward to spending the evening with the Elliot family, she couldn't help but wonder what kind of reception she would receive as she joined them for dinner for the first time since that not-so-pleasant evening with Celia and Alan.
As she observed William appearing more laid back than she'd ever witnessed before and Laurence laughing and making jokes as he was granted permission to carve the meat (under strict supervision, of course), Kate was forced to admit that she had been wrong to have any misgivings whatsoever. With her stomach full and her heart filled with warmth, she was only too happy to be the first to stand up at the end of the meal and offer her services as chief-clearer-upper, pointedly ignoring Caroline's protests as she started moving dirty dishes over to the worktop.
"This is payback for you being so pigheaded about doing my bloody dishes last night," she finally retorted with a grin when Caroline voiced her dissent once more.
The head teacher's mouth opened and closed a couple of times, usually so ready with effective comebacks but now riddled with heady memories of how her attempts at cleaning last night had ended. Unable to think of anything witty, she merely shrugged, lips pursed together as she reached for the wine and proceeded to refill their glasses.
"Don't tell me you've managed to silence Mum!" Laurence interjected with a look of glee. "You've got the magic touch, Kate!"
At this, Caroline coughed, eyes wide as she tried to hastily swallow her wine. Faced with a confused expression from Laurence, an impish smirk from Kate, and a look of unappreciated dawning realisation from William, she averted her gaze, staring at the dining table until her blush faded. "Yeah," she finally replied weakly, coughing again to try and rid her voice of its croakiness. "You could say that."
William glanced from his mother to Kate and back again before shaking his head ruefully. "Oh, God," he muttered, his own face now erupting into a colour that was fast trying to match his hair. "Too much information." With a look of mock affront, he passed his plate to Kate, who was stationed by the dishwasher looking rather like it was taking all of her willpower to refrain from laughing, and made his way to the doorway. "I'm going out to a friend's," he informed the room, waiting for his mother's nod and then continuing. "I won't be out late, and I'll get a taxi home."
Feeling grateful that Laurence seemed nonplussed by the whole thing, Caroline smiled. "Okay, love. Text me when you're on the way home, all right?"
"Yeah, will do. See you later." With that, he was gone.
"What's wrong with him?" Laurence piped up as he hoisted himself up onto the counter. "Weirdo."
Kate remained silent as she closed the dishwasher door, biting on her lower lip to keep from grinning like an idiot.
"Don't call your brother a weirdo," Caroline chastised offhandedly. "And get off the counter. Did you finish all your homework earlier or have you still got some left?"
"All done," her youngest son replied immediately as he dropped to his feet. Noting the disbelieving expression on his mother's face, he raised his hands up. "It is! Well… nearly."
"Thought so," the blonde said with a slow shake of her head. Noticing that Laurence hadn't moved an inch, she raised an eyebrow. "Go on, then! The sooner it's done, the sooner you can watch last night's Match of the Day." This seemed to hold some impact, and she smiled as her teenager scurried out of the kitchen. "I want it all done, though, mister. I'll check!"
"Yeah, Mum… whatever," came the faint reply, and Caroline turned to Kate with an amused expression. "Thanks for backing me up, there."
Kate's eyes widened as she rested against the work top. "What could I say? Laurence is right… I do have the magic touch!"
Caroline fought back a smile. "Watch out, you might not be able to fit back through that door with that big ego of yours."
A small, lusty smile crept upon the brunette's features as she pushed herself from the counter and took a step forward. "Want to prove me wrong?!"
Caroline pretended to think about it, a look of false concentration on her face. "Hmm," she murmured only to dissolve into laughter as Kate suddenly lunged at her. Lost in the moment, she didn't even hear the front door close, was completely oblivious to the footsteps through the hallway as her and Kate's laughter mingled together and echoed around the spacious kitchen.
"Oh, well isn't this just bloody brilliant!" John whined, causing Kate to jump back in surprise and Caroline to roll her eyes. It was clear from his flushed cheeks and red-rimmed eyes that John had, once again, had one too many down the local pub, and the clinking from the plastic bag that hung from his hand only gave him away further.
"What do you want?" Caroline replied with a sigh, regarding her drunken husband through narrowed, disinterested eyes.
John ignored her completely, instead zeroing in on Kate. "And you must be…" Unable to make himself say the name, he stuck out his free hand arrogantly.
"Kate," she replied, readily shaking John's hand and observing that such physical contact seemed to cause him pain, if the expression on his face was anything to go by. "It's nice to meet you."
As soon as Kate released her grip, John dropped his hand down to his side. "Kate," he repeated, drawing the word out upon his tongue as though it were toxic. "A pleasure."
A scowl was forming on Caroline's face, her muscles taut and void of the relaxed state she had felt just a moment before. "Now the formalities are over and done with," she muttered, her voice low and blue eyes glittering dangerously, "what is it you actually want?"
Rotating on the spot until he could face Caroline head on, John almost stumbled, shooting a hand out to steady himself. "See this," he said to Kate though his half-closed eyes stayed on the blonde in front of him. "This is how I get treated. Lovely, that, isn't it? Such a charmer." His words were slurred, no doubt his vision blurred, as he gave up on trying to stand without assistance and slumped heavily against the fridge.
"Hey, if you've got anything to say, you say it to me. Don't bring Kate into this," Caroline responded, her arms folded in front of her chest as she spared a quick glance to the woman standing beside her.
The last time Kate had felt this awkward was at dinner with Celia, the time before that when she'd walked into one of her lectures at university very hungover, oblivious for three hours to the fact that her clothes were on the wrong way around, she had tissue stuck to her shoe and that there was a faded nightclub admittance stamp on her forehead. Here now, in the presence of the woman she loved more than anything and said woman's drunk husband, she reverted to her normal stance when placed in an uncomfortable situation. She remained silent, eyes glued to the floor as she wondered what would happen next.
"Don't bring Kate into this?" John thundered, eyes starting to bulge as he let loose a humourless bark. "I think you've already done that all by yourself, don't you? Ending our marriage for… for her!" With absolutely no comprehension of how close he was to falling through some very thin ice, it was with much effort that he swung his head around to Kate. "She isn't even that pretty."
"Don't you dare," Caroline hissed, disdain and contempt written all over her face. "Don't you bloody dare insult Kate. And, just for a little reality check on the situation, you ended our fucking marriage when you thought with your dick instead of your brain and shagged Judith! I suppose I should thank you, though. It worked out better than I had expected in the end."
"Oh… Judith, Judith, Judith!" John parroted back, unsurprisingly resembling a toddler in the throes of a temper tantrum. "I'm sick of being the only one at fault here! Yeah, I shagged Judith, but as soon as you had the opportunity you went running to get between Kate's sheets, didn't you?!"
About to let rip with a fiery retort, Caroline was suddenly stopped when she saw Laurence entering the kitchen. Forcing herself to take a deep breath, she tried to fix a smile on her face as she turned to him. "Everything all right, love?"
Laurence nodded, his face grim as he shot an angry glare at his father. "Kate, I was just wondering if you wanted to play a game of scrabble with me?"
Kate's heart went out to the young lad, immediately seeing what he was trying to do. In awe of his thoughtfulness, she nodded eagerly after looking to Caroline and witnessing an encouraging nod. "Yeah, that'd be lovely, thanks, Laurence." Feeling slightly guilty for leaving Caroline to face the wrath alone, but well aware the head teacher could fend for herself, she followed Laurence out into the living room.
Caroline's hands were shaking with barely controlled anger as she stomped across the kitchen. "Have fun, you two. I shan't be long," she called in what she hoped was a calm voice before closing the door quietly and turning back to John. "You can say what you want about me, John… I learnt a long time ago that all that comes out of your mouth is bullshit, but I will not accept you badmouthing Kate or upsetting our children."
She walked forward, each step measured and filled with purpose until she was just inches away from the man she was coming to loathe. "I don't know what right you think you have, coming in here and throwing around insults, but I'll tell you what I know. We are over. We have been for a long time. Looking back now, I'm not sure I was still in love with you when you decided to hop into bed with another woman, anyway." Sensing that John was about to interrupt, she held up a hand. "No. Now it's my say and you will listen.
"I don't care if your 'male pride' has been dented because I've finally realised that I'm a lesbian. I don't care if you try and convince yourself that I'm the bad guy in all of this, that the blame doesn't lie at your doorstep. I don't care if you go running off to the few friends you have left to tell them that your evil wife is now with another woman. I really couldn't give a shit. I do care that, whether you mean to or not, you've been upsetting William and Laurence more often than not when you come around. I care that my home, the place I come back to every single day after working my backside off is now usually filled with pissed up arguments and recriminations. I care about the fact that one, small, insecure, borderline bloody insane man will do his best to upset his 'family' on a near daily basis. That's what I care about."
Every word was spoken quietly, each one laced with a venom only Caroline could produce, and it was clear by the furious look on her face that she wasn't finished yet.
"Kate is everything you are not. Everything. She is kind, funny, loving… she has the purest heart of anyone I know. She's loyal, respectful, and would never dream of treating me the way that you do." She could see the revulsion written all over John's face as she continued, warming up to her tirade. "She's perfect… in my eyes, at least. And as for the 'she's not even pretty' comment… Jesus, have you even taken a second to look at her properly? Have you?" Ready to deliver the final blow, she moved even closer and brought her voice down to a whisper. "And the sex? It's fucking fantastic. Mind-blowing, even."
"Now just you wait a minute," John suddenly sprang back into life.
"No, I don't think I will. Thanks, though, for the offer." Smiling calmly as she witnessed John turn puce. "Get out of my house, will you?"
"Your house? Your house?"
"My house," came the firm reply. "I called up my lawyer today in between meetings, finally did the right thing. Filed for divorce. Apparently, he thinks that I have a very good shot of winning the house. A very good shot. And, if not… well, if it's the last thing I do, I will find a way to buy you out. I am not going to be dictated to by an incompetent, idiotic child of a man any longer. Now, leave."
"You filed for a divorce?"
"I did, yes. Paperwork will be coming your way shortly." Caroline smiled sweetly. "I didn't know what address to give for you, so I just wrote down Judith's. I hope that's okay."
"Caroline, please… we need to talk about this!"
"I don't have anything to say. Not tonight, at least. Just go, John. Sleep yourself out of this drunken stupor, and maybe, maybe, if you can stay sober for more than ten minutes, we'll talk about it. The choice is yours." Feeling that she had wasted more than enough precious time this evening, she gave her soon-to-be-ex-husband one last pointed look before exiting the kitchen and going through to the dining room where Scrabble had apparently been forgotten about as Laurence stretched out across the sofa, and Kate read through his homework, Match of the Day on the television.
Kate looked up as Caroline entered, offering a tentative smile as she rose to her feet. "Are you okay?" she said gently, brown eyes filled with concern.
"I'm fine," Caroline replied with a smile. "All the better for seeing you two." Behind her, she heard John stagger down the hallway, a second later the front door shut loudly. "Not in the mood for Scrabble, then?"
"Nah," Laurence said from the sofa. "Kate said she'd look over my homework for me to make sure it was okay." Lifting his head up from the cushion, he glanced over at the brunette. "Was it?"
"It was good," Kate assured kindly. "You're really mastering your English, aren't you?"
"Eh," came the reply as Laurence became absorbed in the television once more. "I guess."
"We won't hear a peep out of him for the next hour," Caroline said with a fond shake of the head. "Shall we go upstairs?"
Kate's eyes widened slightly as she nodded quickly. "Yeah… sounds good."
"Good." Caroline turned back to her youngest son. "Laurence?"
"Mmm…"
"Laurence! Make sure you get yourself up to bed when this is over, all right? I'll be down to check!"
"Okay."
Realising that such a reply was all she could expect, Caroline nodded to no one in particular before taking Kate's hand and leading her upstairs. Closing her bedroom door behind them both, she walked over to the bed and sat on the edge of it before dispelling a loud sigh.
Kate regarded the blonde silently for a few seconds before approaching, kneeling down directly in front of her girlfriend and staring up into the face that stole her breath away. "Now, honestly," she said, eyes probing, "are you okay?"
"Yes. No… oh, I don't know," Caroline replied heavily. "I mean, I'm okay, of course I am, but… Christ, that man's a fucking idiot."
"I won't disagree with you there," Kate said with a soft smile. "Do you want to talk about it? Get it off your chest?"
Caroline thought for a couple of seconds before shaking her head. "Not really. Not right now. He's already taken up far too much of our time this evening. I just want to be with you and forget about everything else."
Kate straightened up and smiled. "I'm sure we can manage that." Standing up, she reached for Caroline's hand and pulled. Brown eyes closing of their own accord, she tilted her head slightly and placed a feather light kiss upon her lover's lips, sighing with pleasure as she did so. Moving back, she reached for the overnight bag she had stowed up in the bedroom just before dinner and retrieved a white nightshirt. Not knowing if Caroline was still in the mood for anything other than cuddles, she didn't want to insinuate otherwise, especially as she would have been more than content to simply lay in the blonde's arms until morning.
Caroline's eyebrows furrowed as she stared at the nightshirt before dragging her gaze up to Kate. "What is that for?"
The brunette grinned. "It's a nightshirt. As in, a shirt to wear at night. You know, pyjamas?!"
"Oh, ha ha," Caroline said, marvelling at how Kate could change her mood completely with such little effort. "Hilarious."
"I thought so."
"You can wear that later, but not right now."
"And why not?!"
"Because…" Caroline took a deep breath and bit her lip as she feasted her gaze on the woman in front of her. "Because I want you." Grabbing hold of Kate's hips, she tugged hard. "Because I've wanted you forever."
Finding her throat suddenly completely dry, Kate tried to clear her throat. About to say something else, her attempt was suddenly thwarted as she found herself melting under another searing kiss, any words about to be spoken dying on her tongue as she gave herself in completely to the need zinging around her body. Every nerve seemed to hum in excited anticipation as she was led backwards to the bed, the back of her knees hitting the mattress and causing her to fall back, a surprised squeak piercing the air as her head hit the quilt. She gasped lungfuls of oxygen, her black hair splayed around her head in an alternative halo as she stared up at Caroline through brown eyes that seemed molten with desire.
Caroline stared right back, want and need controlling her every move as her heart pounded like a thousand drums, before she descended upon her lover and kissed her passionately. Despite all that had happened, all of the drama, she had a very strong feeling that tonight was going to be a very good night, indeed.