Chapter 10
It was a nice evening…clear, and just warm enough to take the chill from the air. Waiting was pleasant in the outside fenced area where the sidewalk seating would be opening in another week or two. Their group began to grow when Javi and Lanie arrived, and expanded again with Jenny and Ryan getting there a few minutes later.
They bantered back and forth for a couple of minutes when Esposito asked, "Is one of us dressed funny or something? There are two women over there who keep looking this way and giggling."
Castle was accustomed to being recognized, but it hadn't happened in front of his friends at the precinct when it wasn't part of a case. He was distracted enough that he hadn't noticed before it was mentioned, and it was too late to ward it off. The two twenty-somethings were on their way over.
"Excuse me," one of them said, "Are you Richard Castle?"
"With his best book signing smile, he straightened from where he had been leaning against the fence next to Kate, and answered, "I am, and who might you be?"
"I'm Samantha, and this is Rose," the taller one said nervously.
"These are the people who allow me to work with them at the twelfth, he explained. This beautiful young woman is my daughter, and this lovely lady is Detective Kate Beckett.
"Nikki Heat?!" Samantha squealed.
"No, just Detective Beckett," Kate answered, extremely embarrassed.
Lanie and the boys looked thoroughly amused.
"We love your books," the other girl gushed.
"Could we have your autograph," Samantha asked, digging in her purse and pulling out what looked like a brand new notepad.
Without a word, Castle took the notepad, pulled the pen from his coat pocket, and wrote, 'Nice to meet you, Samantha. Enjoy your dinner.' and signed his name. Then he flipped the page and started the same note for Rose, but his phone rang.
"Excuse me, ladies," he said and answered, "Hello, Mother." He listened for a moment and told her, "That's all right. We'll wait for you," before he hung up and returned the phone to his pocket. Turning to the others, he explained, "The rehearsal with her students ran a little late. She'll be here in about five minutes."
"He finished Rose's note as she asked, almost bouncing up and down on her toes, "Mother? Was that Martha Rodgers?! Do you suppose she'd give us her autograph, too?"
"I'm sure she'd be happy to. If your party is called before she arrives, I'll ask her to stop at your table."
Behind him, Ryan leaned over to Esposito and whispered, "The man morphs a lot, doesn't he?"
"Oh, wow! Thank you!" Samantha almost squealed. "You, too?" she asked, holding the notepad out to Kate, who was not at all comfortable with the idea.
Castle nodded toward the notepad to encourage her not to disappoint them, and knowing she was blushing, Kate signed her name below his and gave the pad back to Samantha." The two young women thanked them and giggled their way back to their friends.
Castle turned back to the group. "Sorry. Part of the job," he apologized quietly.
"Does that happen a lot?" Ryan asked.
"Depends on where I am. Not as often as it used to. I'm busy at the precinct now, not…"
He shrugged and looked at Beckett, knowing his chest-signing, playboy image had been a sore subject, and hesitating to bring it up again. But, this time, she didn't seem jealous. She simply smiled, moved aside, and made space for him to lean against the fence with her, and he took his place beside her.
"This is me…not imagining things," she said softly, only for him, and was rewarded with a smile that warmed her a bit too much.
About that time, the smaller group across from them was called, and the two girls waved and smiled as they went inside.
Martha arrived shortly after that, red hair, huge designer handbag, jewelry and her Martha flair on display as she apologized her way toward the group.
The hostess, having heard mention of Richard Castle as the girls entered the restaurant, came to call them in, giving them a table at the edge of an unopened section of the restaurant where they had at least a modicum of privacy. Noticing where the girls were seated as they entered, Castle thanked the hostess for her consideration, took his mother's arm, and said, "I promised your autograph."
"Of course, Richard. Where?"
They found the girls, and Martha wrote 'To Samantha. Martha Rodgers' and the same, but to Rose, then another to Samantha's father, who Samantha proclaimed was a huge fan…'To Jacob. Your daughter is lovely.' And she signed her name.
"Nice to meet you, darlings," she said as she left.
"Maybe that will be it for the evening?" she whispered on the way back to the table.
"I hope so," he whispered back.
"So, now you get to sit down and order?" Lanie asked.
"Yeah. What can I say? It sells books."
"And tickets," Martha added.
"Kate, have you been in this before?" Jenny asked.
"Castle signing things, a couple of times…me signing anything, never. That was embarrassing."
"Part of the deal," Rick said softly in Kate's direction, knowing she'd understand what he was saying.
"You get used to it after a while," Alexis told Kate sympathetically. "People point and stare sometimes. Most of them are thoughtful about their timing, but now and then somebody will stop Dad or Grams as the fork is halfway to the mouth. He's right, though. It's better than it used to be."
"Well, what's on the menu?" Martha asked, bringing everybody back to being their normal selves.
Lanie had, indeed, seated herself next to Martha, and as Kate had predicted, they got along well, laughing and talking through the entire meal. Now and then they were seen whispering together, looking conspiratorial, causing Rick and Kate some concern. For a little while, Martha regaled the group with stories about Rick as a child, some embarrassing, but all true at this telling. The boys were laughing, tucking away blackmail possibilities in their minds, and teasing him mercilessly.
"You're laughing now, but next time we're inviting your mothers," Castle threatened.
The women laughed and encouraged Castle to do it, and the boys groaned and protested. They all enjoyed the evening and the meal, and they left feeling like an extended family was being formed.
On the way back to their cars, Jenny observed, "We just had dinner with celebrities, didn't we? But he came to our wedding as our friend, Rick. He doesn't act like a celebrity."
"I think he likes being with people who don't treat him like one," Lanie answered.
The two couples said goodnight, parted ways, and went home.
In spite of Kate's protests, knowing Martha would be with them later, Rick had called for a car to pick them up, and had called the driver to meet them a few minutes before they left the restaurant. When they reached Kate's building, the driver pulled into a parking space, and Castle's family all thanked her for dinner. Castle told Martha and Alexis that he would be right back and walked Kate into her building. At the elevator, she tried to send him back, saying there was no need to keep his family waiting; but he wasn't quite ready to leave.
Kate had traded shifts with another detective who had a wedding to attend over the weekend, so she had Friday off. Neither she nor Castle needed to be at the precinct the next day.
"Will you come by the loft tomorrow morning?" Castle asked. "I have something I need to show you."
She saw the serious look in his eyes and knew that, whatever it was, it was important to him. "I'll call before I leave my place," she agreed.
"Thank you for tonight. Good food. Good company. I… Thank you."
"My pleasure."
He held her shoulders, kissed her on the cheek, and left, turning to remind her, "Tomorrow morning. Call me."
She smiled and promised; and that night she went to bed still having difficulty keeping her smile contained.