Caroline and Kate arrived at the restaurant before the others and headed into the cloakroom to divest themselves of their coats. Caroline took the opportunity to steal a prolonged kiss. As they stood together in a dark corner at the back, Caroline lingered in Kate's embrace, enjoying being as close to her as the baby bump would allow.
"The things you put up with for my family, Kate. I don't deserve you," she whispered as she kissed her again. "I promise Mum will be very entertaining tonight with Auntie Muriel here. Actually, Mum should be on her best behavior since we're in a restaurant, but Muriel will grill you until she knows the color of your toothbrush and which side of the bed you sleep on. Give me the sign when you've had enough and I'll make our excuses."
"I'll be fine. Celia's been so good lately I just want to make her feel supported tonight," said Kate as she stroked Caroline's hair and helped herself to another kiss. "I'm very curious about how drunk Gillian may get. I don't think I've seen her yet without a glass of wine in her hand."
"I suspect she'll be on her best behavior too. I think she's a little terrified of Mum at times," Caroline said as leaned in for one last kiss.
Muriel walked in to hang up her coat and caught them mid-kiss.
"Caroline? Is that you?"
"Hi Aunt Muriel. It's good to see you," Caroline began, embarrassed to be caught out by her. She raised a freckled hand and wiped at her lipstick, trying to fix any smear that might have happened before saying, "I'd like to introduce you to my fiancé, Kate."
A dumbfounded Muriel extended her hand to Kate while looking at Caroline with her mouth opened.
"It's…it's good to meet you. Kate was it? I'm sorry, Caroline, I had no idea." Caroline stepped up to pull Muriel into a hug to help break the ice.
Celia and Gillian arrived just at that moment. "Hi Muriel. I see you've met our Kate," she said with mischief in her eyes. She stepped over and wrapped Kate in a warm and reassuring hug. Even Celia felt a little bad for what she knew Kate was likely to endure under Muriel's microscope.
"I'm sure Mum didn't fill you in the other week when she was over," Caroline responded before Muriel had a chance to speak.
"I asked if you were seeing anyone since your marriage ended but all I got was a…" Muriel didn't finish the statement but laughed at the memory of it, now realizing how cleverly Celia ducked the subject.
"I figured it wasn't my news to share," Celia explained. "Come on ladies, let's get to the table. I think we could all use a drink. Kate, I bet you wish you could have one too right about now." Celia squeezed Kate's hand for good measure as she led them to the hostess to be seated.
They got settled in at the table and assigned Caroline the job of perusing the wine list and ordering for them all. Caroline picked one of her favorite California cabernets and ordered a large bottle of Pellegrino for Kate before Muriel had a chance to ask her first question of Kate. And then it began.
"So what do you do Kate?" Muriel proceeded to shamelessly quiz Kate about everything she could, from where she went to school right down to her due date, as Celia rolled her eyes and took lots of deep breaths. She wanted to be the center of attention but didn't want to cause a scene by snapping at Muriel to get her to stop. Eventually, Gillian noticed Celia's discomfort and wrenched control of the conversation from Muriel by talking about the little bungalow that slipped away.
A little later, in the ladies' restroom, Caroline apologized to Kate for Muriel's behavior and thanked Gillian for coming to her rescue. "It's fine, Caroline. I kinda like her. At least she's direct and doesn't seem to be judgmental—just curious. She's so different from Celia, isn't she?"
"Oh Mum is definitely one of a kind," Caroline joked back and the three of them proceeded to debate who was more entertaining, Muriel or Celia. Celia won unanimously.
"You've been pretty quiet tonight Gillian, what's up?"
"It just dawned on me that I'll be stag at the wedding. You'll be there with Kate, Harry's thrilled Muriel will be there, and even Robbie will be there with his girlfriend. And me, I'll have no one to dance with."
"Well, I'd dance with you but people might really start to talk then," Caroline joked.
"Don't mind me, I'm just feeling sorry for myself. Maybe I should look into an on-line dating site or something," she confessed. "I know in the past I've always tried to avoid relationships but maybe it's time I give it another shot. At least then maybe I'd have a date for your wedding, assuming I'll be invited."
"You're serious aren't you?" Caroline responded.
"I need to do something, or someone, to get my mind off Robbie. I'll admit I find him most attractive when he's with someone else and out of reach, which he is at the moment."
"And this Cheryl person we met today up at the farm, do you think it's serious?" Kate chimed in.
"I think so, she's moved in. But I don't know how he can stand her," she remarked, checking her watch. "We'd better get back and see how they're getting on. Celia could probably use some reinforcements."
Kate looked at Gillian in the mirror and said, "You know, if you're just looking for a casual fling we could always introduce you to Michael Dobson."
Caroline shot her a look to kill. "No way! After John, Michael Bloody Dobson is the last person I want to see at our wedding."
"Relax Caroline, I was just trying to wind you up."
"Not so fast girls," Gillian said as she loosely grabbed Kate's arm. "Tell me about him. If just the mention of his name can get Caroline to react like that he just might be my kind of guy," Gillian said as she winked at Kate.
Kate was thankful Celia wanted an early night so she'd be fresh for the wedding the next day as she was starting to flag and didn't want to be the one to end the dinner party. As she and Caroline snuggled under the covers, she said, "Just think, the next wedding we attend will be ours."
"I wish it were ours tomorrow." Caroline propped herself up on an elbow and leaned over to give Kate a kiss square on the lips as she used her other hand to trail a path up her arm and then down the middle of her chest between her breasts. She paused there trying to decide whether to dial up the contact. They hadn't been intimate since Kate's scare a fortnight before. Caroline was just as scared to risk another bleed as was Kate.
"So, how tired are you?" she asked suggestively.
"Well your daughter seems to be doing somersaults at the moment."
"Let me see what I can do about that." Caroline sat up and grabbed the tube of cocoa butter off her nightstand. She then shifted down the bed a bit to straddle Kate's legs, putting her in a position to caress the baby bump. She lifted Kate's top to fully expose her tummy and then squeezed a healthy amount of cream onto her palm. As she massaged the cream into Kate's already silky smooth skin, she talked to the baby, telling her how loved she was and how she needed to let her mummy get some rest. As she finished, the baby settled down.
"You have a way with her already," Kate said with a new-found admiration. She couldn't believe how giving and selfless Caroline had become. She loved that when they were together she felt like she finally had her full attention. "How about we get some rest so we have more energy for tomorrow night at Holdsworth House? I just hope Celia's room is as far away from ours as possible so we don't have to be too quiet."
"Ha! Good point. I'll talk to the clerk to make sure when we check in," Caroline said with a brightness to her voice. "It's going to be a long day tomorrow and I'm just sorry Mum has insisted I sit at the head table. She has you sitting with Ted." Caroline stood and reluctantly pulled Kate's top back down and pulled the covers up over her, tucking her in a bit.
She rubbed her hands together to distribute any remaining cream on them as she crawled back into the bed.
"Think she's trying to make it look like we're not a couple? How many people do you think know about us?" Kate ventured.
"Since Muriel now knows, I think everyone in my family knows. Anyway, if they don't know by now, they will do as soon as we hit the dance floor. I want every slow dance you're up for."
"Oooo. I've been so focused on the music for the wedding I didn't even think about the reception. You know, since we won't be having music or a dance floor at our reception, we could ask for something special and think of it as our wedding dance. No one would need to know but us."
"What a romantic idea. What would you like to be our song?"
"There are so many great songs I'm not even sure where to begin. How about you?"
"Hmmm. I think it's getting too late for me to think straight. Why don't we sleep on it and you can tell me what you want tomorrow." Caroline moved into the big spoon position and pulled Kate close, running her fingers over Kate's engagement ring.
Kate put her right hand over Caroline's and wove their fingers together. "In case I didn't make it clear, I can't wait to make love to you tomorrow. it's been too long. Pleasant dreams my love."
"See you in my dreams," Caroline said as she kissed the back of Kate's neck goodnight.
