Well, school is back in, so I should technically have more excuses not to write, but I always find that I can work better when I'm busy anyway. So, expect more frequent updates.
Morning finally came, the fickle rays of sunlight struggling to suffuse the near frozen landscape. Dudley had lain awake for hours, yet he felt surprisingly calm as the alarm blared and rattled in his ear. Rolling his shoulders in their sockets, he sat up, and disengaged the alarm.
Looking over to the other side of the bed, he whispered, "Time to wake up, K…" But she was gone, her bedsheet folded neatly. Dudley sighed, and gently lowered his feet into the warm caverns of his slippers. With the halcyon peace of a new morning wrapped around him, Dudley descended the stairs gently, carefully to skip the creaky step, so as not to wake Sarah. He quickly discovered that his efforts were in vain, as she was standing at the dining room table, pouring some breakfast cereal into her bowl. There was another place set for Dudley, but none for Kate. An unseen flurry of activity, slightly dampened by the kitchen door indicated that she was not concerned about breakfast at the time.
Glancing at the kitchen door, Dudley noticed a small Post-it note stuck to the handle. Peeling it off, Dudley read.
Dudley—
Do not disturb me. I must remain focused if I am to get everything ready in such short notice. I will get my own breakfast.
REMEMBER! BE BACK AT 4:00! It's very important.
A small picture of a frowny face emphasized her point. Looking back to the table, he searched for his own breakfast. There was only one box of cereal, and it was clear that Sarah had picked it out. It was some children's brand, covered in leprechauns and marshmallows. Dudley sighed. The only other cereal was in the kitchen, and he didn't want to disconcert Kate for something as trivial as a different kind of cereal, so he sat down to eat it.
It was as he expected, overly sugary, with not a hint of anything natural. It wasn't too bad, but it made him feel just a little sick, to not be able to know what he was eating. He washed it down with a quick glass of orange juice. Rapidly deciding that if he might be able to leave early without using up a sick day if he arrived early and worked hard, packed his bag. Sarah was slightly opposed to going to school early, but admitted that she wanted to help Kate any way she could. So, Dudley left about an hour early and dropped Sarah off at school. After that he drove to work.
Work was boring. Usually it wasn't so, but excitement for the possible success of his wife made it seem pathetic by comparison. Also, they had two more meetings, which didn't help. He was slightly behind on his workload, so once the meeting were over, he spent several mindless hours filling out forms.
He spent lunch break with a few friends, and went up to tell his boss that he would be leaving early. His boss seemed a little frustrated, but agreed that he deserved to go home an hour early.
Dudley watched the sun slowly begin to descend, barely containing how eager he was to get back home. When four finally came, he waved a quick goodbye to his coworkers, who appeared slightly confused at his sudden early departure, and hopped in his car.
He had left a bit too early, and misjudging the amount of time it would take for him to get home when he wasn't in rush hour traffic, he arrived home ten minutes early. Dudley mentally shrugged. Even if he stayed ten minutes longer, he wouldn't have accomplished anything. Parking his car in front of the curb instead of the driveway, so as not to block Kate's car, he stepped out. Kate had managed to contact the Potters during their vacation to Egypt (to relive Ginny's youth), and asked if she could borrow their car. They agreed of course, and told her where they had left the keys. This car was the one with the magical trunk capable of fitting far more than was expected in, so it was useful to catering. Additionally, when Mrs. Weasley had heard, she leant them her nice silverware, enchanted to keep all dishes at the perfect temperature, without becoming hot or cold themselves. They were excellent for preserving food.
Kate stepped onto the front porch, carrying another dish in her hands. This one looked to be an entrée, as the gleaming silver tray it was in was large enough to necessitate Kate to carry it with both arms.
"Oh, Dudley," she exclaimed. "You're early! I was just finishing up."
"Nothing for me to carry?" asked Dudley helpfully. "I can help if you need it."
"No," replied Kate. "This one is the very last dish. Sarah isn't back yet. She's still at football (Or soccer, depending on my audience) practice." Dudley laughed softly. It was Sarah's new thing. He had never been into any sports until boxing, and he didn't really ever want to be. "She should be back in the next five minutes or so. I'm glad you're here early, because now I can leave without waiting for both of you to arrive."
She carefully slipped down the steps and over to the car. She bent down into the trunk, further than the bottom of the car normally would have allowed her, and released the tray with a metallic 'clunk'. She stood up, wiping imaginary dust from her hands. "There!"
Dudley sidled around the back. The trunk seemed bigger than it was last time, even though it was magically enhanced both times. Perhaps the enchantment was to make it exactly whatever size the job necessitated. Either way, the food fit in perfectly, and the combination of odors was intoxicating. He took a deep breath, and then shook his head to clear it. No, he thought, all of this food was for Kate's party, and he couldn't eat any.
Kate laughed lightly at him. "Dudley," she said. "I've made a little bit too much and left some for you and Sarah inside. It should be enough for dinner."
"Oh," said Dudley, suddenly realizing that his stomach was beginning to twinge. "Good. Thank you," Kate laughed lightly again, like the tintinnabulation of bells.
"I'm really excited for this one. I think it's going to turn out well this time."
She glanced down at her watch and let out an exclamation of surprise. "Oh! I need to leave right now, or else I'll get caught in traffic!" She stood up on her tiptoes and gave Dudley a peck on the cheek, then darted around him and into the car. She quickly started the engine and, tires squealing, pulled out of the driveway. For a moment Dudley thought he smelled smoke from the wheels, and sincerely hoped Kate would stay out of the way of the police.
Dudley entered the house, set down his briefcase and walked up the stairs to his room. Swiftly changing into something a little more comfortable than a suit, he went back down to look for what Kate had left for dinner. His efforts were cut short, as he was summoned back to the door by a ringing doorbell. Dudley answered it to find Sarah red-faced and beaming, still in her uniform. Turning around, she gave a short wave to her transport, a van with three or four more girls in it. A kind looking middle aged woman was driving it, and seeing that Sarah would indeed be able to get into her house, she gave a quick salute and drove off.
Sarah spent the next ten minutes telling Dudley just how much fun practice had been, and how nice all of the other girls were. Dudley patted her head and told her how happy he was for her and that she should probably go take a bath now. She agreed, saying that even though it was very cold outside, running had made her very warm. She skipped up the stairs to the bathroom.
Dudley entered the kitchen, intent on discovering exactly what Kate had left behind. His only worry was that he might burn it in the microwave, seeing as it had probably cooled since she finished making it. His fears were ungrounded, as Kate had evidently also had extra magical trays. She had left them a bowl of vegetable soup each, along with several homemade breadsticks. Dudley also found a bowl of dip in the fridge, and a box of crackers in one of the cupboards, making him and Sarah a more than sufficient dinner.
They spent a quiet night together. Sarah had found another series of books to read, and was started on them, while Dudley continued with the Series of Unfortunate Events. They were, of course children's books, so he finished the first few in an hour or two each, but they were full of subtle irony, play on words, or pure ridiculous comparisons that made them worth reading. Even though it was, as the title said, a very unfortunate and unhappy series, Dudley found himself laughing out loud several times. Whenever he did Sarah would come over and ask which part he was at. When he told her why he laughed, she usually did too, remembering all of the funny parts.
Before Dudley knew it, it was time to put Sarah to bed. She frowned and crossed her arms, which Dudley knew was a sure sign that it was time for her to go to sleep. Somehow she still seemed to think that by being grumpy, she was proving herself not tired. Dudley just laughed at her cute little face and scooped her up into his arms. She laughed at first then realized she was supposed to be indignant. She crossed her arms again.
Dudley carried her up the stairs and deposited her in her bed. After a good deal of pleading, Sarah managed to convince him that she should get to stay up a half hour later, since it was a special night, and that she would only be reading, and he couldn't make her stop reading, because it was good for her brain. Dudley couldn't argue with that, and he laughingly kissed her forehead and turned out the light, but left the lamp on so that she could read.
He backed out of the room and sighed. Returning to the sitting room, he picked up his book again. He read for a paragraph or two, when slowly worries began creeping into his mind. With Sarah there, he could convince himself that he was purposely staying up with Sarah, spending some time together. However, alone in the house, he couldn't help but start worrying about Kate.
Dudley shook his head trying to dismiss his worries, but they were beginning to disconcert him. After a couple of minutes, he found himself reading the same line over and over again, and realized that he was tired, and that he was too worried about Kate's culinary future to continue reading. Sometimes he found a book calming, but now was not one of those times, especially with all of the troubles and worries that the protagonists were facing.
Setting the book down, Dudley stood up. He didn't know what he was going to distract himself with, but reading was no longer an option. He walked over to the bookshelf to see if maybe there was a different book that would be more interesting, but not at all worrying, but there were none. He walked to the window and glanced outside, curious as to if maybe Kate's car would be pulling up anytime soon. Of course, it wasn't. He walked back to the couch and sat down, staring at the blank screen of the television. He could see if there was anything on, but he had been trying to cut down on television ever since…well…about when he got out of the protection of the wizards when he was eighteen, and he didn't want it to become a habit to watch television when he was worried.
He got back up to see if he had missed any books in the bookcase. He hadn't, but he thought he saw something move outside. It could be Kate, returning home! The process started again, but quickly stopped after he remembered just how difficult it had been to get that furrow out of the carpet upstairs from the night Harry went after the last of the deatheaters. Racking his memory again, Dudley finally decided that he had no solution, and went into the kitchen to see if there was anything to do on the computer. He amused himself with Hearts and Solitaire for a little while, and eventually moved onto Freecell. He had never been much good, but he figured that he really needed a way to pass the time. It took him twelve tries to finally beat a game, and by that time, he had wasted one hour.
He was then surprised to find that Freecell kept records of wins and losses, and that right now, considering his older attempts, he had won 5 of all the games he had played. It immediately became a competition between him and the computer. His goal suddenly switched from killing time until Kate got home, to accomplishing something before she arrived; namely, winning ten percent of all the games he had played. He nearly succeeded.
His percentage was a high 9 (he entered the exact record onto his computer's calculator to determine the high part) when he heard the door quietly creak open, and some light feet creep in. Excited, Dudley leapt up, only to realize that it was only an hour from midnight, and that Kate must think that they two of them were both asleep.
Dudley trotted across the kitchen and swung open the door, and was greeted by a shriek from Kate. She nearly dropped the large stack of empty trays she was carrying. "Oh," she sighed, when she saw him. "I thought you were asleep." Her face slowly developed upward into a grin. Pushing past Dudley, she set her stack of trays on the kitchen counter.
"Well?" asked Dudley expectantly. Kate pushed past him again, the corners of her face nearly up past her nose.
"Well what?" she replied nonchalantly, though she was already nearly skipping as she exited the kitchen and began to travel back to the van. Her feigned causality was largely ruined by her gleeful face, and Dudley found her smile to be infectious.
Laughing silently, he clarified, trying to keep his face straight as he followed her back to the van. "Well, how did your catering job that you returned from just a minute ago go?" He cocked one eyebrow.
Kate stood there radiating her joy for a moment, then found it too hard to contain, and exploded. "IT WENT GREAT!" she nearly screamed, jumping around Dudley's neck and hugging him so tight he could hardly breathe.
"That's…wonderful…" he whimpered, forcing his breath through a constricted throat. "But…I'm worried…that…I…may…not…be able to…share…it with…you…if you don't…loosen…up…AACK!" He coughed heavily, and dropped down to a squatting position, hands on his knees as Kate released him.
"Oh no, Dudley, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, and I probably woke up Sarah too…" she glanced to the stairs nervously, rubbing her hands together. "It's just that, I'm, I'm…so happy!" She punctuated her exclamation with a little leap off the ground. She was like a little girl at a playground.
"So…" asked Dudley, still rubbing his throat, "How did it actually go? I want some details." He nodded at her, and she beamed, then sighed happily.
"I don't know where to begin…Everyone was so kind, and complimentary, no one made any messes, the hostess told me that I was by far the best caterer she'd ever had…Oh, and the woman with the black lab was there, except, she didn't bring her lab. Her name was Margaret, and she just started college this year. She's very kind. I think that the people I was serving that time were her real friends, not all of those old and ugly ladies at Marge's." Kate sighed again. "It was like…like having three copies of the Potters over for dinner." Kate nodded, satisfied at her analogy.
"Even James?" snickered Dudley, straightening back up. It was a mistake, as Kate swiftly slapped the back of his head.
"James is a very nice boy," reprimanded Kate. "He's just…energetic. Even he knows how to behave when the appropriate time comes. Come on though, as long as you're awake, you might as well help me unpack." Dudley followed her out of the door to the car.
That was the real start of Kate's catering business. True, she didn't get any more orders for the next three weeks, but she was happy, and she knew that it was only a matter of time. Her next order came in three weeks. Another two passed with another order in coming up. The next month yielded three, which Kate told him was extremely good for any caterer, let alone the very beginning.
Dudley knew everything was going to be alright.