Life Goes On 2
Chapter 36
The months between Kate's election and the assumption of her office were crammed full, made even more complicated by the holidays. For the first time, the Castles joined the Kasparov clan for Thanksgiving. Sarah and Timothy presided over a huge table, seating a crowd, including all of Sergei's siblings, Tatiana, Svetlana, Bob, George and Tom. Bob and Tom sat together, near the vegetarian items they had brought for themselves and to share. The menu had been slightly adjusted to accommodate the twins as well, with a stuffing crafted of rice instead of bread, and gluten free biscuits. Timothy said grace, in English and Russian, then Sarah prompted everyone present, with the exception of Bernard, to share something that they were grateful for, starting with her own prayer of thanks for her family.
Reese and Jake were grateful for choo choo trains and race cars, respectively. Kate was glad the election was over, and Castle that the inspection of the house in Albany had revealed no major pitfalls and that someone else would carve the turkey that year. Tantiana and Svetlana both announced new jobs. Bob and Tom were in the process of getting a vegetarian food truck up and running. George had secured a promotion. Sergei was pleased that a new lab supervisor was working out. Alexis shared her relief that with the safety renovations in place for Bernard at RCI, things were running smoothly. Everyone expected Lily to say something about music, but she just expressed her gratitude that her grandfather no longer needed a cane.
The dinner stretched into the late afternoon, with Bernard becoming droopy and the twins cranky. When the Castles returned home, Lily retreated to her room and the boys grudgingly agreed to a nap, provided Daddy read a Thanksgiving story with them, out their early reader. Finally Kate and Rick settled on the couch together with red wine, and pumpkin pie Sarah had sent home with them. Kate snuggled against Castle's side. "I'm so glad you were wiling to forgo tradition this year, Babe. It was great to see someone else doing all the work for a change. There's so much we have to get done in the next couple of months, I admit I'm feeling overwhelmed."
Castle's mouth dropped open, while the corners of his eyes crinkled merrily. "Kate Beckett overwhelmed? I will note this date on the calendar for posterity!"
"Seriously, Castle, we have a thirty day closing on the house in Albany. That puts it not long before Christmas. How are we going to have everything ready before I take office in January? It's not like we can just run up there. We don't even have any furniture for the house. Maybe I should just stay in a motel when I have to be there, at least until we can get everything set up."
"I think I may have it covered," Castle said, "That is, if you liked what was in the house when we saw it."
"It was beautiful, Castle. But don't the owners want to take their stuff with them wherever they're going?"
"That's just it, Kate. I've been talking to Howlands. They don't, at least not most of it. They've decided to retire to Belize. A great choice, really. Fun fact, it's cheap to live down there and they speak English. But to ship their stuff would cost a fortune. Plus, they're getting a much smaller place and a lot of it won't fit anyway. They were planning on auctioning most of it off, even dishes and small appliances. But they are willing to make us a deal for whatever we want to buy. That would make things easier all around. If you want, we could go up there and make a list. We don't have to take the kids. We could just charter a plane, fly to Albany as soon as we get them off to school and be back the same afternoon. We probably wouldn't even need a sitter for more than a couple of hours, if that. We could ask Sarah, or maybe even Alexis. Bernard and Reese are really starting to get close. They might enjoy a play date."
"Castle, that sounds almost too good to be true, but if we can make it work, that would be wonderful," Kate said.
Rick and Kate had to wait to make their trip. The hitch in their plan came out of the North. A polar vortex swept down from Canada and over a not yet frozen Lake Erie. Wet, lake effect snow, blanketed Albany, making air travel perilous or impossible. By the time the squalls had subsided and the roads and runways had been cleared, there was scant time before the Christmas break would begin at Latu's Trails. The upside was that with the holidays so close, there were fewer business trips and the demand for charter flights was lower. Castle was able to engage a pilot who could easily accommodate the timing he and Kate needed for the short hop to Albany and back.
The couple used their air time to pore over pictures the realtor had sent, figuring out just what they wanted, pending closer examination. When they arrived, Kate ran her hands over the upholstery on the furniture. "You know Castle, when we looked at this place, I thought it must have been staged, because the furniture is so clean. There aren't any stains from spilled food, or tread marks from toys. It looks like it was hardly used."
"That may be pretty close. Betty Howland told me that both her kids are grown. Their daughter decided to go into the foreign service and their son is a missionary, so they are both overseas. There aren't any grandchildren," Castle explained. "With just her and Buzz, they've lived mostly in the kitchen and the bedroom except when they've had guests. So I imagine that's how they've been able to keep most of the furniture so pristine."
Kate pushed her hair behind her ear in thought. "You know Babe, I never used to be able to picture myself living with children. When you insisted we take that baby home on the case where the lottery was rigged, I was pretty terrified. Even after that, I wasn't convinced I could manage being a mother. But now I can't imagine our house without kids in it, at least for more than a few hours. It's been hard making everything work, but I hate to think what our lives would be like without Lily and the boys. I'm glad you pushed for a house up here, so I could be with them as much as possible."
"My motives were not entirely unselfish," Castle confessed. "I wanted to be able to spend as much time as I could with my wife. We've tried the love at a distance thing before, and it sucked - big time."
"Castle, it's not just the kids. I want to be with you as much as possible too," Kate confided.
"So first on the list of things we are going to want to buy to our own specifications, beds for the kids and of course, our own?" Castle queried.
"Absolutely," Kate agreed.
"Good," Castle continued. "But let's go though the kitchen. I think I saw a programmable toaster in there I might want to hold onto, but we will definitely need a coffeemaker capable of producing the superior Castle blend."
"Babe, I wouldn't want any other kind."