Charlie IV
Chapter 26
Kate had her half – Hawaiian – while Rick had his half – all meat pizza – from Pizza Hut. They were sitting outside next to their neighbors who didn't seem to be home. Charlie was watching both of them with great care, waiting for them to either drop something or for them to break down and feed him something besides his dog food. Not that he didn't like his dog food. He did! But what they were eating had better smells, enticing smells.
"Happy?" Rick asked her.
"I'll be more happy after I finish my homework and we make love. But yes, I'm very happy. Provided I'm not burnt somewhere." Kate poked her shoulder since it felt a little hot.
Now she was watching Rick who was done eating go inside their RV. She was thinking to get something to drink or maybe something for her burnt shoulders.
Instead he came back out seemingly empty-handed and then he was down on one knee. Kate really didn't think anything about it. He maybe had a favor to ask her.
"I love you. I've loved you for a while and we're talking about being together, doing everything together. Talking about moving somewhere together." Rick was leading up to his big question.
Kate covered her mouth and stopped breathing completely. He actually was, he was going to ask her. She loved him, truly loved him, and she couldn't imagine her life with anyone else or even without him.
She watched him bring his hand out from behind his back and show her this little box. "OH GOD!" Kate felt tears starting. Her eyes were going from the box to his eyes and back again. The box itself gave her a clue. It said Diamondere on the outside. DIAMOND!
"I have your father's permission to ask you. So Katherine Houghton Beckett, if you would be so kind, would you marry me and make me a very happy man? I want to spend the rest of our lives together. Create our own future together." Rick cracked the box open to show her the ring he had bought using a lot of his money.
Kate moaned through her hand. It wasn't a diamond. She wasn't sure what it was but she liked that it was so totally different. It meant no other woman was wearing her ring.
She managed to lift her left hand and watched him remove the ring from the box and carefully slide the ring onto her finger. Now she was openly crying. "Yes!" she croaked. She had already thought about this day and what her answer was going to be. She just didn't think it would be today.
Kate got out of her chair and down on her knees. While still crying she hugged him and then kissed him with as much passion as she could manage.
"YES!" This time her voice had more conviction and she kissed him again. She loved him. She wanted to love him forever.
Rick felt his heart start beating again. Did he really think she would say no? Not really, but she might say something like, "I'm not ready yet." But she hadn't. She had said YES!
Kate was still on her knees in front of him and didn't notice Charlie sticking his nose in to find out why she was crying. It was a sound he didn't like. She should be happy, not crying.
Kate pulled her hand back to look at her ring. It really was different.
"They're citrines. A November birthstone is either topaz or citrine. Your ring has seventeen citrines for a total of 8.67 carats set in 14 carat white gold," Rick said to her. "There aren't many of these out there."
"I love it. It's so different. I don't want every other woman's ring. I love you!" Kate kissed him again.
"See, Charlie? He asked to marry me." Kate showed it to Charlie and then petted him with her left hand that had a ring on it that was never coming off.
"You asked my dad?" Had she heard him correctly?
Rick nodded. "Call me old fashioned but if he's going to walk you down the aisle one day he should know who he was giving you to."
"And Dad said yes." Kate kissed him again. "I suppose now I have to buy you a ring," she teased.
"I need my ball and chain," Rick joked with her.
"RICK!" Kate took exception to him implying that he was going to be attached to a ball and chain that she was going to put on him because she married him. Instead of saying anything he kissed her.
[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]
"Still happy?" They were back to sitting outside and still didn't see their neighbors.
"Yes!" Kate looked at her ring again. "Birthstones, huh?" She could honestly say she didn't even know what her birthstone was. "So what's your birthstone?" If she had hers maybe he should have his. She wanted better for him than just some plain gold ring like her dad had.
"April is diamond."
"Of course." That meant she had to spend money on a diamond for him. That sounded like a challenge. But she would succeed. She didn't have a choice.
[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]
Back inside with the A/C running actually felt better and she was sitting at the table working on her homework while Rick was reclining in half of the loveseat watching TV. Thankfully he had the volume turned way down low so she didn't hear it much.
"DONE!" Kate relaxed. She had rushed because she had a reward at the end and she wanted it...right now! She got up, walked over to him, and held out her arms. "Up, Babe. I want my future husband to make love to me because I love him and want to be married to him." Kate took his hands and pulled him with her into the bedroom and started stripping him.
[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]
Kate was still all smiles as she navigated Rick back onto the Interstate so they could make it home. All the while she kept reaching to pet Charlie who was standing on the back seat and had his head between them, watching where they were going.
"You're staring at me," Rick murmured while he drove them home.
"I love you and I'm going to marry you, so shoot me." Kate kept smiling. "On second thought, don't shoot me. I can't marry you if you shoot me. Of course if you murdered me I wouldn't want to marry you because you killed me." She walked all that back.
"How did I get on this topic about you killing me?" Kate couldn't figure that out.
Rick went back to where it all started. "You love me."
"Damn straight." Kate smiled happily as she watched and petted Charlie since they were on the Interstate being passed by literally everyone. They were towing a trailer so DUH!
[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]
It was dark when Rick pulled up out front of the house still towing the RV. He was thinking of leaving it right there for the night till he remembered he had to go into work early in the morning. He heaved a sigh. That meant taking it to storage tonight.
Kate hopped out, let Charlie jump out, and she raced to the front door with Charlie right next to her. He thought Kate was playing with him. Right up till they reached the front door. Kate unlocked it, went inside, and saw both of her parents in the living room watching TV.
"MOM!" Kate ran to her and held up her left hand to show her the new ring on her finger. "He proposed, Mom, he actually proposed!" Kate needed to share her joy with her parents, especially her mother.
Jo took her hand and looked the ring over. "They're birthstones for November. They're called citrines with white gold. Seventeen of them." Kate really loved her unique ring. She was betting she would never see another one like it on any woman anywhere.
"So he proposed." Jim was happy for her.
"You knew!" Kate turned on her dad and stared at him.
"Jim?" Jo didn't understand how her husband would know and she didn't.
"Rick asked me for my permission to marry our daughter. I didn't know they did things like that any more. I remember being so scared when I asked your father if I could marry you," Jim confided.
"You asked my father?" Johanna stared at him. She was learning something new even after all these years.
Then Rick walked in and saw a very happy Kate. Jim got up and shook his hand and then hugged him. "I see she said yes."
Rick nodded. "I was a little worried about that, I'll admit."
"BABE!" Of course she was going to say yes. He didn't really think she was going to say no, did he?
"We need to empty the refrigerator and take the trailer to storage tonight. I have to go to work in the morning, you have classes, and these two need to open their office and take Charlie with them." They still had work to do before going to bed.
[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]
Kate went with him since he needed to back it up into their storage space. "One and done, Babe!" It only took him one try to park it.
Rick disconnected it from the truck and made sure it was secure and leveled. He checked the refrigerator and freezer again and reassured himself that they were indeed empty. Finally he drove home.
"So when do we get married?" Kate asked him since she was ready to be his wife.
"Weekend flight to Vegas?" Rick teased her.
Kate put her foot down. "We are not getting married in Vegas!"
"That's fine with me. After fall classes comes spring classes so no sooner than spring break," he said. "But I don't have any vacation time so not till next summer."
"A summer wedding outside would be nice. Provided it doesn't rain on us." Kate liked the idea of summer outside. "Any idea where?"
"That's a good question but we have all winter to decide that." Rick took a quick look at her.
"We do," Kate agreed.
[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]
"Where are you going?" Rick was going the wrong way as far as she was concerned.
"My bedroom so I can get some sleep and go to work in the morning," Rick answered since it looked obvious to him.
"You're almost my husband. I want you to sleep in my bed with me. My parents probably know by now that we're lovers so get in here, strip, and get into bed."
"I... Yes, ma'am." Rick closed the door, took off all his clothes, and got into her bed. He watched a naked Kate pull the covers back, exposing him and leaned down to take him into her mouth. She was going to give her soon-to-be husband his first blowjob as her fiancé .
[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]
Kate woke up and found Rick was gone. But they had slept together for the first time and it had her smiling, entirely pleased with herself. Next came a shower, getting dressed, and going downstairs to see her parents ready to leave for work and drinking a last cup of coffee.
"You look happy," Johanna mentioned as Kate entered the kitchen. "Rick's already gone."
"I know. I need to get going too so just some toast and a quick glass of orange juice. I have to turn in my homework today. MY HOMEWORK!" Kate ran out of the kitchen and upstairs. She grabbed her homework and then flew back down. Then she chugged her orange juice and took her toast. "Bye." Kate raced out to her car so she could drive to her classes that were not technically in this town.
[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]
Time passed easily. With winter coming there were no new plans for a weekend trip using the RV trailer. At the moment Rick and Kate were in town at a bar.
Rick was dressed as a Pilgrim and Kate was dressed as Pocahontas complete with a feather in her headband. They were presently holding each other tight and just barely moving since the music had suddenly turned slow.
Rick looked down at her. "Are you crying?" He was pretty sure he heard her sniffle.
"No." Kate lied through her teeth because she most certainly was.
"So why are you not crying?" Rick asked her since she wasn't crying and just sniffling.
But Kate didn't answer his question and just kept her hold on him, dancing slowly. She didn't want to talk about just how far she had come. In a coma, didn't remember why, woke up and couldn't walk because her muscles had decided they were being used so they stopped working. The man that was living with her and her parents was now her fiancé. Her dream of being a lawyer was dead, she lived in small town Mississippi, and she was taking classes to be a veterinarian.
However, these classes were just the start. She needed to find classes at a university to complete her classes and then spend at least a year with an established veterinary clinic.
Above all that she was in love. She even missed Charlie being here instead of at home answering the doorbell and listening to little kids say, "Trick or Treat?"
"Should we go home?" Rick asked her and felt her shake her head. So he just held her till the music changed and then guided her to their table and sat down.
"My book should be printed soon if it isn't already," Rick mentioned in case she didn't know. They weren't just going to make Christmas. It was looking like they might make Thanksgiving if it could be shipped fast enough. They had apparently liked what they had gotten and sent it to printing instantly.
Kate still said nothing. "Come on, we're going home." Rick got up and pulled Kate with him who came without complaint.
[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]
Rick and Kate saw kids, just not at their house.
"You two are home early," Jo commented and watched Kate shuffle into the dining room and up the stairs.
Rick sat down next to Johanna. "Something's wrong but she won't talk to me. She's been crying."
Hearing that, Johanna went upstairs to find her daughter so she could talk to her. Jo's seat was taken by Jim.
"I don't know what's going on, Jim. She hasn't been this moody since before she could walk and was stuck in a wheelchair." Rick didn't get it. "This was even her idea to go out dressed up for Halloween."
"Jo will take care of it. Just don't expect to get an answer. We're men and we don't think like they do. To us everything is more black and white. For women everything is more gray. It's why Jo's so good with people when we get a client and I'm better with companies. Fewer emotions are involved."
"You don't think it's because she's taking classes to be a vet instead of a lawyer?" Rick questioned him.
"It's probably a lot of things and that might be one of them. If she's still moody tomorrow when you come home from work then you can start worrying. Come on, I'll buy you a drink. We still have a few beers." Jim got up to go to the kitchen. Except the doorbell sounded instead so he changed course.
"Trick or Treat!" Jim handed out candy and watched them leave and go back to their parents that were way out on the sidewalk.
[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]
Jim watched his wife come out of the bathroom after washing up. "How's Katie?" Maybe he would learn what was going on.
"On top of everything that's happened she's having her period and she has cramps. She's trying to be a vet instead of a lawyer. She doesn't know why she was in a coma even though she actually wasn't. She's in love, engaged, and I think a little scared.
"She'll be fine. I made sure Charlie was in her bedroom." Johanna got into bed as Jim did and because of Katie she snuggled in close to him. Thanks to their daughter she needed her husband to hold her.
[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]
Jim signed for them even if he didn't know what they were. They all had Rick's name on them so he did it. Plus Charlie got to greet the UPS guy who delivered them.
"Any idea what they are?" Jo was up from her desk to look for herself.
"This one had DELL printed on the side and since our computers are DELL I'm guessing computer. A little small, so not like ours. A laptop maybe?" Jim suggested.
"Rick writes using a typewriter. Maybe he plans to change to a computer, but what are the others?" Those were just plain boxes that didn't give them any clues as to what they were. They were also a lot smaller.
Jim looked them over. "I'm betting he sent them here thinking a signature was required. He's at work and Katie's at her classes."
"Except he works at the UPS place. He couldn't have them delivered there. I mean he works there and UPS delivered them." Jo put the one box she had in her hand down and went back to her desk.
"Maybe it just doesn't work that way. Looks like we're taking something home with us." Jim was sure they weren't leaving all this here.
[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]
Their office was mostly quiet save for making and receiving a couple of phone calls. It was a small town. Not everyone needed a lawyer all the time. However, everything was paid for so they just had to pay the normal bills and they had made enough money to do that for a few short months. Not to say that it didn't have both of them wishing for more clients.
Then Charlie charged the front door barking till he spotted someone he loved and switched to spinning and whimpering.
"Hi, Charlie!" Kate got down on her knees to pet him, hug him, and kiss his furry head. She even held him for a while. She found having Charlie around really was a healing thing.
"How do you feel, Katie?" Jo was curious. She had been better this morning but what she ate for breakfast wouldn't even satisfy a bird.
"Better. I think it everything got to me all at once." Kate finally let go of Charlie who took off looking for his ball that had to be around here somewhere. Granted one of these two had and would throw it. But Kate was here now so she could. He just had to find the silly thing.
"And no one said one word about my new ring." Kate held up her hand to look at it again and felt her love for Rick wash across her. "Not one word." She might be happy but she was bummed.
"So what's with the DELL stuff? You getting new computers or something?" Kate was attached to the boxes at Jim's desk.
"Those are for Rick." Jim offered their combined opinion. "We think he plans to retire his typewriter."
"About time. You can hear every keystroke he makes on that thing." Kate was happy for that. Then she had an evil thought. "Now he can write his book more easily from anywhere." She was thinking literally anywhere.
"I thought he finished the book and sent it back," Jo said.
"He did, but Rick already has an idea for a new book. He says all he has right now is a bunch of notes but no real storyline. He does have a title idea. Care to guess what it is?" Kate asked them since Rick had told her what it was.
That was one more thing she loved about them. They were talking. Really talking to each other. They were even trying to whittle down the venue choices for their wedding. They were both worried that some places might have reservations almost a year in advance.
"No guesses?" Kate looked at both of them and waited a little longer. "A Rose Forever After. Just don't ask me what it's about because even I have no clue."
She played with the DELL box. "Looks like a laptop." Then Charlie showed up with his ball and Kate now had to play with him till she finally went home and took Charlie with her in her car.
[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]
Rick had a lot of eyes on him as he set it all up after plugging in his brand new Dell Latitude CPi 366XT so he could charge the battery.
"Okay, Babe, what's the rest of this stuff?" Kate was ready for answers.
"This one is a modem. It allows connection to the Internet using our phone. I'm pretty sure your parents have one just like it at work. This is a wireless router. It allows my new laptop to connect to the Internet through the modem from anywhere in the house. Right after I download the program onto the laptop to set it all up, I'm thinking I need to give it a password so no one else can use this system or steal data," Rick explained.
"Just the one laptop?" Kate crossed her arms across her chest and glared at him.
"Well yeah, I only ordered the one." Rick turned to look at her. "OH, of course you can use it when I'm not typing. I thought we could use this to help us find a wedding venue. Unless you want to get married in the backyard." Not where Rick wanted to get married he knew that for sure.
"OH!" Kate put her arms down and loved him a little more.