Charlie IV

Chapter 27

It is Christmas 1999

"Rick..." Kate tried again to explain that Santa didn't exist.

Rick was finishing putting up the last of the Christmas decorations he'd bought. "I'm not listening. …La, la, la. Can't hear a word you say." He ignored her while he stepped back and looked over his work.

"You said you loved him, Katie. So you get to love that he believes in Santa even if you don't." Jo wasn't really listening to her either. Besides, watching her daughter trying to talk Rick into not believing in Santa was fun. An unstoppable force was meeting an immovable object. Truth be told her money was on Rick.

Instead Kate sat down, crossed her arms across her chest, and sulked. Her future husband was being difficult.

"DAD!" Jim walked into the room after taking Charlie outside so he could do his business. Picked it up and threw it in the trash can outside. Even in a bag the smell tended to escape so it went in the trash can.

"Leave me out of this." Jim took his cue from his wife who was silently shaking her head. So Kate went back to sulking.

[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]

Technically it wasn't actually Christmas Day just yet. That was still two weeks away but Rick had plans to celebrate Christmas for the entire two weeks. He was going to break through that anti-Santa wall Kate had up or his name wasn't Richard Rodgers. Aka, Richard Castle.

"Finally!" Kate announced as she finished her homework at the dining room table and stepped into the living room where Rick was sitting with his laptop in his lap. She knew her mother was in the kitchen and Jim had Charlie out for a walk in the cold.

They had officially lived in this house for a year. Actually that date had happened earlier but it was one whole year. Plus those three months in the rental house.

"KATE!" Rick waved her over and she sat down next to him. "We got something," he announced and opened the email they had been expecting.

"Beach Retreat and Lodge." Rick opened the email and read really fast. "We've been approved! September 2, 2000 at 9:00pm. The Beachfront Tent. White tent for outdoor wedding receptions. We get married on the beach itself and have the reception in the tent. Of course if it's raining the wedding will have to be in the tent." He couldn't do anything about that.

"YES!" Kate grabbed his head and kissed him. "What else does it say?"

"Wedding brunch is an additional $37 per person. The menu's attached. Let's see." Rick opened it for them both to read.

"Frittatta Florentine with Mushrooms and Ricotta. Applewood Smoked Bacon, Chicken Apple Sausage, Buttermilk Pancakes with Blueberry Compote, Roasted Red Potatoes with Bell Pepper and Onion, Fruit and Pasty display. Bar package is an additional fee, Scrambled eggs is $3 extra, Bagels and Creme Cheese is $3, Yogurt and Berry Parfait is $4, Mimosa bar is $9 and Bloody Mary is $12. I'm going to need at least 3 of those for Mother," Rick commented.

"And we've been assigned a wedding planner. Emilia Remmington with her email address and phone number. Now for the bad part. Final payment is due March 1, 2000. We owe them $9,200 based on the guest list number we selected," he told her.

"Ouch! Can we afford it? We still have to fly there, get a hotel room, rent a car. And I have to find a dress and buy you a ring. You need vacation time from work. The second we get back I start fall classes at Jones." This was going to be tight but they already knew that.

"I have the money for what we still owe. As for the rest including your dress? Better hope my new book makes it on the best seller list or the answer might be no. Any trips we make with the RV are going to have to be weekend trips and maybe no eating out when we go. Let alone eat out here. September is still a long ways away though."

"I could try and get a summer job somewhere doing something," Kate offered. "I did it in LA, I can hopefully do it here. MOM!" She was ready to share with her mother.

[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]

Kate was sitting with her mother surrounded by Christmas. Yes, they had someone helping them plan their wedding. But she couldn't help them decide who to send invitations to for the wedding.

Sadly Kate was learning she just didn't know that many people. Even her cousins didn't live anywhere near Laurel, Mississippi or South Lake Tahoe. Pretty much everyone, including them, was going to have to fly into Reno and make their way to the wedding site. Then they needed to figure out what hotel to stay in and for how long.

Thankfully their wedding planner had a lot of answers. Emilia had done this before and knew precisely what they were going through. She just needed names and addresses for the invitations and then she'd take care of everything else. All Kate had to do was to choose the invitations and decide on the wording. What the color scheme was going to be. What photographer to hire. What if any music they wanted, be it live or recorded. What size of cake based on wedding invitations and what the cake would look like as well as flavor options.

There was even going to be a wedding guest book for everyone to sign. Did they want help arranging any handouts to people attending the wedding? The options were unlimited.

"We could hand out my latest book that Richard Castle signed. I just need to figure out if I can get Black Pawn to ship them to me, hopefully free of charge. I don't want to buy my own book."

[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]

They soon learned that hotel rooms at the hotel for the wedding were $115 a night and not everyone was going to be able to afford that. Thankfully just across the road were a number of hotels that had rooms at $40 a night. They needed this information to go out with the invitations to help them plan where to stay and how to reach that hotel from Reno.

"Babe, what do we do with Charlie? He can't fly with us. Don't they put dogs in the cargo hold? I'm not doing that to him." Kate looked at him lying on the floor watching the two of them now that he'd heard his name.

"A kennel somewhere is the best I can come up with. Jim and Emily might be willing but we're inviting them to the wedding. Everyone else is a stranger. I can't think of anything else. It should only be a day or two at best," Rick said since it really was all he had.

"We can come back the next day and free Charlie from his cage and bring him home and take him into work with as usual," Johanna volunteered.

[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]

"Thank you, Babe." Kate leaned to one side and kissed him in front of her parents as she had gotten use to doing. She was in love and not ashamed of it or worried that someone might think he was too old for her. She was 20 years old now, so no longer a teenager.

"Did Santa leave you something in your stocking?" Rick asked her.

"No." He couldn't leave her anything when he didn't exist in the first place.

"How do you know if you don't look?" Rick countered and this time he glared at her. He was learning to glare from her and her mother.

"Fine!" Kate grumbled and got up and checked her stocking. She actually did find something. Kate pulled it out and found fuzzy Christmas socks. She did like walking around the house barefoot but during winter she wore fuzzy socks, just like the ones she was wearing now. These, however, had a Christmas theme.

Kate sat down next to him and kissed him. "Thanks, Babe."

"I had nothing to do with it. I never touched your stocking. Santa left them," Rick insisted.

"Right." Kate didn't believe him for a second but it was still sweet of him.

[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]

Kate woke up in an empty bed this morning and she hated it. It happened so she put up with it. Today and tonight was going to be a momentous time. Tomorrow would be the year 2000 and their wedding was getting closer and closer. Their wedding plans were actually coming along nicely given that they had help.

Kate didn't have a class today or tomorrow and she had no homework left to do. Entering the kitchen she saw her mother making breakfast and could hear Charlie barking outside which told her that her dad was out exercising Charlie. She also spotted Rick sitting at the breakfast table with a cup of coffee.

"Hi, Babe." Kate kissed his head and retreated to get her own cup of coffee. But something was off. "What's wrong with him?" Kate asked her mother quietly.

"He found out Mississippi doesn't sell fireworks for private use so he can't shoot fireworks at New Years," Jo explained and kept cooking.

"Is that all?" It wasn't the end of the world for her. "It's just fireworks, Babe."

"It's not just the fireworks. It's the celebration of a New Year. I can finally afford to celebrate it and I can't in Mississippi. Stupid state." Rick left his coffee and stomped outside to join Charlie and Jim. He'd be cold since he didn't have a coat on.

Jo stopped Kate from going after him. "Give him some space, Katie. He's still the man you love but he's being a little sensitive at the moment. He left you alone when you started crying for no reason that he could figure out. He'll be fine. Besides your dad's out there."

Kate didn't go outside but she did stand in the breakfast room and watched him, her dad, and Charlie till they all came back inside. That was when she intercepted him, wrapped her arms around him, and just held him. She leaned her head against his shoulder. "Maybe Laurel has a fireworks show."

Jim spoke up. "There is one, actually. There are banners about a celebration all over town. The ball is at the First National Bank with some fireworks and music. It's free, no tickets are required. I go get lunch for us all the time so I see them on every trip."

[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]

Jim drove all of them including Charlie and found half the town downtown celebrating. Food that could be furnished and sparklers were all that was for sale so Rick bought everyone a batch to wave around when the time came.

The street was closed and there was a kids' bouncy castle filled with balls and a sumo wresting suit you could put on and challenge another in.

"I feel stupid in this thing!" Kate didn't know how she let Rick talk her into this.

"Prepare to go down, Kate!" Rick was going to hit her so hard it knocked her head off.

[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]

Kate was glaring at Rick after that. He hadn't even tried to take prisoners or even try to take it easy on her. If she wasn't so heavily padded he would have broken something.

"That was a blast! Thanks!" Rick gave her a quick kiss and looked for what was next.

"CHARLIE!" a voice called out and Jim who had Charlie found him straining to reach the person who called his name. "Charlie!" Emily got down on her knees to pet him, hug him, and kiss his head. "Are you guys having fun?"

"Isn't it great!?" Jim yelled since he was having a blast. He loved small town Laurel with a vengeance. "You guys had the chili taste test? Some of the best chili in town is supposed to be there."

"Let's go!" Rick was ready.

"Here, take Charlie." Jim handed over the leash to Kate and went with Jim and Rick to taste test homemade chili.

"Dad likes chili?" Kate asked her mother who simply grinned.

"Jim loves food period. Now I'm going to have to make him my homemade chili tomorrow," Emily moaned. Then she laughed. She was sure that even if hers wasn't the best he would tell her it was and eat all of it.

"This must be Helen!" Jo saw Emily was carrying something that turned into someone.

Now it was Johanna, Kate, and even Charlie who was sticking his nose in to find out who this was.

"We're not sure how she is going to handle fireworks so we might have to leave early." Emily let them gush over her little girl.

"I don't think Charlie knows fireworks, either," Kate said and played with Helen's little hand.

"You want to see Charlie?" Emily kept Helen exposed just enough for his nose to reach her. Thankfully Helen didn't seem to care one way or another. "Uh-oh." Emily suddenly became aware that she had a problem. "Jim has the diaper bag."

"Chili here we come." Kate walked with Charlie who was interested in everyone.

Once they reach the Chili tasting area they didn't immediately spot either Rick or Jim. However, Charlie saw someone he wanted to see so he pulled Kate over to her.

"Charlie!" She leaned down to pet him. "I'm Joelle and I'm a nurse at the hospital. I usually get to walk Charlie around visiting patients. I was skeptical at first but Charlie works magic." She kept petting Charlie who was eating it up.

"So where's Rick?" It was just girls and no men.

"My fiancé is around here somewhere eating chili," Kate told her since she loved calling him that to people. Especially to women who might be single. Her man was spoken for.

"Fiancé? That must be new. Congratulations. So when and have you decided where yet?" She was interested.

"September 2nd at Lake Tahoe. Sadly we're not going to make Charlie fly so he goes into a kennel."

"Really? I'll talk to Rick about that next time I see him. Lake Tahoe, is that Reno?" She was trying to think of where to fly into.

"Yes, we'll all be flying there and renting cars to reach the hotel that's on a beach. The wedding will be on a beach if it doesn't rain."

"You should send invitations to the hospital staff if you have room," Joelle suggested. You never know how many will come. Charlie is well-loved and Lake Tahoe sounds like a very interesting place to visit."

"Rick said something about casinos, I think. He's constantly trying to talk me into throwing money away in those places," Kate complained. "But I'll do that. We can hold 200 but will never reach that number." Kate was thinking making them open but not with individual names. Just the hospital name. She just needed to figure out how many to send. Brunch was costing them $37 a person and that could add up fast.

Joelle gave Charlie one last pet, said goodbye, and walked away.

Not too much later they were all counting down as they watched the ball fall and then the fireworks and music started over loud speakers. Kate took a quick peek at Charlie who just stood there and didn't seem to care one way or the other.

[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]

Fall Semester was over and Kate only had one B which was in Psychology of Personal Adjustment. In all her other classes she got A's.

Kate was home and came upon her mother sitting in the living room with Rick's laptop in her lap. So she sat down next to her. "My Spring Semester classes." She handed her the paper. She didn't know the exact schedule yet but she would.

"Let's see. English Composition II. Rick helped you with that class last semester so he can help you again. General Biology II, General Chemistry I, Trigonometry, Humanities, Social Science or Fine Arts. You get a choice. Got any idea which one yet?" Jo handed it back.

"No, not really, though I'm thinking Fine Arts." Kate wasn't sure yet but she was leaning that way.

"Fine Arts, huh? Painting, sculpture, drawing naked women or naked men. Might be fun." Jo's eyes sparkled as she teased Katie.

"Just for that I'll take Social Sciences." Kate got up and left her mother and then went into the kitchen. She could see a naked future husband whenever she wanted. In fact she saw him every night given that she had gotten her way and Rick slept in her bed now. His clothes were all still in his room but he didn't sleep in that room anymore.

"You could talk Rick into being a model for your class," Jo said slyly.

"NO!" She didn't share with anyone. The only one seeing Rick naked was her. EVER!

[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]

Kate was home from school and Rick wasn't yet. It was just one of those days.

"A letter from Black Pawn!" Kate snatched it off the table and ripped it open. She would apologize to Rick later. It just had to be good news.

She unfolded the letter and a check fell out. "WOW! ...YES!" It was another nice check. Just like the first one he'd gotten that he had bought a truck with and had money left over.

Dear Mr. Rodgers,

We are pleased to inform you that over Christmas and New Years your latest book has been on the New York Times Best Sellers list for two weeks. Enclosed is a check that conforms with the terms of our contract. We anticipate additional sales to come.

Best Regards,

Henry Wallace

"YES!" Kate was ready to celebrate.

"MOM!" Their Explorer was here so they should be as well. Not really sure why but it looked like they were. "Where's Charlie? I want my greeting." Kate headed to the kitchen and saw all of them out back. Her parents were the only ones wearing coats.

It was fun watching her mother throw the tennis ball for Charlie. Correction, her parents were playing keep away with Charlie. They were throwing it to each other or bouncing it to each other and getting Charlie to chase between them. Until Charlie got it and played keep away himself.

Kate left them and went upstairs to wash up and change clothes. She was getting closer and closer to being a married woman. However, as she changed clothes she was starting to question if they should stay here or find their own place. Married and living with her parents. It was just it would save them money.

She knew that her classes at Jones wouldn't get her a veterinary certificate or a job as a vet. For that she needed a veterinary school and in Mississippi that meant Mississippi State, though there were at least 50 colleges in the US that she could attend. Practically one in every state.

[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]

Jim and Johanna watched Charlie go nuts and run barking to the door telling them someone he loved was here. A moment later Kate walked in and was forced, though willingly, to pet, hug, and kiss Charlie.

"How was school?" Jo inquired.

"Normal mostly except for Trigonometry. I'm learning to hate math, I think, though maybe it's just my teacher or the jackass in that class." Kate hadn't really decided yet. It was still early.

"Rick told me he used that check to pay for our wedding. Well the venue, that is. Till we know how many people are coming we don't know how many brunches to purchase for everyone. We're also working on who to send invitations to. The more we send the more it will cost and I haven't even started looking for a dress yet." Kate was happy to have the help but there was still so much to think about.