Charlie IV
Chapter 29
September 1, 2000
They had dropped off Charlie at Just Paws Hotel yesterday. It hurt all three of them but they didn't have a choice.
"This is Charlie?" Laurel was a small town and pretty close to everyone knew who Charlie was by now. "I might take him home with me. My little boy will love to hug him and squeeze him. We'll take very good care of him, I promise," Myra Jean Thomas told them both.
"Charlie loves everyone. What he hasn't had a lot of time with is other dogs so I can't tell you how that will go. Charlie is a people dog," Rick warned her.
"We'll be very careful," Myra Jean told them again.
[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]
"You asleep?" Rick questioned Kate since he wasn't.
"I can't sleep." Kate rolled over and partially ended up on him. She pressed her nose into him so that she could smell him. "We left Charlie behind and I'm getting married in two days." She just couldn't calm down to begin to sleep.
"Maybe if I did this." Rick let his hand roam down her body till his fingers were caressing the folds of her core.
"Maybe." Kate smiled since she always wanted to make love to him.
[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]
They all had carry-on bags as they walked from the parking lot and into the airport in Laurel, Mississippi. It was a nice white building that said Hattiesburg-Laurel Regional Airport. They were a little shocked that there was lots of parking and parking was FREE!
"Can you believe that? FREE!" Johanna was smiling as she walked toward the front door. "You gotta love small towns. You don't begin to do things like this in LA."
The only airline serving this airport was United and they used smaller regional jets. In this case a Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet. From there they flew to Houston and changed to a much bigger plane and flew from Houston to Reno.
Reaching Reno they all headed for car rental and since money was still tight for all of them they got the two smallest cars they had for the next 4 days. They each had a map to get them from Reno to their hotel. After that they were hoping for the hotel to have a better map to get around with.
They both ended up with a VW Jetta as the smallest car available.
It took them just over an hour to reach the hotel. Down Interstate 580 to Carson City and then State Route 50 that was a very pretty drive given that the lake was on one side all the way from Carson City.
"Days Inn, Budget Inn South, Beverly Lodge." Kate pointed out the much less expensive rooms that they had included with their invitations for people to use if they needed a cheap place to stay.
"There, right turn." Kate had the map as Rick was doing the driving. "Pyramid Peak Ski and Snowboard Rental. Don't think we will be needing that place. No snow," Kate said. "Left turn. And there it is. Beach Retreat and Lodge at Tahoe." It was dead ahead. It was bluish gray in color with dark gray roof and looked to be two floors tall. Rick stopped at the lobby entrance with Jim and Johanna right behind them.
They soon learned that they weren't even in the same building and on the second floor.
"We need to contact this person." Kate slid across the paper she had. "She's our wedding planner."
"There's a house phone you can use right over there. Just press zero, tell the operator who you want, and she will connect you. Welcome to the Beach Retreat and Lodge and congratulations on your upcoming wedding." She was used to seeing future brides and grooms checking in summer and winter.
[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]
"Rodgers party?" A youngish lovely woman walked their way. "I'm Emilia Remmington. It's a pleasure to finally meet you. All those phone calls and emails and it's always good to put a face to the name."
"My parents, Jim and Johanna Beckett," Kate said.
"A pleasure." Emilia shook their hands.
"My mother is arriving later and staying here as well. She's flying from New York City so she has farther to go," Rick told her.
"So you told me. There is a shuttle and a driver with her name will be waiting for her. Please follow me and I'll show you where the wedding will take place followed by the reception.
"Sadly the forecast is for scattered showers tomorrow evening. We may get lucky and then have to run for it. We can't do anything about the weather, however the tent is ready if need be. Your group is small enough."
"Sorry about that." Kate knew her group was small.
"Nonsense. You don't need 500 people to have the perfect wedding and trust me it will be perfect. I have already coordinated with everyone. Tomorrow at 9:00pm with lights, music, and a photographer. We even have a space for both of you to use to get dressed for the magic hour.
"And here we are. The chairs are all set up and you two will be right out there on the beach in front of the water." She let them all look it over. "Behind us is the tent for brunch, dancing, cake, and more photos and music. The kitchen will have everything ready starting tomorrow.
"Do you two have plans for tomorrow? We have a marina with kayaks, paddle boats, jet skis, and sail boats you can rent. Take a Lake Tahoe Cruise on the paddlewheeler MS Dixie II. That departs about 5 miles from here. We have our own beach to catch some sun or go swimming or go see Lower Eagle Falls. Heavenly Mountain Gondola Ride that is 2.4 miles long. It has an excellent view.
"We have brochures for all of this and other items at the front desk for you to enjoy your visit." Emilia was selling the area's location. This wedding was supposed to be magical.
"We're going to go house hunting," Kate told her.
"Really! Well if that works out welcome to the area." She hadn't expected that.
"We'll be doing some of that while we're here. Just not the jet ski," Johanna said.
"I'm sure you'll enjoy your stay. Use your room phone at 6:00pm, call me, and I'll come collect you. Bring your dress and tux and our rooms will take care of everything else. We have all the makeup you'll ever need and even a place to wash and dry your hair if you so desire.
"I look forward to working with you tomorrow. I'm here all day. Well until 9:00pm tonight, that is. We have a wedding tonight as well. So if you want, you can watch to see what yours will look like," she offered.
"Thank you, I might." Kate was a little interested.
"The day is all yours as is most of tomorrow. I'll see all of you at 6:00pm tomorrow night." Emilia left them to decide where they wanted to go next. She needed to make sure she was ready for the wedding tonight.
[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]
Jim and Johanna decided to tour the hotel and the beach and go looking for the restaurants this place had.
Kate and Rick retreated to their room to call someone. "Sheila Griffith? Richard Rodgers, we spoke over the phone about a house search."
"Mr. Rodgers, yes. If you're ready you can meet me at my office and we can start your search immediately. I have one I can show you today and two more tomorrow," Sheila said.
"We have the address and a map. Give us about 30 minutes," Rick told her.
"I'll be here."
[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]
"I have your emails about your wants and needs and your budget. You can come with me or follow me, it's your choice," Sheila offered.
"We'll go with you," Kate told her. Their map was small so they might not make it back.
A short time later they were at the first house. "This is 2340 Del Norte Street, South Lake Tahoe, California. Four bedrooms, 3 full bathrooms, 3,660 square feet, built in 1985. It has had just one owner. Listed at $889,999 which is just under your budget of $900,000. It's on a half acre lot full of trees as you can see and no real neighbors, forced air, three car garage. Shall we go inside?" Sheila walked them up the stairs to the front door and unlocked the box to get access to the key using her code.
They saw 4 decks just on the front alone. Three of them appeared to have green awnings that could be extended. It was all wood and some of it didn't look all that good.
"Entry is on this level. This house has three levels. It comes furnished as you see it save for a few special items. As I understand it the seller has already moved out but not everything they want to take with them has been moved yet. I'll be right here when you're done to answer your questions."
They took the first set of stairs they found, going up three steps. "Laundry room. Big laundry room!" Rick looked it over. It had cupboards galore, a sink with a counter, and a washer/dryer. Across from the washer/dryer units was another set of cupboards with a counter for folding laundry.
The next set of stairs went up 6 steps. "An office. You could write your books here, Babe." Kate thought it looked very male to her. Not to her taste.
After that were stairs that were a switch back and took them to the dining room, kitchen, and breakfast nook.
"Carpet in the dining room?" Kate questioned, thinking What happens if someone spills something? There would be an instant stain that didn't go away.
"I love the ceiling but the kitchen's on the small side. It's less than half the size of your parents' place. The range doesn't even have a hood. Really big refrigerator though. And granite countertops. TV in the dining room. ...Up or down?" There were two more sets of stairs to take.
They went up. "Living room. This is really big, Babe. Look at the size of that sectional and the TV." It was this massive box. She walked around looking at the room and everything in it.
"Hey, Kate! Look at this. It's a hanging fireplace. I think the metal chimney kind of looks like an upside down funnel. And it vents up through the ceiling. I'd have never thought of hanging a shallow metal bowl underneath it to hold the fire. The bowl's held up by three chains that go to the ceiling. That's different. Don't see that just anywhere. Wood burning, too. Look, there's another deck." Rick went outside followed by Kate. They both saw an incredible view. "I think we skipped the deck off of the kitchen." They had no choice but to backtrack.
Down was next. "Family room with a fireplace. This is nice, too. Another sectional and another big TV. Love this desk and the chair." Rick was very pleased. It was better than the office.
"The ceiling doesn't match the other ceilings. Those were wood with exposed beams," Kate pointed out. "Where does the door go?" They went to see and found themselves in what was the backyard. There was nothing back there save for pine needles, pine cones, and trees. Not even one deck, meaning all the decks were out front.
They backtracked to the main set of stairs in the dining room and they went up. "Master bedroom, bathroom and closet," Rick noted. "Complete with its own deck."
"Carpet again, four poster bed, wood ceilings again, bathroom, my kind of tub, shower, two sinks, I like the wood." Kate offered her opinion.
Back to the main stairs. "Bathroom, small bedroom, BIG bedroom. Is this the master or was that the master?" Rick wondered aloud.
"That one, the one that had a bathroom off of it. It's the master. This one has it in the hallway," Kate said.
"Good point. We missed the garages somehow," Rick told her.
"We did, didn't we," Kate agreed and that had them backtracking again till they finally found them.
"The kitchen is a long ways away, Babe, and up two sets of stairs. Lots of stairs. We'd get a workout in this house," Kate mentioned.
"What do you think?" Rick asked her before they went to find Sheila.
Kate shook her head. "Don't like the carpet in the dining room. Talk about a future stain."
"The kitchen was small but it had a huge refrigerator and this place has lots of decks with amazing views," Rick recalled.
"It does have that," she agreed. "What do you think about all the stairs?"
"Doesn't bother me any. Think about it. Noise in one room doesn't affect any of the others unless it can travel stairs," he said and Kate nodded. "It has 3 TVs and two of them are big. Two fireplaces, three car garage but I didn't see a place to park the RV." Rick saw her shake her head again since she didn't either.
"Storage, again no big deal. The backyard was fenced to hold in Charlie. I'm betting there are lots and lots of squirrels around here," Kate said with a grin and listened to Rick laugh.
"I think we keep looking in the morning before the wedding and keep this one on the list," Rick suggested and watched Kate nod her agreement. It was nice enough and under budget so they could afford to get rid of the carpet in the dining room before it was ruined. "If we get in two houses tomorrow we can go jet skiing the day after the wedding!" Rick smiled widely at her.
"It's only about 8 minutes down the hill to the lake and our hotel," Kate reminded him so it was convenient.
[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]
The following morning they met up with Sheila again.
"2367 Wagon Train Trail. 3 Bedroom, 2 full bathrooms, it's on just under a quarter of an acre, listed at way under your budget at $699,999, two car garage, built in 1991 so it's newer than the one yesterday," Sheila explained.
They were both back rather quickly. "Off the list. It was ugly, terrible kitchen..." Kate shook her head.
[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]
"2362 Marshall Trail, 3 bedrooms, 3 full bathrooms, 2,491 square feet, on a quarter of an acre, two car garage, listed just above your budget at $919,999. Built in 1986 with vaulted ceilings and a surprise room." Sheila let them inside.
"Loooove the pool room," Rick told her after they toured it and watched Kate roll her eyes.
"Kitchen was better but still ugly," Kate remarked with a shudder. "Lots of blue carpet and I hated that master bedroom. That was ugly."
"That was bad," Rick agreed. "You have to go through a bathroom to reach the sunroom with all the plants or from outside. Love the wood ceiling but sadly that was about all I liked with this house. And it costs more than the first one yesterday."
"Off the list?" Kate asked him and Rick nodded. "We're down to one. Do we offer? That carpet has to go. But you can't beat the view."
"$860,000 or $870,000 maybe. The wood on the outside looked a little suspect. We don't like what the house inspector says – that we won't be here for since we'll be back home – we don't buy it and move on," Rick said and Kate agreed.
[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]
Rick and Kate left their room at 5:30pm after making an offer for that one house. They had agreed on $870,000 even, $21,000 below list price. They were thinking the place needed work so they wanted money to fix it.
"Rodgers!" Emilia was happy to see them. She dropped off Rick in one room where Jim joined him. She took Kate and Johanna to a different room and after a phone call she added Martha to Kate and Johanna.
"Katherine!" Martha hugged her tightly. "It's wonderful to see you, darling girl." Martha turned to the older woman. "And you, my dear, you're lovely. You must be Johanna." Jo found herself being hugged as well.
Jo hadn't ever seen Martha before save that Rick had said she was thin and had very red hair but was still lovely.
"So how can I help? Oh, there's one thing." Martha produced a small box. "My mother gave me these when I got married. Only women of substance have ever worn these. I didn't have a daughter so these have been waiting for you." Martha opened the case and Kate drew in a breath.
"They're gorgeous." Kate wasn't sure what to expect but these earrings were amazing given their possible age.
"In case you need something blue." Martha watched her take one out and turn to face the mirror. Kate removed the earring she was wearing and put in the sapphire. The oval sapphires were pale blue and were held in place with a four prong setting surrounded by a rectangle halo of diamonds. The earrings were small and dainty. She was so touched that Martha would trust her to hand them down to her daughter someday.
"They're beautiful, Martha! Thank you!" Kate hugged her. She wasn't sure what to expect from Rick's mother but this was amazing.
"I'm an actress on Broadway so I've been around makeup a lot. If you want to do her hair after washing it I can do her makeup. She will be amazing. The loveliest bride anyone has ever seen." Martha could see all the makeup and tools she would ever need.
[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]
Rick was standing way up front waiting nervously. He was about to get married. Since Jim, Emily, and Helen had agreed to come with their RSVP, Rick had asked if Jim wanted to be his best man. He didn't really have anyone else to ask.
Jim was holding the simple white gold wedding ring that would go with her engagement ring.
Rick saw people he knew and people he didn't. Peter and his wife were here. People from the hospital in Laurel were here. Even Weldon from UPS where he worked and his wife were here. They were the only 2 from UPS to attend the wedding.
Rick was still looking for people he knew. "Nervous?" Jim asked him.
"I'm ready to throw up I'm so nervous," Rick confirmed.
Jim chuckled softly. "I did that while I was outside the church waiting. The waiting is what gets to you. Think about something else. Think about Kate being pregnant and how big she'll get."
Rick turned to look at him. "Pregnant!"
"Took your mind off of being nervous." Jim grinned at him and now Rick was chuckling.
[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]
Kate, Jo, and Martha were done and looking Kate over for anything they might have missed.
"Amazing. I've never seen anyone so lovely." Martha thrilled with what she was seeing. She had done her very best.
"Thank you, Martha!" Kate hugged her and was ready to start crying. She was about to be married.
"I'm going to go find Jim and get him in here." Jo left to find her husband so he could do his job.
"I'm going to go find the lady in charge and tell her you're ready." Martha left her as well.
Kate was now all alone and went back to look in her mirrors. She had never seen herself look like this ever. She might never look this amazing again ever.
"Katie?" Jim opened the door and stood beside her at the mirrors. "You remind me of Jo when we got married. You're both lovely."
"Thanks, Dad." Kate pulled out a tissue and dabbed at her eyes.
"Your bouquet." Jim handed it to her. "Ready to get married? Rick is a very good man, Katie-bug. You got lucky." Jim could remember seeing her sleeping in the hospital after being beaten to a pulp and raped over and over again. Even to this date the police had nothing and weren't even looking any longer. It would take a miracle now.
"Ready, Dad." Kate tried to sound certain but her answer was weak. She was nervous.
[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]
Kate and Jim found that the wind had picked up lately. That threat of scatter showers was coming true tonight. But it wasn't raining yet.
Rick and Kate didn't have anything personal to say to each other. Which was a good given the way the weather was changing.
Kate watched as Rick slipped on her wedding ring that was white gold and matched the metal on her engagement ring.
Kate slid the ring onto Rick's finger. She hoped he liked it; she had spent a lot of her own money on it. There were three stones on his ring: two square princess-cut diamonds and her birthstone, a square cut citrine. With the citrine in the center and a diamond on either side of it, the stones were set flush in 14k white gold.
While Kate loved Rick beyond measure, she also had more than a touch of jealousy. His ring with her stone in it was a reminder that he was hers. Always.
"I do." Kate was ready to start crying. She was so very close to being married. A day she had dreamed of when she was just a girl was coming true.
"I do," Rick answered and could see Kate ready to cry. All he wanted to do was to kiss her and take away those tears.
"By the power vested in me by the state of California, I now pronounce you husband and wife to enjoy your lives as a married happy couple. …You may kiss each other to seal it," he offered and watched them kiss as everyone in attendance started clapping.
Their wedding planner suddenly felt a raindrop. "RUN FOR IT!"The rain was just beginning and in moments it might be a downpour.
Everyone was a little wet and Kate and Rick were laughing. They now had a moment of their wedding to remember forever. Neither had really noticed the photographer using his flash to take pictures. Even now he was still taking pictures.
Brunch and the cake were waiting for them and everyone else. Everyone in attendance got a book. In a Hail of Bullets. Signed by Richard Castle the author himself.
"He's a personal friend," Rick said to each person that asked. "Unfortunately he couldn't make the wedding."