March 11, 2018
The caterers arrived bright and early at 8 am. Their family and friends are supposed to arrive between 9:30 and 10 am. Maddie and Martha were expected to be stragglers, since their occupations put them on a late schedule. Rick had worked out the plan with the caterer. Lily was not interested in waiting for everyone to get there. She was HUNGRY. Rick had anticipated this, and had Lily's highchair set up away from the busy caterers. He served Lily juice, a small muffin and some fruit. He and Kate had coffee. Kate sipped her coffee while enjoying her family. She realized once again how blessed she is to have Rick. Not having to cook or clean up the impending brunch is one of the many blessings of being married to a wealthy man.
All the people working in the loft fascinated Lily. She pointed and babbled with "'ook" being her most used word. It was fun to try and decipher her baby talk.
Alexis arrived shortly after 9 am. She wanted to be available to help with Lily if her Dad needed her.
Lily was ecstatic that Alexis was visiting again, "Is Is 'ook 'ook. See see?"
"I see the people setting up for the party. Do you want to play with me in your room?"
"Pway! Is Is pway, me pway."
"I'll take her upstairs out of the way."
Kate had a specific outfit she wanted to dress Lily in for the party. "Let's go upstairs, baby. Alexis and I will get you cleaned up and dressed for the party, and you can play. Nicky and Sarah Grace will be here soon."
"Is Is! Pway." Lily was so excited she clapped. The adults laughed.
Kate and Alexis pretended to understand Lily's excited prattle while they took her upstairs.
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By 10 am all the guests had arrived: Lanie and Alan, the Ryan family, Javi and Marisa, Victoria and Gerald Gates, Maddie, Jim, and Martha. Lily was bouncing up and down with excitement. Alexis placed Lily in her play area with Sarah Grace and Nicky. With playmates and toys, Lily was a happy little girl.
The loft was filled with laughter, conversation and people enjoying food. The caterers served excellent food, mimosas, coffee, juices, and tea… The spread was extensive. Martha was her usual chatty diva. Jim soaked in the joy and the people that Katie's life with Rick brought to her.
After everyone's hunger was satisfied, they settled into the great room with coffee or another beverage of their choice, Rick asked for everyone's attention. The children were playing close to Rick's office and ignored the adults. "Kate and I are happy to have you all here with us to celebrate her break from employment. We hope to have many more gatherings with all of you in our future. Marisa, Javi told me your son is with his grandmother today. Please bring him along next time. Nicky will be happy to have him here. I think he feels out numbered. I know I'm constantly out numbered." Laughter from the men, and an eye roll from Kate interrupted Rick. "Kate, Lily, and I will be taking a little vacation in Florida later this week. Just wanted everyone to know why your phone calls will be ignored." Alexis frowned at her Dad. "Pumpkin, I will always take your calls."
"Where are you going?" Lanie asked for the group.
"We leave for Key West on the 13th and return on the 20th. We might stay longer."
"Kate, do you know any single authors looking for a girlfriend?" Maddie joked with her friend.
"Sorry, Maddie. Not right at the moment. Come to Rick's next book launch party. There will be some authors there," Kate teased back. Maddie responded with two thumbs up.
"We also want to invite everyone that is able to come to the Hamptons house the first weekend in June. We will be celebrating Lily's first birthday. I know it's not a quick drive, but we'd love to have you there. We plan to spend most of the summer in the Hamptons, so don't be shy about asking for a visit with us. There are several guest bedrooms. I know things get crazy in New York during the summer, and we will be happy to give anyone a break from the insanity and the heat."
"Rick isn't kidding. You all know he'll drive me nuts at some point, so please, please come visit." Kate smirked at Rick, and he stuck his tongue out at her. Everyone laughed.
"Some of you visited when we were there the last two summers. Even if you only have a couple days, it's a relaxing, free getaway for you."
"What she said," Rick agreed with Kate. "We just ask for advance notice. The house isn't quite large enough for all of this group to sleep there at once, unless you want to use air mattresses in the library." There were a few chuckles in response to Rick. "I'm serious. We've done that in the long ago past."
"That was before my time, Babe. It could be fun for the kids."
"There's leftover food. The caterer provided some containers, if anyone wants to take some home. We're leaving on Tuesday, so please take some of the food with you. This is not a hint to leave. There's food. There's coffee and other beverages. Stay as long as you can."
Everyone remained a little longer. Sarah Grace found Kate or Rick, when she noticed that Lily needed a new diaper. The adults talked, reminisced, laughed and took turns keeping watch over the little ones. Jim volunteered to feed Lily lunch and put her down for a nap. Nicky and Sarah Grace were happy to watch Cars 3 in Rick's office.
Victoria had never spent time with Martha before. She was fascinated and amused by Rick's mother. Martha was in her element talking about Shakespeare in the Park. Gerald whispered in Vickie's ear that he was looking forward to a trip to the Hamptons. She smiled and nodded her agreement.
Rick, Javi, Alan and Kevin planned a future game night. Martha bid everyone goodbye, since she had other plans for the day. Kate, Lanie and Jenny planned to meet for lunch soon. Jim said his farewells and left for a meeting.
Victoria asked Kate if she had discussed the seminar idea with Rick. Kate realized that with the trip scheduled for Tuesday, she would have to do that tonight. Kate told Victoria, "I didn't know about the trip before yesterday. I'll talk to him tonight. If he agrees, would it be acceptable to discuss the details after we get home?"
"Call me tomorrow with your decision. If you need more time, I'm sure I can get the Chief to wait until you return from your trip to get an answer."
"Thanks. I'll call you tomorrow."
Eventually only Kate, Rick, Alexis and Lily were left in the loft. Kate had Lily in her lap and was sitting next to Rick on the sofa. Alexis was leaning against Rick smiling happily. "Today was fun. Are we having breakfast for dinner?"
"Let's order pizza. I'm about breakfasted out," Rick answered her. "Are there really that many leftovers? I know several doggie bags were packed up."
"I put 2 doggie bags in the fridge for breakfast tomorrow and Tuesday. There's bacon we could use for BLTs for dinner. I trashed the leftover eggs. What else is left?" Kate asked.
"BLTs are a good idea. Bacon should never go to waste." Rick winked at Alexis. "Pumpkin do you want to take some home?"
"Lets see what's left, Dad."
After dinner and cleaning up, Alexis left with a few mornings worth of breakfast. Kate froze the leftover muffins for use after they returned from their trip.
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Lily had fallen asleep early. Kate and Rick discussed what they needed to pack for their trip and made the grocery list for Mia. Rick sent the list to Mia's email. When they were side by side in bed, Kate knew she needed to discuss the seminar offer with Rick. "Babe, I need to get your input about something."
Rick took Kate's hand and kissed it. "Sure. What's up?"
"Would you be interested in doing a joint seminar with me for new detectives?" Kate forestalled Rick's response, "Let me finish, please." Rick nodded. "The Chief of D's asked if I'd be interested in doing a seminar for recruits and/or new detectives about investigation techniques. He said the offer includes you, if you're interested. The length of the seminar would be our choice, and it would be only a few times per year. What do you think?"
"Is this something you want to do?" Kate shrugged in response. "How soon do you need to give him an answer?"
"I told him I'd give him an answer this week. I didn't know we'd be leaving town Tuesday when I told him that on Thursday. Part of me wants to do it. Part of me wants to dive into my new life and leave the NYPD behind."
Rick squeezed Kate's hand. "You can call the Chief of D's from Florida. You don't have to make a decision tonight."
"We will make this decision, Rick. We. If I do it, I'll do it with you. The Chief said your "unorthodox perspective" is an asset. I'm happy that he recognizes that you're an asset. I'm just not sure I want to maintain even a small connection with the department."
"If he really wants you, he can wait another week for your decision. Call tomorrow and tell him I surprised you with a vacation, and you'll call him after we get home."
"That is a smart plan. Thank you." Kate kissed Rick deeply. "Got any other smart plans for tonight?"
Rick had a brilliant plan for the night.