A/N: Hey guys, not much to say. Enjoy the chapter and let me know what you think. Today we learn a tiny bit more about Humphrey's past...
Chapter 24: Dinner for seven.
Humphrey's POV:
I walked across the house and over to the left wing, pausing as I considered the corridor that confronted me. It was almost identical in design to the one in the right wing but I had no idea which room was Kate's since all the doors were closed and unlabelled. After a moment I came to a decision, walking slowly and quietly down the corridor, pausing outside the first door to listen for a moment. I could her several different voices talking within as well as a fair bit of giggling and some music playing, leading me to conclude that this must be Lily's room. 'I remember Kate mentioning that her sister was having some friends over tonight.' I thought to myself, leaving the first door behind as I considered the remaining two. Judging from the way things were set up here I took a guess that Kate's was the closer of the two, leaving it situated between Lily's and her parents' bedroom as I approached the door.
I knocked gently but got no response. After a second I slowly turned the handle, wondering if I was about to walk in on something I shouldn't as I entered the room. My concerns were unfounded however as I entered the room and saw that Kate was already dressed and stood in front of a mirror in the bathroom, applying some makeup. I didn't really think she needed it but I'd been told in the past that women thought differently than men, especially when it came to things like this. Kate smiled as she glanced over and saw me.
"Oh hey Humphrey, I'll just be one minute. Make yourself at home." She said before returning her attention to her task. I returned her smile and nodded, walking over and taking a seat on the edge of her bed as I looked around the room. It was quite tidy and spacious, reminding me a little of a fancy resort but for the splashes of personal touches that proved someone lived here. There was a walk-in wardrobe across from an ensuite bathroom, a large double bed upon which I currently sat and a desk in the corner with what might've been a diary on it. I was curious what it might've contained but restrained myself since I couldn't just go through someone's personal things as I contented myself to continue looking around. A large TV was hung on the wall opposite the foot of the bed and there was a beautiful painting of a river on the other wall, next to the door.
I thought I could see the jacket I had given Kate to wear the day I'd met her on a hook in the wardrobe but I couldn't be certain that it was and shrugged it off, figuring that she'd return it at some point. 'Or maybe not.' I thought to myself with a silent chuckle as she finished her makeup and came out of the bathroom, sitting down on the bed next to me. She was wearing a black top that was a cross between a turtle neck sweater and a long sleeved t-shirt, a dark red skirt and some black stockings. I had to admit she looked even better than usual as she sat next to me and I noticed that she smelled good as well, wearing some kind of perfume though I had no idea what.
Kate's POV:
Kate smiled as she sat down on the bed next Humphrey, noticing that he was wearing some kind of cologne that she really like the smell of. She thought he might've been staring at her but she found she didn't really mind as she looked up at him.
"Sorry that took so long. I hope you weren't too bored waiting for me?" She said after a moment but Humphrey just smiled and shook his head.
"It's okay, I went and said hello to your dad. We ended up chatting for a while about school and basketball and stuff." Humphrey said, pausing for a moment as he turned to her with an easy grin. "You look great by the way."
Kate smiled, finding herself absurdly pleased by the complement, much more so than whenever one of her friends do so.
"Well you were looking so good that I had to match." She said quietly, a small smile on her face as she blushed. She honestly had no idea what she was doing; she never acted like this normally but it felt like something had come over her as Humphrey laughed a bit.
"I don't know about matching, you-" Humphrey started talking but was interrupted as the door to Kate's room opened and Silas entered, giving them a small bow as they both looked at him.
"Excuse me for interrupting but dinner is ready and about to be served in the dining room." Silas said, turning to the side as he stood with one hand behind his back and the other towards the door.
"If you would allow me to guide you." He finished. Kate looked at Humphrey, returning his grin as he got up and offered her his hand.
"Guess we'd better go. Don't want to keep anyone waiting." He said as she nodded, taking his hand and letting him help her up. His hand was warm and she could still feel the warmth in her own palm after he let go and followed Silas out of the room, down the stairs and across to the house's right wing where the dining room was located.
Humphrey's POV:
My thoughts were going about a hundred miles a minute as Kate and I followed Silas to the dining room which was situated right below the parlour. I took a deep breath to control myself and slow my thoughts to a more manageable level as Silas opened the double doors and we entered the dining room. The table was in the centre of the room with seven seats at it; three along each side and one at the end in which Winston was seated. Lily and her friends were already seated in the three seats on the opposite side of the table leaving the remaining three for Kate, Eve and I.
"Please have a seat Humphrey." Silas said after a moment, pulling out the middle chair and gesturing to it. I walked over and sat down slowly as he pushed it in for me, feeling a little out of my element from the treatment. I supposed that I was a guest of Winston and Eve's and all but it still felt a little wrong. 'At least he's not calling me sir or Mr. Miller or something.' I thought to myself with some relief as Kate took the seat to my left, leaving the one between Winston and myself free for Eve. Silas quickly left the room after I was seated, presumably to get the food and I looked around the room, in which the decor matched the rest of the house and the table was set with fancy silverware in the traditional fashion.
I silently thanked the stars for the etiquette lessons that had been forced on me by a family that I'd stayed with in England for a while. My parents had always forced me to eat and act politely but when it came to traditional meals there was a whole world of manners to observe and the slightest mistakes could lead to insult. Silas entered the dining room pushing a trolley laden with covered silver dishes a moment later, followed by a blonde woman who resembled Kate and could only have been Eve. I stood up and offered my hand as she arrived at the seat next to me whilst Silas began placing the dishes on the table.
"It's a pleasure to meet you ma'am, you must be Kate's mother. I'm Humphrey." I said with a smile as she shook my hand and gave me a once over before smiling warmly herself.
"No question about that, you're just the way Kate described. I am indeed Kate's mother but please Humphrey, call me Eve. I feel old enough as it is." She said, her smile fading a little as she added the last part.
"Very well then Eve, I'll do just that." I replied as we sat down and I tried to ignore the fact that it seemed as though Lily and her friends were staring at me.
A delicious smell assaulted me as Silas lifted the lids off the food, revealing a huge selection of delicacies. As I breathed in the delicious aroma I suddenly remembered how hungry I was and stared ravenously at the feast before us, only my sense of politeness holding me back. Looking around I could see a roast chicken, a selection of steak cuts and a whole fish that I believed was a rainbow trout on a bed of salt rocks. These were accompanied by a thin looking soup and several plates with various side dishes. Silas quickly took drink orders from everyone before bowing as he backed away.
"Eve this looks absolutely incredible." I said sincerely, gesturing to all the food before us as everyone began to serve the various dishes onto their plates before passing them on in a continuous chain. I had always eaten a lot but I was worried that they'd think if I took too much since everyone else was only taking small amounts. Eve's next words dispelled my concerns however.
"Well thank you Humphrey. I'm sorry I couldn't come out and greet you earlier but as you can see I might've gone a bit overboard." She said with a smile as I shook my head, saying that it was quite alright. "But dig in, you and Kate must be hungry after school and practice right?"
Kate's POV:
Kate was surprised by Humphrey throughout dinner. She'd been starving after her performance at the football game and had loaded her plate with her mother's delicious cooking that was at least on par with Silas' who'd worked in many of the most famous restaurants in the world. Despite how hungry she was, Humphrey had somehow managed to eat three times more than her, keep the conversation flowing smoothly and maintain a perfect etiquette throughout dinner. Kate had mostly just listened to him for most of the meal, only chipping in to answer the odd question sent her way by her parents as she listened and laugh at his self-deprecating humour.
"Seriously Eve that was amazing. If I had cooking like this every day I'm sure I'd die from exercising too much so that I could eat more." Humphrey said, getting laughs from Kate's parents once more. As he sat back Kate exchanged a glance Lily who shook her head, confirming what she'd been thinking that neither of them could remember their parents being in such a good mood in forever.
A short while later Lily and her friends excused themselves to head off and do whatever it is they wanted to do, leaving the four of them alone as they sat, chatting and drinking the coffees that Silas had brought in after desert. Kate still couldn't really believe what she was seeing as Humphrey and her parents exchanged stories like old friends.
"Alright Kate, your turn." Humphrey said, dragging her from her thoughts as they all turned to look at her. She fell into thought for a moment, wondering what story she could tell, looking up after a moment as it came to her.
Humphrey's POV:
I smiled as I listened to Kate's story, which was admittedly a good one. It was about a time back in middle school when Sam had run out of hair dye and had returned to being blonde, leading her and Angel to run around the school pulling various pranks on everyone.
"All right Humphrey, your turn." She said, turning to me after she finished telling her story. I'd been thinking about what to tell for most of her story and fortunately one time had come to me just before she'd finished.
"Okay so about four years ago or so I was in Finland, just outside Helsinki. I was making my way towards the Russian border, hitchhiking whenever possible..." I began.
Flashback, 2006, close to the border between Russia and Finland.
"We need to make small stop at bank." The man in the seat next to me said in a heavy Russian accent, using English since he knew I was only just beginning to learn Russian. I nodded to show I understood and settled back down in my seat as they pulled the van up in front of the bank, leaving it running as they grabbed a few things from the back and headed inside. It was early in the morning so there was no one else around in the small, sleepy town near the Russian border. Not that anyone with sense would be outside now as it was freezing cold with winter officially starting in a week or so. I'd been travelling with this trio for three days now, having met them just outside Helsinki and finding out with happy coincidence that they were returning to Russia and could drive me the whole way to St Petersburg.
A few minutes later I unbuckled my seatbelt, crawling through to the driver's seat, where I sat down so that I could operate the heater and radio controls. A few seconds later as I flicked through the through the radio stations I looked up to see a police car pull into the car park but I didn't pay it much mind since the sirens weren't on. I eventually found a station with some good music and leaned back in the seat, nodding my head in time with the beat and occasionally singing along. A minute later I jumped in surprise as the bank's alarm went off, the wailing siren was almost deafening from so close and was surely heard by everyone in town.
The two officers certainly heard it, jumping out of their cruiser and heading towards the bank entrance. They only made it a few meters from the car when the three men I was travelling with burst out of the bank, the two groups standing frozen for a second as they stared the other down. They were carrying large duffel bags and were wearing ski masks but I could tell it was them as I watched nervously through the window, scarcely able to believe what was happening. 'Holy crap...' I thought to myself as Dimitrov, who'd done most of the driving so far, yelled something in Russian and drew a pistol from his belt. The officers dived to the side as he fired, the pistol roaring six times as he and the others ran over to the van, all but ripping open the doors as they bundled in.
"DRIVE!" Dimitrov yelled at me as he got into the passenger seat, firing another shot to keep the officers pinned before closing the door. I'd been sitting there frozen as all of this had gone down over a few seconds but his shout made me jump, forcing me back to my senses as I put the car in gear and floored the accelerator. I could barely see over the dash while reaching the pedals as I steered desperately, weaving between cars and other various obstacles as I prayed to whoever was listening. The tires screamed in protest as a few cars at a red light forced me to swerve right, barrelling through an alleyway and out onto another street, narrowly avoiding a close encounter with a cafe as I turned sharply, almost tipping the van before getting it back under control.
I drove normally for a few blocks before Dimitrov deemed it safe, ordering me to pull into a car park outside a diner. I parked the car, putting the handbrake on before all four of us sighed, slumping down in exhaustion as Dimitrov, Sergei and Alexei all burst out laughing, clapping me on the shoulder and congratulating me which I had mixed feelings about. We quickly swapped seats before leaving the diner and I crawled into the seat at the very back of the van, falling asleep quickly after the adrenaline wore off.
End flashback.