A CHOICE
Chapter 3
Once outside Kate chose to go right. They were on the end of the map but she remembered there being something on the far end. "It's a beach. Beach volleyball." Kate was a bit surprised.
Continuing on they found that spa/exercise room with a boardwalk out to the treatment rooms.
Next they backtracked and went past the other two bedroom. "Tennis court." They continued on and find the boardwalk out to the Water Villas. They walked it and saw Villa after Villa.
Walking back and turning left, they found Beach Villa after Beach Villa.
Kate noticed that Alexis was dragging, so she picked her up and carried her. "You're actually pretty light." Alexis just grinned at her. Secretly she loved being carried by Kate. It made her feel closer to her.
"I think we found Glow." Kate went around it because she knew her dad would be beyond this somewhere.
First up was Cabanas F, B, and D. They were empty. The next one was A and it too was empty. The next one was E and it was a little larger than the others. "There you are, Dad."
"Katie, and you brought Alexis with you." Jim was happy to see them.
Kate put Alexis down and looked around. There was a large seating area, and a king-size bed open to everything. A door led to what she took to be a bathroom and maybe a closet. She was glad to see a single serve coffee maker and a hotel-room size refrigerator. "This is really nice, Dad."
"Yeah, for a studio apartment it's not bad." Jim kind of liked it.
"I never thought about it like that, but I guess it is. I'm sorry about that." Kate felt bad for him.
"Nonsense, this was my idea and I'm not complaining." Jim found the silver lining. "If anything, I'm happy since it means I don't have to do any cooking. I get all my meals in the Restaurant."
"When you put it like that, I suppose it makes sense." Kate absently stroked Alexis's hair.
"How are you and Alexis getting along?" Jim inquired.
"Pretty well, I think. We're good, right?" Kate looked at Alexis who nodded. "I haven't gotten her to talk yet, but I'm not giving up. She'll be a motormouth or my name isn't Kate Beckett." That got Alexis to shake her head. "You're a motormouth." Kate tickled her which had her laughing. She might not want to talk, but she couldn't help but laugh.
"So are you two out touring the grounds?" He suspected that that was what brought them here.
"Yes, so far we've seen the Beach Volleyball court, we walked the boardwalk that all of the Water Villas are on, we saw the tennis court. Oh, and we saw the spa/exercise room. We saw a lot of Beach Villas and we saw the other Cabanas that are smaller than this one.
"We haven't yet seen everything, but we're getting there. We skipped looking at Glow since it looked like it needed the most work."
"You're way ahead of me. I haven't been anywhere yet. I'll get to it eventually." Jim was sure of it.
Kate sat down next to him. "You're not sorry you did this, are you? It's a big change. We left Mom."
"We didn't leave her, Katie," Jim said patiently and gently squeezed her hand. "We moved to a different place is all. We brought her with us. Well, we will when what we packed shows up."
Kate sighed. "I suppose you're right. It just feels like we gave up on her is all."
"You'll see, we made the right choice. Give it a chance. You have a job and I'm proud of you. You took on a job with a little girl, a little girl that needs you. If she talked to you once, she will again," Jim assured her.
Kate looked at Alexis who was just sitting there looking at everything. "Maybe."
~oo0oo~
Rick didn't see them again until they were eating dinner in the Restaurant. He made his apologies. "I'm sorry, but I've been busy."
"You don't have to be sorry. You're opening a resort that isn't finished yet. We understand," Jim told him.
"How are you, Pumpkin? Has Kate been nice and shown you around?" Rick asked her and got her usual nod. "That's good."
Kate spoke up. "The pantry is full, but the refrigerator is empty."
"Yes, I know. Getting the Restaurant up and running was a priority. We still have a week to our opening date. It may be a day or two before it's filled," Rick told her. "The staff section of Glow needs a lot of work still, as does the Kids Club. It's going to be a tight fit."
Just then a new voice called out, "Richard!"
"Mikhail, my friend!" Rick got up and greeted him. "You finally made it."
"Yes, we had quite the trip. I'll explain later," Mikhail said.
Rick nodded. "Let me introduce you. This is Kate Beckett. I hired her to watch over Alexis and be her teacher. And this is Jim Beckett, her father. He's a lawyer. I thought it would be a good idea to have a company lawyer."
"That's actually a good idea. Nicely done." Mikhail smiled at them. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Zdravstvuyte, priyatno poznakomit'sya," Kate said.
Mikhail's jaw dropped. And then Kate saw a wide grin on his face. "Ty govorish' po-russki. Eto khorosho. Togda my otlichno poladim!" "Vy dayete mne shans ispol'zovat' moy russkiy yazyk. YA boyalsya, chto zabudu, kak na nem govorit'," Kate mentioned.
"It is good I am here then. Now, I need to join my wife and unpack. I will catch up to you later, Richard, and you can tell me everything." He nodded and left them.
"You do speak Russian." Rick smiled at Kate who blushed a little.
"I was afraid I would forget how," Kate explained. "Now I'll get a chance to use it. And you, I will teach you to speak it," she told Alexis who nodded and smiled wide. Kate knew that to do that she would need to talk, so she had her.
~oo0oo~
Kate put Alexis to bed since Rick had a lot to do and couldn't do it himself. "Good night, sweetie." Kate kissed her forehead and left her.
Given that the pool access was on this level, she went outside. Once there, she saw there was a covered area. The second floor was larger that the first so it made a natural overhang. Out here she found two sitting areas and four lounge chairs where they could sit beside the pool.
Still fully clothed, Kate chose to sit down on a chaise lounge and just chill. She was still there when suddenly Rick joined her. "Finished?" Kate asked.
"For today. Tomorrow is another story. Granted, the foreman could handle most of this, but some of what remains needs decisions to be made and that's me," Rick said tiredly. It had been a long day.
"Like what?" Kate asked.
Rick gave her an example. "One concerns the staff area of Glow. Another concerns the Kids Club. We may not have the Kids Club open if we keep the design the way it is. So do I accept a smaller Kids Club or accept a late opening?"
"What did you decide?" Kate queried since she was interested.
"Based on reservations we already have now, I chose to keep the design on Kids Club. We don't presently have enough children coming to affect the design," Rick explained.
"You have reservations already?" Kate was surprised.
"Of course. Our first week we will be three quarters full. We're getting new reservations all the time. Our opening week is going to be busy. It isn't going to be just us and the construction crew. Our first big test," Rick informed her.
"I suppose that makes sense. What about how I'm going to teach Alexis?" Kate questioned him.
"I've bought every school book for the next two years along with other things. They're all being shipped. They'll be here in about four weeks. Your motorcycle will follow about two weeks later. And the items that you had packed will show up in about four weeks.
"It's hard to know exactly when," Rick warned her. "The ship has to arrive in Malé first then be transferred to a boat that will come here. Our dock is only just so big so it has to be a smaller ship. Based on the amount of material, it may take days."
"Wow." Kate hadn't thought about it like that.
"This place is nice, really nice," Kate admitted. "It's more than I expected even after looking at the drawings."
Rick smiled. "Thank you. We went though a designer for a lot of this. There are two different designs for the Beach Villas. One side is one design and another for the other side. The same for the Water Villas. Except for the Water Villa that's at the end. It's the largest villa here, including our two bedroom units. It looks totally different.
"Even each Cabana is different. I gave your dad the largest Cabana. Then there are the smaller Cabanas. There are only four of those. They're meant for people on a budget.
"If we're successful, we plan to add another row of Water Villas down another boardwalk on the opposite side of the island. Those will be different still."
"Well, at least you have a plan," Kate offered thoughtfully.
Rick remained silent and just absorbed where he was now. He had been here before during construction, but this was different. They were just one week from opening day. They still had to hire a lot of people. They had a lot of people already hired, but they needed still more.
"It's not over yet. What am I saying? It may never be over. People will quit their jobs, and we'll need to hire new ones to replace them. Something will break down, food will arrive bad or not at all, people will have a complaint. This list is endless," Rick commented.
Kate didn't say anything for a moment. Then she asked, "But you have a manager to handle most of that, don't you?"
"Oh, he's already here. He gets one of the Cabanas to live in. You'll meet him eventually. So is the chef, as are the two main maintenance men. Their job will be to fix anything that breaks. One off and one on unless it's a big project," Rick told her.
Rick switched topics. "How are you holding up? Is Alexis giving you any trouble?"
"Alexis is a dream except for her not talking," Kate told him. "I really don't understand that. I mean I understand why and I get that, but her not talking is a pain."
Rick sighed. "Welcome to my world. I remember the day that she stopped. It took a meeting with her teacher at the time to work out why. I have to guess what it is she wants. Get a head nod or a shake.
"If you can get her to talk, I'll marry you," he joked with her.
Kate tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. "Hmm, I don't think you have to go quite that far, but I plan to get her to tell me something."
"You don't want to marry me? I'm hurt!" Rick put the back of his hand to his forehead and pretended to be wounded.
"You'll get over it." Kate smiled at him. "I'm only 19, just so you know."
"I know. I talked to your dad," Rick admitted. "If you don't mind me asking, how did your mother die?"
Kate delayed answering him. She finally said, "Mom was stabbed and left to bleed out. The police called it a random act of gang violence."
"Robbery?"
Kate shook her head. "She still had her wallet, all her jewelry, her wedding ring, all of her money, and credit cards."
Rick frowned. "That makes no sense. If it was a random act of gang violence you would think whoever it was would at least take the cash. Maybe use a knife to remove her wedding ring. Perhaps take the credit cards and sell them. Why not benefit from it?" He didn't understand. Then he had a thought. "Unless he was interrupted by someone. There was no one that came forward about it?"
Kate shook her head again. "No, no one."
"I'm still sorry." Rick reached for her hand and covered it with his.
"What about you? Mother, father?" Kate finally changed the subject since she wanted off of it.
"Mother is an actress. She works only on Broadway. Since there was nothing out here for her, she chose to stay in the City. I don't know my father. He was a one-night stand. I never met him and don't even know who he is.
"Martha Rodgers is her name."
Kate didn't understand. "But you're Richard Castle."
"Black Pawn, that's my publisher, didn't like my last name. Richard Rodgers could be called RR. It sounded too much like a railroad to them, so we settled on Castle. I've learned to like it.
"My editor wanted me to be thought of as a playboy. Said it would help sell books. She was targeting young twenty-somethings. I might have gone for it save for Alexis. It was the same year that Alexis decided not to talk. I focused on her instead.
"Then came the day she found out about this project. She didn't like that either. My signing books would be impossible. Twenty-seven hours one way just to do a book signing." Rick shook his head. "Not going to happen.
"But I'm established writer, so I chose to continue with my project," Rick told her.
"Good idea." Kate approved. "Playboy. I could see that as well. You're handsome enough, but I could see a problem. Alexis would get teased relentlessly."
"My thought exactly. So you think I'm handsome? Ruggedly handsome?" Rick grinned at her, noticing that he still had his hand over hers.
Kate rolled her eyes. "Don't let it go to your head."
"I'll try, but no promises." Rick squeezed her hand since he still had hold of it.
"How old are you?" Kate inquired.
"Twenty-eight. I'll be 29 on April 1st," Rick replied. "I know you're 19 because I asked your dad. When's your birthday?"
"November 17th," Kate said. "So I just had mine, given we're in January."
"Nine to 10 years, then. Could be worse. Well, I have to get in some writing before bedtime. Doing it during the day before we open is out of the question. If you'll excuse me." Rick got up and left her.
Kate watched him leave. She had to admit he was handsome. Nine to ten years of age difference was a bit of an issue. What was she thinking? There couldn't be anything between them. He was her employer.
Still, she thought about it. She couldn't help herself. Besides, where was she going to find a date around here? She should have given this some more serious thought. Finding a date out here was going to be a challenge.
"No, nothing is going to happen," Kate told herself. But somehow she couldn't get it out of her mind.
~oo0oo~
Kate came downstairs and went to her bedroom. It had been a very long day and she was beat. It was time for bed. She saw Alexis sound asleep, curled up in her bed, and looking peaceful. So she padded into the bathroom to clean up before bed.
Coming back out, she saw Alexis was still sleeping soundly so she disrobed right there and put on a pair of panties and a sleep shirt. She slid into bed and turned off the light. After her eyes adjusted, she looked at Alexis.
She needed to find a way to get her to talk. She had told her that she was pretty. Maybe that was the key. Something for her to work with.
Kate turned her back to Alexis and was asleep in moments.
~oo0oo~
Come morning, she saw Alexis was still asleep, so Kate slipped out of bed and took a shower. Stepping out, she wrapped a towel around her. While she brushed her teeth, she saw Alexis in the mirror.
"Good morning! Are you ready for a bath?" Kate got a nodding of her head. "Okay. Let's fill the tub with water first." Kate flipped the stopper and turned on the faucets. "While the tub is filling, let's brush your teeth."
Kate put her into the tub and left her alone and went back to brushing her teeth. She turned to check on her while she washed her mouth. Seeing her just sitting there got her into action. "You need to wash yourself, like this." Kate did it for her. She was somewhat concerned since at her age, Alexis should be able to wash herself.
Once she was done Kate got her out and wrapped a towel around her. "There, that wasn't so bad, was it?"
"Let's get you dressed for the day." Kate took her back into the bedroom and let her look through her dresser for something for her to wear. "Can you dress yourself?" Kate asked and Alexis nodded. So Kate went back into the bathroom.
When she came back out, Alexis was all dressed save for her shoes. "Nice work. Let's get you into some flip flops and you're all set. Wait! I forgot to braid your hair." Kate carefully brushed out the tangles, braided her hair into one long braid, and then sent her out into the main room while she got dressed.
"All right, let's go find some breakfast in the Restaurant," Kate told her but before they left she looked in on Rick and saw he had already left.
It was a long walk to the Restaurant. Still, they made it and sat down to order breakfast. "What would you like for breakfast?" Kate asked.
Alexis pointed at what she wanted on the menu. "Cereal? Cereal it is then."
"Am I still pretty?" Kate used what she had to work with. Except all she got was Alexis nodding again. "You can talk to me, sweetie. It's just us." But what she got back was a shake of her head.
Kate sighed heavily. Her being pretty should work. What was so different between then and now?
KATE: Zdravstvuyte, priyatno poznakomit'sya. Hello, nice to meet you.
MIKHAIL: Ty govorish' po-russki. Eto khorosho. Togda my otlichno poladim! You speak Russian. This is good. Then we'll get along great!
KATE: Vy dayete mne shans ispol'zovat' moy russkiy yazyk. YA boyalsya, chto zabudu, kak na nem govorit'. You give me a chance to use my Russian. I was afraid that I would forget how to speak it.