A CHOICE
Chapter 6
Kate was cooking dinner since Rick wasn't home yet. She had an audience in Alexis.
"Would you like to help cook?" Kate asked Alexis, who shook her head. "Saying yes or no won't hurt you, you know." She still got a shake of her head. Kate tried again. "Okay, but you don't know what you're missing." This time she got Alexis to join her. "That's my girl." Kate was proud of her.
Kate gave her the easy part of cooking dinner. She actually paid attention. Then Rick came home.
"Sorry, I'm late. Kate's teaching you how to cook? I'm proud of you." Rick kissed her head and looked at what Kate was cooking.
"Yep," Alexis told him.
"That's good." At first, Rick didn't get it, but a heartbeat later, it hit him. He stared at Alexis. "Say that again."
"Yep," Alexis repeated, wondering if she was in trouble.
"You talked!" He hugged her and kissed her. "Say something else, anything else."
"No."
But that was more than enough for Rick, and he hugged and kissed her. "Who or what got you to talk?"
"Kate," Alexis replied.
Rick looked at Kate, his gratitude shining in his eyes. "You got her to talk?"
"Yes, I finally broke through. It wasn't…" Kate had to stop talking when, out of nowhere, Rick kissed her. He kept kissing her. When he broke for the kiss, he kissed her again. This kiss had her wrapping her arms around him when she kissed him back.
Alexis was smiling while they kissed.
Rick finally stopped kissing her, but he didn't let go of her. "You got her to talk." He kissed her again, and she returned his kiss.
He broke from the kiss and felt Kate's smile on his lips. Except Rick turned his attention to Alexis. "It's about time, Pumpkin." He released Kate and hugged his daughter again.
"You don't know how happy this makes me. How did you get Alexis to talk?" Rick inquired. "No, don't tell me, it's not important. You're talking." Rick hugged her some more.
"I take it back; it is important." Rick looked back at Kate. "How did you do it?"
"I… Burning dinner!" Kate turned her attention to what she was cooking. "Alexis, you want to set the table for me?"
Kate got a nod from her, and she did exactly that.
"I can't take it any longer. How did you get Alexis to talk?" Rick asked after they sat at the table.
"As I understand it, her mother…" Kate was interrupted.
Rick stated her name, doing his best not to let how he felt about her surface. "Meredith."
"Meredith left her. I just told her that I wasn't going to leave her." Kate made it simple.
Alexis stared at her. "You promise?"
"Yes, I promise, Alexis." Kate turned her attention back to Rick. "That seemed to break the ice. I promised that I wouldn't leave. And I don't intend to. It was a little harder than that, but that's about the crux of it."
Dumbfounded, Rick looked between Alexis and Kate. He didn't get it. He would never leave his little girl, so what made Kate so special? Still, it had worked, and Kate had to stay.
"Well, I'm glad. We'll have to keep Kate here, won't we?" Rick asked Alexis, and he saw her nod very enthusiastically.
~oo0oo~
Rick did the dishes while Kate put Alexis to bed. When she came back out, he was missing. Kate started looking for him on the deck. A look over the railing showed her he was down by the pool, so downstairs she went.
"Hi." Kate sat in a chaise lounge next to him. "About that kiss." Kate wanted to talk about it.
"I apologize, but you caught me by surprise. I couldn't resist. I won't do that again," Rick told her.
"That's just it. I want you to. Not all the time, mind you, but I don't mind if you kiss me." Kate had enjoyed it. Besides, where was she going to find a boyfriend out here?
"I'd like that." Rick raised an eyebrow. "Do you need another kiss?"
"I think I'm good. Can we take this slow?" Kate asked. "You're my boss, after all. I need to be careful."
"I can do slow. Say, one kiss a day?" Rick asked hopefully.
Kate smiled at him. "I think one per day will work."
"Good. I can handle that. Maybe we can work up to two kisses a day," Rick offered.
Kate raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps." And she smiled at him again.
~oo0oo~
That morning, Kate found Rick in the kitchen cooking breakfast. She had Alexis with her, all clean and dressed. "More smiley face pancakes?"
"You know it!" Rick said with a grin. "Grab a plate, I'm ready for you." So she did just that.
There was one for her, one for Alexis, and two for Rick. Kate caught Rick looking at her. Remembering what she said last night, she smiled at him.
"I have work today, so don't count on me for lunch unless you show up at Glow." Rick glanced up at the clock. "I better get going." Rick put his arms around Kate and kissed her. "My one kiss."
"Okay." Kate watched him leave. Turning to face Alexis, she saw her smiling. "What are you grinning at, young lady? Today is a school day. I think we'll start with history." Kate began searching for her history text book.
~oo0oo~
"You kissed Daddy," Alexis noted.
"Technically he kissed me," Kate clarified. "I just kissed him back. Your history lesson is over, and math is next."
~oo0oo~
Kate looked at the clock. "I think it's time for a lunch break. What shall we eat?"
"Tacos!" Alexis told her enthusiastically.
"Tacos? You're sure?" Kate watched her nod her head. "It's okay, Alexis. You can say yes. No more nodding your head."
"Yes, please," Alexis offered.
"That's much better. Let's see if we have the makings." Kate searched their kitchen. She found the sauce, soft tacos, tomatoes, lettuce, and cheese. "Tacos it is, lucky you."
~oo0oo~
Geography was next. Kate knew she was taking it easy on the girl. She didn't know how hard to make it.
"How about we go to Glow and surprise your father?"
Alexis yelled her answer, "YES!"
~oo0oo~
"We're looking for Rick," Kate told one of the staff. "Have you seen him?"
"He's down by the dock. We got a delivery," was their answer.
"Thanks. Come on, Alexis." Kate took her hand.
They found the dock easily enough, but they didn't see Rick. Then suddenly he showed up. But he wasn't alone. He had four workers with him. So she waited and watched.
They were having trouble moving a very large crate. It was at that moment that Kate felt her heart skip a beat. She was almost positive she knew what was in that crate.
They had it on the dock when Kate showed up. "Rick, what's in that crate?" Kate held her breath, waiting for his reply.
"Rats, I was hoping to surprise you," he grumbled. "Your motorcycle, which you can't ride, is here."
"My baby is here!" Kate felt tears well up and looked at the crate. "Can we open it? I want to open it." She couldn't wait to see it.
Rick shook his head. "We need a crowbar. Which we don't have, unfortunately."
"What?" She couldn't believe it. She was so close, and she couldn't get to it.
"We'll think of something," Rick promised. "Somehow, someway."
~oo0oo~
They finally got it open and found the motorcycle was still tied down and had survived the trip without a scratch. Kate was all over it the minute it was exposed. Now they needed to release it.
Once done, they rolled it out. Swinging a leg over, Kate sat on it and tried to start it. "What is wrong with this thing?" Kate didn't understand.
"Is there gas?" Rick asked.
Kate lowered her head. "No, there isn't. It was part of the shipping agreement. I guess we push it, or we get gas." Kate looked at Rick hopefully.
Rick broke it to her. "Sorry, no gas. We have marine gas for the boats but no gas, gas."
So they pushed. But it was all uphill from Glow. Then they had to push it all the way to the very last Villa. Rick pushed, and Kate pushed using the handlebars and steered it. Even Alexis helped. Though by the time they reached the Villa, she wasn't pushing any longer.
The ground was pretty much flat once they cleared Glow.
They rolled her motorcycle onto the back patio under the overhang. "I'm dead," Rick groaned, and he looked it. He started toward one of the seating areas to sit down and rest, but Kate intercepted him. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him.
Kate was all smiles, and even Alexis was grinning wide. "Thank you."
Kate fetched Rick a beer and one for herself and sat next to him.
"So what's next," Rick asked tiredly.
"Next is a cover to keep out the elements," Kate told him.
"Speaking of elements. Do you see that?" Rick pointed at the sky.
Kate sighed. "Damn. We're going to be trapped inside soon."
"You and everyone else. This is where we're going to earn our money. Housekeeping will have to go from Villa to Villa while cleaning without making a mess. Glow is going to have the same problem. We're going to have some unhappy guests," Rick predicted. "This might be where Jim earns his keep."
"Unhappy guests? But you don't control the weather," Kate argued.
"That's true," Rick agreed, "but it isn't going to stop them from being upset. Thankfully, we've planned ahead for days like this, but today will be our first real test."
"Thanks for pushing, Rick. I really appreciate it."
"Just don't buy another one," Rick joked with her and got her to smile.
Rick looked at the sky again. "I need to get back to work, and until further notice, consider yourselves confined to quarters. I want you to be safe." Rick kissed her and left.
"What are you grinning at, little girl?" Kate asked Alexis.
"Kiss," Alexis stated.
"You want a kiss?" So Kate kissed her. "Come on, sweetie. We need to get inside before it starts raining.
~oo0oo~
When it rained there, it rained cats and dogs. They soon had mini floods all over the place; they also had a lot of upset guests. And Jim was needed, finally. There was a couple that had flown in on the seaplane. But given the weather, they couldn't fly out and threatened to sue. Jim pointed out the small print on their ticket.
They left unhappy, but they left in the boat. Almost everyone else went with it, knowing they had no control over the weather.
~oo0oo~
Rick came home soaking wet and tired. The walk back home was no picnic. Fortunately, his bedroom was on the ground floor, and he could walk right in. Once dry, he went upstairs, where he found Kate in the middle of making dinner.
Rick came up behind Alexis. "Hey, Pumpkin. Are you still talking?"
"Yes." Alexis didn't think it was such a big deal, yet it was.
"And you, I will never forget this," Rick told Kate and kissed her cheek. "What's for dinner?"
Kate paused and looked up at him. "I'm using one of my mom's recipes, so don't judge."
"Who me?" Rick joked with her. "Honestly, I would never say or do anything to diminish your mother. I know she meant a lot to you. I'm sure whatever it is, it will be great." Rick kissed her on the cheek again.
He figured a kiss on the cheek didn't interfere with his one kiss a day.
Kate was grinning and hid it while she cooked.
"How is school going?" Rick asked his daughter.
But it was Kate who answered his question. "She's doing very well so far. I've kept it somewhat simple so that I don't overwhelm her."
"You need to learn, Pumpkin, so keep up the good work." Rick hugged and kissed her.
Kate eyed the dark clouds that were bucketing rain. "When it rains here, it really rains."
"Yeah, it's really put a kink in about everyone's plans. We even had a case for your dad. It seems a couple wanted to leave on the seaplane, the same one they came in on, but thanks to the weather, it was grounded."
Rick shrugged. "The boat ride was a little rough."
"I'm glad Dad got to do something. Even if it was that," Kate commented. "Dinner is just about ready, so could someone set the table?" That was Alexis' cue.
~oo0oo~
Rick's eyes were wide in surprise. "This is good! Someone was paying attention." He directed his question to Alexis. "This is good, isn't it?"
"Good," Alexis said, and that was all she said.
Kate wanted more out of her, but it was a start. "I thank you, and my mother thanks you."
"You did her proud," Rick told her and took another bite. It had Kate smiling wide.
~oo0oo~
Alexis was in bed, and Rick and Kate were outside under the overhang. It was still raining, though not nearly as hard. Kate had a glass with vodka in it, and Rick had Scotch.
"This is living," Rick sighed, and Kate nodded in agreement. "You're not sorry you came, are you? Especially after all Alexis put you through. Thank you, by the way. I couldn't get her to talk for the life of me."
"No, I'm not sorry, and I'm glad I got her to talk. I still have a hard time believing it's because her mother left her." Kate frowned. "There's something wrong with that woman."
"Meredith. According to her, she's an actress. I've never seen her in anything, not even a commercial. We dated for a while, and just when I was ready to dump her, she showed up at my door, screaming at me that she was pregnant and that it was my fault.
"At first, she told me she was going to get an abortion, that no one would hire a pregnant person. Thankfully, I talked her out of it by offering to marry her.
"She agreed, provided that she got an expensive engagement ring. At first, things were good, but that only lasted so long. The more pregnant she got, the more resentful she became.
"The wedding was small and quick. Then lo and behold, the day came, and Meredith didn't tell me. She went to the hospital alone and didn't tell me a thing. I had no idea where that woman was for two days, and I was frantic. When she finally did come home, she came home with Alexis.
"She handed her to me, then packed up and left. I was so busy trying to take care of a newborn that I didn't question what she was doing. I didn't see her again for a week. At the end of that week, she showed up at the door with divorce papers.
"She asked for half of everything but gave me all rights to Alexis. She already didn't want anything to do with her. I fought back initially, but she won out. She got half of everything, and I got Alexis.
"At first, things were difficult. Being a single parent, I mean. Fortunately, I was a writer and could work from home. It was at this time I ran into Mikhail and Inessa. To make a long story short, we discussed it, did some planning, and decided we could design a resort together.
"It started out with mostly his money, but as the years went by, I was able to provide more and more. My books all sold well, so that helped. We spent years in design. Architects and engineers, and deciding on a location.
"As this went on and on, Alexis grew up. She asked me why her mommy didn't love her. Why didn't her mommy attend her birthday? Why she didn't get Christmas presents from her?" Slightly agitated, Rick ran his fingers through his hair. Talking about it all still wasn't easy for him. "What was I going to tell her? I couldn't tell her that her mommy didn't want her.
"Eventually, Alexis worked it out for herself. Then came that one fateful day at school. She just stopped talking after that. No matter what I did or said, she refused to speak.
Rick reached for her hand and took it in his. "So, thank you so very much. I'll never forget what you have done for my little girl."
"That's... That's…" Kate shook her head. "I don't have words for all that. What that woman did was just so wrong," Kate said indignantly. "Maybe she didn't understand what she was doing, or perhaps she did and didn't care. But I know I care. I care a lot. There's just something about Alexis. I don't get it, but I care. Has she ever tried to stay in touch? Find out anything?" Kate watched as Rick shook his head.
"Not so much as a phone call. I don't even know where Meredith is or what she's doing. Frankly, I don't care to know. Not now after what she's done."
"And living way out here, she's never going to find us." Rick was glad of that.
"That's good. Alexis doesn't need to get confused. I've told her that I'm not leaving her. What would happen if Meredith showed up and contested who had custody? Maybe Dad would have something else to do, but I'm not sure that is his specialty," Kate commented.
"You do realize that you can't leave her either. It would hurt her terribly," Rick cautioned her.
"I know, and I meant it. I give you my word that I'm not leaving Alexis. She's stuck with me for good or bad." But Kate wasn't thinking about what that meant between her and Rick. That would come later.
"Here's to Alexis talking!" Rick raised his glass, clinked it with hers, and drank.
Rick thought there might be something between them eventually. But she had asked to take it slowly, and he would give that to her.