The Owl and the Pussycat (Edward Lear)
*and they danced by the light of the moon*
Myka ran up the stone steps to the townhouse, but Helena felt like she ascended by floating. The kiss heard round the world may have started on Helena's lips, but Myka leaned in so hard, that the electricity shot to the Brit's toes. There wasn't a nerve ending unscathed by that osculation. Myka was also full of pulsations – but it was all in her head. She was busy thinking through the plan that she had just put into action by uttering those words. Myka rarely had to back into any decision she made and it was consuming her attention to work in reverse.
In the meantime, the author - the woman who had an answer for everything, was having trouble talking. Myka took one look at Helena and knew she had practically disabled her with that kiss. Myka slowed down, approached Helena, who seemed to be moving in slow motion, and gently pinned her against the wall in the entryway.
"Do you know how madly in love I am with you, Helena?" Myka asked in a low voice, staring into deep onyx pools.
"Yes," Helena uttered in a breathy tone because it was true.
A long, slow grin crossed Myka's face as she realized Helena was struggling exquisitely in the emotion of what was going on. This is when Myka saw Helena at her most vulnerable, when she was practically cut off from her usual defenses of logic, words, and judgment. Few people ever got to see Helena like this, let alone be the cause of such a state. Myka leaned in, kissing Helena's lips gently and taking what little breath she had left.
"We'll take care of it, Helena, don't worry," Myka assured her, even though she had no idea how they would pull this off.
"OK," said the Brit.
"We'll think of it as a puzzle," Myka decided. "And you know how good we are at solving puzzles."
Helena was supposed to say her follow-up line, but in her dazed state, she could only smile and nod. She followed Myka upstairs to the bedroom. Myka turned back to face Helena as they stood in the quietude of the house. The bright round moon shone through the curtains and bathed them in the darkened room.
"With all my heart, Helena, I promise to be the woman you deserve," Myka said softly, leaning into Helena's ear.
"With all my heart, Myka, I promise to be the woman deserving of you," Helena said back.
The two separated momentarily to get into bed where they rejoined their bodies and hearts before surrendering to peaceful slumber.
It was going to take a couple of hours until Helena's brain was back online completely and when that happened, she shot up from her deep sleep in bed. How the bloody hell was she going to get this all done by the weekend? She quietly got up so as not to disturb Myka, but as soon as her feet touched the floor, she started to pace. The only thing she and Myka discussed last night was that they wanted their friends and family there and neither cared if the press got wind of it. That was actually a good thing because as Helena paced, the press was gathering at her door. It was, however, disturbing Bandit and he started to make noise. Helena crept downstairs to quiet him. Lost in her thoughts and unaware of the outside crowd, she went into the kitchen to calm the dog by sitting down with him on the floor.
"She wants us to get married this weekend," she whispered to the puppy that was more than happy to have company. "I said yes of course, because there's little I would refuse her," Helena confessed, reaching for a bag of doggie treats. Now she really had Bandit's attention. She had no way of knowing his quizzical look included the question – "Do you know I'm only allowed to have one of them after dinner? No? OK, I won't tell if you don't."
"I may have refused her shopping retail, but other than that….," Helena continued out loud as the dog waited patiently for her to put her hand into the bag. She had stopped as she thought all of this through. "We have to get her family here. We have to choose witnesses, dresses, flowers, not to mention where we will do this," Helena said, her hand reaching in to grab the treat. Bandit sat between the Brit's legs at attention – waiting.
"You know," Helena said, withdrawing her hand vacant, much to the amazement of the dog. 'Had they run out of his favorite snacks?' "I have a staff to handle my issues. They will handle this," Helena said, grabbing for her phone instead of the dog's wish. Helena furiously texted Irene, Pete, Claudia, Eileen, Leena and Artie and told them the news. "Myka and I are getting married this weekend. Take care of the details," was her simple request. Bandit was thinking the same thing. He realized he was dealing with the lesser trained of the two humans and had to help. He nudged the bag in Helena's other hand and caught her attention. Slowly she put her hand back in and pulled a treat out. "I see no reason…..," she said waving the treat now, "…not to ask their assistance."
Bandit let out a low growl that to a trained ear might have sounded just like 'oy vey'. Helena looked at him and handed him the treat. "Good girl," he howled at her. This one was going to require more work, he thought.
"Good," Helena said, having thought out the whole matter and believing it settled.
Bandit couldn't have been happier to help. He was certain he had done a good job because she had left the entire bag of treats on the floor for him to enjoy, as well as that shiny thing she was using before.
As the woman in charge climbed the stairs to go back to bed, her directors were waking up to that special ring for important texts. Each was thrilled about the news, then anxious about what the necessary planning entailed. The conference call began when Irene called them all. "Now we can assume that the press has already gotten wind of this so let's plan accordingly. I can't begin to imagine where or how this is going to take place," she admitted.
"It's got to be perfect!" Eileen said excitedly, sitting on the opposite side of the bed from her lover who already had her laptop opened.
"Perfect takes a lot of planning," Claudia said, her ear piece already in place. Eileen marveled at how quickly her techie girlfriend could literally be up and running.
"Good point, Ms. Donovan. Let's meet at the townhouse at 7," Irene said, waiting until she hung up the phone to let out her shout of excitement. "Oh Helena!," Irene said sweetly. No one was happier for the couple.
Pete jumped up out of bed to assemble the security team. "What's up? She didn't build an army of those robots, did she?" asked a groggy Jane. In Pete's remorse about his comment to the android, he volunteered to have him stay with him overnight.
"No! She's getting …I mean…they're getting married. This weekend!" Pete said.
"Oh great!" Jane said, burying her head in the pillow and knowing that she was going to be asked to take care of police detail. "Please tell me it's in England."
"I'm not sure where it is," Pete said, realizing that was an important piece of info. "I'll let you know as soon as I do," he promised, kissing his girlfriend and heading into the shower, singing "I'm getting married in the morning".
"And I thought we dodged a bullet with the Pope going to Philadelphia next year," Jane moaned.
Helena had slipped back into bed and stared down at Myka's sleeping face. She ached to kiss Myka's lips, but refrained so she wouldn't wake her. Instinctively, Myka stirred and moved in so she could rest her head on Helena's chest. Helena smiled to think that this was one of the things she enjoyed most – holding Myka in her arms. She couldn't wait for them to tell the world that the day was quickly arriving. With Bandit occupied, Helena had no way of knowing that the press was now swarming around the townhouse, ready for the first sighting.
Helena fell back to sleep as the team scrambled to get things into place.
The first thing that Claudia checked was the cameras at the townhouse. She then relayed to Pete that the press was already there. Myka's kiss had not gone unnoticed in the very public restaurant. It was a small leap for the press to assemble the troops just in case. Wells Security was organized and dispersed with minutes. A couple of hours later, Leena arrived and had to be escorted through the crowd.
Going inside, she asked Pete - "Do we have any news?," in case he had been updated. He shook his head no. "Anything?" she asked, hoping. "Nope," he reiterated. When she saw Irene there, she grabbed her chest and smiled. "Oh thank God, you're here."
"Thank you for that vote of confidence, Leena, but I'm not sure I'm a large enough force for this event," Irene smiled.
"Coffee?" Leena asked and the women made their way into the kitchen. "Oh my God! What happened?" she asked as she looked around at the ripped-to-shreds bag and a very happy dog. Bandit had just gotten to the point where he sat and waited for Leena to come in, but this morning he ran all around – in-between legs and under the table and up on chairs. "How did you….?" Leena asked when Irene picked up an iPhone - a much chewed on iPhone – from the water dish.
"I believe this will answer your question," Irene said as she texted Claudia to get her boss a new phone – and stat. Claudia was at work already putting together the official media package with Eileen. She slid her chair over to a closet and opened it and took out an iPhone from the stack. "Plug this in there," the techie instructed Eileen who was staring at the inventory of gadgets. "She loses them a lot. Don't tell Myka," Claudia confided in her girlfriend.
"How often….?" Eileen asked, doing as she was instructed and updating the new phone with all of Helena's information.
"Fourth one since Myka went away," Claudia said, checking the updates. "But that's top-secret information I just gave you. Most people would have to use torture to get me to even hint at spilling those beans."
"Torture eh?" Eileen teased, moving her chair on wheels closer to Claudia. "Like what? Holding back the pepperoni on the pizza? Calling the Mets a New York baseball team? Stuff like that?"
"Very funny," Claudia said, unplugging the phone and handing it to Eileen. "Now, let's see how your stealth skills are when you slip this to Helena."
"Me?" Eileen asked, not sure she could pull that off.
"Not so funny now, are you Sullivan?" Claudia teased. "Come on, I'll help you."
The two women arrived at the townhouse within minutes thanks to Steve who was ready for them. As soon as Eileen stepped out, the questions were thrown at her. The "Where?" "When? Are you taking over?" questions went unanswered as the two made their way into the townhouse. Irene was there to greet them.
"Phone?" Irene asked, no time for formalities this morning.
"I am not cleaning up after him if he's barfing all over the place. Oh, hi ladies. Breakfast?" Leena asked.
"No time," Irene answered for them, but Claudia nodded an affirmative yes.
"I want to see if Eileen can get the phone to Helena undetected," Claudia said, in all seriousness.
"Really?" Irene asked. "And you think this morning is the time to test that?"
"Yes, I do," Claudia said – all business. "If she is to take on more responsibility in the company, she has to learn to do things a little covert once in a while."
"I don't think this is a good idea," the young executive said of her mission.
"This I gotta see," Leena said under her breath.
Irene had more pressing issues on her mind than whether or not Eileen could do this without breaking out in hives. "Very well," Irene said and that was all it took.
Claudia turned to Eileen. "Bonus points if you don't make Helena curse."
"Good morning, darling," Helena said as long eyelashes fluttered over pools of jade.
"Hi," Myka said, turning into Helena to hug her.
"I let everyone know about our upcoming event," Helena said and then Myka remembered all the unanswered questions.
"Oh we really need to decide…," Myka started to say, but Helena kissed the crinkle in her brow.
"Don't be worried, darling. This is why I have a staff. To tackle issues like this," Helena said calmly.
"Helena, I am not sure they can make any decisions…," Myka said.
"No, of course not. Just tell them what you want," Helena said, having figured it all out.
"Just tell them?" Myka smiled, because she loved how Helena rarely saw a problem she couldn't fix – or have someone else fix.
"Yes," came the expected reply.
"OK," Myka said, knowing the plan was going to fall apart in spite of Helena's good intentions. She tried to imagine the phone call to her parents by one of their friends. It wasn't pretty.
Myka didn't give any thought to the fact that the press, who had been reading and waiting for any hint of the date, was downstairs already. Twitter was about to break and the camera crews were told to break in to the scheduled news shows as soon as they heard anything. The couple in question was oblivious to the buzz.
Making an organized list in her head, Myka decided to call her parents as soon as she could assure them everything was taken care of. She thought it better to have a confident tone to her voice when she said it. The women rose and got dressed. Helena in her high end couture, Myka in her fashionable suit.
"We will make this work," Myka said, pulling Helena's hand as they went to leave the bedroom.
"Of course we will. Whatever you want, Myka," Helena said.
Not only had Helena come up with the plan for her staff/friends to handle all the details – she had come up with their mantra – "Whatever Myka wants" would be spoken more than once at the impromptu meeting about to take place downstairs.
In Helena's mind, it was the one answer to every question.
Myka wasn't at all surprised to see the group of friends assembled in the dining room, grabbing Danish and sipping coffee in spite of Irene's protest. Silence befell the room when the couple appeared. For a brief moment, no one moved until Irene couldn't hold back any longer and pulled Helena into her and hugged her. "I am so very pleased for you, Helena. She's a very lucky girl," Irene said, fighting back the tears. This woman's warm embrace was only second to Myka's in Helena's book. "Thank you, Irene," Helena said. Then everyone rushed at them, hugging them and offering congratulations.
One word from Irene and the embracing stopped. "We have a great deal to do," the HR Director said and Helena looked over at Myka with an – "I told you so," look. "Now Helena, where is this going to take place?"
"Pardon?" Helena asked, surprised by the question.
"Ruh roh," Claudia said under her breath and quickly Googled wedding venues. Pete stopped biting on his third donut, but after spending an evening with him, Sui Generis kept pushing his in his mouth.
"Great! Now I need to check the code in his manners program," the Director of IT said upon seeing the influence Pete had on the android.
Irene looked directly at Helena and then at Myka. Helena's expression was blank, but there was guilt written all over Myka. "Whatever Myka wants," Helena said, reaching for her phone and realizing it wasn't there. Then she remembered exactly where she had left it.
"Did….…he?" Helena asked Leena.
"Very much so," Leena answered about the chewed phone.
Helena immediately looked at Irene, who in turn looked at Claudia, who in turn looked at the woman who possessed the phone. Helena followed the track of eyes until they stopped at her young protégé. Helena stared at the young woman who now bounced up and down on the balls of her feet as she contemplated the situation. Light blue eyes stared back at Helena as the genius tried to read the expression in them. Obviously, there was some holdup on giving her the phone.
"OK, then what do we want to say to the press outside?" Irene asked.
"The press is outside? Do they know?" Myka asked, concerned her parents might see this before her call. "I have to tell my parents. Helena, I have to tell my parents. Where's my phone? I don't have it. Give me yours please, Helena?" Myka panicked all at once and put out her hand.
"My phone?" Helena said and Myka looked at her. There was never a time when Helena wasn't attached to her phone. Helena looked at Eileen and read that expression clearly now. No one believed in telling the truth more than the young Wells.
"Myka, I left my phone with the dog this morning and the ungrateful animal chewed on it," Helena said matter of factly.
"Oh Helena, I'm sorry he did that. Is he okay?" Myka asked Leena.
"He fared better than the phone that was in his water dish. Ask me later how he did with the bag of treats someone gave him," Leena tattled.
"Did you give him a whole bag?" Myka asked, sucking her lips in, trying not to laugh at the thought of Helena sitting with Bandit. They were a dangerous combination.
"How the bloody hell would I know how much was in there?" Helena said, getting annoyed at the attention.
"You lose," Claudia said to Eileen.
"Now I have told her the truth! May I please have my phone?" Helena said and then turned to Irene. "Is Miss Sullivan spending time with you? I want that to cease immediately," Helena said to Irene about the young woman who still had her phone.
Eileen walked over to her boss and handed her the phone and smiled her heartfelt satisfaction. "I couldn't just slip this...," Eileen tried to explain.
"Oh yes, I know," Helena said, taking the beloved gadget from her.
"Let's call my parents," Myka said, and she and Helena started to walk to the library.
"What was that about your phone? Myka asked.
"I …hesitated to tell you…because it is not the first time I've lost the blasted thing," Helena said, looking pitiful.
"I'm not your mother," Myka laughed at Helena's obvious concern.
"Yes, I know. That job apparently is being handled by the two very annoying people in there," Helena said of her friends.
"So why not just tell me?" Myka said, walking into the library. "I always want the truth."
Helena thought about that statement. "You get …all….naggy about it," Helena said because that is how she interpreted Myka's typical response.
"Naggy?" Myka said, surprised by the choice of word.
"Well, you say – Oh Helena – in that tone," Helena said looking down at her shoes and anywhere else but at Myka.
"What tone?" Myka asked because this is exactly how you strip away one's lame defense.
"That …tone….you ….get. The one that makes me feel all guilty," Helena explained. "Don't we have to call your parents?"
"I think it's that you feel guilty about being careless and try to put that on me when I sympathize with your plight," Myka asserted.
Helena had to think about that. Myka was right – she never spoke to Helena in anything but a sympathetic manner when she lost something. Myka smiled as she watched Helena's brain process her claim.
"In fact, I wonder if you don't do it on purpose – unconsciously of course," Myka played Helena.
"What? Unconsciously? Are you a therapist now?" Helena said, uncomfortable with the line of questioning. Being with a lawyer with excellent interviewing skills was hard enough!
"I think," Myka said, pulling Helena in closer as she leaned on the back of the couch, "…..maybe you like being in trouble. Unconsciously, of course," Myka teased.
"Why would I do ….?" Helena asked and then saw the devilish smile on Myka's face. This was turning into quite the enjoyable game. "Yes," Helena admitted quickly. "That's it."
"Tsk, tsk, Ms. Wells," Myka said, making it up as she went along. "You know what we do about girls who misbehave?" she asked, running her hands up both of Helena's arms.
Helena's eyes grew wide with confusion …and anticipation. "No," she answered honestly.
Myka smile grew wider. Helena trying to be in trouble was more endearing than Helena when she was in trouble. She pulled Helena closer so she could whisper the answer in her ear. Myka broke out into laughter at the playful banter, but Helena was taking it all in. She swallowed hard at the answer and stood back, looking Myka straight in the eye.
"That was my fourth one in less than two weeks," she blurted out her confession.
"Oh so now the truth comes out," Myka said. "This is serious," she teased. The spirited repartee was all fun for Myka who loved the effect it had on Helena.
"It…is?" Helena said, her eyes glazed over from the exhilaration growing within.
"Oh yes, Ms. Wells. We're going to have to address this tonight and assess the appropriate consequence," Myka said and Helena's ankle gave out. "Are you okay?" Myka said, catching her by her elbows.
"I have never been better," Helen said in a raspy tone.
Myka laughed softly and pulled Helena into her. "Now let's call my parents," Myka said, afraid any more teasing would make Helena incoherent.
The couple sat down on the couch and Myka dialed her parents. Her father picked up the phone and greeted her with – "I told you already! We do not know anything about the wedding!" and slammed the clamshell phone shut.
"Oh oh," Myka said, resorting to Facetime with her mother.
"Warren! It's Myka. She's on the FacePhone," they heard Jeannie shout to her husband. "Myka?" her mother asked as she moved the phone around.
"Mom, hold the phone facing you," Myka instructed.
"Oh, there you are. Myka, the phone is ringing off the hook here. They think your wedding date has been announced. Your father told them that was ridiculous and that we would know if such a thing had been decided. Warren? I have Myka on the phone now. Come in here," Jeannie said.
"Mom?" Myka tried.
"Warren! She's not on your phone. She's on this one. Come in here please and stop arguing with the press," Jeannie begged her husband.
Myka listened to her parents argue back and forth about where to put the iPhone so that she could see both of them. "That's too close," her mother said. "That's too far," her father complained.
Myka put the phone to her chest while they settled it. "You know if I really wanted to punish you, I'd make you tell them," Myka said, pretending she was giving Helena the phone.
"No, please," Helena said, unable to collect her thoughts, let alone handle the Berings.
"Oh my God, Helena Wells. Are you afraid of your future in-laws? Have I found the Wells kryptonite?"
"Myka? What is going on?" came the sound from the phone. "What does kryptonite have to do with this?"
"Mom? Dad? Helena and I are getting married this weekend," Myka said and suddenly the view on her phone was a close up of two faces with very stern looks on them.
"This weekend? Honey, we can't get your father's lodge this weekend! And the church already has a wedding. Warren, can you call Bill and see if they can give us the upstairs room at the lodge. How many people are we talking about, Myka?" her mother asked.
"Mom, don't call anyone. Helena and I will handle all the details and get back to you, okay?" Myka said calmly.
"Are…you…sure?" Jeannie asked skeptically?
"Yes, mom. I'll call you back soon," Myka said as she said goodbye.
Helena hadn't heard a word of it. She was off in her own little world, replaying Myka's teasing from before.
"We have to decide what we're doing, Helena," Myka said, the reality of the issues setting in more now.
"Of course, whatever you want, Myka," Helena said and meant it.
Myka looked over at the love of her life. She realized what really mattered to her was getting married to Helena. The where, when, how were all secondary. "Come on," Myka said, gently kissing Helena one more time, and then pulling her up off the couch.
The two women emerged from the room as Irene was dismissing the team. One look at Helena told the HR Director something was up.
"How did it go?" Irene asked Helena when Myka ran upstairs to get her phone.
"I'm in trouble," Helena said, almost giddy.
"With her parents?" Irene asked confused.
"Don't be ridiculous! With Myka," Helena laughed and bit her lip.
Irene tried to put all of this together – a task she excelled at. Myka came back downstairs and joined them. "Did you tell her she was in trouble …because of the phone?" Irene asked astutely when Helena went to get her coat.
"Did I what? Oh….," Myka said, embarrassed that their private game was not so private. "I was teasing …her…not seriously," Myka coughed.
"The streets will be littered with iPhones," Irene said, throwing her head back and rolling her eyes. "Did you two make any decisions while you were in there?"
"Not…exactly, no," Myka answered.
"You really are making quite the fuss," Helena said to Irene, coming back into the entry way.
"Am I?" Irene said, putting her hands on her hips now.
"You have a tendency to do that," Helena explained. "But we're good at this. We solve puzzles, we save the day."
"Oh you do, do you?" Irene asked, certain Helena was missing the bigger picture as usual.
"Sometimes...with help," Myka interjected.
"Mmm, mmm, mmm," Irene said, handing them the prepared statement they were to repeat to the press.
"What's this?" Helena asked, after the first sentence. "We are pleased to announce that Ms. Bering and I have decided to move our wedding date up."
"That, Helena, is your help. Let's go," Irene said, opening the door to the explosion of camera flashes and people shouting.