Chapter 5

House decided to get to the diner early so that he could have one up on Titania and observe her as she got in. As he walked in the door, laughter drew his attention to the far right end of the counter. Titania was sitting on a stool with a couple elderly men sitting with her and a waitress leaning on the counter in front of them. All seemed to be laughing at something Titania was saying, her hands waving in the air. As her drew closer, he saw that there were cards laid out in front of all three of them.

Titania glanced over as House approached and she smiled brightly at him.

"Hey you made it. Just in time."

One of the gentleman next to her added, "Yeah, just in time to watch her steal our whole pensions."

Titania laughed and replied, "Oh, Fred you know that's not true. Not all of it. After all, you did say you'd buy lunch."

"That was before I knew you were going to swindle us."

"Oh stop gripping. You know you like the challenge." Titatia winked Fred who smiled at her in amusement. The other man turned to House.

"So, you're the hot date Titania has huh." He looked House up and down and with a twinkle in his eye said to Titania, "He doesn't look like much. You'll have more fun with us."

She laughed and shook her head, "Gus, you're too much."

"Yeah, he's something alright." House growled, giving Gus the evil eye.

"Alright, I think that it's time that I leave you two fine gentlemen. After all, it isn't fair to steal from the elderly."

"Oh we were just playing you, giving you false security and all."

"I see, just trying to make it seem like you were going to loose. Whatever you say Fred. Anyway, boys, I promised Greg lunch. So you have my card. Just give me a call and we'll have a rematch. It was a lot of fun. Your old stories are fascinating and I really enjoyed hearing them."

"There's more where they came from young lady. We'd be happy to share them with you." Gus said.

"You're on! Just give me a call." She then gave each of them a hug and turned to House.

"We can take that table over there. Hungry?" House just looked at her a brief moment before making his way to the table. She followed and as she sat across from him he tilted his head in the direction they had just come.

"What was that all about?"

"Oh, I did a little window shopping and exploring but got bored. Came in for a coffee and met Fred and Gus. We started talking and they offered to show me some card tricks which led to a game."

"How long ago was that?"

Titania looked at her watch and laughed. "Wow. Looks like it was almost 2 hours. Time really does fly when you're having fun."

House snort then looked over at the waitress and tapped the coffee cup on the table.

As the waitress started to pour, House gave his order.

"Rueben, no pickles and a large fry."

Titania raised an eyebrow at his abrupt manner then turned to the waitress.

"Thanks Luce. I'll have a cup of the corn chowder and the fruit salad. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome sweetie." Lucy smiled at Titania before going to fill their order.

"So…." House shifted in his chair awkwardly, not making eye contact with Titania.

"Hey, take it easy. There is no need for you to be nervous. I really just want a chance to get to know you a little before I leave. I don't even expect to have contact with you afterward."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why come here to get to know me? Why only for two weeks? And why, if I'm your father and you want to get to know me, have a short time period and not want contact after?"

"I don't want to pressure you. I am curious. I just don't feel that this has to be something permanent."

"Then why even bother."

"Like I said, I'm curious."

"Curiosity killed the cat."

"Do I look like a cat to you?"

"A little" House said, a twinkle forming in his eyes.

She laughed lightly, shaking her head.

"Moving on. What are your parents names?"

"That's your first question? Really?"

"Why not? It's a legit one. It starts off on knowing your family back ground."

"Riiiight."

"So what are their names?"

"John and Blythe."

"Oh, Blythe is so pretty. Mom's parent's names were Elna and Wilbur. Williams's parent's names are Edward and Lillian. They're all great names. I love learning about names. "

"So Harvest's parents are dead?"

Titania shook her head yes as she replied, "Almost five years ago. Pop-pop had a heart attack that February and grandma fell and broke her hip a month later. She got pneumonia and soon died after."

"And his parents?"

"Living in England on the family estate in outside of Salisbury. I visit them a few times a year. We write and call a lot. When I was there a few months ago I even got a webcam set up. They get a kick out of that. It took some work teaching them hoe it worked but we had some good laughs. Mom thought it was hilarious."

"So how are your mother and William?"

"They're dead."