Kate turned her attention to the album in her lap. When she'd flipped through all the pages, Kate's thoughts returned to the man beside her. She looked up at Rick and saw him watching her. He was obviously watching to see what she might like. "I don't know, Castle. They're all so beautiful. I don't really know where to start."
"I guess…start with something simple." Just then, Alexis' ringtone sounded.
"Hello, Sweet Child of Mine." Castle sang into his phone. Kate quietly chuckled. He was so effortless with Alexis. She continued looking through the stuff on the coffee table and listened as he spoke to Alexis. "Did Gram make you call me?" Pause. "Not to worry, Wart. I'll be there." Pause. "No, I didn't ask her." Pause. Kate caught his eye, but he looked away. "Trust me. She's got better things to do." Pause. "Okay. I'll see you in a couple hours. Bye, Sweetie."
"Something you wanna ask me, Castle?" She notches an eyebrow at him, grinning. Castle shifts uncomfortably. She leans in closer, until her face is just inches from his, never taking her eyes off his. "You're sure, Castle?" she asks.
She watches his blue eyes cloud to a deeper grey. Rick fights the urge to drop his eyes to her lips. She's going to kill me. He turns his head, bowing out of the staring contest, hoping his eyes haven't given too much away. "Just, uh, what kind of flowers did your mom like?"
Kate slowly leaned back on her couch. His question was enough to ruin her mood, and for a moment she regretted agreeing that this event was personal and that she wanted to be involved in the planning. But it was true, and on some level, she'd known Rick would be here, planning with her.
She closed her eyes and willed herself not to tear up. She asked herself this question every time she visited her mother's grave. She didn't know, so she'd take a different arrangement every time. The only flowers she could associate with her mother were the blood-red roses draped over her mother's casket. She hated red roses. Her voice cracked a little when she whispered, "I don't know, Rick. Just not red roses." He seemed to understand. He covered her hand with his.
"Well, did she have a favorite color?"
"She wore blue a lot. Our kitchen is blue. Our couch was blue. But she also like green."
'So how about this? We don't decide on a particular flower, but we ask for an arrangement in blues, greens, and purples. Do you mind if I request forget-me-nots as part of the arrangement? They're blue, and I like the symbolism."
"No. I like that idea. But why purple?"
"Because you like purple. So do I." Kate nodded. She'd never told him, but he knew a lot about her that she'd never had to say.
"Oh, I almost forgot! My Aunt Nadine finally sent me the pics she promised and the last of my family's addresses. But, they're photocopies from her address book, so I have to type them up still." She didn't tell him how her aunt had been so excited, assuming that a wedding was in the works.
Kate tried to explain that a man she works with very closely, who just happens to be the famous Richard Castle, no less, is sponsoring a scholarship in honor of her mother. After she struggled through that explanation, her aunt asked, "Why?" And while Kate understood on some level, she didn't fully grasp Castle's gesture and certainly couldn't wrap enough words around it to make it coherent.
"You can bring the photos over later and we'll finish digitizing them. Do you think your Aunt would want digital copies, too? Alexis already has an Excel sheet going for the guest list. Better to have her add them than to have to mess with typing them up in the wrong format."
"You don't think she'll mind?"
"Nah. She'll be all over this. She wants to help." He smiled at her and reached for the invitations. "I have proof. They've already provided their opinions on these invitations. After you decide which one you like, I'll tell you what they picked."
Kate took the samples from him and began pulling them from the envelopes. She examined each one and immediately rejected the one that looked like a Playbill and the one that looked like fake handwriting. In the background, Castle was explaining that they could select any color ink and envelop lining, and of course, they'd change the wording. How's he know all these details? Having examined the fonts, she looked at the designs. One had a raised checkerboard border, three rows thick. She didn't mind it, but it didn't really like it, either.
Of the three left in her hand, one had a raised scroll at the top and bottom, one had a foil border that she knew would match the envelop and one had a colorful, vine-like pattern in the top right and bottom left corners, wrapping around the text like L-shaped bookends. It reminded her of reaching out, and it was fun and sophisticated, but not overly formal. She held her choice up to Castle.
He turned to the table, to pick up one of the ones she'd discarded. "The Matinee invitation," he says, flipping the playbill one toward her, "was Mother's choice."
"Of course." Kate said, seriously, wrinkling her nose.
"Amanda's suggestion," he said pointing to the invitation with the formal scroll.
"Too wedding-ish." Kate said.
"But, Alexis and I picked the same as you. The life-affirming vine. Classy, but not stuffy. If we want those old fogies to open their pocket books, we need to promise a good time, remind them of their youth and…have fun!"
"Old fogies, Castle?"
"They're the ones with the money."
"So you're an old fogy?"
"No. I'm an exception. Thought you knew that by now?" He hmphed at her. "Decidedly not old, definitely not a fogy."
"But these grey hairs tell a different story." She laughed, tugging on the hair at his temple.
He playfully swatted her hand away. "I think you need to get your eyes checked, Detective Beckett. Maybe I'll make that recommendation the Captain."
"Try it, Castle. And I'll tell the Captain you have a hard time keeping up in the field. I'll suggest you attend the NYPD Fitness Academy until you meet field requirements." Kate turned toward her door, when she heard someone knocking.
"Hey, I keep up." Castle called out with mock indignation.
"If doubled-over, out of breath counts." Kate laughed, pulling open the door.
"Josh." The corners of her smile dropped just a bit as she looked up at him.