Chapter 51
"I am fine Father. Just changing clothes for my visit to Catherine tonight," he said as he got up from the bed and quickly began to do so. He threw his soiled trousers in the hamper vowing to wash them out by hand when he got back tonight before the laundry crew came by in the morning.
"What was wrong with the clothes you had on?" Father questioned, still on the other side of the tapestry. "You don't usually change your everyday clothes unless there is a special event planned."
"I was just in the mood for a change Father," Vincent answered with a sigh.
"How long do you think that you will be Above Vincent? I did want to have a conversation with you about seeing this young woman."
Vincent had finished putting on clean trousers and a different shirt just so his words to Father were true. He swept back the tapestry and faced Father to say, "Father, I am no longer a child to be given unsolicited advised about girls, or women for that matter. What happens between Catherine and I is private, but if at anytime I feel in the need of your input I will be sure to come to you. Now, however, I must go or I will be late. Good night Father…don't wait up for me."
Alone in her apartment, Catherine paced around the living room arguing with herself about what to do. Her embarrassment was such that she thought about pretending not to be home when he arrived. But then she remembered the Bond that had caused her current state of embarrassment in the first place. She knew that he would know if she were home or not.
Once Vincent was away from Father he could once again tune into the Bond to see what was going on with Catherine. What he found both concerned and gave him relief. As he probed the edges of the Bond the sense he got was best described as a little child was sitting with their eyes and hands clenched tight and their legs drawn up almost to their chin; clearly in a defensive position trying to keep the bad things at bay.
He was concerned that Catherine felt she needed to close herself off from him in such a manner. But on the other hand, he was amazed that Catherine could be as embarrassed as he got when topics about sexual relations came up. Granted, this had been much more than just a conversation, but he was relieved that he wasn't the only one to react the way she had.
Vincent wondered what would happen when he saw Catherine. Would she just pretend that nothing had happened? Would it be swept under the rug and never mentioned? Or would they discuss it? He wasn't sure which would make him more uncomfortable. Although the world he lived in was built on secrets and they needed them to remain the safe haven it was, Vincent was a very honest person at heart. He would hate to have secrets from Catherine.
Yes it would be difficult to talk about such an intimate subject, but since marriage had been brought up between them, he would have to assume that one day he and Catherine would be intimate with each other. If that were so, then shouldn't they be able to discuss anything with each other?
By the time he had reasoned all the out he had arrived at his destination.
Catherine had decided that it would be foolish to hide from Vincent. First of all, she had been the one to invite him over. Second, the Bond would let him know she was home. Third, she had never been one to run from her problems. She had been taught at an early age to face things head on, so when Vincent arrived she was standing at the open French doors that led to her living room. "Hello Vincent," she greeted him quietly.
To be continued….