23 Thursday - Celia's Boundary

"Caroline. Caroline!" Her mother's carrying voice pierced the morning quiet.

Caroline wasn't quite ready for an interruption. She'd thought there might be another thirty minutes to an hour to get organized before everyone began descending upon her. "Mum. I'm in my study."

"Oh, here you are. We're back."

Dryly, "So I see." Then, "You've had an early start."

Settling herself on the extra chair, Celia started in, "Well, you can't have a lie in at the farm, can you? Gillian is up before first light, perking coffee and if you can sleep through that, Ted can't. So it's him and Gillian having a chin wag in the kitchen and the sound travels so in that house," she whined. "Anyway, may as well get up and off, so, here we are."

Giving her Mum a forced smile and trying to sound cheerful in spite if the interruption, "So, what are your plans today?"

"I guess we'd better start thinking of pulling up stakes, hadn't we? Now the house is being sold," she complained. "Except we still have Ted today. He doesn't go until tomorrow. And we don't have hill and dale to walk him over here to tire him out, do we?" Sighing, "Don't know what we'll do with him today."

"Oh. I thought he was here three weeks."

"He is. Thank God his dead wife still has relatives in Dorset and he is off there this weekend until his flight leaves from London."

Working to keep back a smile now, "I thought you liked Ted. Seemed as though you were all having a grand time."

"Oh we did," Celia sighed again. "But you know what they say about fish and company. And God knows we're well beyond the three day limit."

Turning back to her computer screen briefly to control her amusement at her mothers' forlorn tone, "Laurence has a rugby match this afternoon, do you think Ted would be interested in going to that?"

"Well, we can only hope," a third sigh. Looking up and catching the expression on Caroline's face, "don't get me wrong we've been pleased to have him here. Very nice of him to come all this way and all that. It's just that he is so… vocal. Always has an opinion and never refrains from offering it."

Choking back the laughter at this description, which so aptly described her mother as well as Ted, Caroline thought she saw where the problem lay. Getting up, Caroline managed to squeak out, "Tea, Mum?" as she walked out of the office, thinking she could regain control once she didn't have her Mum's eyes on her. Coming up the two steps to the kitchen she came face to face with Kate and lost it. Kate, unaware of the joke simply smiled to see Caroline so tickled.

Celia following behind seeing the two, asked in an injured tone "What are you two up to now? What's so funny?"

Caroline having moved on to the kettle, managed, "Please have a seat Mum, would you like some toast?"

Celia, in no mood to be trifled with this morning, "No. I don't want toast. Just tea, thank you," she said curtly.

Dealing out cups of tea, Caroline indicated that Kate should take a stool between her mother and where she stood. "I have about 30 minutes of work to finish before I start telephoning this morning." Standing at the island, teacup in hand, "Mum, I don't know if you and Alan have discussed a revised timetable or not but since we don't need to vacate this house until the last week in January, I wonder, would the two of you like to just rest up here for a week or 10 days? Catch your breath from the wedding before we start packing up your things?" Going on before her Mum could find fault, "Whenever you're ready I can call in the moving company to give us a bid for the packing up and storage and you can tell them when you want them to arrive. After things are in storage, you and Alan can set off for France and have a good time."

Celia, back to sighing now, "Yes, I suppose that'll be fine. I'll talk to Alan about it this afternoon while the sports nut is off with Laurence to the match."

Caroline, once more trying to keep a straight face at her mother's gloomy airs, dared only the barest of glances at Kate before turning back to her study choking out, "Fine, talk to you later."

Kate now having some idea of what had set Caroline off earlier smiled into her teacup as she took a sip.

Already in a mood and spoiling for a fight, this gap in conversation was all the opening Celia needed, "So. You're moving in together, just like that. Six months of not speaking and making each other miserable, one snog and just like that you're taking a flat together and raising a child," she challenged.

Kate flushed, not that Celia would recognize the signs. Looking up she saw what Celia had not noticed. Caroline, hearing the beginning of a tirade had flown back to the door of her study, mouth open ready to deal with her mother. Raising her fingers to hold Caroline off, Kate realized that for the first time in their relationship, she felt secure enough in Caroline's love to establish her own boundaries with Celia. They'd talked woman to woman before they could do it again. Assuming the regal bearing she had inherited from her mother and wearing her gentle serenity like armor Kate looked Celia in the eye until the older woman lowered her gaze.

Kate started quietly but firmly in a voice she used in the classroom to take control of a deteriorating situation, "Celia, I realize that the last couple of weeks have been a strain for you. A wedding can be draining and then the holidays plus having a guest in your home for over a week. I understand you may be tired and I can excuse that but neither Caroline or I deserve what you just said." Seeing that Celia had the grace to look embarrassed, she continued more quietly but still firmly, "Caroline and I did not part lightly nor have we reunited without due consideration. We've spent days talking things through openly and honestly." Meeting Celia's curious scrutiny, "Trust me, it wasn't an easy process for either of us." Looking down the room to find Caroline halfway into the dining room, one arm beneath her breast, fingers of the other pressed to her lips, eyes in awe of the woman who had silenced her mother.

Holding out her hand to draw Caroline in, Kate continued, "We are grown women. We have our eyes open and our feet on the ground, as my Dad used to say." Caroline had arrived, the two women stood hip to hip, arms around one another's waist, Kate's eyes still held Celia's, "I love your daughter Celia. I want to spend the rest of my life making her happy." Turning her head now to Caroline who was gazing up adoringly at her, "I believe she feels the same way toward me." Looking back across the island to Celia, giving her time to speak, meeting her eye, Kate found her simply taking in the sight of the two of them.

Celia had seldom been spoken to in quite this way, so calmly unyielding. Once in a while Caroline could manage it but usually the emotion of their relationship got in the way of that. Regarding them, Celia realized that if the two of them had reached this stage of unity in only a week after being estranged for six months it was looking inevitable that they would remain together. She knew this is what Caroline wanted and she did want her daughter to be happy. She would never wish the years of loneliness she'd experienced onto her. But she'd already told Caroline that. Kate was speaking again.

"So, yes, Celia, we are taking a flat and raising a child together. If you have anything to say about it this would be a good time to get it out into the open. After today it is not up for discussion or comment. It'll be only between me and Caroline."

Kate, feeling Caroline lean into her, looked down to find her upturned face very close, so she bent her head and kissed Caroline deliberately in front of her mother. And for the first time Caroline intentionally in Celia's presence kissed Kate in return. The two women regarded Celia, who still remained speechless in the face of this united front.

After a long moment of considering, she said sincerely, "I hope you'll be very happy. God knows you both deserve to be.

Coming around the island, Caroline embraced her mother, "Mum, you've made me very happy, thank you."

When Caroline released her Celia looking up into Kate's face, "What, no hug from you?"

Smiling her gentle smile, Kate hugged Celia and received a kiss on the cheek and a firm squeeze to her shoulders. "Right, well, I know you two are busy today so I'll be on my way. I'll send Ted over in time for the rugby match. If Alan doesn't go he can take our car anyway. Ta ta." Without looking back she was out the door.

Caroline stood blinking into Kate's face, "Well that was… I've never… Gosh."

Walking hand in hand toward the study, looking admiringly up at Kate again, "You are definitely in charge of my mother from now on." Seeing Kate's mouth open to protest Caroline cut her short, "No. No, it's settled, you handle Celia from now on."

xxx

The move was exhausting, exhilarating and brilliantly masterminded by Caroline. Before 9:00 Thursday an expert removals team had arrived at Kate's house to begin packing the items Kate wished to take to the new flat. In each room the leader tagged the contents and furnishings that would move to The Lion according to Kate's directives. As they moved to the next room designated team members stayed behind to begin the packing and the rest moved on. Soon there were removals teams in the kitchen, the sitting room and others upstairs.

It wasn't long before Kate was very grateful to have William as a back up since she was constantly being called upon to make decisions or reiterate them. At last, having a good handle on what was expected on the lower level he escorted Kate up the stairs to supervise the teams there while he dealt with the downstairs, running up for her advice whenever there was a question he couldn't answer. His mother had assigned William to go to Kate's, with strict instructions to see that Kate did not overdo or get too tired. He was especially charged to see to it that she lifted absolutely nothing.

William had always liked Kate; she had been one of his favorite teachers at school. Given this assignment he would always have done his best to help her. Now that she was making his Mum so happy he had even more reason to want to safeguard Kate. Once or twice she had given him a sharp look when he had come to her with a lame question because he'd mainly wanted to check that she wasn't getting involved with the actual packing. He'd had to get on his toes to come up with better reasons to climb the stairs. For all Kate's gentle kindly ways William knew all too well from school that one crossed her at one's own peril.

Meanwhile, Caroline was supervising a crew in her house to do much the same work. Thanks to the preliminary progress she'd made with Laurence last autumn the two teams finished at much the same time late in the afternoon. Since the plan was for all the beds to be dismantled today so that nothing would hinder the big move tomorrow, rooms had been booked at a local hotel for the night and everyone's overnight case was safely tucked into the boot of Caroline's Jeep. After ascertaining by phone that work was completed for the day at both locations, Kate and Will met Caroline with Laurence, who had just arrived back from his rugby match, at the hotel. After checking in, the four arranged to change and meet in the lobby in time to make their early dinner reservation at Kate's favorite restaurant. Celia, Alan, Ted and Edie were all scheduled to dine with them tonight.

On the way to the restaurant, it suddenly occurred to Kate that this was the first time their mothers would meet. A little stunned at themselves for not realizing this sooner they decided that, on the whole, maybe this was best. The mothers would meet on neutral ground, the boys already knew and liked Edie, and Alan and his brother Ted were able conversationalists who would keep the mood light and move the conversation on should it lag.

So, Edie was introduced to Celia, Alan and Ted in the small entry area of the restaurant just as Mr. Balboa came forward to greet them and was in turn introduced to Caroline's boys and the Buttershaws before seating the family at a large round table which easily accommodated the eight of them. To Caroline's evident amusement, Ted had managed a seat between Kate and her mother leaving Celia on the other side of Edie. This arrangement had a subduing effect on the usually garrulous Celia or perhaps she was simply tired. She couldn't help the underlying feeling that she was being coerced but in any case she chatted politely with Kate's mother whenever Ted did not have Edie monopolized or with Alan and the boys otherwise.

There was plenty of conversation at the table as progress on the big move was discussed and Laurence was full of his feats on the rugby pitch that afternoon. Caroline and Kate, weary from their busy day but happy at the noisy family scene smiled at one another. Caroline covered the hand Kate rested on the table, smiling her pleasure across into her mother's eyes. It took a moment but Celia managed to return a genuine smile of her own. Alan observing this exchange said nothing but smiled warmly across the table to them as well, putting his arm on the back of his wife's chair.