| d |
Silent Night
The end of the work day finally came, and so having a bit of time between now and her date, Catherine went home to freshen up.
So as she opened her apartment door, she was excited to see an envelope on the floor, which because of the mode of delivery, it would most likely be a tunnel communique of some sort.
Upon opening up the envelope, she recognized the content at once! It was a Christmas Card from the Tunnels and it was one of the cards Natalie had made!
And then Catherine thought, she wished she had been home in time to receive it personally! But here it is, an Official Helper Christmas Card, and even though she helped with the process, she still felt honored and humbled to have been given one.
And as other Helpers were receiving theirs this night too, the same joy was being felt by them as well...Charles, Peter, Rosa, Lou, Lin, Henry, Dr. Wong, etc. as the tunnel residents expressed their gratitude and Christmas wishes.
Meanwhile, as the time came to leave for Pai's, Catherine gathered up her coat collar, and as she walked to the curb waiting to hail a cab, she took in the Festive Holiday ambiance.
The snow began falling again, and the winter winds were twirling the tiny crystallized dancers around, seemingly to the tune of “I'll be home for Christmas” which was emitting from the huge city speakers, out into Manhattan.
As her taxi weaved through traffic on the way to Pai’s, Catherine contentedly thought what a perfect day it had been! Not only did all of her last minute Christmas shopping culminate to a successful crescendo, but now she was on her way to see her Vincent.
As Catherine looked down at the gift she, and Vincent would be giving to Lin and Henry, she thought of what wonderful friends they were, to provide her and Vincent a place to be, just like any other couple.
As the Taxi stopped in front of Pai’s, Catherine offered the driver a generous tip, and after seeing his name on the card said, “Merry Christmas Ashwin.”
As the Taxi Driver looked at the extra ten she gave him, he said, “I cannot accept it on those pretenses, you see I am Hindu!”
Smiling warmly, she giggled a bit as she said, “Well then please accept it as a late Kartik Poornima gift!”
With a nod of his head, Ashwin said, "I appreciate your kindness good lady."
Catherine then hopped out of the Taxi, and eagerly entered a buzzing Pai’s Restaurant.
Henry who was in the main dining room, was alerted to Catherine’s arrival, by the sound of the tinkling bell above the door. And so with a huge welcoming smile, Henry said,“Welcome Catherine!”
Looking around, Catherine said, “Hi Henry! Wow…you are busy tonight. Business been good?”
With a humble tone, Henry responded, “Yes very good. We are blessed. We have loyal patrons who return often to us.”
Thinking of how modest Henry was, by crediting the loyalty of his customers, over his superior culinary skills. And so she said, “Being blessed with friends may be true, but Henry, your food is so good! I am sure its your good cooking that brings them back.”
Smiling, Henry humbly looked downward, as he replied, “That is so kind of you to say."
With a blush to his cheeks, he changed the subject and said, "Allow me to show you to the private dining room we have ready for you and Vincent.”
Catherine smiled and as she looked back at Henry, and she noticed how happy he looked, almost beside himself happy!
Realizing she was staring, Catherine asked, “Err, Henry?”
In reply, Henry ready to answer her question, said, “Yes?”
To which Catherine noted, “You look so, so happy tonight.”
Surprised by her comment, Henry asked, “I do? Well you are very intuitive Catherine...you see there is a reason wh...”
But before he could answer, he saw Lin motioning for them to head to the Private Dining room. And so he said, “…it looks as if it is time for us to meet Vincent.”
Vincent had just arrived as well through the back entrance where he was warmly welcomed by Lin, who told him, “I am so happy you are here. Catherine and Henry will meet us in the Dining Room.”
With brotherly concern, Vincent tipped his head as he asked, “Firstly Lin, tell me, how are you? We were all concerned to hear you were ill, and unable to attend the festivities last night.”
Lin’s face grew flush as she looked downward like a guilty child who had been caught fibbing.
And so, as she sheepishly looked up at Vincent, she said, “Well ill may not have been the appropriate word to describe how I was feeling yesterday...Vincent...I do have news…but I better not say anything more until we join Catherine and Henry, or Henry will be very disappointed!”
Lin then grabbed him by the hand, and said, “Come with me.”
Not quite understanding the cryptic answer he had just received from Lin, he happily followed, as he was most anxious to see his Catherine.
As Vincent walked through the threshold with Lin, Catherine smiled and very pleasingly said, “Hello Vincent.”
And as Vincent approached, he kindly said, “Hello Catherine...and Henry.”
As Catherine glanced about, she in an elegant tone, turned to their hosts, and said, “Everything looks so beaut…”
But now as Catherine was in Lin’s presence too, she began to notice that Lin looked different as well!
Yes, Catherine thought Lin seemed to have that very same exuberance Henry hosted too!
And so Catherine continued, “I was just going to say, the dining room looks so beautiful, but I believe it pales to you Lin!”
With a suspicious grin, Catherine asked, “What is with you two? You are both, I don’t know, you are both glowing!”
And as Vincent becoming a bit suspicious himself, he said, “Lin...you did say you had some news...”
And so with that said, Henry and Lin smiled at one another, before Henry revealed, “There is a reason why we are so happy, you see, we are going to have a baby!”
With tears in her eyes, Catherine looked up at Vincent, who was moved as well, and she listened as he warmly responded, “This is wondrous news.”
Beaming, Lin said, “Yes it is. We are so thrilled, and so is Grandfather.”
Henry laughed as he shared, “Grandfather is convinced this miracle is due to the fertility herbs he was secretly putting into our tea.”
They all laughed at the thought of Dr. Wong sneaking around spiking the newlywed’s tea.
They expanded the joyful “Baby Talk” by touching on the due date, and a few name choices before Lin and Henry prepared to leave them to their dinner. But before they left, Catherine turned to Vincent and said, "We had spoken about a gift for Lin and Henry, and so I took the liberty of picking it up on behalf of us both..."
With an appreciative nod, Vincent with a humble response said, "So thoughtful of you Catherine..."
And so Catherine presented their gift, saying, “Please accept this as a token of our appreciation.”
Surprised by this unexpected present, Henry asked Lin to do the unwrapping for them, and when they saw it was “Love Poems from China” they excitedly said thank you, and conveyed how special, and renowned this book was in their community, and of how much Lin had wanted it.
Humbly, Catherine admitted she had help choosing, and that Mr. Smythe was actually the one who recommended it.
To which Lin questioned, “Mr. Smythe did? Oh yes well of course! Henry do you remember I had my eye on this book in his store, and he must have remembered!"
Softly Catherine quizzically asked, "You did?"
As Lin leafed through the pages, she excitedly answered, "Oh yes the last time we were there..."
And then out of excitement, Lin continued on, saying, "I mean, this book is truly wonderful! Let's see it has 150 poems selected from the earliest poetry to the present day, and it has great poets, such as Li Bai, Du Fu, Su Shi, Lu You and Li Qingzhao, and some historic figures, and the renowned writer Lu Xun. Oh how can we thank you?”
Protectively, Henry said, “Calm down Lin! You shouldn’t excite yourself so!”
Henry then looked to Vincent and Catherine to explain his caution, saying, “She gets so wound up by such things. But I think you get the idea, Lin really wanted this book!”
Catherine listened, but still was a bit perplexed, because as she thought back, she knew she never told Mr. Smythe who the book was for! And so how did he know what to recommend? Thinking she would tell Vincent the whole story later on, but for now Catherine simply said, "I do believe Mr. Smythe has a mystic side to him!"
They all agreed that Good Ole’ Mr. Smythe was a very astute book dealer, and was a bit psychic too.
It was then Lin and Henry took their leave, and left Catherine and Vincent alone to dine on the Chinese cuisine which was specially prepared for them.
It was then after Lin and Henry left, Vincent asked, "Tell me more about your encounter with Mr. Smythe...I could tell there was perhaps more you wanted to say..."
As Catherine gathered her thoughts, she excitedly told Vincent, "Well there is, you see earlier when I asked Mr. Smythe for advice on a book I never mentioned anything about who it was for. I never mentioned Lin's name, or lineage, or anything personal, but yet he had this book at the ready for me. How do you explain something like that?"
Overwhelmed by this story, Vincent thought a moment before he said, "He is as you earlier described, perhaps a bit psychic, and mystically in tune when matters of love are concerned...as he was with us through Wordsworth and Shakespeare..."
Thinking that yes, Vincent was right, and then Catherine softly said, "Yes...like he was with us..."
Vincent then motioned toward the table, and asked, "Shall we?" He then pulled out Catherine's chair for her, and as she smiled up at him, she thanked him for this gentlemanly gesture. Catherine then took in their surroundings, and as she looked around, she sighed, "Its beautiful here..."
And as Vincent sat down across from her, he looked back at her, and softly said, "Yes...trully beautiful..."
Catherine then looked downward, smiling shyly, because she knew Vincent wasn't talking about the room!
She then cleared her voice of her self-consciousness, and said, "Oh, by the way, I must thank your for my lunch via Sam!"
Vincent had a smile in his eyes as he said, “Yes, we have to be creative to get word to our helpers, and to our friends.”
To which she hesitantly asked, “And in what category am I?”
With an impassioned tone, Vincent replied, “You encompass both, and other categories beyond description.”
As they held each others gaze, they both knew the bond between them, was more than they could label with a word or a try to define into a category, it was useless to even try.
Their connection touched that "something" which makes each of us who we are, and until they met, that "something" was not yet clear to either one of them.
And so in reply, Catherine said, “Yes...”
It was then Catherine cleared her voice of emotion, and thought to mention, "Speaking of being thought of as a Helper, I received my Christmas Card today. It was under my door when I came home from work. Oh Vincent, I love it so much...and what makes it a little extra special, is it is one Natalie had made."
With a smile in his eyes, Vincent replied, "It is your first of many Catherine..."
As Vincent served Catherine her tea, she then brought her cup to her lips, and as she took in the scent of the steaming hot tea, she softly mentioned, “Mmm, the aroma of this tea...it's smells like...roses...”
In reply, Vincent said, “It is Rosebud tea.”
He then served himself, and after taking in the wafting scent, he said, “Just as I remembered...it is almost as if, a bouquet of roses is within our grasp.”
As the floral scent filled the air, Catherine softly said, “Yes…”
Catherine, ever amazed by Vincent’s knowledge of all subjects, asked, “You’ve had this tea before?”
In reply, Vincent said, “Only once...Mary had chosen this wistful tea from Grandfather's assortment to serve at Kanin and Olivia's wedding. Though it was long ago, the quixotic ambiance never left me. And so when Lin asked what tea I wished her to serve tonight, I knew for us, it had to be Rosebud.”
Stirred by his assured polished manner, Catherine replied, "Very nice choice.”
To which Vincent said, "I am so pleased you like it." He then went on to ask, "Tell me about your day at work."
And so as they ate their delicious dinner, Catherine went into some detail, describing the cubicle area she was issued next to Paul, she spoke of how her case load seemed to double in size by the hour, and then almost introspectively, she avowed how much she was going to give to this new career.
Vincent intently listened, and said he was certain her influences will be reverberated through time in the city because of her commitment.
Thanking Vincent for his faith in her, Catherine then changed the subject from herself, and eagerly asked, "Oh tell me about your day with the children. Peter told me you took them on an excursion."
As the smile within his heart, shone through, he told Catherine, "Yes, I took them to visit Narcissa, and together we shared a picnic lunch William prepared for us...Catherine...the children...they are so giving and kind. To see them interact with Narcissa was very heartwarming. Ahh it was a time."
Catherine loved the way Vincent talked of the children, and she told him how his kindness was a strong example, which shall influence these children all through their lives.
Nodding, Vincent conveyed he thought so too, and keeps the fact he is someone they do look up to, uppermost on his mind, always.
Vincent then offered Catherine her choice of the fortune cookies. She looked downward at the selection, before she suggested, “Hmmm, I don’t know which…would you choose one for me?”
With a slight shaking of his head, he playfully said, “You must choose, after all it is your fortune.”
“You are right, let’s see, I will take this one.”
As Catherine cracked her fortune cookie, and unfolded the slip of paper inside, she read,
“Rigidly charting one’s daily course,
may cause you to miss an unexpected pleasure.”
Shifting her eyes from her fortune, and into Vincent’s eyes, she said, “This is so true. I used to try to live my life from a list. Today I must do this, or get that done. I tried to be so regimented! I cannot tell you how defeating it made me feel if I didn't accomplish everything I set out to do that day, or the fun things I would skip, because I didn't have enough time. But since I met you, I learned to let go of that expectation, and because I have, I’ve gained so much.”
Understanding totally what Catherine was telling him about herself, he simply knowingly nodded.
As Catherine’s introspectiveness shifted into curiosity, she smiled, and said, “Ok, now it’s your turn. What does yours say?”
Breaking his fortune cookie open, Vincent read,
“Every exit is an entrance
to a new experience.”
With that thought in mind, Vincent said, “Sounds like a nice transition to end our evening here.”
Vincent then added, “I hoped to escort you home via the tunnels.”
Knowing the walk was a lengthy one, Catherine loved the idea of spending more time together, and so she softly replied, “I would love that.”
And so Vincent and Catherine gathered their dishes, and as they set them in the sink, they schemed to try and wash them up, before they got caught!
But it was to no avail, as Lin and Henry caught them, and Lin scolded them, saying, "Oh you two! As I told you before, you are not going to do dishes when you are on a date!"
To which Catherine with a bit of a giggle expressed, "We hoped to finish before you could stop us!"
They all had a chuckle, as Henry said, "It's no use! Lin knows all, and because of her intuitiveness, it will make her an excellent mother!"
With a raised brow, Lin nodded, and with a stern look toward Henry, she nodded, and humorously said, "That's right Henry, and do not forget it!"
Lin then finished loading some fortune cookies into a box.
And as Hentry gathered the boxes, he handed them to Vincent, and said, "This red box is for the children, and the green box has the tea Father requested, and then of course the other has an extra entrée we had prepared for you to take back with you...with chopsticks as well."
Thanking Lin and Henry for their generosity, Vincent looked at the box full of cookies, and said, “The children will be pleased.”
As they exchanged embraces, Catherine told Lin, “I am so excited for you and Henry. A baby, what sweet news.”
To which Vincent then said, “We won't say a word, so you can share your good fortune with Father and the rest of the community yourselves.”
Henry smiled and said, “Yes, it is good you won’t have to keep our news a secret for very long.”
To which Lin added, “That's true, we are so looking forward to the Christmas Eve celebration. We will be there along with Grandfather. Oh and speaking of Christmas...we received our Christmas Card today from some of the children...and Grandfather did as well. We loved the theme this year, so very sweet.”
With a nod, Vincent replied, "The children worked very hard on them...and will be pleased to hear you liked it so much."
They all exchanged good nights, and then Vincent and Catherine slipped through the secret entrance into the tunnels.
To be continued
Chapter Sixteen
: }
The end of the work day finally came, and so having a bit of time between now and her date, Catherine went home to freshen up.
So as she opened her apartment door, she was excited to see an envelope on the floor, which because of the mode of delivery, it would most likely be a tunnel communique of some sort.
Upon opening up the envelope, she recognized the content at once! It was a Christmas Card from the Tunnels and it was one of the cards Natalie had made!
And then Catherine thought, she wished she had been home in time to receive it personally! But here it is, an Official Helper Christmas Card, and even though she helped with the process, she still felt honored and humbled to have been given one.
And as other Helpers were receiving theirs this night too, the same joy was being felt by them as well...Charles, Peter, Rosa, Lou, Lin, Henry, Dr. Wong, etc. as the tunnel residents expressed their gratitude and Christmas wishes.
Meanwhile, as the time came to leave for Pai's, Catherine gathered up her coat collar, and as she walked to the curb waiting to hail a cab, she took in the Festive Holiday ambiance.
The snow began falling again, and the winter winds were twirling the tiny crystallized dancers around, seemingly to the tune of “I'll be home for Christmas” which was emitting from the huge city speakers, out into Manhattan.
As her taxi weaved through traffic on the way to Pai’s, Catherine contentedly thought what a perfect day it had been! Not only did all of her last minute Christmas shopping culminate to a successful crescendo, but now she was on her way to see her Vincent.
As Catherine looked down at the gift she, and Vincent would be giving to Lin and Henry, she thought of what wonderful friends they were, to provide her and Vincent a place to be, just like any other couple.
As the Taxi stopped in front of Pai’s, Catherine offered the driver a generous tip, and after seeing his name on the card said, “Merry Christmas Ashwin.”
As the Taxi Driver looked at the extra ten she gave him, he said, “I cannot accept it on those pretenses, you see I am Hindu!”
Smiling warmly, she giggled a bit as she said, “Well then please accept it as a late Kartik Poornima gift!”
With a nod of his head, Ashwin said, "I appreciate your kindness good lady."
Catherine then hopped out of the Taxi, and eagerly entered a buzzing Pai’s Restaurant.
Henry who was in the main dining room, was alerted to Catherine’s arrival, by the sound of the tinkling bell above the door. And so with a huge welcoming smile, Henry said,“Welcome Catherine!”
Looking around, Catherine said, “Hi Henry! Wow…you are busy tonight. Business been good?”
With a humble tone, Henry responded, “Yes very good. We are blessed. We have loyal patrons who return often to us.”
Thinking of how modest Henry was, by crediting the loyalty of his customers, over his superior culinary skills. And so she said, “Being blessed with friends may be true, but Henry, your food is so good! I am sure its your good cooking that brings them back.”
Smiling, Henry humbly looked downward, as he replied, “That is so kind of you to say."
With a blush to his cheeks, he changed the subject and said, "Allow me to show you to the private dining room we have ready for you and Vincent.”
Catherine smiled and as she looked back at Henry, and she noticed how happy he looked, almost beside himself happy!
Realizing she was staring, Catherine asked, “Err, Henry?”
In reply, Henry ready to answer her question, said, “Yes?”
To which Catherine noted, “You look so, so happy tonight.”
Surprised by her comment, Henry asked, “I do? Well you are very intuitive Catherine...you see there is a reason wh...”
But before he could answer, he saw Lin motioning for them to head to the Private Dining room. And so he said, “…it looks as if it is time for us to meet Vincent.”
Vincent had just arrived as well through the back entrance where he was warmly welcomed by Lin, who told him, “I am so happy you are here. Catherine and Henry will meet us in the Dining Room.”
With brotherly concern, Vincent tipped his head as he asked, “Firstly Lin, tell me, how are you? We were all concerned to hear you were ill, and unable to attend the festivities last night.”
Lin’s face grew flush as she looked downward like a guilty child who had been caught fibbing.
And so, as she sheepishly looked up at Vincent, she said, “Well ill may not have been the appropriate word to describe how I was feeling yesterday...Vincent...I do have news…but I better not say anything more until we join Catherine and Henry, or Henry will be very disappointed!”
Lin then grabbed him by the hand, and said, “Come with me.”
Not quite understanding the cryptic answer he had just received from Lin, he happily followed, as he was most anxious to see his Catherine.
As Vincent walked through the threshold with Lin, Catherine smiled and very pleasingly said, “Hello Vincent.”
And as Vincent approached, he kindly said, “Hello Catherine...and Henry.”
As Catherine glanced about, she in an elegant tone, turned to their hosts, and said, “Everything looks so beaut…”
But now as Catherine was in Lin’s presence too, she began to notice that Lin looked different as well!
Yes, Catherine thought Lin seemed to have that very same exuberance Henry hosted too!
And so Catherine continued, “I was just going to say, the dining room looks so beautiful, but I believe it pales to you Lin!”
With a suspicious grin, Catherine asked, “What is with you two? You are both, I don’t know, you are both glowing!”
And as Vincent becoming a bit suspicious himself, he said, “Lin...you did say you had some news...”
And so with that said, Henry and Lin smiled at one another, before Henry revealed, “There is a reason why we are so happy, you see, we are going to have a baby!”
With tears in her eyes, Catherine looked up at Vincent, who was moved as well, and she listened as he warmly responded, “This is wondrous news.”
Beaming, Lin said, “Yes it is. We are so thrilled, and so is Grandfather.”
Henry laughed as he shared, “Grandfather is convinced this miracle is due to the fertility herbs he was secretly putting into our tea.”
They all laughed at the thought of Dr. Wong sneaking around spiking the newlywed’s tea.
They expanded the joyful “Baby Talk” by touching on the due date, and a few name choices before Lin and Henry prepared to leave them to their dinner. But before they left, Catherine turned to Vincent and said, "We had spoken about a gift for Lin and Henry, and so I took the liberty of picking it up on behalf of us both..."
With an appreciative nod, Vincent with a humble response said, "So thoughtful of you Catherine..."
And so Catherine presented their gift, saying, “Please accept this as a token of our appreciation.”
Surprised by this unexpected present, Henry asked Lin to do the unwrapping for them, and when they saw it was “Love Poems from China” they excitedly said thank you, and conveyed how special, and renowned this book was in their community, and of how much Lin had wanted it.
Humbly, Catherine admitted she had help choosing, and that Mr. Smythe was actually the one who recommended it.
To which Lin questioned, “Mr. Smythe did? Oh yes well of course! Henry do you remember I had my eye on this book in his store, and he must have remembered!"
Softly Catherine quizzically asked, "You did?"
As Lin leafed through the pages, she excitedly answered, "Oh yes the last time we were there..."
And then out of excitement, Lin continued on, saying, "I mean, this book is truly wonderful! Let's see it has 150 poems selected from the earliest poetry to the present day, and it has great poets, such as Li Bai, Du Fu, Su Shi, Lu You and Li Qingzhao, and some historic figures, and the renowned writer Lu Xun. Oh how can we thank you?”
Protectively, Henry said, “Calm down Lin! You shouldn’t excite yourself so!”
Henry then looked to Vincent and Catherine to explain his caution, saying, “She gets so wound up by such things. But I think you get the idea, Lin really wanted this book!”
Catherine listened, but still was a bit perplexed, because as she thought back, she knew she never told Mr. Smythe who the book was for! And so how did he know what to recommend? Thinking she would tell Vincent the whole story later on, but for now Catherine simply said, "I do believe Mr. Smythe has a mystic side to him!"
They all agreed that Good Ole’ Mr. Smythe was a very astute book dealer, and was a bit psychic too.
It was then Lin and Henry took their leave, and left Catherine and Vincent alone to dine on the Chinese cuisine which was specially prepared for them.
It was then after Lin and Henry left, Vincent asked, "Tell me more about your encounter with Mr. Smythe...I could tell there was perhaps more you wanted to say..."
As Catherine gathered her thoughts, she excitedly told Vincent, "Well there is, you see earlier when I asked Mr. Smythe for advice on a book I never mentioned anything about who it was for. I never mentioned Lin's name, or lineage, or anything personal, but yet he had this book at the ready for me. How do you explain something like that?"
Overwhelmed by this story, Vincent thought a moment before he said, "He is as you earlier described, perhaps a bit psychic, and mystically in tune when matters of love are concerned...as he was with us through Wordsworth and Shakespeare..."
Thinking that yes, Vincent was right, and then Catherine softly said, "Yes...like he was with us..."
Vincent then motioned toward the table, and asked, "Shall we?" He then pulled out Catherine's chair for her, and as she smiled up at him, she thanked him for this gentlemanly gesture. Catherine then took in their surroundings, and as she looked around, she sighed, "Its beautiful here..."
And as Vincent sat down across from her, he looked back at her, and softly said, "Yes...trully beautiful..."
Catherine then looked downward, smiling shyly, because she knew Vincent wasn't talking about the room!
She then cleared her voice of her self-consciousness, and said, "Oh, by the way, I must thank your for my lunch via Sam!"
Vincent had a smile in his eyes as he said, “Yes, we have to be creative to get word to our helpers, and to our friends.”
To which she hesitantly asked, “And in what category am I?”
With an impassioned tone, Vincent replied, “You encompass both, and other categories beyond description.”
As they held each others gaze, they both knew the bond between them, was more than they could label with a word or a try to define into a category, it was useless to even try.
Their connection touched that "something" which makes each of us who we are, and until they met, that "something" was not yet clear to either one of them.
And so in reply, Catherine said, “Yes...”
It was then Catherine cleared her voice of emotion, and thought to mention, "Speaking of being thought of as a Helper, I received my Christmas Card today. It was under my door when I came home from work. Oh Vincent, I love it so much...and what makes it a little extra special, is it is one Natalie had made."
With a smile in his eyes, Vincent replied, "It is your first of many Catherine..."
As Vincent served Catherine her tea, she then brought her cup to her lips, and as she took in the scent of the steaming hot tea, she softly mentioned, “Mmm, the aroma of this tea...it's smells like...roses...”
In reply, Vincent said, “It is Rosebud tea.”
He then served himself, and after taking in the wafting scent, he said, “Just as I remembered...it is almost as if, a bouquet of roses is within our grasp.”
As the floral scent filled the air, Catherine softly said, “Yes…”
Catherine, ever amazed by Vincent’s knowledge of all subjects, asked, “You’ve had this tea before?”
In reply, Vincent said, “Only once...Mary had chosen this wistful tea from Grandfather's assortment to serve at Kanin and Olivia's wedding. Though it was long ago, the quixotic ambiance never left me. And so when Lin asked what tea I wished her to serve tonight, I knew for us, it had to be Rosebud.”
Stirred by his assured polished manner, Catherine replied, "Very nice choice.”
To which Vincent said, "I am so pleased you like it." He then went on to ask, "Tell me about your day at work."
And so as they ate their delicious dinner, Catherine went into some detail, describing the cubicle area she was issued next to Paul, she spoke of how her case load seemed to double in size by the hour, and then almost introspectively, she avowed how much she was going to give to this new career.
Vincent intently listened, and said he was certain her influences will be reverberated through time in the city because of her commitment.
Thanking Vincent for his faith in her, Catherine then changed the subject from herself, and eagerly asked, "Oh tell me about your day with the children. Peter told me you took them on an excursion."
As the smile within his heart, shone through, he told Catherine, "Yes, I took them to visit Narcissa, and together we shared a picnic lunch William prepared for us...Catherine...the children...they are so giving and kind. To see them interact with Narcissa was very heartwarming. Ahh it was a time."
Catherine loved the way Vincent talked of the children, and she told him how his kindness was a strong example, which shall influence these children all through their lives.
Nodding, Vincent conveyed he thought so too, and keeps the fact he is someone they do look up to, uppermost on his mind, always.
Vincent then offered Catherine her choice of the fortune cookies. She looked downward at the selection, before she suggested, “Hmmm, I don’t know which…would you choose one for me?”
With a slight shaking of his head, he playfully said, “You must choose, after all it is your fortune.”
“You are right, let’s see, I will take this one.”
As Catherine cracked her fortune cookie, and unfolded the slip of paper inside, she read,
“Rigidly charting one’s daily course,
may cause you to miss an unexpected pleasure.”
Shifting her eyes from her fortune, and into Vincent’s eyes, she said, “This is so true. I used to try to live my life from a list. Today I must do this, or get that done. I tried to be so regimented! I cannot tell you how defeating it made me feel if I didn't accomplish everything I set out to do that day, or the fun things I would skip, because I didn't have enough time. But since I met you, I learned to let go of that expectation, and because I have, I’ve gained so much.”
Understanding totally what Catherine was telling him about herself, he simply knowingly nodded.
As Catherine’s introspectiveness shifted into curiosity, she smiled, and said, “Ok, now it’s your turn. What does yours say?”
Breaking his fortune cookie open, Vincent read,
“Every exit is an entrance
to a new experience.”
With that thought in mind, Vincent said, “Sounds like a nice transition to end our evening here.”
Vincent then added, “I hoped to escort you home via the tunnels.”
Knowing the walk was a lengthy one, Catherine loved the idea of spending more time together, and so she softly replied, “I would love that.”
And so Vincent and Catherine gathered their dishes, and as they set them in the sink, they schemed to try and wash them up, before they got caught!
But it was to no avail, as Lin and Henry caught them, and Lin scolded them, saying, "Oh you two! As I told you before, you are not going to do dishes when you are on a date!"
To which Catherine with a bit of a giggle expressed, "We hoped to finish before you could stop us!"
They all had a chuckle, as Henry said, "It's no use! Lin knows all, and because of her intuitiveness, it will make her an excellent mother!"
With a raised brow, Lin nodded, and with a stern look toward Henry, she nodded, and humorously said, "That's right Henry, and do not forget it!"
Lin then finished loading some fortune cookies into a box.
And as Hentry gathered the boxes, he handed them to Vincent, and said, "This red box is for the children, and the green box has the tea Father requested, and then of course the other has an extra entrée we had prepared for you to take back with you...with chopsticks as well."
Thanking Lin and Henry for their generosity, Vincent looked at the box full of cookies, and said, “The children will be pleased.”
As they exchanged embraces, Catherine told Lin, “I am so excited for you and Henry. A baby, what sweet news.”
To which Vincent then said, “We won't say a word, so you can share your good fortune with Father and the rest of the community yourselves.”
Henry smiled and said, “Yes, it is good you won’t have to keep our news a secret for very long.”
To which Lin added, “That's true, we are so looking forward to the Christmas Eve celebration. We will be there along with Grandfather. Oh and speaking of Christmas...we received our Christmas Card today from some of the children...and Grandfather did as well. We loved the theme this year, so very sweet.”
With a nod, Vincent replied, "The children worked very hard on them...and will be pleased to hear you liked it so much."
They all exchanged good nights, and then Vincent and Catherine slipped through the secret entrance into the tunnels.
To be continued
Chapter Sixteen
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| Destiny of my Heart! By Sharon Holtz Chapter Fifteen ______________________________________ |
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