Reflectively Jacob then thought back on his own feelings he owned for the love of his life, Margaret, and the effect their separation had on his life. So with a softer more sympathetic tone, Jacob recanted, "Yes, I believe I do understand Vincent. How about if I help fill the void the best I can. Perhaps initiate one of our epic chess tournaments?"
With a smile in his eyes, Vincent tapped his Father's hand, and said, "I only hope I will prove to be a worthy opponent Father...I would hate for you to have an edge because of my broken hearted infirmity."
With a bit of a chuckle, Jacob offered, "Any susceptibility you may host, shall even up the odds I should think."
So being in an elevated mood, the two entered the Dining Hall. And Vincent remained at his Father’s side, greeting everyone as they came in.
Meanwhile, Mary and Rebecca, were deep in conversation, wondering what had transpired last night after Vincent had banished them from Jacob's chamber.
And so just as they approached the dining hall, Mary noted, “Oh my, there’s Vincent with Father, let's ask how things are going!”
So as the two defenders of Vincent’s honor, quickly scurried over to them, with great concern, Mary asked, “Any developments concerning Catherine?"
As Vincent greeted them, he held back a little bit, as he coyly said, “Yes, there is a sort of development..."
Eager to hear what the development was, Mary and Rebecca looked at each other and then looked to Vincent! And because he hesitated, Mary finally asked, "Well Vincent? What sort?"
With a tip of his head, Vincent told them both, "Catherine and I have reconciled.”
The joy Mary and Rebecca owned was overflowing! And so they hugged each other, and with tears in their eyes, they then hugged Vincent and told him how pleased they were.
Rebecca then happily shared, “We like Catherine, she is so very nice. We met her yesterday.”
And Mary too added, “Yes, she is lovely. And sadly we were also present, when THAT Mack erroneously declared the compromising position you were in with Brigit! Oh my, the look on that poor girl's face when Mack said all that he said...well, all I can say is, it just broke my heart seeing how upset Catherine was by HIS misinformation!”
Mary then turned to Jacob and insisted, “Which reminds me, Father, can something be done about THAT Mack? I mean what a crude man! His manner and terminology was, well it was quite shocking!”
Up till now, Vincent was unaware of the full story, and all that had transpired yesterday, and so he looked to Jacob, and asked, “What all did Mack say in front of Catherine Father?”
To which Jacob, raised a brow, and answered, “Well suffice it to say…his language was quite colorful!”
Vincent then turned his eyes to Mary for details, who curtly said, "Nothing I care to repeat!"
He then looked to a very blushing Rebecca who could not look anywhere but into her hands!
And so Vincent could tell whatever it was Mack had said, no one wanted to say, and so his words were to lie dormant, never to be heard again!
And then in wanting to change the subject, Jacob answered Mary’s question as he said, “And yes, as far as talking to Mack, I am going to have a talk with him directly! Not only did he speak improperly in front of Ladies such as yourselves, but his information was quite inaccurate and flawed as well!”
Mary raised her brow, as she agreeably said, “Inaccurate indeed! I do hope THAT MACK didn't spread this fallacious rumor to any of the others of the community! YES, hopefully WE, right here, in THIS circle, AND Catherine of course, are the extent of those who heard his false interpretation of what occurred.”
Just then, Winslow and Mouse came walking up, and with a stunned tone, Mouse addressed Vincent, saying, "Mary told us Brigit sneaked up on you in the Hot Springs chamber last night!"
And it was then, Winslow, with an impressive nod, noted, "AND she said BATHING was NOT what Brigit had in mind!"
Winslow then let go a hearty laugh, as he recalled, "After Mary said that, you should have seen Daniel and Mortimer! I think their eyes nearly popped right out of their heads!"
To which Mouse puffed up his chest as he proudly sited, "But Mary said you fought off Brigit, and left to help Catherine!"
With a shake of his head, Winslow relayed, "Yea, the fact you ditched Brigit, sure shocked both Mortimer and Daniel! They asked if you were crazy Vincent!"
Because the guys had accredited Mary as their source, Vincent looked toward Mary, who was caught red handed, spreading the scoop!
And because Mary was stunned by this unveiling, she was literally speechless!
With a raised brow at all the private details Mary had shared, Jacob declared, "Oh dear...you shared this not only with Mouse and Winslow, but with the sentries as well! My my, it appears the circle is getting larger, and it's not because of Mack!"
Still unable to find her voice, unfortunately for Mary, Brooke, Laura and Jamie appeared on the scene.
And Jamie cheerfully said, "Morning everyone! Oh Vincent, Mary told us Brigit left and went to some fancy hotel."
Then with widened eyes, Brooke asked, "Did she leave because of what Mary said happened in the Hot Springs Chamber?"
And with a huge nod of her head, Laura signed, "Yes! Mary told us about Brigit's boldness."
In an attempt to stifle the three girls, Mary quickly inserted, "Girls, now that's enough! I thought I told you not to gossip!"
To which Jamie questioned, "But since we're talking directly to Vincent, that's not gossipping...is it Mary?"
As all eyes were on Mary, Jacob looked at her too, and so as he peered over the top of his spectacles, he asked, "You didn't tell anyone else did you Mary?"
To which Mary sheepishly replied, "Well....."
As luck would have it, Olivia, Kanin and little Lukey, entered the Dining Hall, and Kanin stopped to jovially say, "Hey, hey hey! You don't look any worse for the wear Vincent. According to Mary, you had a real battle of the sexes last night!"
Quickly covering little Lukey's hears, Olivia scolded, "Kanin! Watch how you talk in front of Lukey!"
With a wave of his hand, Kanin said, "Ahh, he doesn't understand what I'm saying!"
And then to Kanin and everyone's surprise, Lukey shook his finger, and angrily babbled something at his Pappa!
So after everyone but Olivia shared a laugh, Olivia curtly said, "Well lucky for Kanin that he wasn't in the Hot Springs chamber last night, because Mary said if he would have been, his virtue could have been in jeopardy too! Isn't that right Kanin? Kanin?"
And because Kanin was daydreaming about what could have happened as his virtue was being jeopardized, he only half heard what Olivia had said!
And as Olivia looked over and saw the goofy look on her husband's face, well she didn't hesitate to snap him out of it! So after a good swift swat from his dear sweet wife, Kanin came back to reality, and weakly answered, "Yea...lucky for me all right..."
Meantime, Vincent stood thinking it wasn't very nice or fair for everyone to be dumping on Brigit. So just as Vincent was about to speak up for her, William came strolling up.
And with a bit of a male camaraderie, William asked, "Yo Vincent, how's it going Man? I heard all about your splish splash with Brigit last night! And Mary said, good ole' Brigit probably didn't need any water wings to help her float!"
To which Mary recanted, "I didn't say that William, you did! I only agreed!"
Thinking back, William laughed as he admitted, "Oops, did I? I guess I did!"
In an attempt to hide her chuckles, Rebecca was aghast as she said, "Oh William! You didn't!"
To which all the others started laughing too, and though Vincent didn't like everyone laughing about Brigit's buoyancy, he did see a bit of humor in the fact Mary was caught red handed gossiping, so he himself jokingly said, "Mary, since it seems my encounter with Brigit is so widely known, perhaps I should send an update over the master pipes!”
Not picking up on Vincent’s sarcasm, Mary advised, “Oh I don’t think that would be appropriate…since the children would hear it too!”
Vincent exchanged looks with Jacob and the others, in an attempt to hide his amusement, and then Vincent replied, “Perhaps you are right Mary…"
And then in Brigit's defense, Vincent looked amongst his friends, and said, "Hopefully this is the extent to which the story has traveled, and so I say to you all, Brigit meant no harm, she is just very lonely right now. She has lost her Father, and her husband before him, so let's not judge her too harshly...save yet...let's not judge her at all..."
Everyone looked downward, before they each, one by one apologized for their comments and for their joking.
Vincent of course humbly forgave them, and Jacob took advantage of this teaching moment, by reminding everyone of the Golden Rule.
And it was then that Pascal walked into the Dining Hall, right pass everyone, without a word, or even a reply to their greetings, as if he didn't hear them!
Everyone continued to watch him, as he absentmindedly sat down in his usual spot...just staring out, feeling quite down-hearted by Brigit's abrupt exodus.
As they all now were fully realizing the extent of Pascal's feelings, Vincent engaged the little gathering around him, asking that out of respect for Pascal, the episode in the Hot Springs Chamber, is not to be spoken of again.
To which they all agreed, and found their seats as well.
And so, because the excitement of Brigit's visit, disappeared with her hasty departure...William showered the extra attention on Pascal, who was in need of everyone's understanding, and kind affection right now.
So after breakfast, now with Jacob back home, life proceeded as usual, and routine was adhered to. The kitchen crew cleaned up, Jacob and some others went about their morning constitutions, Pascal returned to his pipes, and Vincent welcomed the children into the Library Chamber for their lesson.
So and after all the children were seated, Vincent brought the class to order, saying, “Good morning children.”
To which the children gleefully chimed in together as they said, “Good morning Vincent!”
As Vincent stood in front of these children, he looked down upon them, taking in each of their smiling, trusting faces, knowing they loved him as he loved them. And so as a smile came to his heart, he bent his head realizing these beautiful children, warmed Catherine's heart too.
It was then Joseph raised his hand, and his eagerness caught Vincent’s attention. And so Vincent called on him, asking, “You have a question Joseph?”
To which Joseph smiled, and said, “I am glad you and Catherine are talking again! I think I may have helped you out with that!”
Vincent tipped his head, wondering how in the world Joseph could have felt helpful in this matter! So, intently Vincent asked, “Do tell me how this is so.”
And so in reply, Joseph happily informed Vincent, “Well you see, I told Catherine what you said.”
Trying to remember what he might have said to the children about Catherine, Vincent inquired, “What was it you relayed to Catherine?”
With his chest held high, Joseph said, “I told her you thought she was a nice person, and well she seemed to really like hearing that!”
In response, Vincent nodded as he said, “I see! Well then I thank you for your help.”
Proudly the little gent replied, “You sure are welcome.”
And then Heather spoke up, saying, “You know Catherine said she never meant to hurt your feelings! She said that you had a miss-understanding that’s all!”
Gleefully Kipper broke in to anxiously add, “Hey Vincent, she's smart too! She remembered my name with no problem! Not like Ole Brigit!”
Seth then smiled his front toothless smile, and shared, “Mith Chandler thaid we could call her Caferine Vinthent! She gave us permithion!”
Warmed by this sweet little boy, Vincent replied, "Very nice Seth...very nice..."
Vincent then asked the children, “It sounds like Catherine made quite an impression on you yesterday. So you do like her?”
To which they all shouted yes, and all agreed, they liked her very much indeed.
It was then Vincent noticed that Natalie was being strangely quiet. And so he went over to her, and asked, “What is it Natalie, is there something else on your mind?”
To which little Natalie nodded, and sadly said, "Yea, kind of.”
As Vincent scooped Natalie up on his bended knee, he held her, and lovingly suggested, “Anything you care to share with me?”
As Natalie looked back at Vincent, face to face, she said, “I think I liked it better when you didn’t have all of these friends that are grown up ladies."
With a nod, Vincent answered, "I believe I understand...there has been a lot of drama, and for that I apologize."
To which Natalie clarified, "Yeah, and makes you forget stuff too!”
Meanwhile, in an attempt to silence Natalie, Samantha butted in and said, “Natalie...remember we talked about this...it's not a big deal.”
Worriedly, Vincent looked to Samantha for clarification, and asked, “Have I forgotten something?”
In reply, Samantha reluctantly said, “Well, Brooke took care of it, she read the rest of the story to us.”
Upon remembering what he had forgotten, Vincent expelled a sullen breath as he realized he was to read the last part of “Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen” by O Henry, last night to the children.
Humbled, Vincent turned to Natalie and the rest of the children, and in an understanding nod he noted, “I suppose you are all disappointed in me children. I am sorry. You are right, because of all the things going on...I did forget.”
In response, Natalie relayed, “Yes but we know how it happened, cuz Brooke esplained how boy's brains get fuzzy when girls are around, and so they forget to do stuff.”
Vincent with humility, looked back at Natalie and then the others, and said, “I will do my best not to let that happen again, however, should it appear I did forget to do something in the future because of my quote unquote "Fuzzy Brain” may I depend on you to remind me?"
After the kids all shouted out that Vincent could count on them, Vincent then changed the subject to their lesson plan, saying, “Now children, I trust you all completed the assignment I gave you for today."
Upon hearing Vincent, Kipper jokingly said, "Hey Vincent, too bad your fuzzy brain didn't make you forget about the homework you gave us!"
So after the giggles died down, Vincent then gave Kipper THE LOOK, and brought things back to order as he asked, "Who would like to be the first to read their Thanksgiving poem?”
In response, Eric excitedly raised his hand, and said, “I would like to go first Vincent. Mine is really good. Can I go?”
In reply, Vincent nodded and said, “Please Eric.”
And so Eric stood and loudly cleared his throat as he said, “The name of my poem is “The Thanksgiving Turkey!”
The Thanksgiving Turkey It is not so fun to be Because the one who is gobbling Is no longer Me!
Vincent smiled as he nodded and he enthusiastically said, Very good Eric. It has rhyme, rhythm, humor, and tells a point of view!”
Then Zach went next, and informatively said and then asked, "My poem rhymes too, is that all right Vincent?"
To which Vincent acknowledged, "As per instruction, your poem may be written in any style you choose, Free Verse, Haiku, or rhyming. And yes, it is all right if yours rhymes too."
So after receiving Vincent's validation, Zach proudly began:
The First Thanksgiving of 1621
The Pilgrims and the Native American Indians shared the original Thanksgiving feast but because they spoke different idioms they couldn't understand each other in the least
Still they ate together from a delicious buffet, with yummy being one word they both could understand so good food united them that Thanksgiving Day, and after a lot of killing they formed this great land
Vincent, with a bit of angst at the last line, still praised Zach for his creative flow, and then listened to the rest of the children as they took their turns.
And because Vincent is a nurturing teacher, he praised them all for their efforts.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, it was just about noon, and Catherine felt satisfied, she had sufficiently tied up all the loose ends on Mr. Benjamin's case, and it was ready to deliver to Mr. Maxwell!
And so as Catherine contemplated the "time off" idea her Dad planted in her mind, she ran it past Harvey, asking him what he thought about it. And so he responded, "With the Benjamin case off the docket, gee Cathy, I don't see why not. Nothing much pops up the week before any holiday, let alone Thanksgiving! It's fine with me!"
With Harvey's approval, Catherine nodded and said, "I just may then, I will double check with Rita and Marilyn, and if they think its alright too, then I will. But you have to promise if anything should pop up you will call me!"
Just then, Rita stepped in with the mail, and replied to Catherine, that she thought it was fine for her to take a little time off, agreeing with Charles, it was a perfect time to fit in a little R & R.
So with a motherly hug, Rita told her, "Life is short, and you will find when you get old like me, you are too tuckered out to do the fun things you have waited your whole life to get around to doing! Anyway, I know you are only a phone call away if we need ya."
To which Catherine sighed and said, "Thank you Rita. Well that's two out of three, now to check with Marilyn..."
Upon hearing her name, Marilyn who was passing by, popped into the door, and said, "My ears were burning!"
With a smile, Catherine asked Marilyn what her thoughts were of her taking Tuesday and Wednesday off.
With a wave of her hand, she said it was fine, and to do it!
And so with an agreeable nod, Catherine said, she appreciated all of their support and approval in this matter, and then as she looked up at the clock, Catherine cheerfully said, "Well I guess it's that time!"
Rita laughed as Catherine playfully popped on the Santa hat, and so before the lunch hour, Catherine did the ritual of passing out the coveted Christmas Bonus Checks, for her Dad!
With each check she gave a hug, and wished each one a Happy Thanksgiving on behalf of herself and her Dad!
Everyone was bolstered by this early treat, and they all wished her a Happy Thanksgiving too. And nearly everyone asked her to send their REGARDS to her Dad, and to tell him he was sorely missed around the office.
And so after touching base one last time with Harvey, Catherine picked up a copy of the Benjamin file, and told everyone goodbye.
As Catherine stepped from the elevator, she stopped to say goodbye to Bruno too, and as she gave him his bonus check, she then informed him that she was taking the rest of the week off.
To which Bruno warmly replied, “Well have a good week Catie, and THANKS! Have a great Thanksgiving!”
Smiling, Catherine said, “I will Bruno, and you and your family do the same.”
With the Benjamin transcript in her arms, she walked down the sidewalk toward the D.A., and stopped for just a moment, as she gazed longingly in to the park.
As Catherine entered the D.A. she told the receptionist, “I would like to see Joe Maxwell please.”
Just then Joe came out of his office and said, “Hey I’ll take that! Is that the Benjamin transcript?”
To which Catherine turned, and said, “Hey wait a minute, who are you?”
In reply, Joe sarcastically said, “I’m Al Pacino!"
In response, Catherine replied, "I know who Al Pacino is, and sir you are no Al Pacino! ID please!"
With an air of disbelief, Joe looked back and said, "My I.D.? You really wanna see it? I thought you were kiddin' on the phone."
As Catherine stood her ground, she then soundly said, "I wasn't kidding, and under the circumstances, surely you understand..."
Meanwhile the receptionist who was witnessing this whole exchange, was kind of tickled to see Hot Shot Joe Maxwell had met his match!
And so meantine, Joe slyly looked back at Catherine, and actually appreciated the fact she realized he really could have been a mob plant. But, because he was put on offence, he didn't want to give her any kind of an edge.
So as he flashed his drivers license, he keenly said, "I get it, I'll play along, NOW can I have the file?"
Feeling unnerved by this guy, Catherine reservedly handed over the file, and with a sort of reply, Joe nodded, as he started leafing through its contents.
Surprised by his rudeness, Catherine astonishingly said, "AND your welcome!”
Realizing he was a bit abrupt, Joe responded, “Yeah, well thanks for bringing this by. I'll make ya a copy”
To which Catherine efficiently said, “THAT is a copy...
And then with a bit of unexpected emotion, Catherine added, "...I only hope it will help find the man who did this to Mr. Benjamin.”
To which Joe sensing Catherine's grief over the death of her client, he softened his tone, as he assuredly said, “Hey don’t worry, I'll nail the gangster that got to him.”
Clarifying, Catherine asked, “So you ARE aware Mr. Benjamin unknowingly worked for the mob?”
In reply, Joe incredulously said, “Of course I know, and by the way, you should be more careful who you make any such accusations to in the future. You could find yourself swimming with the fishes if you get my drift!"
And then Joe added, "And hey, if you can think of anything else that might be helpful to this case, let me know, uh?”
To which Catherine sadly said, “I will...and call if you have any questions at all. I would do anything to help Mr. Benjamin rest in peace.”
Unsure how to reply to Catherine's sentimental statement, Joe reverted back to his sparring tone, as he said, "Even if it means talkin' to me again uh?"
With an earnestness, Catherine thoughtfully said, "Like I said, anything for Mr. Benjamin."
With a nod, Joe found he was caught a little off guard by this rich girl, and as he turned to re-enter his office, he looked back and said, “Well, thanks Chandler, I guess I owe you one.”
To which Catherine righteously replied, "You owe me nothing Joe, but please just do all you can to find his murderer, and end this cycle of crime in our city.”
Experiencing an unfamiliar feeling, Joe simply nodded, as he for once was without words, as he saw and felt the sincerity from this Catherine Chandler.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As Catherine entered the Sunset Café, she looked around for Jennifer, and as she spotted her, she went over to her booth.
Breathlessly Catherine greeted her friend as she said, “Hi Jen!”
In reply, Jennifer said, “Hey…you are right on time!”
To which Catherine, sounding surprised herself, said, “I know! And good job getting us a booth!”
To which Jennifer lamented, “I want you to know it didn’t come easy! I had to ask this old guy if I could sit with him while he finished his coffee! Well after he said I could, he then proceeded to unwrap his dentures from and napkin, and popped them in his mouth! Right then and there!”
As Catherine laughed, she then questioned, “Oh no, really?”
Laughing too, Jennifer answered, “Yes really! But it was worth it to get a booth.”
As her giggles died away, Catherine then asked, "Did you order yet?”
Decisively, Jennifer answered, “Yes, since it is so busy, I ordered us both Sizzle Burgers and those Curly Fries. I hope that’s okay.”
To which Catherine said, “Mmm great, I'm starving!”
As Jennifer settled in, she noted, “I detect a glow about you? Is it what I am thinking? You had a wild night of sexual passion?”
With a tip of her head, Catherine cautiously answered, “Passion yes, sexual no!”
To which Jennifer screeched, “What does that mean? How can you have one without the other?”
In reply, Catherine dreamily said, “Because its what's in our hearts Jen. We're just taking this whole thing slowly, a day at a time.”
As Jennifer scoffed, she then said, “Hmmm, now that sounds strange. No man takes things slowly when it comes to sex.”
With a thoughtful tone, Catherine informed her dear friend, “Well, Vincent is different.”
As Catherine found herself weighing everything she said to Jennifer, she found it difficult to give vague generic answers, with all of her probing questions!
And so Jennifer squinted as she suspiciously asked, “Different uh? Hmmm, maybe he's hiding something.”
As Catherine heaved an exasperated breath, she then said, “Oh Jen, let me assure you Vincent is not gay, married, or a celibate Monk. We are just getting to know each other! Let’s keep it at that, shall we? Now can we change the subject? In fact I have other exciting news to tell you, I am now a pet owner!”
Catherine then expanded, "I adopted Mother Alcott's dog, Noodles. I brought him home with me."
Being both surprised, and excited, Jennifer expounded, "Wow, you have Noodles? Well knock me over with a feather!"
To which Catherine incredulously asked, "Why so shocked?"
And because Catherine has always been a bit of a neat freak, Jennifer noted, "Well, you don't really like a lot of clutter or things out of order...I don't know why I said that exactly, but just never pictured you a pet owner I guess."
In response, Catherine had to admit what Jennifer said was true, and so she said, "Well dear friend, you are not wrong about that, it will be an adjustment, but I can't explain it, it seemed like the right thing to do. I just couldn't leave him behind."
Feeling a little bad by her first response, Jennifer recanted a bit by saying, "Well you will be a very caring pet owner to Noodles. Make no mistake about that! And he was always such a sweet little fella..."
And then Jennifer mentioned, "...he must be getting kind of old."
To which Catherine replied, "We were trying to figure out how old Noodles was, we are guessing maybe 10-12 years old."
With a loving tone, Jennifer said, "Well I can't wait to see him again...
As the waitress set their lunch before them, Jennifer disappointedly said, “Oh Cathy, I have to tell you the worst news! You know how I was going to go to the Cabin with you and your Dad? Well I hate to say this, but Mom wants the whole family, aunts, uncles and cousins to work at the Church’s soup kitchen this year. In fact she already signed us up, volunteering all of us before even asking.”
Upon hearing Jennifer's news flash, Catherine realized her Thanksgiving companions were dropping one by one.
And so because of Catherine's reaction, Jennifer pouted as she said, “Well I didn’t think you would smile when I told you I had to bow out of our plans!”
Not realizing she was smiling, Catherine laughed as she said, "Sorry Jen, it’s just that Dad is now staying in Florida with Peter and Aunt Pauline, and since your plans have changed too, I was just wondering about the possibility of spending Thanksgiving with Vincent...”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Later, as Catherine lit the last of the candles, Noodles sat looking at her, tipping his head from side to side, as he waited for his dog bone.
After telling her little charge, she would get the biscuits, Catherine then sat down with him as he munched away. And as she petted Noodles, Catherine felt content in the fact, he seemed happy there with her, and these sweet moments were really quite full-filling for her.
As Catherine leaned her head back upon the pillow, she watched the dancing flames in the fireplace, when at last, she heard what she had been waiting for…Vincent’s knock on her balcony door.
Yes, as Catherine's heart jumped at the sound, she opened the doors, and mused that her memory did not serve her well, as Vincent was so much more spectacular than she remembered.
And so as Catherine welcomed him, she then said, “Hello Vincent.”
To which Vincent in reply, huskily said, “Catherine...”
As Catherine looked behind herself, she warmly welcomed Vincent, by saying, “I have a fire burning.”
Upon looking past Catherine, Vincent shifted his gaze back to her, and without a word, he stepped inside.