As Vincent and Lin walked along the back alleys, Vincent mentioned Brigit is currently visiting the tunnels and would be attending Winterfest as Pascal's guest.
To which Lin with surprise asked, "Really? And you are all fine with Brigit now?"
With a sound stance, Vincent said, "Because of Brigit's apology, it seemed right to give her a second chance...and forgive what she had done. I should mention Brigit spoke fondly of you, happy to hear she would be seeing you tonight."
Thinking this was very nice of all of them to issue Brigit another chance, but then Lin confessed, "Guiltily, I am not so nice. There was a time I wanted to see Brigit again too, but that was before she was so unkind! My loyalties lie with Catherine, and I have to wonder what Catherine would say about Brigit being here, especially for Winterfest!"
To which Vincent with a heavy heart shared, "At Thanksgiving, Catherine had said it would not be right to deny Pascal..."
With emotion in his voice, Vincent continued, "...and when Brigit saw Catherine last evening, even Catherine said she would try to forgive and forget."
Bringing her hand to her heart, Lin said, "Vincent! If Catherine can forgive Brigit...don't you think she will forgive you? You must try!"
And so as Vincent stayed quiet contemplating what Lin had said, they meantime had arrived at the back alley entrance of her home.
With a tearful goodbye, Lin thanked Vincent for walking her home, and begged him to consider talking once more to Catherine...
To which Vincent thoughtfully said, "I had been unsure, however now, it is suddenly quite clear...Father's words, yours, they have now resonated in my heart, and feel there is no other choice. I must try again. I will go and present Catherine's Winterfest Candle to her, and hopefully, she will not only agree to come to the celebration tonight, but she will forgive me as well."
Upon hearing this news, Lin was ecstatic, and told Vincent how happy she was with his decision. So with a hug, and a kiss to his cheek, Lin wished Vincent a prosperous journey with a bountiful outcome.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, Catherine stood in the elevator of her apartment building, traveling up to her floor when, all the disappointments of the day settled upon her heart, depleting her spirit.
Catherine then began to consider, maybe she would stay the night in her apartment, instead of going back to her Dad's.
Yes putting up a cheerful front tonight for her Dad, Willie, and Peter would be difficult, and so she decided she would be calling to say not to expect her back tonight.
And so as she unlocked, and opened the door, she found several letters splayed out on the floor before her, as if someone had delivered them by sliding them underneath her door.
With hope, Catherine thought maybe, just maybe, they were letters from Vincent!
And so as she sat down, and shifted through them, a slow sad smile came, as she saw they were all letters from her new found friend Lin, expressing her concern.
After reading the letters, with care Catherine set them down, and thought tomorrow she would pay Lin a visit, to thank her for her notes of concern.
Catherine then heaved a heavy sigh, calculating Jennifer could be by any time now, to pick up the rest of Noodles' things.
Knowing she had a perfect little box to use in her closet, she brought it down, and began the depressing task of gathering the rest of Noodles belongings.
And so as Cathrine passed through her bedroom, the book on the night-stand caught her eye, and the book was, "Paradise Lost"...the book she had borrowed from Jacob.
As Catherine picked up the book, and held it to her heart, her thoughts traveled back to that wonderful day, when she was very much a part of Vincent's life, and of his world.
Now tragically, like the title of this book, her paradise was shattered, and forever lost too.
Just then, the ringing phone cut into Catherine's thoughts, and it was Jennifer, saying, "Hi Cath! I am just leaving Macy's, and on my way over."
Jennifer then excitedly relayed, "But I couldn't wait to tell you! I just ran into Jimmy, and he asked me to go out to dinner with him tonight! So it looks like the spark is still there between me and my old flame, the adorable Jimmy Ames!"
Upon hearing this news, Catherine smiled as she said, "What a coincidence! Last night I was reading my old Diary, and had written how much in love you were with him back in the day."
In reply, Jennifer excitedly said, "That IS weird! Maybe it is a good omen!"
Thinking maybe so too, Catherine then promised, since Jennifer had a date to get ready for, she would have Noodle's things ready and waiting for her.
Catherine then said she would call down to her doorman, alerting him to Jennifer's arrival, and to let her right up.
So after talking to Carmine the doorman, Catherine finished putting the last of Noodles' things into his box, and thought of how much she was going to miss him...so after shedding a few tears, she put the lid on his little box.
Just then the phone rang, and this time it was her Dad, wondering if Catherine would be back any time soon.
In reply, Catherine explained she wasn't exactly sure when, because Jennifer was stopping by to pick up the rest of Noodles toys, treats and extra leashes.
As Charles picked up the sadness in his daughter's voice, he told her he knew it was hard giving up Noodles, but wanted her to know how proud he was of her for doing this unselfish deed.
With appreciation, Catherine thanked her Dad, and it was then, Charles asked how her visit to the tunnels went, asking, "Did you speak with Jacob, and ah, maybe Vincent?"
To which Catherine sadly relayed, Vincent wasn't there, and because Jacob was resting she didn't get to see him either. But she did however get to see Brigit.
With surprise and disappointment, Charles asked for clarification, by expounding, "You saw Brigit?"
To which Catherine sadly confirmed, by saying, "Yes, she was there, and told me Vincent has given her a second chance at friendship. And so since she was a guest there, she would be seeing Jacob later, and offered to pass Peter's message on to him for me."
To which Charles then carefully said, "I see..."
And as Charles gathered his thoughts, he continued, "...well, the reason I am calling, is because Peter is here for supper, and we were hoping you were coming soon, and would be joining us, but I guess not eh?"
In reply Catherine disappointedly said, "Awe, I am sorry I will miss supper with you both Dad, but since Jenny isn't here yet, I don't want to hold you up...but please tell Peter hi for me."
Saying he would, Charles then tried to come up with a subtle way to ask her about going to Winterfest, and so Charles started to chuckle as he said, "Oh funny story about that mystery candle Willie found on the door mat the other day, well Peter showed me his traditional Winterfest invite, and it's a candle, a Winterfest Candle! Anywhooo, it is just like THE mystery candle. So short story longer, it turns out, Peter said the candle was my invitation to Winterfest! So...guess I am going to Winterfest, AND The Candle Mystery IS solved!"
Happy to know her Dad had been invited, Catherine said, "That's nice Dad, I know Jacob really wanted you to come."
And then Charles hopefully mentioned, "Peter IS hoping you will go with us too honey, he would really like to share the evening with both of us."
To which Catherine noted because she had not been given a candle, she declined saying, "So under the circumstances..."
Upon realizing he had blown his case, Charles felt so badly in an effort to coax his daughter to go to Winterfest, unfortunately his story served to solidify the reason for her not to go.
And so Charles could only say, "Well I am so sorry I even mentioned the candle honey..."
Just then there was a knock on her door, and Catherine said, "Oh Dad, Jenny's here, and please tell Jacob hello for me. And maybe I will stay here tonight and just see you tomorrow."
With a nurturing tone, Charles told his daughter goodnight, and then rejoined Peter in the Dining room.
But before he could say a word, Peter asked, "Well...what did Cathy say?"
To which Charles knew there was no way to sugar coat the answer, and so he sadly said, "For us to go ahead and eat, and as far as Winterfest, since she didn't receive an invite, she's not going."
To which Peter commiserated, saying, "Maybe later we can get the full picture once we hear Vincent's side, but as of right now, we have done all we can at this level."
And then Peter put on the best party face he could, and said, "Well, it's nearly time to go my friend...Winterfest awaits!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, as Catherine hung up the phone, she heard a more intense repeated knock, and Catherine thought it was quite amazing that Jennifer could have arrived there so quickly from W. 34th Street! And so she quickly opened the door, and was surprised to see it was actually Steven standing there!
And so meekly he smiled, as he said, "I had to come and beg your forgiveness for my bad behavior last night. I never should have tried to kiss you."
To which Catherine curtly explained once again, their relationship could only be as friends...nothing more. And then Catherine also reminded Steven, that she cares for someone else now.
In reply, Steven lamented, a beholden sigh, and said, "I get it now Cathy. I promise I do, and if you give me another chance, I ah, I..."
And then Steven began to fall frontward, as if he were going to faint again. And so just in time, Catherine caught him before he fell too far.
So as Catherine tried to brace up Steven, it was then Vincent arrived on her balcony! And just before he knocked, he saw Catherine and Steven in what appeared to be an embrace!
As Vincent stood for a moment in anguish, tears filled his eyes, and he thought of how foolish it was of him to come.
And so quickly Vincent fled, and as he did, Vincent made a low ebb noise, which prompted Steven to ask, "What was that?'
To which Catherine asked, "What was what?"
Waving off his imagination, Steven simply said, "Just thought I heard something..."
As Steven shook his head as if he still felt dizzy, he said, "...must be this buzzing in my head."
And then it occurred to Catherine, Steven once again did not adhere to her wishes, and she noted, "Speaking of buzzing, you didn't! When you visit, you have to wait for me to buzz you up! Steven, you are always pushing and making your own rules. Look, I know you are sick, but I don't think a friendship is possible."
As Steven hit himself in the head, he spewed, "Stupid, stupid stupid! I will never learn! Please Cathy, I will do better...please..."
And so finally, because Steven wouldn't let up, Catherine finally said, "I forgive you Steven, now just go home and get some rest."
Meanwhile, as a shattered Vincent circled around Catherine's apartment building to return to the tunnels, he heard a woman's voice, calling for help!
As Vincent came upon the assault scene, he immediately recognized the assailant was the same man, who had mugged Catherine!
As Vincent ran toward them, the attacker recognizing this caped crusader from before, did a few martial arts flips to escape, and stealthily ran off!
As Vincent helped the woman to her feet, he shielded his face, and asked if she was all right!
As the woman heard her hero's voice, a voice so sensually raspy, velvety and deep, she found she was more intrigued by her rescuer, than worried about her attacker!
And so after being asked again, the woman told him, "Injured? No...at least I don't think so...I seem to be fine."
And then the women, showing some of her defensive movements, excitedly shared, "I tried to utilize some of my personal defense moves I had learned in my adult education class, you know...the usual, poking him in the eye, reaching for his larynx, kicking him in the privates, but I couldn't get a good shot at him! Then you came along like a Phantom in the night...and saved my life!"
After Vincent was sure the verbose, spirited woman was alright, he then slipped into the darkness.
Feeling a bit stunned, the woman stood there in disbelief, and thought about all that had just happened to her! And though she just got mugged, all she could focus on, was she had just been saved by a mysterious cloaked avenger, who had the sexiest voice that she had ever heard!
And it was then, the woman looked downward, and saw her hero had dropped something.
And so the woman picked up a most peculiar looking candle. One very much like the candles she had seen, when visiting the country store in Amish Country.
So safely, the woman tucked the candle inside her purse, and scurried inside Catherine's apartment building.
Meanwhile, Steven had left, and Catherine was now all alone, turned on her stereo, and the song, "Do you Remember" was playing on the radio.
Sadly she stood listening to the mournful desperate lyrics, and thought of how the loneliness of this song, mirrored the feelings she held in her own broken heart.
Just then the rapid knocking at the door, startled Catherine from her aloneness, and she hurried to answer it, knowing this time it had to be Jennifer.
As Catherine opened the door, a breathless Jennifer burst inside, bellowing, "You will not believe what just happened to me!"
Catherine looked at Jennifer, and saw her purse was precariously hanging by a single strap!
And so as a dreaded thought struck Catherine, she asked, "Oh no! What happened? Jenny were you mugged?"
But because she was not so much concerned about being mugged, Jennifer waved off the mugging question, by saying, "Oh that, yes as a matter of fact I was, but what I have to tell you is..."
But before Jennifer could continue, Catherine with concern asked, "Are you all right? Did he hurt you?"
To which Jennifer, blurted out, "No I wasn't hurt or anything..."
Happy to hear this, Catherine butted in, and as she thankfully hugged her friend, she cried, "Thank God you are all right! How did you manage to get away?"
Anxiously, Jennifer replied, "That's what I am trying to tell you! A mysterious caped man just saved my life! And, he had the sexiest voice I have ever heard!"
After hearing the description of her rescuer, Catherine started to wonder if it could have been Vincent! And so she hesitatingly asked, "What did he look like?"
Unsure of how to answer Catherine's question, Jennifer squinted and said, "Look like? I don't know! His face was shielded by his hood! But he had on the coolest looking Gothic-style cloak, with all these thingies hanging off of it...and hair! He had all this long hair, billowing out from his hoodie...and he was tall, very tall and broad...very broad shoulders...but it is his voice I can still hear ringing in my ears! He talked really deep and raspy...in a calm low decadent tone...ahhh so sexy. I wish I knew who he was, but he vanished and was gone before I could ask him his name, or even thank him for saving my life. But I think I do have a clue of where he lives though..."
It was then Jennifer pulled the candle from her purse, and continued to say, "I believe he may be Amish! Look! He dropped this candle."
As Catherine took the candle from Jennifer's hand, she realized this orange shaded candle looked exactly like her Dad's mystery candle, which was an offical Winterfest candle!
And so, Catherine in disbelief whispered, "Vincent..."
Wondering what was up, Jennifer looked at Catherine and asked, "What?"
As Catherine began to wonder if Vincent was near by, she ran to the balcony to see if maybe Vincent was actually there! But sadly the balcony was empty, but..as she looked downward, she saw some freshly made footsteps in the snow!
Upon seeing her friend acting erratically, Jennifer worriedly asked, "What are you looking out there for? What's wrong?"
As Catherine began to realize, that Vincent must have intended to give her the candle, she explained, "I am looking for footprints! Jen, the man who saved you, was Vincent...my Vincent. And he must have came while Steven was here, and saw Steven though that window, and left! Thinking back, Steven did look toward the balcony thinking he had heard something..."
As Jennifer stayed fixated on her own chain of thought, she said, "You never told me Vincent was Amish!"
Waving off the Amish lineage, Catherine deep in thought, wondered instead what she should do!
Realizing Jennifer was waiting for some details, Catherine then explained, "Vincent is not Amish Jen...but his community does make these candles...they are invitations for the celebration they are having tonight...and now I am wondering if Vincent intended to give this candle to me..."
To which Jennifer concurred, recapped the scenario, saying, "I bet you are right! It all makes sense! Vincent must have seen Steven through that window from the balcony, and left all upset, to which he then heard my cry for help...and even though he was all devastated, he still bravely stopped to help me, and unknowingly dropped this invite candle he wanted to give to you..."
Upon suddenly wondering how Vincent could be on the balcony without coming through the apartment, Jennifer asked, "...but wait, we are missing a major detail here...how did Vincent get to the balcony without you letting him in? Could he a cat burglar or something?"
Realizing she unintentionally gave Jennifer too much information, Catherine promised, "I will fill you in on all those details later Jen, but as of right now, I am wondering what I should do."
Thinking Catherine should go, Jennifer pleaded, "Oh Cathy, please tell me you are going to Vincent's candle party...if you don't...then I will!"
Catherine laughed through her tears, and then gaining her composure, she tearfully said, "Yes Jen, I am going to go...it looks like we both have dates to get ready for..."