Kat's Nine Lives

by Laina Villeneuve

  Though she’d been friendly, hugging Kat on arrival, the extra staff had elevated her level of professionalism. Kat would have to wait. She had waited decades to feel this way. Surely she could wait until the wedding was over to be with Wendy alone.

  Clyde poked her with his elbow. “One wonders about forevers at a wedding. No one gave your mother and me more than a year.”

  Kat shushed him. “I know the story.”

  He was quiet for a moment. “Wendy looks like she sees forever.”

  “What?” Clyde’s comment confused Kat. He redirected her attention from the porch past all the chairs to the aviary. Kat’s breath caught at the sight of Wendy, arms crossed against her chest. She wasn’t watching the wedding, and when their eyes met, she smiled and something began to coil deep inside Kat.

  Fighting a smile, Kat returned her attention to the homily, happy she caught Reverend Munson’s gentle reprimand of the clergy slow to recognize the beauty of all committed relationships. The couple exchanged vows they had clearly written themselves. Their friends started to pull out tissues as they talked about how they had found each other and stayed together despite all the obstacles thrown in their way. Kat misted up, remembering that they were standing on her front lawn because of the obstacle thrown by Reverend Thorn.

  She didn’t know their other obstacles and true to her competitive nature wondered if they were in any way close to what life had thrown at her. She glanced back at Wendy and caught her staring again.

  “What?” she mouthed.

  Wendy tipped her head toward the porch and then raised her eyebrows in a way that made Kat wish she could clear the yard. Reverend Munson closed the wedding.

  “Inasmuch as Jeremy and Evan have exchanged vows of love and fidelity in the presence of God and Church, I now pronounce that they are bound together legally as husbands in holy covenant as long as they both shall live. Amen.”

  All gathered yelled “amen” as the couple kissed, setting off an eruption of cheers, applause, and the peal of bells.

  Holding three in each hand, Kat alternated which played with a twist of her wrist, her arms in constant motion to create a steady stream of joyous notes. She rang for the celebration of all those gathered, but she also rang for her own elation. She wanted Wendy to hear how happy she felt. When she finally dampened the bells, Wendy put two fingers to her lips and blew Kat a kiss before disappearing down the path on the far side of the house.

  She wished the moment had been private, especially when her father said that he thought Wendy was a lovely young woman. Though she agreed, she vowed to keep her distance during the reception, not trusting that she would have any restraint if she got too close.

  With the ceremony over, Kat slipped easily into her role of administrator, directing the guests to the hors d’oeuvres and the candle station. She instructed them to write a note of celebration or advice on one of the cards attached to a rose-shaped candle. The cards they could put in a basket or hand to the grooms during the dancing. The candles were lit and set adrift on the water in the pool.

  Cory waved to her when he began to run plates out with the other servers. When everyone was settled and raving about the food, Kat slipped into the kitchen.

  “You’re looking sharp,” she said as he lifted the tray above her head.

  “Boss said we all had to look and do our best tonight,” Cory said. “She might be trying to impress someone.”

  “How does it seem out there?” Wendy interrupted.

  “You’re getting a lot of compliments on the beef,” Kat said.

  “Do you want to take a plate to your mother?”

  “Are you allowed to give food away?”

  “I’m the boss,” she answered sassily. “I can do whatever I want!”

  “That’s not fair.”

  “Isn’t it?”

  “Not when I can’t do whatever I want.” She stepped close to Wendy. “All I want to do is kiss you,” she whispered.

  “What’s stopping you?” Wendy didn’t turn her head toward Kat and Kat could see a sly smile on her lips.

  “Your staff, for one,” Kat said as Cory joined them.

  “I am in love with this house, Kat! Wendy said that you grew up here! It’s so amazing! Have you seen the pool with that bridge and the candles? Your place and Wendy’s catering…you’re a dream team!”

  Kat’s eyes found Wendy’s, and she looked for whether they were a dream team in other ways as well. The answer she found there made her look away.

  “Your mom would go for the beef over the chicken, I’m guessing.”

  Kat loved that Wendy knew these things, and she admired the artistry with which Wendy arranged an assortment of greens that Kat had to admit looked delicious. She grabbed a cold soda from the fridge.

  “Do you want me to make you a plate of chicken, no greens?”

  “Fix me a plate you’d send outside.”

  “You sure?” Wendy’s eyes sparkled.

  “I’m feeling daring tonight.”

  Wendy didn’t vocalize anything in front of Cory, but the way her gaze dipped to Kat’s lips made her shudder inside. Could one kiss really form such a strong connection?

  Kat tapped on her mother’s door at the top of the stairs. “Delivery.”

  “Oh, goodness!” Millie said when Kat handed the plate to her. “I get all this?”

  “Wendy thought you’d be hungry.”

  “She was right. That looks delicious! Thank her for me.”

  “I will.”

  “Was it a nice ceremony?”

  “It was. And now that the guests are finishing their dinner, they’re starting to float the candles. You might want to walk down the hall and take a look out the window. It’s absolutely stunning.”

  Her mother did not acknowledge her as she cut a bite of the steak. “Is your father out there?”

  “I think he’s still out in the stone cottage. He wasn’t impressed with the candy display, so he was rearranging it.”

  “Of course it wasn’t to his liking. I’ll look at the pool after I finish this. Tell Wendy it tastes even better than it looks.”

  “I will.”

  * * *

  Wendy was caught in a flurry of activity plating the cake and supervising the Candy Cottage favors. She appreciated that Jeremy and Evan had a precise plan for the reception and kept very close to the schedule, with the guests lingering only fifteen minutes or so past their nine o’clock departure. She blamed this on the charmingly lighted cottage and the candles still bobbing on the pool. She understood how difficult it was to leave the magic.

  She’d let the waitstaff leave after the dinner service, and after they plated the wedding cake Cory took everything back to the restaurant. Technically, she was also off the clock, so she went to search for Kat. The lights illuminated the path to the cottage, and Wendy remembered the way she and Jeremy had joked about how the little cottage would have made parenting difficult. She could easily imagine taking advantage of the romantic space and was hopeful she would have the chance someday.

  The shape of someone sitting poolside caught her eye, and she stopped. Wendy would have missed her but for the flickering candle she held in her lap. Wendy retraced her steps and circled around to the gate.

  “I was wondering where you’d disappeared to.”

  Kat took a deep breath and smiled at her. “Hey.”

  Wendy sat down next to her on the diving board and put her hand on Kat’s knee. “Happy with how it all went?”

  “Yes, it turned out really well.”

  “It did. What’s with this candle? You swipe it?”

  “I did one for Jeremy and Evan earlier but…” She pressed her lips together. “I was helping clean up, and there was one unlit candle by the guestbook. This yellow one. Ava’s favorite color was yellow.”

  Wendy hummed sympathetically. “She’s reminding you that she’s with you.”

  “I like that. I’ve sure been thinking about her a lot lately. I was scared to for
so long because it was crushing. But thinking about how she would have loved this makes me happy.”

  “That’s really good.”

  “Will you come with me? I want to release it in the middle.”

  “From the bridge?” Wendy was surprised. She remembered how Kat had kept her distance during its construction. She took Kat’s hand. “I’d love to.”

  Kat kept a hold of Wendy’s hand as she slowly walked to the middle. She let go and knelt to float the candle out onto the surface of the pool. Hands on her knees, she stayed kneeling long enough that Wendy wondered if she should sit. Finally, Kat stood. She wrapped her arms around Wendy and whispered into her neck, “All day I’ve been thinking about being alone with you. Now I am, and I’m so nervous.”

  “If you knew how much I’ve been thinking about our last kiss, I don’t think you’d be.”

  “Or maybe I’d more nervous.”

  “What am I going to do with you?”

  “Kiss me, I hope.” Kat loosened her hold, her hands now resting on Wendy’s biceps.

  Wendy nuzzled Kat’s neck, slowly tracing the collarbone Kat’s dress revealed. She exhaled a hot breath as she reached for Kat’s earlobe with her teeth, nipping her gently. She raised her hands to cup Kat’s chin before she touched her lips to Kat’s.

  Desire flared in her like a wick touched to a flame and she pressed closer to Kat inviting her to deepen the kiss. Kat’s lips remained soft and supple, but she didn’t part them. Instead, she pulled away, her gaze everywhere but on Wendy. Wendy placed her hand on Kat’s chin. “What?”

  “I don’t want to scare you.”

  “I’m not scared. You can tell me.”

  “All these feelings inside…I’m just not used to it.”

  “You don’t think it’s overwhelming to me?”

  “It is?”

  “This is different. Usually kissing is a way to figure out whether I’m going to sleep with someone.”

  “That’s not what we’re doing?” Kat took a step back, but Wendy did not let her get far.

  She grasped Kat’s hands and pulled her close again. “I didn’t have to kiss you to know that I wanted to be with you.”

  Kat flinched at her words.

  “Why does that upset you?”

  Did she dare tell Wendy how sex made her panic? How could she explain that she had spent her life avoiding what so many eagerly sought? “I’m not good at intimacy.”

  “I want to spend time with you,” Wendy clarified. “There are a lot of ways to be intimate that don’t involve sex.”

  “Normal people want sex.”

  “My dad always said ‘normal is a setting on a washing machine.’” She had hoped Kat would laugh, but she didn’t respond. Something occurred to Wendy. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Of course.”

  “Did you get to date very much before you got pregnant?”

  After some hesitation, Kat said, “Jack and I went out for a while.”

  “That’s a no?”

  Kat laughed. “I guess that’s a no.”

  “You’re setting your sense of normal on one dude who was more interested in the destination than the journey?”

  “I talk to people. I know I’m different.”

  “May I make a suggestion?”

  “You think I need to date.”

  “Bingo. And I happen to know someone who does a super good date. She’s got to work tomorrow evening, but she could come up with something really good in the morning if you’re game.”

  “I’m worried that you’ll get frustrated with me.” Kat took Wendy’s hand.

  “I’m worried you won’t give me a chance. Come on a date with me.”

  “Erin would be a lot easier to date.”

  It was Wendy’s turn to flinch. She grimaced when she pulled out her phone and looked at the time and the number of missed calls. “Shit, shit, shit!”

  “You had plans?” Kat asked quietly.

  “She dropped by the restaurant. It wasn’t the right time to talk about things. I said I’d call.”

  “What are you going to tell her?” Kat’s thumb was moving across her palm the way it did when she was worried.

  “I don’t know. I thought something would come to me today, but weirdly, my mind has been preoccupied.” Wendy took Kat’s hand, and they walked off the bridge together.

  “Inconceivable,” Kat said.

  Wendy’s jaw dropped. “‘I do not think you know what that word means.’”

  Kat beamed. “If I ever get married again, I want the minister to say ‘Mawage. Mawage is wot bwings us togeder tooday.’”

  Wendy easily recalled the scene Kat was quoting and added the impatient Prince Humperdinck’s line. “‘Skip to the end!’”

  “Will we be watching The Princess Bride for our date?” Kat clapped her hands together.

  “It’s not what I had in mind, but I could be persuaded.”

  “I’d love to watch it with you, but movies in the morning just don’t work for me. That will have to wait for when you have an evening free.”

  “But you’re free tomorrow morning?”

  Kat studied her.

  “What?”

  “I want to say yes.”

  “Then do.” She adopted the clergyman’s voice from The Princess Bride.“I wasn’t planning on getting mawied or anything.” She had meant it as a joke, just an extension of their riffing with the movie lines, but the memory of standing in for Jeremy and Evan nudged her, flipping her stomach like a pancake. The more time she spent with Kat, the more she wanted, despite Kat’s warnings about not being suited to relationships. “Where’s your irresponsible teenager?”

  “With his dad.”

  Wendy laughed. “I meant you. Go with what you want to do without worrying about what it will become.”

  “You make it sound so easy.”

  “It can be,” Wendy said, though she wasn’t so sure she believed herself.

  “Okay. It’s a date.”

  Wendy hugged her, taking a deep breath of the soft citrusy sweetness that was Kat. “I can’t wait,” she said. She forced herself to walk toward her car, and Kat escorted her. “Until tomorrow, Princess,” she said. As she drove home, her thoughts turned to how best to court the hesitant recipient of her affection.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The next morning, Wendy smiled at Kat through the round oval of the front door.

  “This is perfect,” Wendy motioned to Kat’s pink lightweight hoodie and jeans rolled above the ankle.

  “‘Whatever you want’ is not a very helpful response for what to wear today.” Kat hollered goodbye to her family and joined Wendy on the porch.

  “I didn’t want you to worry about what to wear. I wanted you to feel comfortable.”

  “Now will you tell me where we’re going?”

  “Is the Santa Monica Pier okay?”

  “I haven’t been there in ages!” Kat said. How many years had it been? More than ten because Travis had been big enough to try some of the rides but had been too scared. That had spoiled the day so badly for Jack that even years later, he had always torpedoed the idea if she suggested it.

  “But is it a good destination?”

  “Yes! My dad used to give my mom a break on the weekend by taking me and Ava on an adventure, and the pier was one of our favorite places.” It was always their first choice. He had often taken the sisters out on his own. Why had she never ventured out on her own with Travis?

  “You never took Travis?”

  “I was just thinking about how the one time Jack and I did, it turned into a nightmare of tantrums.”

  “Did Travis throw a lot of tantrums?”

  “Travis, no. Jack, all the time.”

  “Jack!”

  “He was such a baby when he didn’t get his way. I was so proud of Travis for saying he didn’t want to go on the rides. It didn’t matter to me, but Jack kept pushing and pushing. He couldn’t let go of the version of the day he had pictured.�
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  “Did Jack give you weekend breaks, too?”

  “He tried to. But they have such different tastes that one of them was always disappointed.”

  “Why didn’t you take Travis back to the pier?”

  “I was just asking myself the same thing. Partly it never occurred to me. Travis and I were together all the time, so why would he want an outing with me. But mostly…” Kat had been watching Wendy expertly navigating the 405 traffic. She hadn’t even commented on the drivers making hair-raising last-minute dives across her lane to catch the exit for the 101 or the slow drivers bogging down the left-hand lanes.

  Wendy glanced over at her. “Mostly what?”

  “I hate parking and driving to the pier requires parking somewhere.”

  “They have parking lots.”

  Kat grunted. “I’m already praying to the parking gods that there will be spots available.”

  “Have some faith! You might have to walk a little farther or pay a little more, but there will be something.”

  “You’re not tense at all.”

  “That’s your competition brain. If you don’t get a good spot, you think you’ve lost.”

  “How did you know I was thinking that?”

  Wendy rolled her eyes. “I turn the dial in my head to ‘winning is everything’ and it’s not that hard.”

  “What else is on the dial?”

  “Mine is set to ‘do your best with what you’ve got.’”

  “Has it always been, or is that something you taught yourself?”

  “Always. I watched my dad do the best on his one income. We didn’t live in a great place, but he made sure we were safe. He made sure we had enough to eat, and I did my best to make it taste okay.”

  “Is that why you became a chef?”

  “Absolutely. It’s a great challenge to look at the ingredients in your kitchen and figure out the most creative way to use it all.”

  “My parents were the opposite. If they didn’t have what they needed, they went shopping or ordered in.”

  “I didn’t have that luxury.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “I’m not. It made me who I am. I feel rich now because I can buy what I want, not just what I need. I worked for that, and it feels good.”