Home » The Archives » Chapter 13 » Cold Front
| Re: Cold Front [message #786 is a reply to message #784] |
Wed, 25 July 2012 16:51   |
artisticrainey
Messages: 1228
Registered: July 2012
Location: Northern Ireland
Karma:
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Field Commander
Switzerland |
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Cassie was walking across the balcony toward Luke's apartment when she noticed him and Rommel walk out.
"Hey, Luke! Looks like I caught you at a bad time."
"Hey, Cassie! We were just going to take a walk," Luke replied, gesturing toward Rommel with one hand. "You want to join us? Or I can skip the walk."
"A walk actually sounds like a good idea. My apartment was getting too quiet," she commented reaching out a hand to scratch Rommel behind the ears. "Oh, I should probably give you these before we go though," Cassie said, remembering the envelope she was carrying.
"What's in it?" Luke asked, taking the envelope Cassie held out to him.
"Pictures from the party that I thought you might like."
Luke opened the envelope and took out two pictures. The first one was of Luke, Elise, and Rommel in their costumes. The second was of all the recruits, though Rommel no longer had his costume on.
"These are great! Thanks! I'd like to see the others sometime."
"Well, I've got them all transferred to my laptop, but that's about as far as I've gotten. I'm hoping to find time this weekend to go through and do any touch ups and delete those that are beyond help or just didn't come out the way I wanted."
"Maybe, I'll try stopping by sometime next week then," he told her. "Let me just put these inside real quick."
Luke ducked back into the apartment while Cassie kept petting Rommel. The Shepherd closed his eyes, enjoying the attention.
It wasn't long before Luke had rejoined them on the balcony. The two friends headed toward the steps on the side of the Cliff House, Rom walking between the two of them. They conversed about trivial things for awhile, such as training and things that had happened throughout the day.
When the conversation hit a lull, Luke decided to try broaching a more serious topic.
"Have you decided what to do about Alex?"
Cassie sighed. She glanced out over the horizon for a moment before looking back at her friend.
"Yes and no," she replied. At Luke's confused look she continued. "I managed to schedule a time to talk to Dr. Lindon, my therapist back in New York, via IM earlier today. We talked about Alex and what you said to me on Sunday. She warned me not to go rushing back just because things weren't working out how I thought they would. The two of us decided that for now the best course of action is to take a wait and see approach. I plan on talking to Alex via email for awhile and see where things go."
"And if the two of you work things out?" He asked, looking to see where Rommel had gotten to. He spotted the dog up ahead of them, sniffing the ground.
"I don't know. Guess I cross that bridge when I get there. One thing I do know, things would need to change for me to go back. Alex controlled my life too much when we were together. That isn't what a marriage should be. It should be a partnership between two people. For the first time in my life, I've got control of my life and though I may not be doing such a stellar job, at least I know I've only got myself to blame."
"You're being too hard on yourself."
"Maybe," she said slowly. After a short pause, she continued. "You were right though, Luke. I was throwing so much of myself into my work that I haven't taken the time to try fitting in with everyone. It was easier to do that than to open up and let people get to know me. There's a certain amount of a detachment to a work relationship that you can hide behind. Less chance of getting hurt. That's not what I want, though. Sure, I want to be a part of the IR team, but I also want to feel like part of the community here on the island."
"I'm glad to hear you say that. I was also glad to see a little of the Cassie I know surfacing at the party."
"Then are you up for helping me with a project?"
"What is it?'
"I was going to hold a tea ceremony. Tin-Tin has expressed an interest in experiencing one and Virgil has shown an interest in the Japanese culture. Some of the others may be interested too. I'd need someone to be the Shokyaku, or guest of honor, and seeing as no one has actually been to a tea ceremony except for me, that maybe you could fill that role. I can explain things to you in more detail later but basically the other guests would look to you for what to do."
"I'm not wearing one of those dress things."
"It's not a dress and I'm not asking you to wear one!"
"Then I'd be happy to help you out. When were you planning on doing it?"
"The last day of the month. It's a Friday and that will give me plenty of time to prepare. It's been a while since I've hosted or attended one myself."
"Who are you inviting?"
"Well, John will be up on Thunderbird 5, but I was figuring that I would just send an invitation to everybody here on the island. I don't really know everyone well enough to be able to decide who might be interested and who wouldn't."
"Sounds reasonable."
"Would you be willing to help me get the invitations ready?"
Luke nodded. "When do you want to do it?"
"Well, I wanted to type up something about the tea ceremony to put in the invitations as well as doing some calligraphy on the front of the invitations."
"Well, I certainly can't help you with that. I can write legibly enough but I can't do anything fancy."
Cassie laughed. "I wasn't going to ask you to. If you could help me fill out the inside with the needed information though, it would be helpful. Maybe Sunday afternoon if you don't have any plans. I'll cook you lunch and then we can work on them afterward."
"Sunday will work."
"Thanks, Luke!" Cassie said, throwing her arms around him to give him a hug.
"No problem, Cass," he told her returning the hug. As they broke away he noticed the fading light. "Maybe we should start heading back. I was planning on watching the Avalanche and Sabers game I taped. Care to join me."
Cassie shrugged. "It's been awhile since I've actually watched ice hockey but why not. It's not like I have a hot date or anything," she said, as the two headed back to the Cliff House.
"Well, there are plenty of single guys here," Luke said teasingly.
"Hey, if you don't want me to set you up don't go getting any ideas!"
  
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