Today you'll finish the work week with yet again another shoot. The concept of today will work best if Cate's kids are around, so Noah and you will head over there around dinnertime. Eating a bite along with the family for the second time. You go about your day, exitedly waiting for the evening. At the beginning of the afternoon, you receive a call.
"Hi Y/N." A fluid, rich voice you recognise in an instant. "Am I disturbing you?"
"Not at all."
"Good. I wanted to ask if you have any preference for dinner." She asks.
You begin to chuckle at the wholesome question. "Any family favourites?"
"Tons." She responds upbeat.
"Then amaze me with one of them." You request.
"Will do." From the tone of her voice, you feel like she's already got an idea.
You wait for her to begin an expected goodbye. Instead, a brief silence fills up your ear, followed by another question from the woman on the other end of the line. "Any luck with the pictures?"
"Oh definitely. They're all just marvelous."
"Glad to hear so." She says. "I'm looking forward to the reveal."
"Yeah, me too. I'm looking forward to see your reaction."
Cate doesn't speak right away, but you can almost sense a smile that's plastered on her face. "I'll see you in the evening, Y/N."
"Gladly." You respond, and end the call feeling jubilant.
__________
Before going over to the family, Noah and you decide to get something small as a thank you, for the hospitality. Once driving over, your first stop is at a local liquor store. You buy a fine bottle of red wine and hop back into the car.
As you go up the broad driveway, the sun has almost reached it's golden hours. The sky is filled with different shades of orange and pink, and it makes for your contentment to grow even higher. You park the car, and together with your best friend, you make your way to the frontdoor.
It's Dashiell who opens the door. "Hi, come in." He says invitingly.
"How courtly, thank you." You say in a joking tone, which makes the teenager laugh and lose some tension.
"Mum is in the kitchen."
"Ah I see. Busy behind the stove?"
"Absolutely. I haven't seen her so worked up in the kitchen since last Thanksgiving."
"You don't say." You look him astoundingly.
Noah blends into the chatter. "Then we must be in for a treat."
"Depends. Do you like beef and sweet potato?" Dashiell asks. You can sense he feels comfortable with you both, and you're here for it.
Noah answers. "I'll eat just about anything."
"You and me both." You respond.
"Make that three." Dashiell adds.
You share a laugh before you dart yourself at Noah and begin to speak again. "Well, let's head to the chef, shall we?"
You walk past the entryway and head for the kitchen. Getting closer, you can smell the delicious aromas of dinner and you faintly hear some chatter. Upon entering the kitchen you see the blonde woman, attired with an apron, standing behind the kitchen counter, talking to Andrew who's sitting in one of the easy chairs. As their gazes shift towards the two of you, their faces light up.
"Y/N and Noah, good to see you." Andrew says as he walks over to you, giving you both a strong handshake.
"Thanks for having us over once again for dinner." You say.
Noah hands over the bottle of wine and you both receive gratitude from your hostesses.
"It smells delicious." Looking over at Cate behind the counter, you can see her appreciative smile.
"I sure hope so, I've had my hands full for the last two hours. But I'm just about done so please," She gestures to the neatly set up dinner table. "take a seat."
"I'll get the children." Andrew says as he walks out of the kitchen.
A few moments later, everyone's seated and the dish is presented.
"You asked for a family favourite," Cate begins. "here you have it. Beef stew with sweet potato topping."
You lean forward and take a whiff of the appealing looking dish. "It looks very appetising."
Everyone gets some on their plate and you all enjoy a cordial dinner. One of the things that you've observed is that the kids seem much more relaxed and casual this second time around. You all chitchat with each other and you discover their likes and interests. You could see yourself befriending them if you were still a kid. Once again, the whole family shows wholesomeness and you're having a great time.
__________
After the sociable dinner, you emerge yourself with work. Noah's getting Cate pretty for the camera, and you make your shooting stationaire ready in the conservatory. The room is attached to the back of the house and has a perfect view on the vast backyard.
You're just about ready as Noah comes up with Cate. The blonde woman is wearing the same casual outfit she wore all day. All Noah's done is put a small amount of makeup on her already glowing face. You let Noah join in on your little discussion for todays plan.
"You both ready?" You enthousiastically say when they enter your photoshoot domain.
"I'd like to know how I'll further participate in this equation." Your assistent asks confused, not being used to be incorporated.
"Noah, I want you to take the kids outside and have a good time. Right about there." You gesture towards the large patch of grass outside.
He seems eager. "Awesome!" Without further questioning, he's off to retrieve the children.
When he's out the door, you turn towards Cate. "I want to see you in bliss." You explain. "And what better way then to see your children carelessly joyfull?"
You might as well already shoot pictures because Cate's face already shows a grand smile. "Lovely."
"I thought so." You say. A smile has also transfered onto your face.
You both take a seat at two chairs that are located before the large windows that surround the room. A little while later, the kids come running outside, with Noah following behind. Behind the glass windows, you can faintly hear the high-pitched chattering. While everybody outside stays entertained with a soccer ball, inside, you chat with Cate.
"They're absolute sweethearts." You tell Cate, both looking at the view outdoors.
"They really are, aren't they?" A heartwarming glow is plastered on her face.
What follows, is silence. The peaceful stillness you have once shared before. No need of speaking, no need of uncomfort. You both just look outside, watching the view of playing children, and a childishly careless adult. A moment of bliss.
Bliss. At once, you're reminded of your job. You take the camera that's on your lap, put the band around your neck and look sideways, to the woman who's sitting next to you. Because of your sudden change of pace, she too, glances over to you.
"Keep feeling what you were feeling." You tell her.
She looks at you with a sincere look. "Never lost it." Her head shifts sideways, looking through the window again. She supports her elbow on her lap and effortlessly rests her chin on her palm. You position your camera in front of your face, look through the lens, and press the button, once. No need to ruin the untainted peace. You lower your camera and look at the picture. It really does only take one shot, because she looks radiantly blissful.
Cate loses focus of outside, and looks at you with a cheeky smile. "That's it?"
"That's it." You confirm. "You look perfect."
Cate giggles, looking away and avoiding eye contact, until reclaiming a confident posture again. "You're also too lustrous not to capture." She motions towards the camera around your neck. "May I?"
You grin at the request, undo your camera strap, and hand the camera over to Cate. There's a reason you stay behind the lens, for it makes you quite uncomfortable to be the one in front of the camera. Not knowing how to pose, you unwieldy smile. You feel awkward and unknowing, which doesn't happen often.
The blonde woman seems to notice your stiffness, for she begins to speak. "What makes you happy." She asks, with her eye still looking through the lens.
You can't help but smile at her attempt to loosen up some tension. "Being behind the camera." You answer, wanting to make clear that this is not your strong suit.
She chuckles. "I see. What else?"
After a short moment of deliberation, you answer. "Outdoors. I mean, I've always had a deep love of nature. It gives me so much pleasure to just look around and observe and comprehend what I see."
"Fascinating." She says, her face matches her descriptive word. She lowers the camera and puts it down on a table. "So, we really should be out there, too?" Her head bops sideways to gesture outside.
You chuckle, liking the way this is going. "We should."
"Let's go then." The blonde woman gets up and reaches her hand out. You grab hold of it and lift up, boosting yourself a bit too vigorously. For a moment, you stand face-to-face, as close to be able to see the different shades of blue in her eyes, hands still touching, faces still gleaming.
"Right." You say blissfully. "Let's go."
You both make your way out and are enthousiastically greeted by the kids and Noah. For the next hour, you're getting lost in the joy of carelessly playing outside. At one moment, Andrew joins in on the fun. Four children, four adults, having a hoot, and losing track of time.
It isn't before Cate looks at her watch, that she stops the ongoing soccer match. "Oh shoot, it's bedtime."
With great effort, the kids finally give in to go upstairs. Not before giving you and Noah sincere goodbyes. The three boys give you a handshake that you've crafted over the last hour, and you receive a loving hug from little Edith.
Andrew goes upstairs to bring the kids to bed while Cate, Noah and you take a seat in the living. After a short while of chatting, Andrew comes downstairs and immediately throws in a suggestion. "Wine?"
"I like your way of thinking." You tell him with a smile.
"Has somebody forgotten that they still have to drive home?" Noah asks you.
You shrug. "Damn, you're right."
Noah sees the slight disappointment in your face. "You know what, I'll drive, you get drunk."
"No need to tell me twice." You show an appreciative grin to your best friend.
Cate and Andrew make their way to the kitchen and retrieve back with wineglasses, the bottle you've brought as a present and a carefully constructed cheese platter. The four of you talk about anything and everything. Even though you've come to know Cate pretty well, you haven't really had the chance to get to know Andrew. One of the things that becomes clear, is that he carries just as much wisdom as his wife. They also seem to share their vision with work-life balance, for Cate says the following, which Andrew completely agrees with. "I live my life parallel with my work, and they are both equally important."
You chuckle at the difference Noah and you have compared to them. "We're pretty much workaholics."
"That'll shift soon enough." Andrew says, as if your statement is a bad one.
"Maybe I don't want it too." You respond.
"So you don't feel the need for settlement, marriage and children?"
Noah chuckles because he knows you, and Andrew's just told all the things that you're not about. You best friend responds before you have any chance to say something. "Y/N and settlement? That's a pass."
Andrew looks at you with amazement, as well as Cate, who clearly didn't know this part of information. You try to explain some reason behind it. "It's not that I'll never consider it. Maybe I will marry someone, have children perhaps. It just that I've never felt the urge for it."
Even though you've said the things you feel, you can't seem to shake of the feeling of being wrong. As if there's no other option for you then to settle. The blonde woman sitting across from you, seems to notice your uncertainty. "Parenthood is a role that is best fulfilled when it’s one that’s chosen. It takes a lot to be a good parent so if somebody doesn’t feel that pull, that’s perfectly okay." She wisely says.
Noah and Andrew are already on another topic, but your eyes stay focussed on Cate. You mouth a heartily "Thank you" to her. The corners of her mouth lift up, and she gives you a wink.
__________
Close before midnight, Noah and you decide to go home. Having savored a few wines, you're a little tipsy. And being tipsy, makes you physically touchy. Even more touchy than you usually are. After deliberatly shaking Andrew's hand with two of your own, you head for the door along with Cate. Noah's already fetched your coats and went to the car.
"I had a great time." You begin to say, once you're at the frontdoor.
Cate looks you in the eyes for a moment and shows a warm smile. "Me too."
You grab hold of her hand, which makes Cate flinch, before letting it happen. "You want to know a little secret?"
Cate smiles at your current tipsy state and nods.
You lean in until your cheek brushes against hers, and when you speak again, the words are little more then whisper over skin. "I'm quite tipsy."
The blonde begins to chuckle and motions her face backwards, looking in your eyes again. "I figured."
"So I should probably go, before I start to say things I shouldn't be saying." You tell her with a grin.
"Oh," A cheeky smile covers her face. "and what might that be?"
"That's a whole other secret." You pair your words with a wink. "I'll see you monday." You say, finishing the conversation, and opening the door yourself.
"Alright, I'll fill in the blanks myself then." She responds, while you're already stepping down the patio.
You swift your face towards her whilst walking to the car. "Do what you can't resist."
You step in the car, and enjoy the fact that you've left Cate unknowingly behind. You also have no clue yourself as to what you might say, but you like to see her guessing.
A/N
What'd you think of the story so far? I'd love to read your comments and feedback! Thanks for making it this far already! There's way more to come.