The Number Twenty-Six

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Scene Title	The Number Twenty-Six
Synopsis	Things are set out in groups of twenty-six.
Date	September 30, 2008

Dorchester Towers: Cat's Apartment

It's been hours since her morning visitor departed, their business concluded at least for the moment, and Cat turned her attentions to more domestic matters. Preparations were made, items put in place, and she waits in the main room for Danielle to return. She's got guitar in hand, quietly playing the chords of a Beatles tune, and a pair of freshly poured wine glasses nearby. It's near the time she expects the shorter one to return home from work.

When she does arrive, she'll find a trail of pink rose petals leading into the main room from the entry door, and another which branches off into the kitchen where their table is. Only the sound of that guitar indicates which path leads to Cat.

Dani comes in, and looks a little surprised, as she finds the flower petals there. The shorter brunette smiles. She starts to take the path that is accompanied by music, to see what she finds.

The sound of the door opening and closing alerts her to the arrival, and Cat waits a handful of seconds to let her travel the distance from there to the main room, then looks up. She's clad in a classic sleeveless little black dress, with matching two inch heeled pumps. One of the coffee tables holds a pattern of candles, flanked by the two wine glasses. Cat herself is seated on a stool. The sight of Dani causes her to begin playing and add her singing voice to it, the song chosen is Birthday by The Beatles.

Dani walks in and smiles over. "Happy birthday to me." she says, in a soft voice. Then she's quiet and lets Cat sing.

It takes a few minutes to play it out, making eye contact as she does so. Cat remains seated, a smile playing about her lips as fingers work the strings and frets during the stretches between lyrics, and privately wondering if Dani took time to count the petals and candles found here.

Danielle didn't. She doesn't have Cat's perfect memory and perceptive abilities. But she smiles back to the musician. "Thank you. I appreciate this, hon. It'd been a rough day."

There's no verbal mention of the total, thus suggesting that fact, so when Cat finishes the tune and sets her guitar aside so she can approach and wrap the less tall one in a hug, she recommends, "You should count things, Dani. Welcome home, relax, the workday is over."

Danielle smiles. She looks about then, and starts counting, as she hugs Cat in return.

There are, leading from the door to main room, exactly twenty-six of the pink rose petals and the same number of candles on the coffee table.

Danielle smiles as she steps out of her heels. "Symbolic and sappy. I love it." She goes up on tiptoe to kiss Cat.

For her part, the smile broadens. Cat leans forward to accept and return that kiss, needing to lean even more with the discarding of Dani's heels.

Danielle smiles. "Sooooo….I noticed there was another trail. Where does that one go?"

"Into the kitchen, where something is waiting on the table," Cat replies with a grin. Should Dani count again on the way there, she'll discover that just as there were twenty-six petals marking the path from door to main room, there are just enough petals placed at the diverging point to equal twenty-six from door to kitchen table. And on that kitchen table are two plates with food. Meat and potatoes, with another vegetable on Dani's. Twenty-six peas, to be precise. Each place has a wine glass at before it. At the center of the table is a cake. Two cakes, actually. One in the form of a two, and the other a six. There's also a wine bottle, which if the label is read will be discovered as bottled in 1982.

Dani smiles, and she moves out over to the table. She can't help but laugh just a little. "Someone is being just a little OCD. But I love you anyway." She smiles back at Cat, moving over towards the table. "Thank you so much."

"Adrianna Monk, at your service," Cat replies with a curtsy. "You're very welcome." One hand gestures for Dani to sit and begin enjoying, while she trails a hand across her shoulders. "I love you too," she adds in passing.

Danielle smiles. "To a first birthday together." She lifts her glass. "And to many more." Once the toast is made, she moves to sit.

"Hear, hear," Cat replies, meeting the toast, and drinking afterward. Her seat is taken after Dani sits.

Danielle smiles. 'So how was your day?"

"It was full of happy plotting," Cat replies with a grin. "Making arrangements, having things brought in and set up, and playing music." She doesn't ask about Dani's, given she'd said it was long, and this to her is a time of relaxation, winding down from such things and enjoying each other's company.

Dani nods, and stretches out a leg to caress Cat's leg under the table. "And what do you have in mind for after dinner, hmmm?" She asks, with amusement."

Her leg meets that which stretches toward it, moving slowly in response, as she adopts a playful smile and lifts a fork. "I won't say," Cat answers, "but there might be twenty-six of something."

A smile at that. "Twenty six there, hmm? That's ambitious." Yep. Definite coy expression. "But it'll be fun to try even if we can't get all the way there." Toes still rubbing at Cat's leg.

Or maybe she's just plotting to achieve an objective in twenty-six moves. Cat simply grins, and doesn't speak on the subject. She just begins to eat her meal and enjoy the wine.

Danielle smiles, and she eats as well. She starts in on the dinner. "Excellent. It's very tasty. Did you cook?"

"The situation called for better than that," Cat answers. Not that she's bad at making food, but this is an occasion she felt called for professional involvement. The fork is made use of in her standard way, she dines neatly and quietly.

Dani grins a little. "Oh, now see, here I was about to be even more impressed. You know, I'm firmly of the opinion already that there's nothing you can't do."

"I'll neither confirm nor deny perfection," Cat replies with a pleasant laugh. She continues to enjoy the meal, with her leg still active under the table.

Danielle grins. "Well, I'll go ahead and continue to believe it." She keeps eating. "Thank you for remembering, though." A moment of quiet. "My folks didn't call."

There's a humorous, playful reply forming, but it dies unspoken with the final comment. Cat makes eye contact, a trace of anger amid the compassion visible there. Her leg stops moving, staying where it is. It's a moment where one wants to not say the wrong thing; to be comforting without being dismissive of the emotion and its cause. "It still hurts you," she acknowledges quietly.

The shorter woman shrugs her shoulders once. "It's okay. I'm used to it. No one's remembered my birthday for a few years now."

"I have," Cat replies. "I know sometimes the capacity of my memory bothers you," she adds softly, "and I can't help that, but… I never forget your birthday." A quiet smile forms, and her legs starts to move again in a gentle fashion.

Danielle smiles. "I know. You never forget anything, Cat." A soft tone to her voice. "I'm really glad to have you here with me. I can't say how much."

She doesn't reply with words, the eye contact remains, warmth in her own, as Cat continues her meal.

The other woman keeps going till her meal is polished off. All last 26th vegetable. She smiles back to Cat. "Dinner was wonderful. What's for dessert?"

That would be the cakes already sitting at the table's center; one of them a two and the other a six. They are, of course, what Dani would have them be. Cat doesn't answer the question, as she's finishing the last of her meal; she instead gestures at the pair.

Danielle chuckles. "That was intended to be a coy innuendo, you. I'll get saucers for us." She stands and pads to the kitchen.

Except they're already in the kitchen, where the table is. Cat picks up the knife placed near the two cakes and holds it with blade pointing down for Dani to take and use when she returns. Her mouth curves into a playful smile for a moment.

Dani looks at her as she takes the knife. "What? You've got that look on your face." she says, considering Cat cryptically.

"You'll find out," she replies, perhaps again thinking of her plot involving twenty-six moves. Nothing else is said; Cat watches the cake or cakes be cut. They're not terribly large, both of them together just enough for the two of them to enjoy.

Danielle tilts her head just a little, but then makes the slices, and passes to Cat before taking some herself. She sits back down again.

She remains on her feet until Dani is seated, and waits to let Dani taste her cake before doing the same. "Thank you." Cat's eyes focus on the eating utensil in hand.

Danielle does the same. Dani's a chocolate girl, so that's the cake. She takes a bite, and enjoys, with a savoring chew of the cake. "Delicious."

Seconds later, there's a chocolate cake eating Cat who does so carefully, without a sound, and her mouth closed. Time is taken to chew, then swallow, before she speaks a single word of agreement. "Yes."

Danielle smiles. "So. We are going to have to go somewhere nice to celebrate my first paycheck on the enemy's payroll."

"I do like that idea," Cat answers, asking "When will that be?"

Danielle smiles. "Should be Friday. The benefits of working salary. Prompt and speedy payroll."

"Nice," Cat replies. "We can pick a place that night." Her utensil moves, time for another bite of cake.

Danielle looks over to Cat. "You're sort of quiet tonight." she comments, as she takes a sip from her glass. "Is something the matter? It feels like you have something else on your mind."

"Am I?" she asks, sounding and looking puzzled. "It's your birthday, you're happy, I'm happy, and I'm eating cake." Cat's honestly confused by the question, a chuckle escapes. "I don't generally talk with my mouth full, you know."

Danielle smiles. "You're not talking in between bites either. Or not much, at least. Maybe it's just my reporter-sense going haywire. I'm not sure."

"It could be I'm thinking to eat the cake without talking, enjoying some comfortable silence, and testing my theory about the number twenty-six," Cat replies with that playful grin returning. And with that said, there goes the eating utensil again.

Danielle now looks puzzled again. "What theory? Sometimes I swear I need a fortune-cookie-to-english dictionary with you."

"We talked about it before, I said there might be twenty-six of something else, and you told me it'd be fun to try, even if we don't get all the way there." Cat stands, setting down her utensil and leaving half of her cake uneaten. There will be time for that later. A playful, lusty smile shows on her features as she extends a hand for Dani to take, intending to go behind the closed bedroom door and demonstrate what she's thinking.

Danielle grins. "I didn't think that was a theory. I thought that was my birthday present." She stands up, and takes Cat's hand, to head with her towards the bedroom.