Chapter 6 #2
She rolled her eyes as he started toward the conference table, but didn't say anything about it.
The silver cart had been left next to the table.
Jake took the domed serving plates off and peeked underneath.
He didn't recognize the meal so he set it at the head of the table.
Double checking the other one, he set it to the side of hers.
Cutlery went next followed by beverages.
About the time he finished setting everything out, Catherine pushed away from her desk.
"Thank you for setting it up," she told him, taking the cloth napkin and settling it in her lap after she took her seat.
Jake took his seat after she did. "How did your morning go?" He knew it would be easy for them to settle into a silent lunch, and he didn't want that to happen.
Catherine gave a half-shrug. "Fine. I've taken over almost everything from my father, which means there's always a million things to do.
The plans for my birthday ball are being finalized.
Same with the coronation. I don't see what the big deal is about either one.
I've had two dozen other birthdays. I've been queen for fifteen years.
Why do we have to make a big deal out of this one and have a big to-do that's costing a lot of money? "
"I don't know. Why do you think?" He had suspicions but wanted to hear her answers.
She pushed a bit of food around with her fork. "I guess my birthday is a big deal since I'm officially taking over from my father and no longer need a regent. I suppose that's why now was chosen for the coronation, but I still wish neither needed to be a spectacle."
"Those sound like logical reasons for both." He watched her carefully as he took a bite.
"I know." She still pushed food around. "I'm honest enough to know that if it was anyone but me, I'd understand the reasons and enthusiastically support them. But since it is me..."
"You don't understand why anyone wants to make a fuss," Jake finished for her.
"Exactly." She slumped back in her chair in a very un-queen-like way. "I really just want to do my job and forget the pomp and ceremony. I can do that from here, for the most part. Why does everything have to be such a big deal?"
Jake didn't think she really wanted an answer, so he didn't give one.
Instead, he kept an eye on her, watching her carefully as he ate.
He began to suspect his wife had some serious introvert tendencies.
That could make the "outside the office" part of the job more difficult than it would be for someone more extroverted in nature.
"What do you like to do when you're not here?" he asked, changing the subject. "When you don't have work to do."
"I read books or watch movies. Binge television shows. Maybe play games with my family one night a week." She finally took a bite of her entree.
The biggest thing Jake noticed about the things she mentioned? They were all solitary endeavors, or could be, except for time with her family. They were still part of her very small protective bubble, though. People she'd known literally their whole lives and most of hers.
"What books do you like? More of the fant-sy-roman things?" He wasn't quite sure how to pronounce what she'd called the Trilunium series, but he knew that wasn't it.
"Romantasy?" she asked, raising one eyebrow his direction.
"That's it!" He tried to keep from smirking but failed miserably.
Catherine rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"Yes. I like romantasy, but I read a wide variety of genres.
I also read non-fiction books in a lot of different subjects.
" She wrinkled her nose. "I read a lot for work, like contracts and treaties and stuff.
It's a lot harder to stay awake while reading those. "
Jake couldn't stop his laugh. "I would have a hard time reading those, too. The only documents like that I can read without falling asleep are ancient ones."
"I don't think the age of the document would matter to me. They all put me to sleep."
He leaned toward her. "I'll make sure to have a few ancient documents queued up on my iPad for you when insomnia strikes."
This time she laughed, which meant he'd succeeded in part of what he wanted to do.
"That's a great idea." Catherine took another bite of her lunch.
"What's the rest of your day look like?"
"I had a meeting about the Quad Games earlier so I’ll do some follow-up paperwork and have a meeting about the coronation in about an hour." She pushed food around again. "Then more paperwork. Never ending paperwork."
"Paperwork is the bane of almost everyone's existence." He shifted to look more directly at her. "Tell me about these Games. I've never been or even followed them very closely."
"They're similar to the Olympics in a lot of ways, but much smaller, obviously and only the countries along the Sargasso Sea really fully participate.
Technically, anyone can and there's usually a few individuals from around the world.
Terralago Nuevo often sends a contingent, though not as many as they would if it was closer and not literally halfway around the world.
They're all held in odd years and can be part of the Olympic qualifying process, though not all of the events are.
The winter Quad Nation Games are held here or Western Novigradia.
Summer events are held in Southern Santiero or Northern Santiero.
We rotate every four years, so two sets of games in each country. "
Jake took another bite of his lunch and tried to think about it. "Actually, I feel like maybe I did go to an event or two when I was quite young, before we moved from Eastern Novigradia. It could have been a local event, though. Skiing maybe? Ski jump? Something with skis anyway."
Jake looked at the clock behind her. It was almost time for her to get back to work. "Well, I really enjoyed the movie we watched." It was the truth, though he hadn't expected to. He was still glad they’d spent the previous day bingeing an old SitCom. "We can watch the second one tonight?"
Catherine looked up and smiled at him. "That sounds nice."
He stood and cleaned up his dishes, placing them back on the silver cart. Since she pushed hers away, he did the same for Catherine.
Leaning down, he brushed a kiss against her cheek for the second time that day. "I'll see you tonight."
Jake started for the main door but stopped and turned when Catherine called his name.
She tipped her head again, this time toward the door he'd used earlier in the day. "You can use that door, especially if my aide on duty has already told you I'm available. They'll tell you if you need to go in the main way for some reason."
Changing his direction, he gave her his best smile. "Thank you. I'll do that."
As he opened the door, she called after him again.
"And Jacob?"
He turned, waiting for her to go on.
"You don't need to bow in the mornings. I'm your wife."
Jacob tipped his head to acknowledge the directive. "Thank you."
Then he left.