Sunday, January 2

10:30 am
Kitchen

Hanging out, waiting for Cate and the kids to get stuff together to go to brunch.

Last day with the kids before they go back to school tomorrow.  Dorothea's taking them back to the City after brunch, think Cate and I are gonna stay here a little longer and head back in tonight.  I'm in the mood to snuggle on the couch and watch football.  Of course we'll argue over what game to watch -- Giants or Eagles.  They're on at the same time.  Shit.  I'm gonna have to either compromise or do some sweet talking to keep her on the couch with me instead of running off to another room with a TV in it, ha ha.

She's in a strange mood today.  Not sure exactly what happened, but I think we need to talk.  I've never seen Cate like she was this morning.  We woke up together around 8, all happy and smiley and lovey-dovey.  Were in the middle of some naughty pillow talk that revolved around that lyric from Any Other Day -- you know, "Catch a beer buzz in the morning, maybe get a little head?"

Okay, so maybe I brought that one up... heh heh.

Anyway, Cate was receptive to that idea and had just ducked under the covers to say hello to Superman when there's a knock on our bedroom door followed by a click and the door opening and a little voice calling "Daddy, can I come in?"

Romeo.  Great timing, Buddy.

So I say yeah and Cate quickly crawls back up beside me and in comes Little Man.  He climbs up in bed between us and gives me a big kiss and asks if we can go see some movie.  I tell him sure, then realize I've got a little problem going on down below.  So I excuse myself and crawl out of bed and kinda sprint into the bathroom so I don't have to explain to my 6-year-old what a morning boner is.  I hear him talking to Cate and asking if he can have a hug, but don't really pay much attention.

So I take a leak and splash some water on my face and on Superman and make sure he's tucked into my briefs where he belongs, then I go back into the bedroom.  I'm ready to crawl back in bed with my wife and my kid and just be lazy, when what I see stops me cold.

Romey and Cate are all cuddled up together, her arms around him and him just hugging her for dear life.  Cate's eyes are closed and her cheek's against the top of his head, and my Boy's just smiling and talking to her.  I watch for a minute, then my heart just about explodes when I hear him say "I love you, Cate.  You're my best friend."

And then what Cate did just blew me away.  She gives Romey another squeeze and says "I love you too, Buddy."  Her voice is all husky and choked up, then she presses a little kiss against the top of his head.  I must have made a noise or something because she opened her eyes and looked right at me, and tears spilled out from those gorgeous blue eyes and ran down her cheeks.

My God.  I about cried myself, watching them.  That look Cate gave me about broke my heart.  She wasn't crying because she was sad, and she was smiling, but there was something else there... a kind of bittersweet emotion.

I didn't know what to do.  I just stood there like an idiot, staring back at Cate, until Romey looked up and saw she was crying and asked if she was sad.  She smiled and reassured him that she wasn't sad at all, that he had made her so happy and she loves being his friend and spending time with him and having him come stay with us at our house.  Romeo just said "Okay" and gave her another big hug.  I was still at a complete loss, so I just climbed back in bed and hugged them both.

So we stayed there in bed for awhile and talked about plans for the day, and for next week, and about going back to school.  Finally I shooed Romeo out to find his brothers so we could get up and get dressed.  I asked Cate what was wrong and she said "nothing" and just smiled and kissed me, then went off to the bathroom.  I asked her again in the shower and she said the same thing, then made some joke about PMS.

I know my wife, and this ain't PMS.  She gets bitchy when she has PMS, not weepy.  Cate doesn't cry easily.  There's something going on in her head, something she's sorting through.  I know she'll tell me when she's ready, but Dammit, I want to help her.  But if I try I'll either piss her off or make it worse.  Whatever it is, I hope she sorts it out or at least is ready to tell me soon.  Maybe later this week when we sneak away for our little escape.

Until then I have to keep reminding myself to be patient.  And to lock the bedroom door.