Part Nine

"Please take me with you," Mark begs as he takes a dainty bite of his proscuitto appetizer. Cat always marvels at his ability to make even the most difficult foods seem effortless to eat. She pulls at the thin strip of fat stuck between her two front teeth with her tongue before abandoning the pursuit all together. Mark wraps another paper thin slice around his fork and pops it in his mouth.

"Of course. Maybe now you'll actually have to listen to me." She laughs.

"Maybe," he winks.

Hallie walks in the door and they both turn to wave.

"Hi, hi, congrats!" She kisses Cat on the cheeks, "I'm so proud of you. Sorry I'm late. Hi Markus," she greets him.

"Hi, honey," Mark says pushing the plate of appetizers toward Hallie. She loves food almost as much as he does.

"So, what have you been up to? I haven't really seen you since your party, which was amazing." She takes a sip of prosecco.

"Oh not much, just the ushe."

"Markus, darling, something fun must have happened in the last month." Hallie grins at him.

"Well, I met two new boys, but I don't think anything will come of it, sadly."

"Tell me about it." Cat watches and eats as her two best friends catch up.

"Whatever happened with you and Cat's neighbor. She never said anything about it."

"Oh Dave, nothing. He's not really my type." Hallie takes a bite of cheese.

"What, he's adorable." Mark protests.

"He's cute, but I don't know. He's too nice, or something." They both look at Cat.

"Whatever," she says, "he lives in my building. A big no no."

"True," they agree.

Dinner passes quickly and although Cat wants to stay out and spend more time with her friends she also needs to get home. She can't wait to hear what Nick thinks of her new promotion. She leaves Hallie and Mark as they duck in to a wine bar and walks home. The warm air sticks to her skin and as she finally opens the door to her apartment she regrets not leaving the air conditioning on when she stopped by earlier. The air is stagnent and she stands in front of her window unit letting the cold air blow over her until she feels like she won't die of heat stroke.

Cat takes a seat on the sofa, turns on the television and opens her laptop.

Oh my god! Congrats! That is great. You totally deserve it. Obviously MS is as smart as they say, if she was able to see how great you are. Hope you had a good celebration.

What a great guy, Cat thinks as she flips through the channels. She waits to respond, letting his words sink in. She does deserve this promotion. She's proud of herself. A call from her mother slips through to voicemail as she write Nick back.

Thanks! I am so excited. You are awesome to be so encouraging! It feels great to have so much support.

Only a minute passes.

Of course darlin'. You are great! Off to bed. Talk soon.

Cat smiles. She feels lucky to have him in her life.

--

The week flies by. Work is demanding and she refuses to let anything slip by, so she stays late, eats at her desk and falls into bed when she finally makes it home. Cat hasn't had a moment to worry about Nick. Somewhere in her spare time she has decided to invite him to New York. It's time for us to get together she thinks and with her new found self confidence she has no doubt he feels the same.

By the time she gets home Friday it is almost 9:00 p.m. Her friends are out at a bar, and she isn't sure she wants to join them. She puts her feet up on the coffee table and closes her eyes for a second.

A knock at the door wakes her up.

"One sec," she worries its the super, but remembers it is past 9:00 p.m. on a Friday night and unless there is a fire there is no way he would be here.

She peers out the peep hole and sees Dave.

"Hi Dave," Cat says as she opens the door.

"Hey Cat, how are you? I haven't seen you around in a while. "

"I'm good, good, come in." She opens the door so he can pass.

"Thanks. I'm about to head out to a party with some of my law school friends. Wanna come?"

She looks at his face, and knows he wants her to come with him, that he doesn't want to go to one more party by himself, and she feels sorry for him. She feels sorry for herself, when she used to have nights like this, when she didn't want to sit home but didn't have anyone to go out with. Immediately she decides to join him.

"I just got home. Give me twenty minutes?" she smiles.

"Sure, no problem," he turns to go back to his own apartment.

"No, grab a beer and stay here. Tell me what you've been up to."

Cat leaves the door to her bedroom open a crack so she can hear him from the living room.

"So why are you working so late these days?" Dave asks.

"Oh my god, I didn't tell you, I got a promotion. It's great. I'm in charge of an entire department!" She peaks her head around the door to smile at him.

"Wow, how did that happen."

Cat explains the entire story, filling him in on her project and on Oz and Mary.

"I can't believe I'm old enough to be a Director. I remember when I first started working and anyone over thirty seemed ancient, and here I am making more money, but my life doesn't feel any more settled than it did at twenty-three." She brushes her hair and inspects her reflection in the mirror. She's put on a casual but fun outfit. No heels for her tonight, she's in espadrille wedges and a light almost see-through white cotton v-neck tee-shirt. The runs she's been taking have paid off and her skin is a little darker than it was last month. Her hair is just lighter than it was all winter. She puts on a thin layer of lip gloss and presents herself to Dave.

"I know how you feel. It's the same at my firm." He looks up from the magazine he's leafing through when she walks in the room. "You look great," he says.

"Thanks," Cat is happy she's going out with him. "So where's this party after all?"

"It's on the Upper West Side, some bar on Columbus and 74th."

Cat cringes, "is this one of those $30 for three hours of open bar."

"You got it," he says.

"Ugh," she sighs.

"These guys are kind of fratty, but their pretty nice," he pauses, "most of them are pretty nice."

"Well we'll definitely add to the party," she says as she grabs her purse. "Let's get out of here."

The train crawls beneath the city, but Cat hardly notices how slowly they are moving. The express is out of order and they stand on a local packed with teenagers and toursits. Dave tells her about his life in Chicago. How much he misses the city, but is also glad to be trying something new. He misses his parents and brothers, all of whom live in the Windy City.

"I can't imagine being in New York forever."

"It grows on you, I promise. Next time you go back to Chicago you won't believe there isn't a place to get a full meal at 2:00 a.m. and that you can't buy beer at 4:00 a.m." She says.

"Do I need to eat dinner at 2:00 a.m. or buy beer at 4:00 a.m.?" he protests, "and I'm pretty sure you can do both of those things in Chicago anyhow."

"Good point. Although we are going to a party for people twenty-five or under." She grips the warm pole in her hand as the train slows to a stop.

"These guys are my age," he says.

"Which is what? Twenty-four?" She teases.

"Plus eleven." They move into a pair of seats as the train clears out at 42nd street.

"Really, 35. You look much younger." She says.

"Is that a compliment? I never know."

She nudges him with her knee. Before she knows it they are at 72nd street. They walk to the bar laughing and swear to do a shot as soon as they walk through the door.

They move down the stairs into the private back room. Cat can hear the bad music through the closed door and although she isn't excited about the party, she knows she'll have fun with Dave.

The bar is crowded and the back porch is crammed with people smoking. She has to wait in a crowd to get a drink. Dave slips away from her, sweaty young guys pushed between them, and he is caught in a circle of friends. Cat doesn't know what to order him and she worries that he won't find her before it is her turn to order. She feels his hand on her back as she cranes her neck to find the bartender.

"Don't worry, the bartender is my buddy's younger brother." Dave smiles.

Cat relaxes and waits. Dave passes her a shot of yaeger and a Bud.

"I could be in college," she says.

"I doubt you drank Bud in college, maybe Natty Lite."

"Touche."

"To neighbors and new friends," Dave offers as he lifts his shot glass to meet Cat's.

"To neighbors and new friends," she repeats and downs the dark licorice liquid in one gulp.

"Ok, that's the last shot for me," she says as she wipes her mouth on the back of her hand.

"Your face is priceless." Dave smiles. "I agree. No more of those for me either. Let's get away from the bar."

He leads her to a quiet corner where one by one people come up to say hello.

"I thought you said you didn't know many people in the city." Cat says.

"Most of these people don't live here. Everyone's here for a friends wedding tomorrow."

"And this is the rehersal dinner."

"The post-rehersal dinner." Dave waves at a gorgeous blonde who is making a bee line for their table.

"Hi Courtney!" Dave gives her a big hug and Cat is suddenly worried that he will abandon her and she'll be stuck at the party alone.

"Hi Davey, it's so good to see you, I miss you!" She grabs his cheeks in her hands and pushes his face between her palms.

"You too." Dave says.

"I was so sorry to hear about you and Heather. I didn't see that coming." The blonde says to him, ignorning Cat.

"Yeah, oh well," Dave takes her hands from his face, "this is my friend Cat, Courtney."

Who is Heather Cat wonders.

"Hi, nice to meet you," Cat sticks out her hand.

"You too," Courtney says as she shakes Cat's hand. "So tell me what happened. Is Heather still in Chicago? I heard she maybe she went to San Francisco."

Dave looks at Cat his face turning red.

"Excuse me," Cat says and disapppears to find the ladies room. She can't stop wondering about Heather but makes a decicion not to ask any questions. Whatever Dave wants her to know he'll tell her. She doesn't need to pry.

The party feels more crowded as she leaves the bathroom. She wedges herself between groups of people turning from side to side to slip past guys who block her way. She turns to the left to miss a girl with four beers cupped between her small fingers and runs smack into a thick elbow. Two shots of yaeger go flying all over the elbow's blue shirt and she thanks god the chococlate liquid spilled on him and not her white shirt. Stupid choice, she tells herself, the white shirt.

"Oh my god, excuse me. I'm sorry it is so crowded in her." She looks at her jeans to make sure she isn't wet.

"Jesus christ, watch where you are going."

Cat pauses before looking up at him.

"Are you serious," she begins turning to look him in the face. "Holy shit," she says. Her hands start to shake and she can feel her heartbeat through her thin shirt. "Nick?"