2020-03-01 - Netflix and...Chat?

Kate had gone to the Grizzly Den to pick up some food for Wayne and herself. Having spent most of the day buried in paperwork, she was glad that he’s accepted her invitation to come over and share a meal with her. She was okay in the kitchen but didn’t necessarily have the time or energy to cook so she often had take out.

She was in the kitchen, setting up the counter as their place to eat. She wanted to be as relaxed as posible so she used the counter instead of the dining table.

Wayne likely spent too long as the store but when he was at the store by finally settled of an apple pie and some spiced hard ciders to.bring the hostess. With his purchases in hand, he arrived on time in a grey sport coat and dark jeans. He knocks lightly on the door and awaits to be let in.

Katherine opens the door when she hears the knock and smiles at her guest. "Please, come on in, Wayne." Closing the door behind her, she adds, "Food's on the counter, we can eat on the couch while we watch a movie, or sit at the counter, whatever you want." She walks over to him and eyes the pie. "Oooh dessert, I love it!" she comments with a chuckle as she approaches him.

"You have done more than enough, I insist on you pointed out where you want this in your fridge. Did you want something alcoholic to drink besides the milkshakes?" He wandered into the kitchen and made his way to the fridge, setting the drinks on the counter for the time being. With dinner out, finding a spot in the fridge was easy enough and he could move it if she thought of a different place.

While Wayne put the ciders and the pie in the fridge, Katherine unpacked the dinners she'd kept on the counter, having only been back about fifteen minutes prior to Wayne's arrival, the food was at least not frozen. She unpacked his chicken fingers and waffle fries, and her double bacon cheeseburger and fries. She set his food on the counter in front of him and sat on stool next to him to eat. "We'll go with the milkshakes for right now. We can do alcohol later." She pauses, before adding, "Everything to your satisfaction?"

"Sounds great. This smells delicious. Thank you for picking it up. Do you grab from the diner often?" He pulled one of his cheese covered fries and eats it making those happy eating sounds. A chicken finger soon follows. He takes a sip of his shake to wash it down.

“From the diner, from Pizza Kitchen...I am terrible in the kitchen, and I end up so busy that sometimes I forget to eat.” Kate pauses, her smile slowly forming on her lips as he makes the happy eating sounds. “There’s been so much going on lately, it’s nice to have some time to unwind. I’m glad you came to join me. I’ve meaning to explore the town, put myself out there. Meeting you...Something about being in the right place at the right time seems like the appropriate thought.”

"Well once I get my house hunting done, you will be one of my first guests." He laughs and takes a long draw from the straw before speaking. "Setiously, it's a toss up between you and my sister. She has the edge being family but you could use a home cooked meal more." He smiles and keeps eating.

“It’s an honor just to make the guess list,” Kate points out as she stuffs a fry in her mouth.

The brunette smiles, and there’s something in her eyes seems to sparkle and hold a certain playfulness in them. “I’m sorry, I’m trying really hard not to be a total fangirl, but...I can’t explain why I feel like...there is something about this place...and about the stories you tell...”

She shrugs. “I swear I don’t usually fangirl like a total dork.” She giggles. “You’re not what I expected.”

He laughed. "Too laid back and down to earth? Too approachable? I am not a dick to my fans, and while it is flattering, I like to think of you as a friend who happens to enjoy my work." He smiles and kills his shake while finishing his fries. "You are also an easy to talk to lawyer, it's not easy to imagine given your beauty but it's far more than skin deep with you."

“I mean I can handle that. I can’t wait to tell the book club,” Kate teases then she takes a bite of her burger with a grin.

“When you’re dealing with any type of law, it’s easy to get caught up in what you’re doing and become an asshole about it. Criminal lawyers are the most cutthroat of us, but...It’s less about whose interests you’re defending and more about the type of person you are. I may be someone who always strives to meet expectations, but when it counts, I’m not afraid to defy expectations.”

"You do it rather will." He nods. He focuses on eating his meal in companionable silence while they eat. He took the leftover buns and tossed them when there were some before heading to the fridge for a cider. Glancing around her living room, he finds a chair to sit in.

Kate watches him move, trying to figure out what the next move is for herself while studying his mannerisms and body language. She’s intrigued but she’s not ready to play her hand, so she plays it cool.

“So what kind of movies are you into?” she asks casually, taking a cider for herself as well and joining him in the living room at the end of the meal.

"I watch pretty much everything. Horror and action I have seen nearly everything out there, it's good to know what stories other people out there are telling and how appealing it is to the market. Gives me ideas on when to try one offs." He nods while sipping. "You'll have to share where you got the furniture, it's really comfortable. " With that he sips and smiles at Kate.

"Apartment came fully furnished, I have no idea." Kate sits down on the couch with her drink. She flips on the Netflix app on her Smart TV. "As my guest, I'll let you pick something out. Come on over." She's looking over at where Wayne is sitting and waves the remote at him.

He rose from his seat and moved to the couch sipping his cider. "Oh guest pick huh. How about lady's first. Pick something Kate I came here for the company." He grins tossing the pick back to her.

"I offered the movie because it was something to do, I didn't really have a movie in mind," Katherine admits with a blush on her cheeks, "I just wanted an excuse to hang out, get to know you better." She avoids pulling up her personal list of movies to watch, filled with romantic comedies and romance movies.

"Ok, how about we pick something funny, maybe a romantic comedy about date nights. We are not calling this one so let's see how bad it is for others." He chuckles.

"That's a great idea, Wayne..." Katherine flips to her list of movies and the first one that comes up is How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days. Hmmmm... "Any ideas?"

"That one works, I'll call it research for signs on a woman just not into me. I should have brought a pad." He laughs but nods and sips.

Katherine smiles when something else pops up as an option. "Isn't It Romantic, Rebel Wilson as the lead. This is bound to be hilarious." She plays that movie instead and she turns to Wayne. "So...what's it been like to be back now that you've had some time to get settled?"

"Kinda surreal. Everything seemed further away, things seemed bigger. It's one of those things you get when you travel away from here. Nothing feels the same as it used to except well the dark is very dark. That's how I feel at least." Another sip. "What's your perception now that you have come to Gray Harbor?"

"My firm transferred me here but it feels like I'm supposed to be here," Kate explains quietly, "Like there's something I'm supposed to find here." She pauses, taking another sip of cider. "I'm not really sure what kind of energy it is, but it's something. Then I picked up your stuff, and the themes of light and dark. 'There is no place you we can go looking for the light without finding something dark to balance it out.' That's what my grandmother told me once. She told me never to be afraid to go to the dark places because no light exists without dark."

"True however keep in mind while light springs up from darkness, it is the purpose of darkness to devour light. One always in search of the other. Time balancing the arch of who reigns when. Make sure it's your time before delving too deep into the darkness." He sipped and finished his drink before looking to Kate with a smile.

“The Universe gives you signs, Wayne. Between my firm transferring me here and your stories...it’s hard to ignore.” Kate looks thoughtful then a little hesitant before continuing to speak. “When I said I could relate to your stories, I wasn’t kidding. Things have happened around me that I couldn’t explain...but this place feels like it has answers. Your stories feel like they have answers.”

"That's because my stories are this place. There is something more here. But do not go searching unprepared. Part of why I want to buy a house is to have place work, a place to rest, and a place to train." He nods.

"It's not about going searching unprepared...it's me trying to figure out how to prepare I guess. What I'm really searching for right now...basically I'm just trying to understand what the hell's been happening." Kate sighs. "I really don't have a clue what I'm getting myself into. I haven't felt this way in a long time. I'm used to having things in order, having my life under control."

"Then my advice councilor is to get the parts you know in order, get your ducks in a row then you can explore what you are feeling with some sense that a step backwards will still be supported by what you know. What you know is true is very important when facing the unknown." He grins.

"I can read...objects. Like, if I touch them, I can feel things off of them. And I don't know how I used to do that. I haven't tried in a while...I went through a very bad breakup that resulted in a broken mirror...on the other side of the room. I've always felt something...off, something unusual...I can do things with my mind. I haven't done them too often, I don't know how to replicate what I do, it just used to happened when strong emotions were involved." Kate lets it all out after a minute of silence considering whether to tell Wayne or not. She figured, in the end, he could be trusted, he could be the one to help her, since he was the one who wrote all about the type of stuff she wanted to look into.

"Its important to know you manifest those things with a strong emotional bursts. You've likely done your very best to not let your emotions go wild or you'll fear those occurrences will occur again. It's a very thin line to travel. I've experienced similar effects before." He nods with quite a bit of understanding.

"How do you deal with it?" Was Kate's quiet reply, and the movie becomes background noise that barely registers for her. All she seems interested in is what he has to say.

"You take life a day at a time. You treat what you have as a gift, to be used as needed not just for shits and giggles. Somethings you can't unseen afterall. The more you rattle the door of the unknown, the more likely they are to come looking for you." He almost seemed stone sober saying that.

Kate looks thoughtful, taking it all in as Wayne speaks. She's clearly listening, and clearly hangs on to every word. "Do you know where this...gift comes from?" she asks quietly. She has so many questions, and no one she could ask them to, until now.

"No one really does. Some say its passed down from generations ago. Some say it's a curse. No one has a clear cut answer. One thing we all know is some places feel more real than others, some places feel dark." He nods again.

"I'm glad I have someone to talk to about this...for ages, I've kind of felt like I've been going a little crazy?" Kate confesses to Wayne quietly, "It's so weird. But when I started reading your stuff, it's like, okay, I'm not that crazy."

"No, we have our own brand of crazy here and you my dear are not it. Now then you likely have a busy day tomorrow. I should let you get some rest. Thank you for the meal." He smiles.

"Thanks for hearing me out, Wayne. I just...I guess I need someone to help me navigate all this stuff...all these changes." After a pause to turn off the partially completed movie, Kate replies, "I hope we'll be able to hang out again soon. All work and no play, right?"

"Exactly. Leave something to discuss for next time. You have my number, let me know when you have some free time. Next meal is on me." He laughed and rose from his spot.

Rising to her feet, Kate gives him a friendly hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you for the wonderful evening." And she leads him towards the door to see him. "Until next time."