Kiss Me Cate Pt. 01

I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it.

I've had a long standing love of Irish lasses. Their eyes, complexion, smiles have always warmed my heart, and a few have broken it.

Constructive criticism as always is welcome in the comments.

***

I'd been coming to this little hole-in-the wall tea shop for the past year. I can thank my buddy Dee for that. She got me hooked on tea in our senior year. She often professed her addiction for the heady aromas and exotic flavors, and referred to my usual beverage of drive-thru coffee, as poorly brewed sludge. While I waited for my tea to brew I turned and glanced out the window of the shop. A few tables were lined up alongside the building in the shade of the trees along the street. Time seemed to slow to a stop.

She craned her neck, lifting her dark hair upward combing her fingers through it separating the dark strands and letting it fall. After a few moments of this she gathered it and pinned it with a small clip and arched her neck running her slender fingers down the long smooth nape. A wisp of hair escaped the clip and curled gently at her temple. She swooped it back gracefully behind her ear.

"Here you go," the guy said again louder breaking me out of my trance.

"Oh, thanks." I took my iced house blend popped the straw into it and took a sip. I watched her as I slowly made my way to the front of the shop nearly bumping into another lady as she came in. I hastily apologized. I found myself walking around the corner of the building. I glanced at her again trying not to look conspicuous. I failed completely.

"It's rude to stare." She said without looking up from her book. I choked on my drink and after a coughing fit looked up to see the most striking blue eyes looking back at mine.

"I.. I'm sorry," I stuttered, "it's just that you look hot." Embarrassed, I looked down.

"It is rather warm today, but then I guess it would be in July." Her words poured forth like liquid, her accent soft and musical.

I looked up slightly startled and after a moment she realized that I wasn't referring to the weather. She must have sensed my confusion because her expression changed quickly, a flush brightened her cheeks. She looked down at the book she'd laid in her lap with the slightest smirk.

"Oh, I guess I should say thank you in that case." The smirk blossomed into a dazzling smile. She looked down at her book again, the smile staying with her. I just stood there dumbfounded for what seemed like an eternity.

"You're still staring." She said in a sing-song fashion. It was my turn to flush and I felt the heat in my cheeks.

"Sorry," I added with a chuckle, "it's not often I'm dumb-struck by a beautiful woman. Your accent, is it English?" She looked up mildly offended.

"Careful," the 'r' held just a split second longer than necessary, "that could get you a punch in the nose where I come from."

"So not England, definitely not Scotland, and with that response I find myself apologizing profusely to a fair Irish lass." I replied in a bad assumption of an Irish accent.

Her eyes thinned to slits as her smile spread across her face again. "Not bad, but don't roll your 'r's it makes you sound more like a Scot. Say it from the back of your throat," she touched her fingers to hers, "not from the tip of your tongue. Fair?"

"Fair is far to simple a compliment for a lovely dark haired lady such as yourself."

Her blush rose again, "Very good. You're a quick learner..."

"Dylan."

"Ah and that may be why. Will you be Irish yourself then?" She asked. Her accent seemed to deepen and I wasn't sure if she was putting me on or not.

It was my turn to smile. "Probably, my family came down from Canada generations ago. What about you?"

"I'm straight off the boat here in the New World."

I looked wide-eyed at her, "boat?" She rolled her eyes at me.

"Well a plane actually. We did pass near Ellis Island so I should be set." She paused as if deciding whether or not to continue. "I arrived a few weeks ago. I figured I'd get accustomed to the place before classes start. You know, find my way around."

I smiled broadly. "You're here for school? Well then I hope to see even more of you, that's why I'm here."

"It must be fate then Dylan." She added, with a coy little grin.

"Ah..."

"Cate."

"Cate, as in Catherine?"

"Cate as in Catelyn." She replied.

"That's a lovely name." Her eyes rolled gently upward and I felt I was slipping and decided to quit while I was ahead. "As much as I would love to stay and chat for hours, days even, I must be going, and that makes me heavy hearted because I fear I will never see you again."

"I don't know about that. If it's fate that's brought us together, then it's likely to do so again. If it's meant to be." It wasn't a question but a statement of fact, and I loved how she'd put it.

"I can only hope that's so Cate. Until we meet again." I gave her a nod and turned to walk away. I looked back over my shoulder at her. She had settled back in her chair, arms crossed, her long legs crossed at the knee. The short sundress giving me a good view of them. I looked back up and realized her gaze was riveted on me as well and didn't waiver. They wisp of hair brushed her cheek again. I gave her a little smile and walked away. I'd walked nearly two blocks before I realized that I'd driven to the tea shop, and left my car behind. I busted out laughing and turned around and went back for it.

I found myself visiting the tea shop often over the next few weeks in hopes of seeing Cate there again, and finagling my way into a date, unfortunately I never did. Fate is a cruel mistress sometimes. I stopped staring wistfully out the office window and prepared my exit from my summer internship. Working towards my masters degree was going to be daunting. Those who were in the program said that it was less grueling than the undergrad program since it was more focused on practical application and less on theory. I was surprisingly anxious to get back into class, get my degree done with and start job applications out west.

A few days before my first class was to start I stopped by the tea house more time in a final, unsuccessful attempt to find Cate. Fate I thought, what an odd concept.

The first day of classes had arrived and I'd sat through my first class, picked up the syllabus and talked with a few classmates I remembered from other courses. I found my next class, Introduction to Server Security and Applications, and took a seat. I was a bit early and opened up my laptop and began surfing. People started filing in, taking seats around me, chatting away excitedly with one another. I didn't look up until the professor flipped on the projector and said hello. When I did my jaw dropped. Standing at the front of the class behind the podium was Cate. She looked as beautiful as the first time I saw her. Her hair was down brushing past her shoulders in soft waves. Her bright blue eyes exaggerated by the muted colors of her gray jacket.

"Okay, if you could take your seats we'll get started." She began with her résumé, a doctoral candidate in IT security, she spent two years working to develop mobile security platforms for a European cellular provider, and now was adjunct professor in IT security. She clicked over to a new slide on the screen with the class goals, then the syllabus. "I do have printed copies for those of you still working in the dark ages, for the rest of you it's on the course website." She said with that broad grin she gave me a few weeks ago. I took a moment to look around at the nearly all male class and saw rapt attention on every face I could see. I could tell right now that this class would have very few absences. After a short question and answer period one brave soul asked her for her phone number. "You'll find it in the syllabus along with my email and office hours. Please keep it to office hours, and class related subjects gentlemen." She put a slight emphasis on gentlemen, with a smile. After class the hall emptied slowly, which surprised me since most students are looking to make a break for it as soon as the lecture is over. Many went down to front to pick up a printed syllabus even though I was sure not a one of them would be referenced. A few even introduced themselves personally in a ploy to get a close up look at the beautiful Professor Murray. I let the crowd thin before I made my way down to the front.

"Professor Murray, I'm not sure if you remember me but we've met before."

"Dylan," she said grinning broadly, "it's wonderful to see you again." She remembered alright, which made me smile too. "Have you been practicing your accent then?" Her own accent broadened. "If you ever find yourself in Dublin town, with a name like Dylan Butler, people would easily think you're a native." She added with a wink.

"I don't know if I could handle the singing and dancing, but I could definitely drink a pint or two." I responded in fair imitation.

"Very good, but despite what your stereotypes might include, it's not all songs, jigs and stouts." She laughed. "Though having a pint or two is common enough."

I caught the jealous glance of one or two of my classmates as they shuffled over and picked up copies of the syllabus. She looked at me for a long moment, her eyes narrowed slightly and her lips pursed.

"Dylan, if you don't mind me calling you that, I'd like to speak to you after class. Do you have any free time today?"

The shock must have been evident on my face, I gave her my schedule for the rest of the day. We made an appointment to meet after our respective classes. It was half past three when I found myself outside her office door, the placard next to it holding a plain sheet of paper with the room number and her name and department, Professor C. Murray, Computer Engineering Department. I knocked on the door, and didn't hear anything for a moment, then the door opened. Cate stood there holding the door.

"Come in Dylan," she stepped aside then closed the door behind me, "have a seat." I looked more closely and her eyes seemed red rimmed and her color pale.

"Are you alright Professor Murray?"

She exhaled sharply with a short laugh, "Cate, call me Cate please, at least in here." She sat at the desk, leaned forward and put her head in her hands. "How bad was I?"

I was puzzled by the question as much as I was curious as to why she singled me out. She sniffled and sat back and snapped a tissue from a box behind her on the bookcase.

"What's the matter?" I asked concerned. She took a deep breath and dabbed the moisture from the corners of her eyes.

"First day jitters, that's all. Dylan, I'm going to level with you, I'm a brutally honest person so don't take offense. I'm scared as hell. I feel like I may be in over my head and I need a friendly face out there. I'm probably the same age as half of the students in my class and I feel like I'm completely under qualified to teach despite what my advisor believes."

I just stared for a moment. "I know this may sound sexist of me, but it's not often a beautiful woman finds her way into this end of the computer science department. You already handled the first shot at you well."

"That was the fourth today, and only the second from a student." She pursed her lips in thought.

"I have a proposal for you, and not only because I've looked into your academic background and realize that this course is going to be a walk in the park for you. I could use an assistant. I'm still working on my own degree and I'm worried that I'm about to be buried in busy work." She held up her hand before I could respond in the affirmative. "I have to make you aware that as an adjunct I don't get to 'hire' an assistant, but I can offer you a free ride on one paper on the syllabus and a bump on your final project of one grade if you fully execute the assigned course work."

I smiled, "It was a deal well before the explanation." She closed her eyes and sighed. The lines around her eyes and across her forehead faded as she relaxed and a smile spread across her face.

"Thank you. You don't know how much I appreciate this."

"You're welcome, and you don't know how saddened I am by it." I laughed.

"Why is that?" She asked surprised.

"I've been back to that tea shop a dozen times or more looking to find you again. Now that fate has thrown us together once more, it took a fickle twist and made you both my teacher and my boss, and there's a strict non-fraternization policy at this university."

"It's too bad you didn't ask me for my number that day, I was more than prepared to give it to you." She said, regret showing clearly on her face. "I'm feel a little over my head honestly. I bullshitted my way into this job after the job that brought me here to the States fell apart. I had no way or desire to go back to London where I was working, and due to the circumstances of my situation, I was pretty well blackballed from my field here."

She proceeded to tell me what happened. After being recruited to one of the large telecommunications companies she met with endless advances from her new boss and rebuffed him on more than one occasion. When she finally told him that if he didn't stop she would speak to human resources and have him investigated. Within a few hours she was locked out of key systems, a trail of falsified company violations appeared leading back to her, and with minimal investigation she was fired.

"He was a balding, overweight, middle-aged asshole who thought he had just gotten himself a mistress on the company's dime. I honestly should have just tucked up and gone home, but I didn't want my family to think I'd given up."

"You should have just kicked him in the balls as hard as you could." I said, which caused her to burst out laughing.

"I like the way you think. We're going to get along just fine you and I."

I started handling some of the mundane tasks that a professor usually deals with, questions about the syllabus, requests for extensions, grading papers and online work, all while keeping up my grades. Cate was an absolute marvel, despite the near breakdown she had the first day of class, she eventually relaxed into a comfortable teaching style treating the class as collaborators. A good many of the class stayed on, which is surprising as a lot of people will audit a class and jump out if they think it's going to be difficult. She was demanding, but not inflexible, if something was due by Friday, she was okay with you turning it in before Monday, as a recent student she knew what it was like to balance multiple courses and for most of us these days, jobs.

A few weeks into November Cate called me on a Thursday night.

"Dylan, would you be a dear and take my half ten class tomorrow? I'll email you the notes and slides. I'm feeling under the weather." The coughing fit sounded more than just under the weather.

"Of course I can. You sound pretty bad."

"I am," more coughing, "I'll be fine I just need to sweat it out for another day or two."

I took the class and presented the material, I'd already gone over it so it was familiar, the class didn't seem as nearly as attentive, and I couldn't blame them at all, but at least they got the material and assignments for the coming week. I was worried about Cate and called her in the afternoon to see how she felt.

"Hello Dylan. How did it go today?" She answered, coughing hard, she was panting like she'd been running road races, and I think she was sniffling as well.

"It went fine, there were a lot of sad faces when they saw me at the podium." I said with a laugh. She coughed some more.

"I bet there were, maybe I should have loaned you that short blue skirt that got a lot of attention a few weeks ago."

I laughed, "I don't think I have the legs for it." I wanted to add, 'like you' but I didn't. She sounded worse, her breathing was hoarse and rasping even over the phone. "Do you need anything Cate? I can stop by the drug store, or pick up some food for you."

"No, I'll be fine, thank you though. I've got a box of dreadful tea bags, and a few tins to keep me alive." She coughed again, this time it was longer and I heard her set the phone down and really blow to clear her sinuses. She sounded positively miserable, and since the old saying referring to misery loving company I made a decision.

"Good, I'll be over with dinner in a little while then."

"No I'll be fine, you don't have to do that." She argued, the fight having been kicked out of her by the cold.

"I know. I'll see you in a little while." I added and hung up before she could argue more. I made my way downtown and hit the pharmacy and picked up the usual array of medicines for a nasty cold and a couple boxes of tissues. There was a popular little deli nearby and I stopped by and picked up a quart of the soup of the day. I even went by the tea shop and got her some decent tea. I finally found my way to where she lived. It was an old three story house, she had the top apartment by the look of the doorbells. I rang it before I entered the stairwell and began climbing.

Cate opened the door part way poking her reddened nose and dark circled eyes into the crack. "You didn't have to do that." She said without even a hello.

"I know, that's what makes it all the more gallant of me." She smiled and her eyes went round just before she slammed the door. I could hear a coughing fit beyond the door that would have stopped a charging bull in it's tracks. I opened the door carefully so as not to hit her with it, I didn't think she'd made it far, and I was right. She was bent over double pressing a wad of tissue to her face. She looked bedraggled, her hair was recently brushed but still frizzy around the edges. She wore a cheap department store flannel robe over plaid pajamas and white gym socks all of which looked wrinkled and banged up. "You look like a laundry basket come to life." I said with a chuckle. She took a deep breath long enough to cough again. I looked around, seeing a spartan looking sofa I directed her towards it. The beauty of a college town, there's never a shortage of used furniture to be found. I set the bags down. "What have you been taking for this?" She waved at a mug on the coffee table next to her laptop. I looked at the tab of the tea bag and it was the cheap stuff. "Tea, that's it?"

She took a deep breath and let it out to see if she'd start another fit. "Honestly I'll be fine it's just a little cold."

"Uh-huh, and the American Revolution was just a little difference of opinion over taxes. It's tough enough to tackle something like this with support, but you, well I don't hear you mention friends very often, and I seriously worry that you're a bit of a loner here."

She looked at me for a moment, her eyes were red. "I don't have anybody here." She said softly. "I felt rather betrayed after everything that happened at my last job, and moved out here from the city not knowing anyone."

"I guess that makes me the best friend you've got right now." I said with a smile. I started unpacking the bags and handed her the jumbo box of tissues. "This stuff right here," I said brandishing a bottle of nasty looking green liquid, "will knock you out like a freshman at his first frat party. You won't know what hit you, but it's going to be the best nights rest you've had since you took sick. Trust me on that." I pulled out a little box. "This will help stop the sniffling during the day, may make you a bit sleepy, but that's not a bad thing at this point either."

"That one's steaming." She said pointing at the paper bag.

"Good eye, the classic food for sick people the world round, and the staple medicine of grandmothers everywhere, chicken soup." I said pulling the container carefully from the bag. I saw her smiling as I fished out a plastic spoon, and noticed that they had put in several folds of what looked like bread. "Hmm, looks like pita."