It turned out the diner was a little bit more crowded around lunch time, though Cadence and Cale still had no trouble finding a table. After she'd arrived back at the hotel, she had collapsed, finally getting enough consecutive hours of sleep to qualify as more than a catnap. Even at that, she had shot out of bed about five hours later, not only haunted by her dreams but with the events of the night before hitting her full force at the same time.
Cale always seemed to wear light colors, which went well with his blond hair and pale eyes. For a moment, the symbolism of early American westerns crossed her mind. Good guys wore white, bad guys wore black. She pushed that idea aside and verbalized her thoughts. "You look nice today," she said quietly, a small smile playing at her lips. "That blue really brings out your eyes."
He returned the smile, smugly. "Thanks," he answered politely. "You look lovely as always."
She glanced down, not even sure what she had thrown on, and remembered she was wearing an emerald green summer dress. "Thank you," she said, suddenly feeling extremely self-conscious. She took a sip of her water, wishing she had asked for a straw, and glanced around to see if their waitress was nearby. This one was not nearly as energetic as the last, and she was with another table now.
Eventually, she would have to let him know why she wanted to speak with him, and now was as good a time as ever, perhaps better than when her food arrived. She didn't realize how famished she was until she'd looked at the menu. Though it was past noon, she had ordered pancakes, eggs, bacon, and biscuits. She'd gotten over the notion that girls were supposed to eat like birds a long time ago. Ironically, Cale had decided to stick with the coffee.
"I appreciate you agreeing to meet with me," she said, playing with the condensation on the outside of her glass.
"Sure," he replied, as if he wasn't completely uncomfortable sitting across from her now. "What is it you wanted to talk to me about?"
She concluded that sentence with the statement, "that you couldn't address over the IAC" even though he hadn't actually said it aloud. Taking a deep breath, she said, "I just thought, after last night, I owed you an explanation... and an apology."
He looked a little surprised. "What do you have to apologize for? You came, you did your job... Vampires are dead, end of story."
She shook her head. "No, that's not true. Nothing went the way we had planned. It wasn't fair to your team, the way things went down. It shouldn't have happened that way. And then, there were... other things that happened, things none of you should have had to witness. I'm just... I'm sorry for the way I acted, and I'm sorry if you feel like I was dishonest with you." She had gotten it out almost in one breath and had to pause to inhale, before taking a gulp of her water, while he apparently attempted to decipher exactly what she was saying.
He took a long sip of his coffee before speaking. Finally, he said, "Did you invite him?"
She shook her head. "No, I had no idea he was going to be there. I was just as surprised as you were."
He seemed to believe her. "We both know he wasn't really in the neighborhood. This trip was intentional."
Cadence nodded in agreement. She wasn't exactly sure why he had chosen last night to check up on her, and though she was almost certain it was Elliott who had let him know her plans, he could have just as easily accessed Aurora or Meagan's IACs to find out. If Elliott had told him, he certainly wasn't trying to create this situation. She would definitely be speaking to him soon about all of this anyway. He had already tried to contact her several times, but she had put him off, wanting to talk to Cale first.
"Whatever it is that's going on between the two of you is none of my business, Cadence, but you were clearly very upset when he left the scene last night. It broke my heart to see you so distraught. When you caught up to him, were you able to get anything settled?" he asked, his expression proof that his words were true.
She contemplated his question. She had been wondering the same thing for hours now. At last she said, "Not really, not in a way that matters. I wish I could explain everything to you, Cale, but it's just... it's too much. I think it's more than I can even understand myself."
Cale was stroking his chin again, the gesture he made when he was concentrating. Eventually, he said, "So, nothing is mended then?"
Again, Cadence considered the question. She slipped away for a few seconds, deep in thought. He stirred in front of her, bringing her back, and she finally said, "I don't know. I'm not sure. I mean... I feel like some of the things he said to me last night at the airport explain a lot. But, does it make it all better? No. Not even a little bit." She paused and met his eyes for a moment. He looked generally confused, which matched her own sentiment, and she didn't blame him. After another moment of contemplation, she added, "I do think it will make our working relationship better--like I'm no longer so angry at him that I refuse to go into the field with him--but I'm still personally so offended and upset by everything that happened that we are very far from the possibility of even considering a friendship at this juncture."
Cale's brow furrowed. "But... you did just work with him in the field--seamlessly--like that's what you were made to do. So..."
Just then, the waitress arrived and sat the mountain of food down in front of Cadence, reminding her of each and every item by name, as she plunked it down on the table, including the butter and syrup. "Is there anything else I can get you, sweetie?" she asked, chomping on a piece of gum.
Cadence eyed the bounty in front of her. There was no way she was going to eat all of this. "Uhm, a straw?" she asked.
The older, mousey-blond-haired woman dug into her apron for a moment before producing the paper wrapped utensil. "Anything else?" she glanced at Cale as well, who waved her off with a polite smile.
"I think this will do it," she said, no longer feeling quite as ravenous as she had before, especially once she realized she still needed to address Cale's last statement.
Once the waitress had walked away, and before she even lifted her fork, she attempted to formulate an answer that might make some sort of sense. "That was... instinct, I guess, is the best way to describe it. You probably noticed when you and I were working together, I don't do a lot of conscious thinking while I'm on a hunt. I just follow my gut. Aaron and I have worked together a number of times, and he does a really good job of anticipating what I'm going to do. From the fireball he sent into the second story to parking the car the way I initially suggested, you can gather that we tend to think a lot alike... while hunting. Not any other time, I guess."
As Cale took a drink of his coffee, she took the opportunity to dig into her food before it got cold. The first bite of pancakes reminded her why she had ordered so much to begin with. She really was starving.
He was silent while she took several bites of her breakfast, seeming to consider her response. Or perhaps he just didn't know what to say. It was only after she had finished half of her pancakes and a good bit of her eggs that she finally said, "I'm sorry. I didn't really eat anything yesterday--or this morning."
"No, it's fine," he said holding a hand up dismissively. "In fact, it's rather a welcome change to see a woman who’s not afraid to pack it away."
Cadence laughed, despite herself. "Pack it away?" she asked. "I'm not sure what that means in England, but that's a little rude in the States."
"What?" he asked, feigning offense. "I didn't mean anything bad by it. I'm just saying, that's a lot of food. And you're showing it who's boss."
Her fork clattered on her plate and her mouth dropped open, though she was smiling at the same time. "Seriously? You did not just say that to me!"
He was laughing now, too. "It's a compliment, Cadence," he assured her.
"A compliment?" Hey, baby, you eat like a pig? What's up?" she said in some strange impression of a guy in a club.
"Oh, 'cause that's what I said," he shot back at her. Then, doing his best impression of her impersonation, he paraphrased her remarks. "Oh, yeah, you're rather eating a lot there. Why don't you come back to my place, and I'll make you a meal you'll never forget?"
Cadence burst out laughing, covering her mouth with her napkin in an attempt to keep from spitting on him. It took her several seconds to regain her composure and when she finally did so, tears were rolling down her cheeks. "If that's how you ask a girl out, it's no wonder you're single," she chided.
Though he wasn't laughing quite as hard as she was, he couldn't help but find humor in her reaction. He didn't respond to her comment at first, just smiled at her, waiting for her to wipe the tears off of her cheeks. Finally, after a long pause, he asked her, "Are you?"
It seemed like an odd question at first, but it only took her a moment to gather his meaning and respond. "Yes," she assured him. "I am definitely single."
He nodded. "Well, then, perhaps you'd like to go to a concert with me Thursday night. The City are playing in Tahoe, and I hear they're one of your favorite bands. A lot of my team members are going, if you'd like to bring your girls."
For a moment, Cadence slipped away to the last time she'd been asked out. A cold night in December, parked outside of her parent's house when she'd been brutally honest to a fault, ultimately ruining everything, though she'd had no idea then. She left the car that night exhilarated--certain she'd found the one she'd spend the rest of her life with, though with a bit of trepidation that she might have overstepped. She cleared her head and met his pale blue eyes, seeing nothing but innocence and kindness. "I'd like that," she said, smiling.
"Perfect," he replied, grinning, and exhaling sharply, as if he had been holding his breath. "Now, let's see if you can clean those plates."
"Is that a challenge?" she asked, glancing down at the three half-full dishes in front of her.
"Oh, yes, most definitely," he smirked. "I have faith in you, though. I think you can do it."
She smiled. Faith was a nice thing to have. She hoped she was worthy of it.
