"I had a thought about that." Jacob picked up the remote. "What about the Trilunium musicals? They're both available to stream with the original casts."
"I've heard good things about both but haven't seen them. I'm not sure I want to watch them right after the movies, though. Too easy to compare."
He ran through the others he'd found. She came up with a reason not to watch each one, but when he mentionedWicked, her face lit up.
"I've been wanting to watch that, but had been waiting until it was closer to the release date for the second one at the end of the year."
She waited for him to sit in the over-sized chair before settling in next to him. This had easily become his favorite part of the day.
Pulling the quilt over them, she yawned. "I know it's the origin story for how the Wicked Witch in theWizard of Ozbecame wicked. I've heard it's fantastic. I doubt I’d be able to wait until it releases."
After pressing the button to restart the movie, Jake reachedover to flip off the light. Between the fire and the glow from the telly, they didn't need it.
Long before Elphaba flew off into the western sky for the first time, Jack found himself preoccupied with the conversation he'd mentioned to Catherine earlier.
"What did you think?" Catherine didn't look at him as the credits began to roll.
"The music and costumes are fun, but I'm going to have to rewatch when I'm not preoccupied."
She stayed silent, waiting for him to go on.
"We need to talk about the wedding-adjacent activities, especially the kiss on the balcony."
Catherine still didn't say anything.
"I would imagine neither one of us want our first kiss to be in front of the public and in full view of cameras and everything else."
She nodded against him. "What do you recommend? A kiss before that?"
"I think that’s a good idea, the best idea even. Probably before the photo call."
"Photo call?"
No one had told her? "A press pool in the Amethyst Room in a couple of days. We shouldn't be expected to kiss there, but we don't want to look awkward either."
"That sounds like a good idea."
Catherine's tone told him she was done with the conversation for the moment.
He could come to only one conclusion. Sometime in the next couple of days, Jake would need to find an opportunityto kiss his wife.
The thoughtof sharing a kiss with her husband both excited and terrified Catherine. She knew they had chemistry. She knew he would always be a gentleman. But it was something she had precious little experience with.
Come to think of it, they hadn't discussed romantic history for either of them. Maybe they could do that at lunch. It wouldn't take long to get through hers.
As she hurried through the garden on her way to her office, Catherine remembered that she still needed to ask Hopkins about a more clandestine way to get to and from the cottage - one that didn't require her to bundle up like a walrus.
Once in her office, she stuck her gloves in the pockets of her coat, hung her coat up then slipped out of her boots and put them where they wouldn't be seen by visitors.
She'd had several versatile pairs of heels moved to her office. She chose a pair then went to her desk to get some work done.
A notification on her computer informed her of a phone meeting with the king of Northern Santiero had been added to her schedule in about an hour.
After reading quickly through the information she'd need for the meeting, Catherine submitted her lunch order for the day and decided that since one of her favorites was on the list of options, she'd rather order dinner than make it. As queen, she could request almost anything she wanted, anytime she wanted, but she tried not to. A quick text to Jacob asked his preference. Rather than starting something new, she looked over her notes one more time.
Her father wouldn't be on this call. It was all up to her. She'd been doing some of these calls on her own for a while, with the topics becoming more important as time went on. This call wouldn't include anything overly important, but it still made her nervous. Would she ever get over that? Or would she continue to be anxious for the rest of her life?
The voice of her assistant came through the intercom letting her know the call from the king had come through.
