Almost

Chapter 11: Bonnie

"Waine, are you about ready?" Crawley called out, a tie in each hand. He was holding them up to his navy suit, comparing them in the mirrored front of his wardrobe.

"I've been ready, Crawley. You take longer to do your hair than I do."

She walked into his room, causing him to nearly drop the fabric to the ground.

"Wow, Katiebird."

"Does it look okay?" Katherine asked, looking down at the dress she wore. It had a fit and flare style she always gravitated towards, but the soft pastel blue color and the scalloped neckline intersecting her collarbones were far from her normal. She'd only bought it because it had long sleeves and the material was soft and stretchy. "Formal enough? Should I go with the black?"

"You look perfect," Crawley said with a silly grin. "I like the color. We're celebrating, after all, not mourning."

She nodded, a pair of blush heels in her hand. She set them on the ground and walked over to where he stood while the hem of her dress swished around her knees. "I like the stripes," she said, pointing to the blue and silver option in his right hand. "Goes with my dress."

"Stripes it is," he said, watching her walk away in the mirror before shaking his head and putting the tie on quickly with a grin.

When he made it down the steps, he found Katherine filling Smithwick's bowl, the kitten batting a toy lazily around on the ground. Corliss was watching her from the kitchen windowsill. She'd pulled her hair back on one side with a small clip, but she'd thrown all of the curls over her right shoulder, revealing the gold studs in her ears. While she padded around the kitchen, she hummed something softly.

"You're a regular Cinderella," Crawley laughed, walking over to the side table at the end of the couch and pulling something out of the drawer. "I do think the dress is missing one thing, though."

She laughed, fixing her hair in the window's reflection before turning to face him. "A lint roller? Smithwick's shedding, I shouldn't have picked him up."

"No," he said, pulling his wand from his back pocket and waving it quickly, freeing her of cat hair. In his other hand, he held up a long box. "A late birthday present."

"You already got me a present," she objected, looking down at Smithwick.

He rolled his eyes and handed her the box. "Just open it, Waine."

Looking over her glasses at him, she took it gingerly in her hands. The bow felt soft under her fingers as she carefully untied it and opened the box.

Inside was a delicate chain. At the center was a gold branch, the length of the bow where her collarbones met. On it sat a silver squirrel and a rose gold woodpecker.

"Ezra—" she gasped.

"I had it made by a muggle jeweler, so they won't fly or run around or anything like your watch."

She held the box up to him. He took the necklace out while she pulled her hair up off her neck, looping it around her neck and clasping it.

"You like it?" he asked, looking over her shoulder to try and see her face.

"It's annoyingly perfect," she said. "Thank you."

He laughed at her weak opposition to the gift. "You have to have something special after getting all dolled up just to sit in my parent's kitchen."

"It's their 30th anniversary and they can't go anywhere. The least we can do is make them dinner."

"We made them dinner?"