Full Circle

Chapter 5 - Run Deep

Chapter Description: Ellen meets Mozzie. Neal starts planning a bachelor party for Henry and Eric.

Henry's loft. July 11, 2006. Tuesday noon.

Ellen took in the details of Henry's penthouse, telling herself she wasn't snooping. As a cop she'd been trained to make note of her surroundings, and being in Witness Protection reinforced that instinct. She'd been the one to teach Neal how to assess each new location he visited and plan escape routes, after all. And besides, if she was supposed to help in some small way with planning Henry's wedding, shouldn't she learn about his tastes?

So she noticed the wood floors and wall of windows that led to a balcony with an impressive grill and an even more impressive view of the Brooklyn Bridge. She noticed the prominent color scheme of dark and light browns with ivory, and how it was masculine without being hard, probably because of the fabrics that invited you to touch them. The cream-colored throw blanket that was knit in a pattern she associated with chunky sweaters was an example of what made the space feel comfortable. Teal was included as an accent color in pillows, in a rug in front of the sofa, and for the towels in the powder room.

A storage system displayed DVDs, and Ellen noticed themes in the movies Henry and Eric owned. There was a set of classic comedies starring Henry and Neal's illustrious grandmother. There were action-oriented films, including Star Wars and several movies featuring pirates. There were also kid-flicks, and Willie Wonka & the Chocolate Factory was sitting on top of the DVD player, indicating it had been recently viewed.

A sophisticated sound system was next to an eclectic collection of music — both CDs and sheet music — and a guitar was hung on the wall in easy reach of a chair that looked designed for playing the instrument. Nearby was a drafting table, giving the impression that Henry serenaded Eric while he worked on his architecture projects.

The dining room contained what she'd been hoping her not-snooping would uncover: something of Neal's. A large artwork on the wall had his signature in the corner. The painting resembled layers of clouds, and yet the clouds almost seemed like they were meant to represent more solid shapes.

"That's one of Neal's," Henry said from the kitchen, where he was placing teal earthenware plates on the ivory marble countertop. "From the graduate program at Columbia. Students in the exhibition put some of their works up for sale, and I was Neal's first official buyer." He started to describe the exhibition but was interrupted when Eric arrived with bags of food from an Indian restaurant.

Eric gave Henry a quick kiss and then introduced himself to Ellen. "I wasn't sure what entrees you'd like," he added, "so I picked up a variety and whatever you don't want we'll have for leftovers this evening."

Accompanying Eric was an adorable dog named Splash, who paused to sniff Ellen before seeking out the water bowl.

Over the meal Ellen learned that Eric had designed the updates to the newly remodeled penthouse. He added the teal elements to the decor when he'd moved in, and the Willie Wonka DVD was his. "It's a family favorite," he explained. "We gather all of the kids to watch it on Christmas Eve."

"That's one way to send them to bed with visions of sugarplums," Ellen said. "I've never been certain what sugarplums were, but the candies in the movie are close to what I envision."

When they'd finished eating, Henry wanted to go over the itinerary for the afternoon, but Eric interrupted to ask Ellen, "You aren't an employee of Burke Premiere Events, right?"

"Not officially," Ellen said.

"So you aren't getting paid."

"I can —" Henry started, but Ellen waved away the offer before he could make it.