Teri dug through her bag for her ringing cellphone.

"Crap, I just put it in here."

"Okay, well, I've got to run."

"Okay, see you tomorrow, Kitty." She found the phone just as it stopped ringing. Her call display read "Unknown Number." Teri breathed a sigh of relief. It was 5:30 on a Friday afternoon, and the last thing she needed was one last change or question from a client. She loved her work, but didn't want to date it. Picking up her coat from the rack by the door, she flicked out the light and locked the door behind her.

The elevator opened and she walked past the empty deli in the lobby when she heard footsteps running behind her. "Teri!"

She spun around, a smile on her face. "Jack? What are you doing here?"

"I'm glad I caught you. I was just about to go upstairs." He gave her a quick kiss on her forehead and fell into step beside her.

"This is a nice surprise. What brings you down here?"

"You, of course. Kim called and she's going to Jocelyn's for pizza. They're going to rent a video. I was wondering if you wanted to do the same thing."

She shrugged. "Order pizza and rent a video? Sure, I guess." At least she didn't have to cook.

"No, I meant dinner and a movie." He laughed. "Doofus."

His comment earned him a smack on the arm. "Hey! Don't call me a doofus. You said 'the same thing.'" She walked through the door he was holding for her. "Where do you want to go?"

"Are you ready for this?" He asked. She nodded.

"I made a reservation."

She made a show of letting her jaw drop. "Wow, Jack! You learned how to use a phone! Good for you!" It was a pet peeve of hers that she always had to organize their evenings out.

"Oh, stop. Italian okay?" He grinned and opened the passenger door of his SUV for her.

"Ah, so it is pizza."

"I hate you."

She kissed him. "Thanks for doing this." Her eyes were shining. Jack leaned in and kissed her back, properly this time.

The restaurant was bright with evening sunlight. Jack had asked for a table on the patio and they could see the clouds starting to turning pink over the ocean. They watched as the waiter poured a complicated pattern of olive oil and balsamic vinegar on a plate and left them a basket of bread.

Teri broke off a piece of bread and dipped it. "Mmmm. Oh, this oil is great. Here, you've got to try it." She dipped the bread again and handed it to him. He leaned forward and took it with his mouth. "Yeah, that is good," he agreed. "I wonder what kind it is?" He liked to cook when he had the time, and they had gone on a tour of wineries and olive groves near Sonoma last fall.

"So?" Teri settled back and raised her glass of pino grigio. "Cheers."

Jack raised his glass of cabernet-sauvignon. "Cheers. So?" He swirled the glass, sniffed, and took a sip, savouring the flavours.

"Tell me about yourself. How's life?" Teri and Kitty joked that usually the only way they found out what their husbands were up to was when they overheard them telling someone else at a party. Between kids and work, they never had time for an actual conversation themselves.

He gave a small laugh and smiled, his eyes crinkling. "You know? It's really good."

"Is it, Jack?"

He tilted his head. "It is. I'm a lucky man. My daughter is doing great in school, I just got a promotion, I like the people I work with, and I have an incredibly hot wife."

"Hot wife, huh?" She teased.

"Incredibly." He took another sip of wine. "How about you?"

"No hot wife, but otherwise, life is pretty good for me, too. Kitty and I are thinking about going out on our own."

"Really? That would be fantastic. You should do it."

"You think so?"

"Absolutely, I do. I really do." He was enthusiastic. "The timing's great – Kim's old enough to look after herself now, this new job at CTU means I'll be around a lot more, and the money's better. Why not? Go for it."

Teri nodded thoughtfully. "Well, I appreciate that. There's still a lot to figure out. But we're pretty excited about the idea."

"I'm sure you can make it work." He was supportive, but not interfering. They had a long-standing policy of not getting too involved in the details of each other's jobs.

They chatted comfortably through dinner and dessert. Jack paid the bill and held her coat for her as she stood up. "We still have time to catch a movie if you want. There's a repertory theatre near here."

"What's playing?"

"The Spy Who Shagged Me." He waggled his eyebrows at her suggestively. She rolled her eyes.

"Oh, brother. You are too much, you know that?"

He laughed. She looked thoughtful. "What time is Kim getting home?"

He checked his watch. "I told her 11:00. We've got time."

"You know what? I'm kind of tired. Why don't we just go for a little walk on the beach, and then go home and have the house to ourselves for a bit?"

"Sure. Sounds good. So no spy shagging?" He feigned disappointment.

"Oh, I'm not that tired. I think there might still be some spy shagging." She teased, and took his hand as they found the stairs down to the beach.

-- fin --