Even if Carolyn would rather die than admit it, the Duxford Air Show wasn't so bad after all.
Martin and Ben were blissfully oblivious to anything but the show itself, and the sight of her pilot holding his son always felt endearing for some strange reason. Douglas was trying for the 'I don't care, but I'm magnanimous enough to stay' approach, but he couldn't really fool someone who knew him well; he was actually enjoying their little trip together, that much was apparent.
As for Arthur, she was pretty sure that the poor lad would describe the experience as 'absolutely brilliant', which was something that applied to almost anything in this world – with the possible exception of bird strikes and that outright bastard that went under the name of Gordon Shappey.
Then she noticed a good-looking young woman covertly stealing glances towards the ginger captain, and she couldn't bite back an amused smirk. As far as she knew Martin had never tried dating ever since he'd become a father, but she still thought it might be good for him if he tried.
However, Martin turned her down quite abruptly when the woman tried to strike up a conversation after the show. "Sorry, we have to go," he said, ignoring Douglas' disapproving stare and pushing past an oblivious Arthur.
It was only halfway through their drive back, when Ben had eventually dropped off against his father's shoulder, that the first officer finally resolved to address the subject.
"You should have taken her number, you know. She looked quite nice."
"Douglas!"
"He's right, Martin," Carolyn promptly cut in. "You're allowed to find yourself a partner."
"What for?" he replied bitterly. "So that she can let me down eventually, and Ben too?"
An awkward silence fell, until Arthur unwittingly provided them with a suitable distraction.
"Yellow car!" the ridiculous boy cried in excitement, and the three of them couldn't help but laugh. Perhaps that silly game had its perks after all.