As the fog cleared, I realized that someone had propped me up with cushions in a chair in the study. Jenny was kneeling besides me holding my hand and Chris was smiling reassuringly at me. "I know it was a shock, but you will be fine."

I looked around the room searching for the face I had glimpsed as I reached for the glass

"Martin! "

"Louisa … I'm sorry ... I didn't mean for this to happen." He was holding my other hand. Actually, he was feeling for my pulse as he sat in a chair beside me.

I panicked. "Is something wrong with James? Did you come to break the news to me?" I tried frantically to sit up and climb out from under the fog that had settled over me, but my body was in too much shock to move.

He gave my hand a surprisingly soft squeeze and in his slow, measured doctor voice said, "James is fine."

I persisted. "Where is James?"

"It's alright Louisa, he's here with me." He squeezed my hand again and leaned in to me with a tiny glimmer of a smile. "He did his last exam this morning and offered to drive me down … He wanted to surprise you."

I looked around the dimly lit room and saw James smiling at me from the doorway. Chris and Jenny were no longer in the room. And that's when I broke down and everything blacked out again.

I heard Frank Sinatra's mellow voice crooning:

Some enchanted evening

You may see a stranger, you may see a stranger

Across a crowded room.

I had always liked South Pacific since Dad had taken me to see the movie in Truro as my birthday treat. The notes were soaring around in my head, sweeping me up until I was floating. The room was spinning and I was whirling around with it trying to stay upright. Auntie Joan looked at me strangely. "Louisa, what on earth is wrong with you? Get a grip." Bert, from his perch on the porch at High Trees where he liked to sit and watch the comings and goings, lowered his voice conspiratorially. "James is grown. Time for you to find another good man. You're still a sight for sore eyes, girl." He always looked out for me since I was a little girl.

James was tugging at me, pulling me from out of the clouds. I held his hands as I struggled to come down. "Mum, you fainted. Here, drink this." I gulped down the water that was at my lips, coughed, then struggled up into a sitting position.

Trying to regain some dignity, I looked at Martin apologetically. "I'm sorry to cause this bother. I thought something was wrong with James and I was so surprised to see you."

That was the understatement of the century. They smiled with relief, I guess. Passing out twice within minutes wasn't a good sign.

Even in my dazed state, I could not keep my eyes off Martin. He had aged, but in a distinguished way. His hair was fully iron grey, his face gently lined but softened by his quiet smile as he looked me over. It made him look so much younger. And those lips …. No, this wasn't right. I had just buried my husband, it was too soon to feel what I was feeling. But I couldn't stop myself. His beautiful bluey grey eyes were soft, concerned and shy, all at the same time.

Time had been kind to him. Never one with a weight issue, he was slimmer than I remembered but with the same erect posture. I longed to touch him, run my fingers through his hair, press my lips against his, hold him close and feel his arms around me. Instead, I just stared, trying to hold myself together as my stomach did Olympic worthy somersaults and my body trembled in shock.

He didn't have on his usual formal suit. Oh, my God. That IS a change. He was attired for the occasion but not like your everyday bloke. His finely tailored casual navy suit, cream shirt open at the neck, navy shoes and a platinum wrist watch with intricately constructed links, quite in vogue, were the work of the best London outfitter. His hair was not as brutally short as I remembered. It had some length at the back and curled around his head a little. His successes and travel must have loosened him up. Still the same authoritative presence though. He looked confident and relaxed.

James was a younger version of his dad. Oh, he now called Martin "Dad." I was glad for that. What he got from me in abundance was a ready smile that he now flashed at me as he sat on the other chair next to mine.

"Mum, you have to stop worrying so much."

"I'm not worrying," I retorted indignantly. "I just wasn't expecting to see either of you, certainly not your father."

"Sorry, Mum."

"It was my idea to surprise you. I missed you a lot," James teased as he tugged at my ponytail.

I considered the bizarre turn of the evening and tried to regain some control. "I'm happy to see you both, but we shouldn't stay here. Don't want to seem rude," I said with a forced smile. My heart was thumping away and I really wanted to lie down. I still felt as if I was floating and wasn't sure that this was real. Maybe my constant worrying had gotten the better of me and I had gone Bodmin.

Martin motioned to James. "Please hold the fort for us. I'll watch over your mum for a bit. When I'm sure she's fully recovered, we will join you."

I was speechless. Was this the man I hadn't seen since Joan's funeral now taking charge as if we had shared a cup of tea only this morning? He saw my expression and smiled with a tiny hint of apology which I found endearing.

"Sorry. You gave us a scare twice, on after the other. I remember you were prone to fainting spells. When was the late time you ate?"

"At lunch. I have been busy today and I haven't had much of an appetite," I trailed off defensively.

He gently reached for my wrist, took my pulse again. Still holding my hand, he sat staring at me until he caught himself and muttered. "Still a little fast."

Suddenly, I was shy. I could not hold his gaze. I looked past him to a spot across the room.

"It's not the end of the world if you haven't eaten since lunch." His smile softened his words.

I nodded numbly.

"Although," he continued, "that was some time ago. Are your intervals between meals usually this long? I remember you used to have issues with your sugar levels."

He remembered!

"No, no, I was busy today. Trying to get my house sale completed." Bloody hell, why was I blabbering away as if he would be interested.

He looked startled. "Then where will you live.?

"I'm not sure. No, no, I'm renting now. I'm fine thank you."

Martin said nothing further. My breathing was now interfering with my speech and my eyes remained frozen on him. Neither of us said anything, just drank in each other as the years rolled away in the Parsons's study.