Hyacinth curls herself into her seat. She's suddenly staying as far away from Richard as possible. That makes Richard even more upset. She never initiates physical contact with him anymore. He continues to read and Hyacinth picks up the crossword puzzle book. She flips through the first pages that have been filled in by Richard. "Can I borrow a pen?" Hyacinth asks her husband.
Richard wordlessly passes Hyacinth his pen that he'd put back in his inside pocket, barely looking up from his book.
Hyacinth takes the lid off Richard's pen and passes it back to Richard. She gasps softly as his fingers brush hers. She quickly pulls away from Richard and begins to fill in her crossword puzzle. She can feel feelings welling up inside of her that she thought were long dead and buried. She still finds Richard terribly attractive and he's being so sweet to her despite her horrible behaviour towards him. She finds her mind drifting from her crossword puzzle and she can only hope that Richard won't notice how distracted she is. She can't believe how alive one little touch can make her feel. Richard doesn't know how much he still affects her.
"Are you alright?" Richard asks gently. He just heard Hyacinth gasp and she's not doing anything right now and he also know she hates flying, so he wants to check and make sure she's doing okay.
"I'm fine. That touch just surprised me that's all. You have an electric touch, Richard." Hyacinth says gently trying not to let anyone around them hear her.
"At least we still have that going for us. There's more candy of biscuits if you want. I've got chocolate caramel McVitie's in my carry on." Richard suggests to his wife.
"Oh, I'd love to have a biscuit! If it's not too much trouble that is." Hyacinth says excitedly.
"I was just about to grab them for myself. I wanted something sweet." Richard stands up and opens the overhead bin. He unzips his carry-on bag and finds his biscuits. He tosses the biscuits onto his seat and shoves his bag back into the overhead bin. He closes the bin and looks down to his seat before he sits down so he doesn't sit on the biscuits. They're not on his seat. He looks suspiciously at his wife who's holding the package and already has it open. "So, you're the biscuit thief when I buy them for myself."
"Well who else did you suppose it was? No one else lives in our house. I don't serve them to any guests. I do have more of a sweet tooth than I let on." Hyacinth offers the package to Richard.
"They go so much better with tea, though. I'd actually love a cup right about now." Richard looks around for a stewardess.
"The stewardesses should be coming around with drinks soon. I don't mind having these biscuits with milk, too, but I prefer tea." Hyacinth says after she has a bite of her biscuit.
"I haven't seen you have a glass of milk for years, probably since you were pregnant. I used to like watching you drink a glass of milk. It reminded me of the first time your mother invited me in when we were first dating. And she served biscuits and milk so she could chat with me. Your mother scared me slightly, actually." Richard tells his wife.
"I tried to warn you that day. Why do you think all us girls, except Rose, were so well behaved? My father wasn't the one who was the disciplinarian, it was my mother. She always liked you. She trusted me with you." Hyacinth admits to Richard. She and her mother were very close since she was the eldest sibling.
"I liked your mother, but she scared me. I had a great deal of respect for your mother since she raised four such great girls. She told me if I ever hurt you I'd have her to contend with. Your father just accepted me and so did your sisters." Richard smiles when he thinks about Hyacinth's mother.
"You know I remember my mother coming to talk to me in my room about six weeks before you proposed. She wanted to see how I was feeling. She talked to me like a woman and she could see how excited I was about you. She told me about she was with my father when they were courting. It was so special." Hyacinth smiles wistfully.
"We were excited about each other, weren't we? I remember feeling like I was floating on air." Richard says gently.
"I still have moments where I feel like that. Maybe, if this works out the way you want it to, we can feel that way more often. You were right you know this isn't working anymore. Sheridan isn't living at home anymore and I think that affected me more than I ever let on." Hyacinth admits to Richard.
Richard tentatively leans over and kisses Hyacinth's cheek. "We'll be okay. I just didn't want to lose you and I didn't know what to do. I figured that having us be a captive audience would be better, so that we didn't have an excuse not to do what we need to."
"I suppose you're right." Hyacinth says honestly. She can't believe how sweet he's being. A stewardess comes by with drinks. "I'll have tea, please." Hyacinth breathes in soft scent on the Earl Grey tea. She watches as Richard takes his tea from the stewardess. He's really very handsome. She offers Richard the package of biscuits. She never dunks these biscuits in her tea since tea makes the chocolate melt. Richard smiles at his wife. He feels like, with moments like this, they have a shot at making things better.
