At 7pm they all congregated in the dining-room. Ray looked pale and he was still feeling quite achy but he was determined to sit through dinner with Neela and his parents. Dinner table topics were as diverse as Neela's impressions of Baton Rouge to the state of the economy and the forthcoming elections to the merits and demerits of Steven King as a writer.

During the day Ray senior had brought Neela for a tour of the old and new state capitol buildings, and then they went to the governor's mansion and the court buildings. After lunch she had gone for a wander round USC and then hit the shopping district while he caught up on some paperwork in his chambers. They met at 5pm outside the court buildings and made good time home as traffic was light. She was glad that she had had time to sit with Ray on her return. She now realised how much she would have regretted not contacting him. Thank goodness Lucien had pushed the issue.

She smiled now as she listened to the dinner table conversation, she felt so welcome here, so very comfortable. Ray noticed her smile and felt a surge of affection, he was glad Neela was enjoying herself. It was great that she got on with his parents. After dinner, Ray's dad suggested they head out to the back porch for a night-cap but Ray declined. He was starting to feel cold again and knew not to push it.

"I think I'd better head back to my sick-bed and rest up some more. Why don't you call down later Neela? I'll probably watch some TV."

About twenty minutes later he heard the cottage door open, he looked at the time display on his phone, it was almost 8.30pm . She popped her head round the bedroom door.

"Hi, how are you feeling?"

"I'm definitely on the mend; hopefully I'll be up and about for a while tomorrow, Monday at the latest. I was just about to watch a DVD; would you care to join me?"

"What are you watching?"

A cheeky grin spread across has face as he answered with a raised eyebrow.

"The Shining."

"Ray!" she groaned.

"Aw, come on Roomie, I thought you said you were a Steven King fan," he teased. "It'll be like old times," he said as he patted the bed beside him.

"Are there any extra pillows or cushions?"

"In the living-room. … Neela...?"

Yeah,"

"There are some cokes and ice-cream in the fridge."

"You think of everything Doc. Rock."

Soon she was sitting on the bed beside him. The drinks were on the bedside tables. She held the tub of ice-cream as she handed him one of the spoons.

"Give that here," Ray said as he took the tub and opened it then he handed it back to her and started the remote control.

"Almost like old times Roomie," he smiled.

She felt a lump in her throat as she leaned her head against his shoulder. He put his arm around her. As she looked up at him he bent down and kissed her gently on the lips, just a gentle brush of the lips that she did not have time to respond to. Then she lay across his chest and hugged him close. He put his arms around her and held her. Both stared at the TV set with sad distant expressions on their faces. They did not dare look at each other. Neither was sure where they were heading right now. They needed to talk before Neela left but not right now.

--

Ray woke with a start, the TV screen was blank and Neela had gone. He checked his phone, it was after 11.30pm. He had slept through most of the film. When had she left? Had she watched the end of the film? Why didn't she wake him before she left? He would have phoned but he was afraid she might be asleep. So he texted her instead.

'Good night Roomie, sorry I wasn't the perfect host after all. Sweet dreams! See you in the morning.' He hoped she was ok. If he were honest with himself, he was disappointed that she hadn't stayed.

Neela was lying awake in her bed when she received the text. She read it and started to cry bitterly once more. It had been little more than a peck, she couldn't even call it a kiss and she had not responded but she still felt guilty as hell. This was awful.

"Michael, why won't you leave me alone, I just want to get on with my life."

She continued to cry as though her heart was breaking.