Will stared at his desk
calendar. Thursday. He focused on a note circled in red ink:
11:30 - Lunch with Rory. He looked at
his watch. 10:51. He sighed heavily and looked at his computer
monitor. He was supposed to be writing
a feature on an 83 year old woman who was driving cross country on her Harley
Davidson motorcycle, but he had managed only two sentences. And they weren't very good sentences.
Will had spent every
evening that week with Jess. Sunday
night they had stayed at the café talking until it closed at 1:00 a.m. They'd gone to see a movie, spent an evening
at the club for her second performance, and took in a concert in the park. They had plans that evening to go to Syd's
house and have supper with Syd, Francie, and Tony. Each evening they ended up back at the house – Jess' house –
talking. It would be the same this
evening.
Jess and he had modified
the plan somewhat. Instead of Will
moving in right away, he would just stay over every night, and then officially
move his stuff in six or eight weeks.
Jess thought that if he moved in too quickly it would arouse
suspicion. Tonight was the first time
he would stay over at her place.
Will looked down at his
hands disgustedly. They were
sweating. His stomach was
churning. His legs bounced
uncontrollably. He was nervous. Will felt this way before each meeting with
Jess. But, once he was with her, he
always seemed to be able to find some calmness in her deep green eyes.
"Jesus!" Will jumped when
his cell phone started vibrating. "Damn
nerves!" he complained. He plucked his
cell phone off his pants with an exaggerated motion, then opened it and
answered the call. "Will Tippin."
"It's Vaughn."
"Hey," Will replied.
"Weiss and I want a status
on Practice Run. Can you and Ghost
Writer meet us tonight?" Practice Run
was the code name for the operation.
Jess' code name was Ghost Writer, and his was Shakespeare. Will wondered briefly who was responsible
for coming up with code names. He made
a mental note to ask Jess.
"Yeah, sure," Will
responded. "Has to be before dinner
though." Will had actually been trained
on how to maintain a conversation without giving any information to curious bystanders. It was the only part of his training that he
had used.
"5:30?" Vaughn asked.
"Got it," Will replied.
"Regular place," Vaughn reminded him.
"Sounds good. Later."
Will ended the call and returned his cell phone to his waistband. He looked at his watch again and frowned. It was only 10:55. He turned back towards his monitor and continued to stare blankly
at it until it was time to leave for lunch.
*****
The walk from the music
store to the restaurant hadn't taken as long as she thought. Even though she stopped to window shop
several times, she still arrived at the bistro ten minutes early.
Jess wasn't really one to
window shop, but stopping to look in a store window every now and then allowed
her to keep track of her tail. He'd
been following her since she left the music store.
Jess chose a shaded
outdoor table where she had clear view of the people on the sidewalk. Her tail, wearing an expensive suit and
matching sunglasses sat down at a table behind her, close enough that he would
be able to hear their conversations. It
would be difficult for her to keep an eye on him.
She ordered two glasses of
ice water and pretended to study the lunch menu. She thought back to the previous evening at the concert in the
park. Jess couldn't help but smile remembering
Will's awkwardness as he kissed her for the first time. He reminded her of a shy adolescent. He touched his lips to hers so lightly that
she wasn't even sure if he had made contact.
She played Mrs. Robinson to his Benjamin. She turned the kiss into a more believable, adult type kiss.
Jess couldn't believe they had been together four nights before he kissed her. She wondered if he was usually that way or if it was the situation that made him so timid.
She spied Will as he turned the corner. It was his hair that gave him away. Most of the people out for lunch in this part of LA wore suits and ties and very conservative hairstyles. Will's hair always looked a little different. Messy in a whoa-he's-got-way-too-much-mousse-in-his-hair kind of way. Jess was trying to picture what he would look like without mousse when she spotted his tail. Trying to look like a tourist, the man was wearing a baseball cap, polo shirt, and shorts. Her instincts told her the man was not just a tourist.
Jess analyzed Will as he
walked down the sidewalk. Slightly
taller than the average man on the sidewalk at that time, he was wearing a
white button down shirt, sleeves rolled up, and crisp, tan Dockers. The look on his face was familiar to her --
furrowed eyebrows, taught lips, and darting eyes. Where had she seen that look before? Vaughn! That was
Vaughn's trademark look. Only six
months with the Agency and already Will had 'the look'. Jess felt a wave of sadness.
As Will approached the
bistro, he nervously scanned the lunch crowd.
When he saw Jess, his look of concern faded immediately and he
smiled. She smiled at him as he
approached the table and stood up to greet him.
"Hi!" Jess said reaching
both hands out to him.
"Hi," Will said taking her
hands.
Jess kissed Will as though
they had been together forever. Will
momentarily forgot what he was doing as he gave in to her kiss. Afterwards Jess leaned into him for a hug.
"I've got a tail," Jess
whispered in his ear. "Suit and
sunglasses at one o'clock." Will nodded
his head mutely. "And, you do know
you've got a tail too, right?"
"No," Will replied softly
in her ear.
"Navy polo and Dodger's
cap," Jess said. Will watched over
Jess' shoulder as the man walked into the bar and took a seat with a good view
of the outdoor tables.
"Just took a seat in the
bar," Will reported.
"Swell," Jess said
sarcastically.
Jess pulled away, and Will
held her chair for her as she sat down.
He sat down across from her and smiled as he looked her over. She was wearing a straight, yellow tank
dress, and flat brown sandals. Her hair
was pulled back in barrettes, and she was wearing a heart shaped diamond
necklace on a silver chain that rested in the hollow of her neck. "Rory, you look beautiful," Will said, "As
always."
"Thank you," Jess replied
with a slight smile.
The waitress approached
and took their orders. When she had
left, Will reached across the table and took one Jess' right hand in his. He checked over Jess' shoulder to see 'suit
and sunglasses' looking directly at him.
Will looked back at Jess, "So, what exciting things have been happening
at Mom & Pop's Music Shop this morning?"
Jess laughed lightly. "Let's see, I re-organized the classical
sheet music so that we can actually find what we're looking for. I had two lessons, one with an incredibly
precocious but highly talented seven year old, and one with timid
housewife. And, my favorite part of the
morning: reacquainting myself with a few of my favorite Beethoven sonatas.
"And yours?" Jess inquired.
"A lot of staring at my
computer and my watch," Will blushed just briefly. "Lunch just couldn't come fast enough."