16. Q&A ("Faboo!")

11:11 AM.
William came out of the shower, rubbing his hair with a towel. He had dressed in a pair of baggy jeans and a short sleeve shirt, which he left untucked. He had stayed under the shower for a long time - trying, he hoped, to wash away the pain of the previous evening. He knew that he would never hope the rest would wash away. Before he left the bathroom, he made space in the medicine cabinet and on the counter around the sink for Kim's things. He moved them from his desk to the counter, attaching a post-it; "K- space for you - in the cabinet, too. W-" He liked her term for quick reference to him that she adopted on the note she had put on the monitor. Just about everything that Kim had done since arriving now stuck with him.

William returned to the bedroom, sitting at his desk. He leaned a bit to the left, looking at the mirror still against the wall. He noticed that the reflection seemed to distort a bit as it neared Kim's outline. He recalled Kim's statement about his dialing in to work - 'Modern technology.' Heh, he thought. 'Modern technology' has a bit of catching up to do. He opened a DOS session and read off the paper for the IP. A bright red logo appeared on the screen on a silverish-blue background. It was the same screen as at work, only for a remote access session.

:::Meridian Remote Login
username: WHodge
password: Leeis
snicker backspace
rookie
Login successful. Press Enter to continue.:::

"Look Lee - I goooot iiiit," William chuckled softly while rocking his head in a Rain Man-esque motion. "Yeah...definite login...yeah...I'm a good typer...type very slow on the tel-net."

He went to the Claims & Rec section, entering his station login, and then "Reports." A list came up of Monday's reports - LA1205-1.xls and so on. William clicked on the first one, and a spreadsheet flashed onto his screen.

William heard the stereo come on, tuned to the same pop station; Then Kim's voice wafted from the living room. "Is that too loud?"

William rolled his chair toward the door and stuck his arm into the doorway, making the "OK" sign.

"Cool," came the reply. William rolled back to the desk and started looking over the files. These aren't too bad, he thought. At least they were all there - they just lacked the formatting and other embellishments that he and Marcy had incorporated over about three months. "We've spoiled LA, I think," he said to himself, and began editing title and header fields.

While working, William heard Kim's efforts in the kitchen; the gentle dialogue of plates and glasses as they were returned to the cupboard after drying; the running of water for a fresh sinkful. She must do them like I do, he thought - separate water for the pots and pans. A few minutes later, he heard the sounds of the cookware being stored.

11:49 AM.
William had finished touching up the previous day's reports, and he left an email to David telling him so, in case he wanted to reprint and send them. He thought making the changes might make them both look good in the long run. While he had the email program open, William decided to keep his promise to Kim, and set up her mail account. He jotted the info down on a post-it, and stuck it on top of her previous note.

William then heard the hall closet open, some hangers being slid about, and the door closing. Kim leaned in the doorway, the pair of pre-faded jeans he had bought and a gray polo shirt folded over her arm.

"Hi there," she said. "Working hard?"

"Not really. The good stuff is about a half-hour away. Then I start formatting the data into reports."

She nodded, then twitched her finger in the direction of the bathroom. "Do you want in here for anything before I take a shower?"

"No, it's all yours," William replied, alt-tabbing to his telnet session for a second. "In fact, I was going to make a little lunch. I can have a sandwich waiting for you when you come out."

Kim leaned slightly against the door frame. A smile spread over her face. "Mmmm. What with?"

"Well," said William, taking a mental inventory of his fridge. "I was thinking of some smoked ham I got the other day...it's sliced really thin...and some Swiss cheese...a little mayo...and some Dijon on the ham side..."

As he listed the ingredients, Kim's eyes slowly closed. She looked like she was enjoying a spring breeze playing on her face. "Yeaahhh," she purred.

"...all on some stone-ground multi-grain bread."

Kim inhaled slowly and deeply through her nose, as if she could smell the sandwich sitting in front of her. "That sounds greeaaat."

William had a strange and humorous image flash through his mind; taking Kim out for a hot fudge sundae, and recreating the diner scene from "When Harry Met Sally." He fought back a chuckle. "Go shower," he smiled.

She turned to the bathroom and closed the door. William stood and started for the kitchen. As he passed the bathroom door, he heard an "Awwww" and a small sigh. He took that as approval of the new space for her things.

Kim tipped open the medicine cabinet and smiled. Of the four shelves, the lower two were empty. "Space for me," she said quietly, remarking again to herself how William was working to make her feel comfortable and welcome. Many times after making the cross, the first acts of a Celler were to calm the Flesher's fears and assure them that they had not just been visited by an alien - and enduring being treated almost like a circus attraction, rather than the result of the Flesher's belief. And if a Celler were to act "out of character," such as her outburst of emotion on Monday night, a Flesher's first reaction was to try to escape the situation; forget dealing with or even interacting. This was why most crosses never lasted more than a few days - and Angelica had warned that outcome was more likely than not, after an event that caused the Celler to act in a way other than the Flesher's "ideal" image of them - their fear of the unknown and unexpected outweighed their belief.

William had reacted exactly the opposite, she thought. His reaction was one of compassion; concern; he actually felt for her when she learned of her loss. He let her pour out her emotions freely - and he didn't run or hide. He was right there to help her through it. That, and the clothes, the fabulous steak on Monday night, letting her cook this morning - and making a place for her things among his own--

Kim smiled as she slid the shower curtain back and pulled off her socks. You got all of this one, Angelica, she thought, turning the "H" faucet...and it looks like it's headed for the fence in left center.

William finished constructing the sandwiches, placing each on a small plate and cutting them down the middle. He put the ingredients away and took a Coke Classic from the fridge, putting it under his forearm, then picking up the plates and two napkins and heading for the bedroom. He set Kim's sandwich on the desk and sat down, checking the "data" folder in his telnet session.

William then heard light singing from the bathroom, just above the flow of the shower. "He's punny...I think he's punny..." Kim had a very smooth singing voice. William felt a tingle flow through him, and he finally had to pinch the smile from his face in order to turn back to concentrating on work.

About five minutes later, the bathroom door opened. "William?" called Kim.

"In here," he replied.

Kim walked in with a large towel twisted on her head, and a brush. She pointed to the sandwich on the corner of the desk. "For me?"

"Yep. Eat up."

Kim took the plate and sat on the edge of the bed, taking a bite. "Mmmm-mm-mm-mm-mmm," she drew out through her chewing. Then she swallowed. "This...is...heavenly," she said. "Aged Swiss is one of my faves."

"I'm glad," said William. "I don't do that processed stuff they try to claim is cheese. It's almost like sliced tofu."

Kim giggled. "Tofu? Heh. Maybe you DO know how Celler food tastes - or doesn't."

"That bad, huh?"

"The packaging it comes in probably tastes better," said Kim with a somewhat disgusting look. "The texture is the same, but it tastes...like tofu! Good call." She took another bite of her sandwich, and her expression returned to one of culinary bliss.

Kim then asked, "May I have a drink of your Coke?"

"Sure," he replied, unscrewing the cap part-way and handing her the bottle.

She took a small sip - swallowed - then scrunched her face together, rubbing the bottom of her nose. "The bubbles go right up there," she said. "It always happ- ha- nnn-ngkk"

"Bless you," said William, laughing softly. "Want water instead?"

"Please and thank you," she replied, handing the soda back to him and patting the bottom of her nose with the napkin. "I like the taste, but the bubbles always make me sneeze."

William went to the kitchen, clinking a couple of ice cubes into a tall glass, and running the tap to fill it. He asked as he returned, "What about when you drink soda on the show?"

"It's non-carbonated," she said. "And, as with all other Celler food, it has no taste either." She took a long slow drink, tiny whimpers in between each gulp. "Mmmm," she said, handing the glass to William to set on the desk. "On me or in me, that's good stuff."

William smiled. "Water, water everywhere...we even have some to drink," which caused Kim to giggle.

William sat back in the chair and was about to bite into the other half of his sandwich, when the computer beeped. He turned to look. "Hey, Maryland is in early," he said. "Must have been a slow Monday." He clicked on the file and a spreadsheet opened up, sprawling with district names and processing numbers.

Kim leaned forward, looking at the screen. "What do you do with those figures?"

"We're the central office for the Eastern US," William explained. "Data comes in from several states. They're the figures for the previous business day." He pointed to various places on the spreadsheet. "This is the first claim number processed that day, and here is the last. They're sorted by district offices within each state, and then into columns within each district, depending on how the claim was handled - paid, denied, arbitrated - and the dollar totals involved in each action. They have to be compiled into reports that go to the central office in Los Angeles."

"Are there a lot of districts?"

"Over 300 in this region."

"Wow. But it looks mostly like just a lot of addition."

"Yeah, basically. The important thing is making sure the data in the proper columns as it's compiled. One figure in the wrong place, and the company could pay out hundreds of thousands of dollars that it wasn't supposed to or hadn't intended on paying."

"300 districts...must be time-consuming," said Kim.

"It is," he replied. "I start compiling the moment data starts coming in, and the whole thing is about three hours worth of work. The last districts come in by about 2. It's around another hour-and-a-half or so to format and double-check everything. They end up getting sent by about 3:30...12:30 in Los Angeles. Then they get to work budgeting out payouts."

"Sounds like that takes your afternoons," said Kim.

"Yep. In the mornings, as long as there are no discrepancies on the previous day's reports, I process claims like everyone else in the department."

William formatted the data from the first state. As he was nearly finished, the computer beeped twice. He checked the folder. "There's South Carolina and Georgia," he said. He then turned to Kim, who had removed the towel from her head and was brushing through her hair in long strokes, still watching his work. Her plate was empty.

Her eyes perked from the screen to him. "I hope I'm not bothering you," she said.

"Not at all," he said. "On the contrary, I was going to say that this is going to take my concentration for a while. I didn't want you to get bored."

"Oh no. Not bored. It's interesting watching you fling all those figures around." She then gave a little chuckle. "Angelica used to say, 'Work fascinates me - I can just sit and watch it for hours' - even with all the hard work she put into the Crosses." Then Kim's face fell a little. "I miss her," she said,

"Same here," said William.

"But somehow, it's not near as bad this morning," she added.

They reached for each other's hand simultaneously.

Kim broke into a warm smile. "Thanks for being here."

William responded with a smile, and squeezed her hand.

The computer beeped. Kim leaned to look past William's shoulder. "Tennessee," she said. "I'd better let you work."

"You okay?" asked William.

"Yeah," she replied, returning the squeeze, her smile even wider. "I sure am. Work, work!"

William turned back to the screen and dove into South Carolina's figures.

3:26 PM.
William had the reports done a little early - even New York, often the most difficult state to compile, had reduced volume from Monday. He finished up the last of the attachments to the email to David, and hit the "send" button. "All done," he said, turning around. "You've been so quiet the last hour, I thought you'd--"

Well. She did fall asleep. Kim had folded the towel for a pillow; her hands one on top of the other under her head and her legs were drawn off the floor.

William watched the sleeping girl for a moment. She had such a fragile yet peaceful expression on that cream-silk face, William thought. He almost didn't want to awaken her - but he remembered the frantic tone of her voice on Monday night as she awoke and he was in the other room. Even though she wasn't anywhere near the emotionally weak state she was in the night before, he didn't want to test the theory.

It almost didn't matter what she was doing, William thought - he was sure he could easily watch her like this for the rest of the evening.

He was sure he could easily watch her like this for the rest of his life.

William quietly opened the second drawer of his desk and took out his digital camera. The afternoon sun shining against the wall provided just the right indirect light. He sank out of the chair to his knees, framing her head in the viewfinder, and snapped a shot. He then slipped the camera back into the drawer.

William turned back to Kim and softly stroked her temple and the hair just over her ear with the backs of his fingers, remarking how it was even softer and smoother, if possible, after stepping from the shower...how her skin almost felt like a silken cream as it kissed his touch.

He was just about to adjust his touch to caress her cheek and try to wake her gently, when she reacted in her sleep - bringing one arm up and wrapping it around his, pulling it closer, cuddling it like a pillow. His forearm was now parallel with her torso, his hand resting on her temple. William slowly turned his arm until he was able to caress her temple with the pad of his thumb.

William called her softly, nearly singing her name. "Kiimmm....Kiiiimmmm..."

Her eyes opened slowly. She focused on William, and smiled sleepily, nuzzling her face on his hand. "Hiii...."

"Hi," William returned. "I told you you'd get bored," he smiled.

"No," she murmured, not moving. "I just laid down for a minute--"

"Heh. More like an hour."

"That long? I'm sorry, William," she said, stretching her legs out straight.

"No big," he said. "I got done with the reports a little early. I was thinking of going to the market square. Feel like tacos for dinner?"

"Taaaacooosssss," she purred. "I like the soft-shelled ones."

"Okay. How many can you eat?"

"I could probably eat three, if they're not too big. Or two for dinner, and the other one for lunch tomorrow."

"Three it is," replied William. "Now - you have a choice to make while I'm out. It's getting near rush hour, and the place will be kind of busy. You can either sleep some more...or you can try out your new email account." William then smiled. "But either way, I'm going to need that arm to go get dinner."

Kim's expression changed to one of mock protest, keeping her eyes closed. "But your arm is so warm," she said through a small smile, slipping her hand into his palm and interlocking her fingers with his.

William wanted to say that it was because it was feeding from her own warmth. "C'mon," he chuckled. "The sooner I go, the sooner I get back with yummy tacos."

"Hmmmmmmmmm--mph," uttered Kim, forcing herself upright, still acting out resistance to consciousness, and still holding William's hand close to her face. "I should get up - otherwise I won't sleep tonight." She let his hand slide from hers, seemingly with some reluctance. William tried hard to decide whether to weigh this as just part of her show of displeasure about getting up - or something else.

Kim glanced through the window at the trees dancing in December's bluster. It was beginning to cloud over. "Looks windy and cold out there," she said. Maybe you should stay, and we'll fix something here instead."

"Nahh, I'll be okay. When I get in the mood for tacos, wild horses couldn't keep me away. Old Man Winter doesn't stand a chance."

Kim gave him a look, both thoughtful and playful. "Are you that way about everything?"

He was caught off guard by her thinly-veiled flirtatious statement; then replied, "Not everything - just those things which spark my desire the most," hoping it matched her level of play.

Kim kept the thoughtful expression and uttered a long "hmmmmmmm." Then she smiled and said in a rather inviting tone, "Please hurry back. I'll be thinking of you--" - the briefest pause, just a beat - "--bringing home the tacos." She finished with that closed-mouth giggle - "hm-hm-hm-hm."

William put on his coat and thrust his index finger into the air, as if making a point. "Tacos wait for no man," he started dramatically. Then he turned his finger in the direction of the square. "So I'll get them now."

"Or woman," chimed in Kim. "They wait for no woman, either. So Vaya con Carne."

"Go with meat?" William burst out laughing and headed out the door.

3:56 PM.
Kim giggled and turned back toward the bedroom. "A Flesher with a good sense of humor," she said to herself, grinning and counting that blessing. She continued down the hallway, adding, "And punny. He's punny too." Her out-loud thoughts continued. "-And accepting...and compassionate...and attentive...and caring...and..."

She sat at the desk as her face began to take on a comfortable and thankful smile. That look continued to grow as she spotted the post-it William had left on the monitor. She plucked it and read it:

"K- your email is set up. Open email prog, click on File/Switch Identity. You, of course, are Kim. Your email addr is - You can change passwd if you want - I'll show you how. Your initial passwd is 'Y0uR0ck2KP' enjoy! W-"

"Awww," Kim cooed at reading the password. He remembered her saying that to him this morning. "This guy is too way cool!" she beamed as she double-clicked on the email icon. "He thinks of everything."

Especially my feelings, her mind added as she began to compose a letter to Ron. She recounted the events since Sunday night in detail - then, suddenly realizing that she didn't know any real details about him - :Will include more next email, I promise. Later, K-: she tapped the mouse on the "send" button. She then started a letter to Wade, giving him a less personal chain of events, closing with :Oh - William wants to know more about how the Cross works. Can you send anything that would help out? I remembered what I could, but you're better with the techy stuff. And he wants to know if his new boss might be on the Cross schedule. Can you check it out for us? His name is David Morris. Thanks Wade, K-:

Us? I put that without thinking, thought Kim. Just like it belonged there...it was just...natural...

Kim looked out the window and noticed it had started snowing, swirls of white whipping past.

5:17 PM.
Kim heard a key fumbling in the lock, and William stomping his feet just inside the front door, closing it firmly. He let loose a loud "Brrrrr" as Kim walked in from the bedroom. He was standing with his arms at his sides, hand balled into fists.

"Old Man Winter loses again!" he said, shivering. "It wasn't bad until the snow started. That place was packed."

"It's just like ice cream sales in the summer," said Kim. "You were gone quite a while." She turned to look at the clock on the stereo. "It's almost--"

"--half-past frozen," William said, placing his frigid fingers on the side of her neck.

"YeeEEEK!" Kim shrieked, ducking his touch. William snickered.

"You're like, the Abominable William," she said, gritting her teeth and clutching her arms. She then noticed William was minus a bag. "Do you have the tacos?"

He patted the chest of his coat lightly. "In here, for warmth."

"After feeling your fingers, I'm not so sure."

"Heh. A moment in the microwave, and they'll be hot. Let's eat."

"I'll be in the bedroom, Icicle Boy," Kim chuckled, and turned to the hallway, calling back, "The email worked great. Thank you."

William went to the kitchen, unzipping his coat and pulling out the bag of food, fishing several packets of sauce from it. He set it in the microwave, punching :45 into the keypad, and then the "start" button. While they were heating, he removed his coat and put it on the back of the tall chair at the nook. Then he got two plates from the cupboard, and two paper plates from another cabinet. He placed two of each taco on each plate, leaving the third soft-shell in the microwave. He scattered the sauce packets onto the plates, grabbed the napkins the restaurant included, and headed for the bedroom, a plate balanced on each palm, the jug of juice and two plastic cups under his arm.

Kim was sitting on the bed, legs crossed. She had brought the backgammon board from the kitchen. William set her plate beside her and sat across from the board.

"Oh, man, those smell great," Kim said.

William reached forward to touch Kim's neck again, his hands heated from the plates. She gave a quick gasp at first, shying slightly from his touch, then gritted her teeth, letting his hand settle against her skin. She tilted her head to nuzzle his fingers against her cheek.

"Better?" asked William.

"Mmmm-hmmm," purred Kim, smiling.

"I'm glad to hear about the email," he said.

"Yeah. We might hear something from Wade by tonight. I asked him to send that stuff you asked about."

"Thanks," William smiled. He pointed at the backgammon set. "A rematch?"

Kim giggled. "You didn't think I was through with you yet, did you? I love this game."

"Any others?" William asked. "Like chess or something?"

"I know how to play chess," she said. "But I don't play much."

Kim then looked over the sauces on her plate. Mild, Medium, and--

She laughed out loud, reading the packet. "'Don't Go There'?"

William chuckled. "It's a sauce they make in-house. I've never tried it, but I've heard stories. I only brought it because I didn't know how hot you liked your sauce."

"Stories??" she said, wincing. She slowly put the packet down, pressing her finger on it as if to make sure it stayed on the plate. "Any sauce with a 'legend' is not for me. Too hot a sauce, and I have heartburn for the whole next day. I think I'll start with Mild for now." She opened a packet - checking the label first - and dribbled a bit on one corner of her taco.

"There's an interesting question," mused William. "Can you take antacid? Or any other flesher medications, for that matter?"

"Yep," she replied. "But I usually don't unless it's really bad. It's not like many Fleshers offer a Celler medicine. But I've never heard of an adverse reaction to them."

Kim then bit into her taco. Her eyes closed as she chewed, crossing slightly. She shuddered just a little, and hung her head, a loud "MMMMmmm" escaping from her mouth. Her head snapped up, eyes wide. "These...are...FANTASTIC, William!"

William spread a trail of "Medium" along his taco, and took a bite. "They are pretty good," he said. "I'm surprised that they're not more expensive, as good as they taste."

Kim then looked at William. "I might want to try that Medium sauce," she said. William pointed out a packet on her plate. Kim shook her head slowly, smiling. She then reached across and trailed her finger along the corner of his mouth, capturing a spot of sauce. She then sucked the tip of her finger into her mouth, her eyes melting closed as he watched.

William was suddenly jealous of his taco sauce.

"Wow," Kim finally managed. "That's for me," she said, picking up the packet of Medium and tearing off a corner.

"The sauce?" joked William. Kim blushed, looking down slightly - but didn't specify.

They started on their second tacos. "William?" Kim asked, finishing another bite. "Speaking of questions...remember when you asked me things about...me?"

"Yes, I do."

"I've been thinking...I don't know anything about you yourself, either."

William then realized that with all the events of the last few days, it slipped his mind to present any personal information, even while asking Kim about herself. "I'm sorry," he offered. "Please - anything you want to know."

"Well, let's start with the things you asked me. How old are you?"

"I'm 20. My birthday is in April."

"Okay...how tall are you?"

"I'm 6'2"."

"Hehe, that's up there. Weight?"

"194," said William. "Though I wouldn't bank on that, after that steak."

Kim giggled. "That was excellent steak." She continued. "How about clothes?"

William tugged at the collar of his shirt. "Yep - got some," he smirked.

Kim laughed through gritted teeth, grinning. "I can see I have to be specific with you." She then imitated sign-language and said, "What-size-clothes-do-you-wear?"

William laughed softly. "I'm sorry. Most of my shirts are a size 15, or large. My pants are a 32, with a 35 inseam. These are a little loose, though, for around the house. Hmmm, what else? Oh yeah," he finished, holding out a leg. "Size 11 shoe."

Kim snickered, remembering she had done that for him. "Okay," she pressed on. "What about family?"

"Most of them live in the Mid-West," he said. I was originally born in Ohio."

"Your parents live there, too? Do you visit them often?"

William looked down slightly. "My parents died just over four years ago."

Kim's face fell and her brow furrowed. She reached for his hand. "William...I'm sorry."

"It's okay. You couldn't have known unless I told you. They died in a snowstorm."

"That's horrible," she said, holding his hand tighter.

"I stayed with my aunt until I finished high school," William continued. "A friend of hers told her about the job offering here. I moved here and stayed with her until I found this place after about eight months. I like it. Everything I need is within walking distance, so that saves on transportation."

Kim sighed. "That's another difference between the Celler and Flesher environment," she offered. "No relatives. We're created - not really 'born'...so we don't have parents or aunts and uncles or anyone we can call relatives."

Another small piece of common ground between worlds, thought William. He patted her hand. "Don't worry. I'm fine with it by now."

Kim smiled. "What about your name," she asked. "Do you go by anything else other than 'William'? I mean, how about 'Will' or 'Bill'?"

"No," he replied. "I've pretty much always gone by 'William' for as long as I can remember."

"What about 'Willie'?" she smirked.

"Only if I can call you 'Kimmie'," he shot back, smiling.

She made a face - "Ecch. So not." - then made the motion of writing on a pad. "Oookaaay...William and only William."

The computer beeped. "Incoming mail," remarked William, glancing at his clock radio.

7:08 PM.
"Maybe it's Wade already," exclaimed Kim, jumping off the bed and to the chair. She looked in her inbox. "Hmm, nothing here," she said.

"Must be on my account," replied William. "Switch identities and check."

"You trust me? Might be personal."

"I trust you."

Kim smiled warmly, then turned and clicked to switch to his email. "It must be from work," She said. "David Morris."

"Open it and read it to me," he said.

Kim clicked on the email.

:From:
To:
Re: Reports

William,

The reports are just faboo! Marcy dropped by as I was looking them over. She said it was as if she had never left the department! They look great. L.A. called and said they appreciated the revised reports from Monday.

Listen - it seems that admin had been tossing about the concept of telecommuting for about a month now. They said that your example cemented the deal. They want to know if you want to make it a permanent thing, only having to come into the office about once a week. Let me know - I'll have some information privacy papers for you to sign on Monday. Oh, and I mentioned your idea about an open voice line. They fell all over it!

Contact me tomorrow with what you think,

David

P.S. Tell Kim I said hi:

"Wow," said William after Kim finished. Then he chuckled - and fell back on the bed, laughing.

"What's so funny?" asked Kim, turning in the chair to face him.

"I hope Wade can find out if David is on that cross list," he said. "'Faboo'?" he laughed again.

Kim had a puzzled look on her face.

William sat up, wiping a tear from his eye. "I was just thinking...if David is on that list...who would he want to walk through his mirror...Dot Warner from Animaniacs?"

Kim burst out, her laughter now mixing with his. She made her way slowly to the bed holding her side, sliding onto it across from William, dragging the backgammon set. "C'mon, Punny So Not Backgammon Boy," she sighed through a giggle. "I believe I wanted a rematch. And your humor won't save you from my onslaught. Pour me a little juice, please - and then it's on!"

William recovered from his laughing fit, pouring Kim a glass, which she set on the wide top of the headboard. He then poured one for himself. They played for the better part of four hours, with Kim still winning slightly more than William. After about 15 minutes of small talk, they both fell to sleep, each still holding their dice cup - and each thinking how the evening couldn't have gone much better.

William thought he caught a whiff of coal from an approaching locomotive.

11:21 PM.
to be continued...