Seeing is Believing – Chapter 5
By Victorian Cowgirl

While the guys were playing pool, Lucy, Tara and Sue were having a girl's night. They were at Sue and Lucy's apartment splurging on ice cream and brownies, while playing board games. As they played they talked about everything and nothing. Tara was trying to steer the conversation towards their love lives.

"So Lucy, you and Myles? I thought that was history." Tara asked.

Even with her beautiful dark skin Tara could see a red tinge on her friend's cheeks. "It was history, but Myles has changed over the past couple of years. He is truly sorry for his mistakes and has apologized profusely to me. I don't know if it will work this time, but we are both willing to work at it."

Sue looked at her best friend. "That's wonderful Luce. I'm happy for you. And you're right, I can see Myles has changed for the better since I first met him." She turned to Tara. "Speaking of love lives, Tara, did I see you and Bobby sharing long glances across the bullpen?"

Now it was Tara's turn to blush and she nodded. "You guys know what happened after the Mojo Gogo concert, right, and the talk we had the next day. Well, while he was at my apartment last night helping me with the party…" Tara went on to tell them all that had happened with her and Bobby the night before. "He loves me and I love him. I've never been this happy in my life." She was practically jumping out of her chair.

Sue looked at her two best friends. She envied their happiness, but was too scared to go after the same. "Tara, how long did you have that letter you wrote to Bobby before you gave it to him?"

"Let's see. The concert was five months ago, and I wrote the letter about a month after that, so I've had it written for about four months." Tara could see the wheels working in Sue's mind. "Are you thinking of writing a love letter to a certain special agent?" She asked with a smile.

Sue gave an almost imperceptible nod. "I've got so many things running around in my head and in my heart that I need to make sense of it. I wouldn't give it to Jack, at least not right away, but it would help me understand my feelings better. Besides, I would hope that he would say something first," then almost to herself, "maybe on Saturday."

Lucy didn't miss the last part of Sue's admission. "Saturday? What's Saturday?"

Tara didn't give Sue time to answer. "Did he ask you to the party? Is that what you were doing out in the hallway this morning?"

Sue's face was positively glowing by now. "Yes, Jack asked me to go to your party with him as his date."

Lucy let out a squeal that, by Tara's expression, made her glad she couldn't hear it. "Calm down, Luce, it's just a date and it's not like it's a private thing. You will all be there, so it's not so different than any other office party that we've been to."

"Yes, but it's a date, on Valentine's Day and he asked. For Jack Hudson, that is a milestone." Lucy disputed.

Tara put a comforting hand on Sue's arm. "Sue, no matter what happens on Saturday; I can tell you from personal experience that just writing down your feelings helps. It took me four months to give Bobby my letter." Tara gave her an encouraging smile and thought to herself, "But, it will be a lot sooner than four months when Jack sees that letter."

"How about we help you write your letter." Lucy volunteered.

"Uh, no thanks, I think I can handle it on my own. I will write it before I go to bed tonight. Which is going to be soon, it's getting late, let's call it a night. We do have to work tomorrow."

On her way home, Tara called Bobby.

"Hey darlin', how was girl's night."

"Very informative for all concerned," she replied. "What about you, did you convince Jack to write a love letter?"

"Even better, Luv, he had me help him write it. That boy has got it bad for our fair Miss Thomas. And before you even ask, yes, I have the letter safely tucked away in my pocket. I snagged it from his desk drawer while he was in the kitchen."

Tara giggled. "You read my mind, Koala Boy." It amazed her how well Bobby could read her, even when they weren't together.

"Were you able to get Sue to write Jack a letter?"

"I didn't have to try very hard to convince her. I told her about my letter to you and she came up with the idea of writing one for Jack all on her own. Although, she did say she wouldn't give it to Jack right away. She was going to write it before she went to bed tonight. Lucy will make sure I have it tomorrow."

"It sounds like "Operation Seeing is Believing" is on a roll. This may be easier than we first thought." Bobby mused.

"You're right. Our treasure hunt will be that final push they need. The letters are the icing on the cake. This reminds me of something Benedick says in Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing". He says 'Here's our own hands against our hearts'."

"Not only is my Tara, beautiful and a computer whiz, but she can quote Shakespeare. I'm the luckiest guy in the world."

"Well, that's fitting since I'm the luckiest girl in the world." Tara laughed. "Well, I'm just about home. I'll see you in the morning, Bobby."

"I'll let you get some sleep. Night, Tara. I love you."

Tara was warmed all the way to her toes. "I love you, too. Good night, Bobby."