Marlene was surprised, and possibly even disappointed, when I popped in this morning. I'm now keeping a tally of her reactions so I can determine more accurately how she might react to any advances on Skipper's part. 'Disappointment on seeing anyone else' – 1.
She's dug out some bits of paper for me to work on deciphering but first she's run through what sound each shape corresponds to. It's a fiendishly difficult code since the sounds can be altered depending on their configuration. I was so engrossed with studying this that I almost forgot to watch Marlene as well.
When I looked up to query a symbol she was staring across to our habitat. 'Idly staring at Skipper' – 1. He knows I'm over here working on this code but I'm hoping he never realises what else I'm studying. Option 3 is beginning to seem more and more likely. But judging from the way she's been staring at him ('Pupils dilating and breath rapidity increasing' – 1) I'm worried she may move too fast for him.
I was hoping to simply encourage Skipper in discovering his feelings but I may need to act now on Marlene to prevent her from spoiling her chances. Drawing her attention back to my working, I turn the conversation back to our travels and how useful this information would have been.
Marlene seems interested in our travels ('Quizzing the team about Skipper' – 1) and it's the perfect opportunity to make her pause in making a move on Skipper. This is much more Private's area of expertise, casually leaking information, but I try to sound as casual as I can while mentioning Skipper's wife.
For a moment I'm worried she's not actually listening to me since there's apparently no reaction. But when I turn back to look at her it's clear the information hit her harder than I'd thought.
"He's married?" I confess I hesitate before offering a reply to that. After all, I don't want to derail her completely. Just slow her down from express to freight.
"They're divorced now but," I shrug, unsure how to phrase it.
"Do you think he still loves her?" ('Quizzing the team about Skipper' – 2)
"I don't know. Skipper keeps his feelings pretty well hidden." She nods and falls silent. It's clear she wants to be alone so I gather my things and head home.
I feel slightly guilty about telling Marlene that. Not only 'cause Skipper wouldn't have wanted me to, but also because of the look in her eyes. But in a sense she had to find out about Lola sometime. And it'll give Skipper more time to come to terms with his developing feelings. In the long run I'm sure it was the best thing to do.
Still I can't find much enthusiasm for the afternoon's routine and when Skipper heads over to see her later I find myself again struck by a sense of guilt. Surely it was the right thing to do? My calculations showed that Skipper would most likely require an interval of 3-5 weeks to properly develop feelings for Marlene… this interference should have bought a hesitation of approximately 2-4 weeks. The maths shows this should have helped… but I'm going to wait up for Skipper to make doubly sure.