16
The evening passed all too quickly for Harm, he was vaguely aware that the food was good and the service slick, but his attention was completely taken up by his dinner companion.
His opening gambit, over a starter of melon and tomato salad was simple, "Tell me about yourself," he invited her.
"Nothing much to tell," she demurred, "what you see is what you get: Gillian Shephard, Captain Royal Artillery, age... thirtyish, single, no notable vices. C'est tout!" She grinned.
Harm smiled back, "There's got to be more?" he asked.
"Like what?" Gill asked, her forehead wrinkling.
"Well... parents, family, school, hobbies, boyfriends hiding in the shadows..."
"Oh... I don't suppose 'none of the above' is an option?"
"Well... if you really don't want to say, then I shan't push," Harm conceded, but the note of disappointment in his voice registered with Gill.
She took a sip of her mineral water and said, "Oh, do you really want to know? You're not just being polite?Most men are happy to get the basic information and then talk about themselves for the rest of the evening!"
"Yeah, but part of that is that they don't want to appear to be too nosey. But us attorneys, well, we earn our living being nosey, and so, professional curiosity aside, I really would like to know," Harm persisted gently.
"Well... let's see... Family, I think you said... Well, there's Mummy and Daddy, he's the vicar of a rural parish near Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire... a real old sweetie... Mummy on the other hand, is a professional vicar's wife, an absolute terror, she rules the parish with a benevolent rod of iron, takes charge of all the church activities, supervises the flower roster, organises the harvest festival, and plays the organ."
"She sounds a formidable lady!" Harm said slightly taken aback.
"Oh, she can be!" Gill agreed, "but really she's just as sweet as Daddy. Then there's Granny, who I adore, she's into her nineties now, but still the sharpest knife in anybody's kitchen drawer. She's the reason I'm in the army!"
"Oh... how's that?"
"Well... during the war, the Second World War, that is, she took a commission in the Wrens – oh, that's the Women's Royal Naval Service, WRNS, pronounced Wrens, and was posted to Naval Operators Headquarters in London. That's where she met Granddad, he was a Captain in the Navy, they worked together for a while, and then ended up married. He died about twelve years ago... He was a bit older than Granny. She was his second wife. His first wife was killed in the bombing..."
"I see," Harm said.
"Do you? Really?" Gill challenged him gently.
"Yes, I think so... My mother remarried after my father was shot down over Vietnam – he was a naval aviator too, and when the POWs were returned after the war, he wasn't one of them. So after some years had passed, Mom had him declared legally dead and remarried Frank."
"That must have been hard for you," Gill said.
"I got over it," Harm said a little uncomfortable discussing a part of his life of which he wasn't particularly proud, "It took a while, and I was thoroughly unpleasant to Frank, my Step-Dad, until I did get over it. He deserved better he's a good man who loves and takes very good care of Mom, and she loves him."
"So... any brothers or sisters?" Gill asked.
"No... I figure Mom reckoned that one of me was more than enough! But we're not supposed to be talking about me. We are supposed to be talking about you! So... any brothers or sisters?" he mimicked her question and intonation.
"Just David, my big brother... by two and a bit years. You might get on with him..." she said doubtfully, letting her voice trail off, while she watched him over the rim of her glass as she took another sip of her drink.
"Oh, why?" Harm asked
"He's in the same line of work as yourself, but for our branch – Royal Navy, he's a Lieutenant Commander the Number One on the Defiant, one of the new D Class destroyers. He's on anti-piracy patrol at the moment off the East coast of Africa and up into the Red Sea."
"Sounds like a good man!" Harm grinned, "But I suppose it would be too much to hope for in asking whether he's Fleet Air Arm?"
"Lord, no!" Gill spluttered, "He's a thorough-going Fish-head! And I won't tell you what he calls the Fleet Air Arm!"
"Something scurrilous, no doubt!" Harm agreed with a smile and then he frowned slightly, "Just one thing I don't understand: Number One?"
"Oh.. that's a traditional name for the First Lieutenant, Number One, Jimmy the One, or just Jimmy... the second in command, what your people call the XO I think."
"Yeah, that would be it," Harm agreed, and then paused to let the waitress clear away the empty starter plates.
"So... that's all your family?" he resumed once the waitress had retreated,
"Yes, well, apart from Uncle Tommy. He's Granddad's son by his first wife. Now you'd probably get on with him! He was Fleet Air Arm, a gunner on torpedo bombers. His squadron took part in hunting down the Bismark! He emigrated years and years ago to New Zealand. We hear from him about twice a year, other than that all I know of him is what Granny tells me, and an old photograph of him, looking impossibly young, on board the old Ark Royal."
Again they allowed the conversation to drop as the waitress returned with their main courses.
"With all that naval heritage, and you telling me that your Grandmother was influential in you joining the army, how come you're not in the Royal Navy?" Harm asked as he picked up his knife and fork.
"You'll probably laugh at me! Gill said defensively, "But the plain truth is I get seasick. Even on the calmest day of the year on a cross-channel ferry, as soon as the ship leaves the quayside, I can be found on my hands and knees hugging a toilet bowl, and there I'll stay until we reach the other side!"
"Why would I laugh? I've been sea-sick a couple of times, and I've seen guys who have had it bad. It's not something I'd wish on anyone, or laugh at!" Harm protested.
Gill looked at him with fresh eyes, "You're not laughing, are you? Or worse, being one of those bluff sea-dog types who do laugh loudly, slap you on the back and insist there's no such thing as sea-sickness and that if you only tried you wouldn't be sick at all!"
"I've met them too! Insensitive sonsabitches!" Harm growled.
"Oh... Thank God for that!" Gill gurgled, "I thought they only infested our Navy!"
"No such luck!" Harm smiled
"OK, Gill said, "Your turn!"
Harm smiled, turn and turn about was fair enough, "Harmon David Rabb, Captain, JAG Corps, United States Navy. Former Aviator. Age... fortyish, single but with a teenage ward I'm trying to adopt. Presently employed as the Naval Force Judge Advocate for the US Navy in and around Europe."
"H'mm... so... I already know you're an only child and that you have a mum and a step-dad, but what do they do?"
"Frank used to be a used-car salesman, but he's gotten a couple of steps up the corporate ladder and he's now a vice-president of Chrysler, and mom owns and runs an art gallery in La Jolla..."
"Oh... I remember that name! Near San Diego, I think you said it was!" At Harm's curious look she went on "I remember because Colonel Mike said he'd been there with Two Nine."
"So he did." Harm agreed. He took a mouthful of the Butternut Squash Risotto, "Hey, this is really good! You should have tried it!"
"No thanks!" Gill shuddered in pretended horror, "I'm quite happy with my plaice!"
They ate in silence for a minute or two before Gill looked cross at Harm, an accusatory gleam in her eye, "Nicely done, my learned friend! But not quite slick enough!"
"Oh?"
"Indeed! 'Oh' That was a nice try at changing the subject, but we'd just gotten onto the interesting part - you - before you tried to sidetrack me by talking about the food!"
"Well, don't you think the food is worth talking about?" Harm asked solemnly.
"What? Yes, yes of course it is! But not while there are better subjects!"
"I agree," Harm said affably, "So tell me, where did you go to school, do you have any hobbies?"
Gill sighed, and put down her fork, "I should have known better! All right, I went to the local village school from age five to eleven, and then to Princess Margaret Grammar School until I was eighteen. Three years at Reading to get my BSc in Bio-Chemistry, and then onto Sandhurst and the Gunners." Gill took another sip of mineral water, "As for hobbies... I haven't really had time for any since I left Reading. I used to swim a lot, I still do, and when I was in my teems I had a love affair with horses, like a lot of girls. And now I'm living at the Troop, I can ride out more or less any day I want. It just means getting up and some ungodly hour of the morning!"
"Zero dark hundred hours?" Harm grinned.
"Yes! Or Oh Christ hundred hours!" Gill chuckled and gasped, "Oh... I haven't just shocked you, have I?"
"No... why should you? Oh... you mean because your a Vicar's daughter? No, not all. One of my best friends used to be a preacher's son, and although he rarely swore or blasphemed – he prided himself on being far too rational for that – he could have been Spock at times – uh... do you know Spock?"
"Yes, of course! I never watched Star Trek, but it was such an iconic series in its day... but you were saying?"
"Oh yes, He prided himself on being Spock-like, but occasionally he could let rip the ripest oaths you've ever heard. Mind you, it took a lot to make him start swearing!"
"I'm sorry," Gill said in a voice of sympathy.
"Why? What for?" A genuinely puzzled Harm asked.
"Well... you used the past tense, he used to be...so I thought you meant he'd died..."
"Oh... no, nothing like that. I don't know what happened but somewhere over the last year or so we stopped being friends," Harm said heavily.
"Then that is something to be sorry for," Gill said quietly, "A loss is still a loss."
"Yeah, maybe so," Harm half-heartedly agreed, "but we didn't come here to be gloomy. Now, you've mentioned 'The Troop', what is that, and why are you living there?"
"The Troop? I've told you about them, The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery, the ceremonial unit with all the horses and World War One guns. As to why I'm living there? Now that I'm posted to an MOD Branch, they don't have a Mess or any sort of accommodation, and even on a Captain's pay I couldn't afford to rent anything in London, so it would meant either have been renting somewhere out of town and commuting daily, or going home to Mummy and Daddy for the length of my posting. So as the Troop is reasonably central, at St John's Wood, Colonel Mike arranged for me to live in the Mess there. It's not too bad, there is another female officer living in and she and I have the exclusive use of one floor of one wing of the Mess. She's an all right sort, a lot horsey as most of the officers are, and a bit jolly hockey sticks too!"
"Jolly hockey sticks?" Harm asked his face a picture of incomprehension.
"Oh..." Gill paused, "It's a bit hard to explain... she's quite nice, but she's a bit like an old-fashioned games mistress at a public school, all very hearty and back-slapping, and play up and play the game! The type that believes that there is no such thing as a cold or flu, and that you could get better if only you tried!" Gill broke off aghast, "Oh dear! I've just made her sound like one of those insufferable Navy types we were just talking about, but Bobbie's actually..."
"Quite nice?" Harm offered helpfully.
"Yes! That's it exactly, she... Oh! You atrocious man!" Gill laughed as she realised that Harm had used her own words against her.
Harm joined her laugh and Gill took the opportunity to observe how the laughter lines at the corners of his eyes deepened when he did, and how easily his mouth smiled. She shook her head slightly as she remembered what she had said to Sue not so very long ago, 'not totally repulsive'. 'No Harmon Rabb, certainly wasn't totally repulsive. In fact, he bordered on what Sue had described him as being: 'dishy'!'
Harm saw to his surprise that his plate was empty and put his fork down, noticing that Gill had laid her knife and fork aside too, "Dessert?" he invited her.
Gill sighed and appeared to contemplate the idea for a few moments, and then looked at her watch, "No, no thank you. I hope you don't mind. I'd rather skip dessert and go straight to the coffee? I do have to get up early in the morning, or Bobbie will give me hell!"
Harm smiled and signalled the waitress, ordering coffee for two, but he felt a sense of disappointment as he realised the evening was drawing to a close. It had been so long since he had been on actual date instead of just a working dinner he had forgotten how pleasant it could be finding out about the person you were with, testing their sense of humour, and hopefully digging the foundations for future dates, lots and lots of them in this case, he hoped.
While they waited for the coffee, Gill indulged her curiosity, "What about your domestic arrangements? You say you've got no family, other than your ward, so you're taking advantage of the bachelor life in London?"
Harm shook his head somewhat ruefully, "No... not for me. The Navy have provided me with an enormous house on an RAF Station at Northolt, that's about a forty minute drive from the Embassy. The JAG offices occupy a wing of the Embassy building, and I have a car and diver at my disposal so I am ferried to and from duty every day."
"Oh, that sounds a bit bleak," Gill said doubtfully, "Rattling around like that in a big house on your own!"
"Yeah, it is, a bit," Harm agreed, "but it does mean I'll be able to accommodate friends when they come to visit with me, and once Mattie's with me, she'll fill the house up all on her own! I can't wait for that!" he grinned.
Gill looked him in the eye, "You miss her? Him?"
"Her, Matilda Grace, although when the adoption goes through we plan to change her name to Rabb."
"You're confident it will?"
"Got to be! There's no other option. My old boss, the previous Navy JAG is handling the case, and we've just got a date in early September, so I'll be making another flying visit to DC, and with any luck I'll be bringing Mattie back to London with me!"
Gill nodded, "And that day can't come soon enough?"
"Correct!" Harm said as he drained his coffee cup and signalled the waitress for the check, or bill, as he'd learned it was called in Britain. He pulled his wallet from his pocket to extract his credit card, and his eyes fell on the half dozen business cards he habitually carried. Suddenly he felt nervous, and he licked his lips and then said, "Look... Gill... I've really, really enjoyed this evening..."
"Yes," she smiled, "so have I..."
"Well... I'd like to do it again... that is if you would want to..."
"Yes... I think I'd like that..." Gill murmured looking down into her coffee cup so that Harm wouldn't see the blush that had risen to her cheeks.
"So... it's OK if I call you?" he asked, mentally crossing his fingers.
"Is that you'll call me, or is that you'll really call me?" Gill challenged looking up, "I would like to repeat this evening, or something similar, but I'm not up for having my chain pulled!"
"No, I meant, it, I will call you!"
"OK, then... Gill fumbled in her handbag, and then bit back a curse of frustration. "Do you have anything to write with, and I can give you my number..."
Harm took a card from his wallet and signalled the waitress, asking to borrow her pen for a minute or two. He handed both to Gill and said, "Write your number on the back of that," and taking another card from his wallet he passed that to her too, "All my numbers are there, home, office and cell... oh... that's mobile to you, I think."
"Yes," Gill smiled gently, passing the card with her numbers across the table to him, "I believe I knew that!"
Ten minutes later they stood between their cars outside the pub. Gill smiled up at Harm, "Thank you for dinner, and for the company. I really have enjoyed myself! But I really I must be off now so... goodnight" she held her hand out to Harm, who took it and squeezed it gently, feeling a frisson of pleasure as she returned his grip and held his hand for a second or two longer than was strictly necessary, and then turning she opened her car door and slid behind the wheel of the Ford Focus. Once settled she wound down the driver's window and paused before she turned the key in the ignition, "And don't leave it too long to call!" she called out. And then she drove out of the parking lot, her right arm in the air as she waved goodbye through the open window.
Harm smiled as he waved back, hoping that she could see him in his rear view mirror, before he turned back to the rental Mondeo. He was still smiling when he pulled up outside the house at Northolt.
xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
Julia leaned her head back and moaned, "Oh God... that was... that was...simply the best... ever!" she sighed, opening her eyes and looking up at the stars in a cloudless sky.
"Oh, it wasn't all that much" Johnny shrugged, "just traditional fish and chips. But I will admit that Amesbury has got one of the best chippies around!"
"It was great, really great," Julia said as she crumpled the paper her dinner had come wrapped in into a ball, "But I dread to think of the calories in that one meal! You are a bad influence on me Johnny Walker! The extra hours I'm going to have to put in at the gym to work this lot off! Still, it was worth it!" she giggled"
"So... I'm still Johnny, am I, despite Ma having bent your ear?" Johnny grinned taking the ball of grease and vinegar stained paper and dropping it into the waste bin next to the bench where they sat on the river bank.
"Of course you are, I don't think I could see you as a Tim, or... Timmy," she giggled again, teasing him as she remembered his reaction to his sister Zoe calling him by that name!
"Yeah, calling me that name will get you a merciless tickling," he threatened as he slid an arm around her shoulders.
"Don't you dare!" Julia cried.
"Shouldn't have told me you were ticklish!" he grinned down at her to where her head rested against his shoulder. Just as it had during their siesta during the firepower demonstration.
"M'mm..." Julio replied. There was just enough light from the lamps along the river bank path so that she could see the water sliding smoothly and swiftly by between the river banks on its journey to the sea some fifty or so miles to the south.
"What river is this?" she asked lazily, more out of wanting to talk to Johnny and listen to his voice than from any real sense of curiosity.
"Oh that's the Avon," he said carelessly.
"The Avon? As in Stratford upon Avon, where Shakespeare came from?"
"Did he? Johnny asked in mild surprise, "No this is a different Avon."
"That sounds so British! But doesn't that get confusing?" Julia asked, wrinkling her forehead.
"Yeah, I guess it does, but you have to blame the Romans for that!"
"Oh why?" Julia asked her curiosity now well and truly aroused.
"Well, when the Romans invaded, the savage Brits were running around daubed with blue war-paint and they spoke a language a bit like modern Welsh, and in Welsh the word for river' is 'afon', but the 'f' is hard, pronounced like a 'v'. So, I reckon some puffed up big-shot Roman general pointed at the river and said, 'What's that called?' It must have lost something in the translation, 'cos the Ancient Briton must have thought the guy was stupid, and said something like 'Duh! river!' So the Romans not knowing any better called it the River Avon, so actually the name means River River, and as there's more than one river in Britain, the same sort of scene must have been repeated over and over again! I reckon," Johnny dropped his voice conspiratorially, "that if you looked hard enough at place names in Britain you'd eventually find one that translates as 'Your finger, you fool"
Julia gurgled with laughter, "Johnny Walker you are impossible!"
"No, it's perfectly true!" he protested, "The word for River in Welsh is afon, although I admit the theory about river river is something I came up with, but it does make sense!"
"Yeah, I suppose it does," Julia conceded snuggling tighter against Johnny and giving a little shiver.
"Hey, what's this, are you getting cold?" he asked.
"A little bit," Julia confessed.
"That's it, let's get you back to the hotel!"
Ten minutes later they stood outside Julia's room, "Uh... Johnny..."
"No... I don't..." he agreed with smile and then bent his head and kissed her gently, "I'll see you tomorrow, at about nine, OK?"
"Yeah, sure," she agreed, "Oh and Johnny, thanks for the movie, the drink and the supper!"
"You're more than welcome!" he grinned and blew an air kiss at her before he turned and headed for the stairs.
xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
Sue Marshall paused in the act of buttoning her Number One Dress tunic and reached for the 'phone. On the third ring it picked up at the other end, "Sergeants' Mess, Sergeant Reynolds, sir!"
Good, the ROS, just the man she wanted, "Sarn't Reynolds, it's Lieutenant Marshall, are you ready for last rounds?"
"Yes, ma'am!"
"OK, meet me at the Guard Room in ten. We'll start from there!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
Sue finished buttoning her tunic, ran a finger around the tight collar to try and ease it fit on her neck and adjusted the cross belt before she picked up her gloves and headdress. Stopping to check her appearance in the full length mirror, although she was satisfied that her turnout wouldn't let her down, she gave a little pout of discontent. Tony Latham hadn't waited for Monday to let her know just how displeased he was with her little stunt. Fourteen extra Regimental Orderly Officer duties, starting immediately, night on night off! Oh, well it would keep her out of trouble for the next month, and benefit her bank balance she added ruefully. And then a grin split her face as she turned the light off and stepped through the door. It had been worth it just to see the look on Gill and that Yankee Captain's faces! Besides, Gill would forgive her, eventually!
xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
Harm awoke reasonable early on Sunday morning and checking on the weather grinned when he saw the sparkle of dew on the grass, a sign that it wasn't yet too warm outside, although the day gave promise that it was going to warm up considerably. Hastily scrambling into a pair of gym shorts and a T-shirt, he sat on the edge of his bed and laced up his sneakers before looping the spare house key on its string around his neck.
Once outside he spent five minutes stretching and bending to loosen his muscles before he set out. He had looked at a map of the base and had figured out a route that would follow the perimeter fence, and once having satisfied himself that there was no restriction on running around the perimeter track of the airfield at weekends he calculated tat the total distance wouldn't be far off seven miles. That was a little shorter than he had got used to running at Rock Creek Park back in DC, but he figured if he pushed his speed for the first couple of weeks he'd be expending about the same amount of energy and then once he was comfortable with that level of effort, he could cut back a bit on the speed and go for two circuits.
Settling into his stride he took comfort from steady rhythm of his feet on the tarmac and the fact that despite his unconscionably long break in his fitness regime, his breathing was comfortable and he was maintaining a fair turn of speed.
It was about twenty minutes into his run that he became aware that he wasn't alone in taking advantage of the coolness of the early morning. Ahead of him he could see a minute figure running in the same direction he was. The other runner wasn't making anything near his speed and as soon as he realised he was overhauling the once distant figure, Harm opened his stride slightly and also increased his pace. It wasn't many minutes later therefore that he recognised the long brunette pony tail flying behind the slim figure of the other runner.
"Morning Legalman One," he grinned as he passed her by.
"'Morning... sir!" a red-faced and sweating Jen Coates puffed by way of reply and then lengthened her own stride to try and keep pace with her CO. She managed it for maybe half a dozen strides, before she gave up and fell back dropping into her usual rhythm, "You... go... on... sir!" she huffed, "I'll... have to stick... at my own pace!"
"Right!" Harm gave her a raised hand farewell, and he pulled away from her, shaking his head slightly, but grinning in indulgent approval. It was so typical of Jen. She had got into the habit of running while she shared the second apartment with Mattie, and although she loathed running she tried to do five miles every day, because, as she had confessed to him on a previous occasion, that no matter how she dieted, if she didn't exercise she pretty soon would fall foul of the Navy's height and weight requirement.
By the time he had returned to the house, Harm had worked up a sweatily damp glow and took five minute to walk around, cooling down as he did so, before he let himself into the house, and making for the bathroom, where he stripped off T-Shirt and shorts, consigning them to the laundry hamper before stepping into the bath, closing the spray curtain and turning on the shower.
An hour later, his light breakfast consumed and the kitchen cleared of debris, he lounged back on the couch and dug his wallet out of his pocket. Taking the card with Gill's contact details on it, he pondered whether it wasn't yet too early to call. He decided it was and that he would wait another half hour, which he could profitably spend sorting his laundry into the various piles... or... he could make and drink another cup of coffee, Now that really was a no-brainer, he thought, hauling himself to his feet and heading for the kitchen.
xxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
Gill sank into the bath with a sigh of relied. She did still enjoy riding she told herself, it was just that her muscles had forgotten how. And that also included the muscles she didn't even know she had. Still, it had been a good hour and a half's exercise, the horses, even the hairies, had been up on their toes, and even some of the most experienced Gunners, with years of service in the Troop, had been hard put to hold them in, and there had even been two or three anguished cries of "Loose horse!" as some unfortunate rider parted company with his ride, to the accompaniment of jeers from his mates and the sarcastic comments of "Who gave the you the order to dismount?" Gill's mount, Alkmaar, had been just as pepped up as the rest but was fortunately too well-mannered to do other than eye each parked car and lamp-post they passed as if they were a ravening wolf, ready to pounce, and had sidled past his way through each encounter, keeping his eyes fixed the whole time on the potential threat. It was funny, she mused as the hot scented water soothed her aching muscles, how it only took one edgy horse to upset the whole ride. It was the primordial herd-instinct she knew, but even after four thousand years of domestication, those instincts could still kick in.
Eventually the water in the bath started to cool and for a minute or so Gill played with the idea of topping the bath up with more hot water, but then contemplating the already prune-like appearance of her fingers she decided against soaking any longer. With a groan of effort, she pulled herself from the bath and wrapped herself in her terry clothe bath robe, before sticking her feet into her mules and shuffling down the corridor to her room.
She had barely closed the door behind her when her mobile phone, on her bedside table started to ring, picking it up she glanced at the incoming caller's number but it was a strange one to her. Somewhat cautiously, but with a lift of hope, she thumbed the green button and said, "Hello?"
"Uh... hi, Gill, this is Harm... Calling as promised, I just hope it isn't too soon or too early. I just wanted to make sure you were OK, that you'd got back in one piece..."
"Oh, Harm, hi. Yes, I'm fine, thanks... or I was until about two hours ago..." Gill smiled hugely, he had promised he'd call and he had - and the very next morning too!
"Why? What's wrong?"
Gill was surprised at the warm glow that washed over her as she heard the sudden concern in his voice, "No, it's nothing really, except that I rode out this morning, and its been such a while that some of my muscles still haven't got used to the exercise again!" She chuckled, "I now ache in places I'm not going to tell you about, and where I didn't think I was possible to ache!"
Harm grinned, as much in relief as in amusement, "I'm no great shakes at horseback riding," he confessed, "But I have been up on the beasts a time or two, and oh, I remember those aches! But," he continued before Gill could answer him, "what I really wanted to say was that I truly enjoyed myself last night..." he waited with bated breath.
"Yes... so did I," Gill answered, and Harm could swear he heard the smile in her voice,
"I'm glad." he said simply, "I know we said so last night, but seeing as how you enjoyed it, I was wondering if you'd still like to repeat the experience?"
He held his breath while he waited nervously for Gill's answer. She didn't keep him waiting long.
"Yes," she said quietly, "Yes, I think I'd like that."
"Friday good for you?" he asked, trying to hide the eagerness in his voice.
"Yes, Friday's good for me... where are we going?"
"Um... I don't know yet; can I call you back later in the week, once I've got something sorted out?"
"Yes, please," Gill replied.