Harry's decision to take things slowly when they are about to climb into bed, is thrown out with the bathwater when Ruth steps towards him until she is close enough for him to kiss. What happens next for one terrible moment makes him wonder what her response is going to be when from out of nowhere he hears himself say, 'I love you Ruth it's as simple as that.'
'I know, I've always known, well maybe not always but you know me,' is by no means the end of the sentence but is as far as she gets.
Waking up the next morning, amongst the many and varied descriptions which have been attributed to Harry during his time in the Service, happy and unable to hide how he is feeling have rarely featured. Add, looking forward to the day as he pulls back the curtains and it is fair to say that Harry's world no longer includes what might be happening outside of these four walls.
More so when as he is filling the kettle with the intention of making Ruth a cup of tea, 'Hi' says the subject of his contemplation, who having woken up on her own, had wondered if she had dreamt it and that she and Harry had just fallen asleep together. That was until she had rolled back the covers and the cold air had assaulted her naked body, reminding her in glorious detail what had happened and now wants to complete the sentence that Harry had cut short. So having thrown on her dressing gown and a warm pair of socks because her feet are freezing, she closes the gap between them, puts her hands on his chest as says, 'I love you to.'
'I know,' he says, resisting the urge to suggest that they go back to bed because having promised Ruth that he would take her out for the day, wants to keep that promise. But more than that wants to prove to her that unlike those who have no doubt listed in their filthy minds what they see as his conquests, sleeping with Ruth has never been his priority. Even when he had asked her out to dinner when the question of the Grand Tour had been raised it was her company that he had craved and in his present mood would defy anyone to suggest otherwise. That what happened last night was a result of their combined need at the end of what has been a traumatic week means that the next time and there will be a next time, hopefully tonight, he is going to ensure that it will be an act of love not one of desperation that brings them together.
'I'd quite like to go to Wimereux,' says Ruth who is making a pot of tea, cutting across his thoughts, but in her case is to distract herself from imagining another rerun of the previous night whilst pointing to the cupboard where because up until the previous morning she had been living on her own, the choice of what to have for breakfast is limited to toast or toast with something spread on it. Which means that they need to go food shopping and sooner rather than later.
'With lunch as promised and a walk by the sea,' he says, allowing himself a smile now that his back is turned as he reaches up into the cupboard, before laying the table. Not without remembering the previous evening when Ruth had also fed him so knows where the crockery and cutlery are but not what amounts to breakfast and now that they are living together is determined to contribute to, especially as Ruth is also paying the rent.
Breakfast such as it is they take their time over without revisiting what had happened the previous evening but only because they are reminded by the newsreader that Armistice Day across France which is in less than a week will see crowds filling the streets and if anyone is planning to go to any of the large towns or cities that they should leave early before the roads are closed. The local news which in this case covers Calais and certainly the area which Harry and Adam had driven and the local village where Ruth had done her shopping they can walk to and will they decide, before getting ready to go out.
.
The main road had they left any earlier than ten would have been teeming with those who commute to work every day. But as it is and with the semblance of November sunshine and with the heater on in the car that up until now Harry had only driven as far as Ruth's house, a sense of whatever the day brings will be of their making sees them finally relaxing. Harry completely whereas Ruth is still mulling over, exactly what Harry saying 'I'm here for as long as you need me' equates to, which as they are following the coastline in a westerly direction, would if they kept going take them into Brittany and beyond that to the vast beaches of the Atlantic. Somewhere that since as she has already admitted to Harry is her love of France in all senses of the word, she would like them to go one day.
Fully aware that Ruth has zoned out, Harry parks in the first available space on the seafront in Wimereaux, opens the car door on her side and holds out his hand.
Expecting what he he has no idea and is about ask her when she says, 'I feel as though I have somehow escaped from everything that was familiar into some sort of other world and not just because of what happened last night but I don't want it to change.'
Not known for responding in a way that will help, Harry buys himself some thinking time before he saying, 'walking in the streets we can do, sitting outside cafes or walking on the beach might be a bit of a stretch at this time of year, so why don't we wander about aimlessly and see where we end up?'
That her only response is to link her arm through his, means he needs to analyse what she is actually saying and only after he's done that, does he realise that what she meant by not wanting it to change, was her way of telling him that she needs the certainty of knowing what he himself wants to do, other than take her out to lunch and do some food shopping. Which of course he can and wants to explain but not until they find somewhere comfortable to sit down.
Not an easy thing to do being in a town for the first time or is he known for his tolerance when it comes to looking in shops for the sake of doing so, he discovers also applies to Ruth as they pass what his daughter would have described as places to buy clothes if you are going somewhere special. Usually with her eyebrows raised to suggest that any chance of him having a date never mind being in a relationship with anyone, is about as likely as him remarrying her mother. What she would think now, when on his to do list is to ask Ruth to come to Paris with him, which will require additions to their combined wardrobe, his because he had left London in a panic and hers because she'd brought what she thought she would need to blend in, he puts to one side in favour of walking into the first café which at this time of year isn't full of tourists and where more importantly there is a vacant table in corner.
'A pot of tea and two croissants,' to the waiter, in what Adam had told him was a more than passable accent, manages to make Ruth smile. Although inspiration from nowhere and the result that he is hoping for comes when he says, 'you remember the night on the bus when I told you that I was being driven home and I saw you standing in the pouring rain and that to my eternal shame and now regret I didn't stop, I promise you will never happen again Ruth,' and the eyes that have held his so many times do so now. 'But in answer to your unspoken question I need you to be with me just as much as you need me to be with you it's a simple as that, so whether we stay here in France or we could give Russia a whirl if you like I think we should sit down when we get home and form a plan don't you?'
'Is there anything else I can get you?' asks the waiter, proving Ruth's point that they are always interrupted.
'No thank you we're fine,' is Ruth response, although the words are clearly meant for Harry.