With an old t-shirt, Cora dried her hair. She had enjoyed a long run and was now freshened up for a free evening. Since she finished her book, it felt as if she had more work than ever. Her editor had sent her book back a couple of times with some corrections, but now it was finally off to the printer.

She looked at her curls in the mirror and started wrapping them in the t-shirt. She was not going out tonight, but she loved making sure her hair was well looked after. Her long chestnut brown hair was her pride. She knew how it accentuated her face and although she did not care about how she looked, she wanted to have healthy hair.

Her kettle made a sound, she poured the water into a cup, just a splash of milk and it was perfect. She chuckled, although she missed good coffee, she was starting to enjoy the English tea. Sorcha always made fun of her when she talked about coffee. According to her, American coffee was tasteless. Cora disagreed with that statement but had learned not to argue.

She sat down, in her living room. The windows were open since it was still nice outside, and she loved hearing the sounds of the city. Cora pulled her laptop close when she heard music. Her heart skipped a beat, it was the sound of a piano. The way the notes sounded; she knew it was the same person. He or she had come back, finally. For months on end, she had not heard these tunes, and she had given up. But it was back, finally. For a while she sat and listened, but then she woke up from her trance, she should go outside and figure where the music was coming from.

She pulled her hair out of the t-shirt and quickly made a braid. She slipped on her trainers and stepped outside. Following the music, every time she thought she found the right house, it seemed, the music was coming from another side. At one point she gave up, she could not find a house where she saw somebody at a piano. She sat down in a park and pulled her notebook out of her bag. The music still triggered something, and she needed to write.

"Soft grass under your feet. Blue sky above your head. Wind rustling through the trees. A peaceful feeling comes over you and you breathe. You breathe out and breathe in. As if you can breathe for the first time in your life. The air feels fresh going into your lungs."

Frustrated she ripped the paper out of her notebook. This was horrible, she thought. With her book, the words came flowing as soon as she heard the music. But without a story to write, it is different. But should she already start a new story? What if the book she finished recently, never got published.

"Fear is crippling inside you. It holds you hostage. You let the fear rage inside you. The fear is fed by your anxiety. Nothing else interferes, but your mind."

Again, she ripped the paper out. What was she doing? She put the notebook back in her back and leaned back. Cora closed her eyes and listened to the music. It did calm her down. After a while she opened her eyes again and took a deep breath.

The music is so lovely, it floats through the air like sunlight or the sweetest birdsong. His hand is warm and safe in yours. Your head is resting on his shoulder as he caresses your hand with his thumb."

This time her writing did something that she liked. It sparked an idea in her head for a possible new story. Although in her mind she saw Robert sitting next to her, holding her hand, she could make this into a romantic novel that was not based on her own feelings. Or at least, she could try. But again, her mind told her to stop, she needed to wait a little bit longer. Her book was not even in bookshops yet.

Would she ever see Robert again? He had popped up all of a sudden, but he had disappeared in the same way. She did miss him, that was something she did not understand. How could she miss him this much. She had touched his hand, maybe once. They had not actually been dating, they bumped into each other, but nothing more. Sorcha had told her that she needed to move on, but she did not know how. Robert was in her mind, and she could not imagine that she would be able to like somebody else.

The piano music stopped, this made Cora get up. She quickly put her notebook in her back, but she did not notice that the two ripped papers fell next to it back on the bench.

Robert closed the piano, he had missed this immensely. He had looked at the grand piano that was in the music room at Downton. One day he would play on that one and ignore his mother's opinion about it. He had learned that it did not matter what he would do, his mother was always critical.

When he opened the curtains again, he saw that it was still lovely outside. He needed to do some grocery shopping, with a bag in hand he stepped outside.

He walked passed a bench and noticed some papers scattered on it. His eye caught the writing on the paper, and he stopped. He frowned the two papers were in the same handwriting, but the subject of both short writings was vastly different. He took the papers with him, he could not explain why, but he wanted to read it again.

Slowly he walked further towards the supermarket. He browsed a long time before he decided what he wanted to eat. He ended up buying a loaf and some ham and cheese. He would eat dinner at the pub. When he turned the corner towards to drink aisle, he smelled a familiar perfume. His heart skipped a beat, this was the same perfume Cora used. He shook his head, more women used that perfume, it was not only Cora's.

But then he heard her voice, it was Cora who was talking. Quickly he walked further and indeed there she was talking to a member of staff. He hesitated for a second, but then he stepped closer. He had to refrain from touching her shoulder, instead he scraped his throat and waited for her to finish her conversation.

Upon the sound of his scraping throat Cora turned around, her face showed shock and happiness at the same time.

"Is it all right, when we talk about it a little bit later?" She said to the member of staff.

"When you come back tomorrow evening, I will make sure I have more time, we can sit down and discuss the details."

Cora nodded and turned towards Robert. "What a surprise to see you" she said. "I thought you had moved house or something."

"I can imagine you thought that. Do you have time to go for dinner?"

"Uhm." Cora hesitated. "We could grab a quick dinner."

Robert was relieved when she agreed, he had suggested it unexpectedly and was a bit shocked himself by his proposal. "The White Cross?"

Cora smiled and her cheeks coloured.

"I guess, that means yes." Robert now also felt his cheeks colour. "I need to bring these back to my house" He pointed at his basket. "We could meet up in about thirty minutes?"

"Sounds perfect." Cora answered. She was relieved he suggested that they would have time to go home, she was dressed in a jeans and simple t-shirt, now she had the opportunity to change into something that was a bit better looking. She was not going to mess things up tonight, at least she was going to end up with his phone number or at least something to stay in contact. It was clear that he was interested in her too. Why did he otherwise suggested to go to the pub for dinner. She was not sure how much she could eat with all the butterflies flying around in her stomach.

Robert rushed home; he could take a very quick shower. He had hoped running into Cora again, now he was in the area. He had not expected that it would happen this quickly. And did he see it correctly? Was she genuinely happy to see him. According to her red cheeks, she was. But maybe it was because she did not dare to say no to his proposal for dinner. No, he needed to stop thinking this negatively, she was happy. Her face turned into a smile when she laid eyes on him.