It was a good meal.  Rainn thought Margaret would give Yvonne a hard time about the accident, but she seemed to have other things on her mind.  It was nice to see John again. After he got over the shock of discovering she had been in an accident, he was quickly back to his good-humoured self.  

The four diners had shared two bottle of wine and were slouching at the kitchen table, contemplating the washing up, when there was a loud knock at the front door.

Yvonne jumped up and went to answer it.  They could hear her talking animatedly to a man. Rainn’s ears pricked up as she listened attentively.  “Could it be him?” she wondered.  But how? Margaret frowned and looked uneasy.

The kitchen door opened and Yvonne entered, closely followed by Jack.  Before Yvonne could announce his arrival, Rainn had recognized the scent and leapt up.  He took a step towards her as she flung her arms around his neck.

“Jack!” she cried, excitedly.  “How did you find me?”

Jack laughed.  “Careful,” he warned, “you’ll crush the flowers.”

“They smell wonderful,” said Rainn.  “Are they all for me?”

“One bunch,” teased Jack.  “The other is for the lady I spoke with earlier.”  He looked down at the table and gazed coolly at Margaret.  “These are for you.”

“Thanks,” said Margaret, taking the flowers.  “I’ll put them in some water.”

“It was her idea that I should pay you visit,” elaborated Jack, smiling at everyone.  “I hadn’t realized you were having dinner.”

“It’s such a shame,” exclaimed Rainn, “we’ve only just finished.”

“Yes, what a shame,” said Margaret.  “But tell us, Mr Bradley, how did you find the house?”

“Please, call me Jack,” he said smiling very hard.  “It’s not so difficult these days.  We don’t have much privacy now, do we?  I should know.”  He gave a little grin and Yvonne and Rainn laughed. 

“And this must be John,” Jack continued.  “The John I’ve heard so much about.”

John made to stand up but Jack stepped over quickly so he stayed seated. When John put out his hand to shake, Jack put his over it and held it for a little longer than he might, looking John in the eye, as if holding him down, overbearing him.  

“Hi,” said John.  

“What do you do, John?”

“I just work in an office.”

“I’m sure you do,” said Jack and let his hand drop.

John had to shake his arm to get the circulation moving again and he raised a quizzical eyebrow at Margaret.

“I feel like I’m crowding you all in here,” said Jack.  “Rainn, do you mind if we take a walk in the garden?  If the others don’t mind us being excused.”

Jack led her down the narrow garden away from the kitchen window of the terraced house.  There was a little vegetable plot where Rainn had planted some carrots and a small greenhouse with a broken window.  Jack looked at them disdainfully.

“So,” he said, “John seems a nice guy.  Quite good looking, in his own way.”

“I think he’s lovely,” agreed Rainn, brightly.  “He’s always been popular with girls.  I suppose it’s because he’s so easy to get on with and he’s funny too.”

“That’s nice,” said Jack, bringing his foot down on the frilly green leaves of a carrot plant.  “But is a nice guy really enough for you?”

“I’m not sure,” said Rainn, her face wrinkling in obvious bafflement that near enough broke Jack’s heart.  

“I mean, is nice all you want in a boyfriend?” persisted Jack.

“Boyfriend!” Rainn laughed and brought her hands up to her mouth.  “John, my boyfriend! Is that what you mean?”

This time it was Jack’s turn to look baffled.  “So, John’s not your boyfriend?” he said, slowly.

“No! No, not at all.  He’s a friend.  A good friend.  But that’s all.  He’s never shown any feelings for me.”

Jack threw his head back and laughed.  “Oh really,” he said.  “I’m so sorry.  I got completely the wrong end of the stick.”

“Why the hell would you think that?” asked Rainn.

“Oh, I’ve no idea,” said Jack, slowly.  “I’m just a jealous fool, I guess.”

“You’re not a fool,” said Rainn.  She put her left hand on his shoulder and kissed him lightly on the cheek.

“But I am jealous.  I see,” said Jack, smiling.

Without speaking Rainn placed her right hand on his other shoulder and kissed his other cheek.  Then they kissed again on the lips and even though Rainn stood with her heels in the soft earth, the kiss was like a taste of heaven.

When they went back into the kitchen the washing up had not been touched and the three sat around the table as seriously as if it were at Yalta.  But neither Rainn nor Jack seemed to notice.  

Jack slapped John on the back.  “Have a good day in the office tomorrow,” he said.  Then he turned to Rainn and touched her waist.  “I’ll pick you up tomorrow at eight,” he told her.  “Goodbye everyone” he said and saw himself out.