Chapter 226 Beyond Control:>>13

• David had been dismayed to see there was no salutation before his name - just "David", but he thought the tone of the email was good and he was encouraged by the kiss at the end. He folded it carefully and put it in his pocket to be kept with the other little treasures of her memory, in case this didn't work out.
• Jen watched him through the window of the little antique shop across the road. She could see he was older now, which wasn't surprising. His face had filled out and there were lines around his eyes and mouth that had not been there when she had last seen him in the hospital - but they added character to his face. She thought it had turned handsome, where before he had been pretty. There was no trace of grey in his hair, and she saw his body was lean and powerful, as if he had been working out in the years since they had parted. She watched him open a piece of paper and read it briefly and she guessed it was her email, and that he was checking the time and place again - probably for the umpteenth time today. She smiled to know that he was as nervous as she was.
• She glanced into a mirror on one of the antique dressers in the shop. It was speckled and flyblown, but it was enough to check her make up. She saw an errant strand of hair and her hands fluttered to it, brushing it back into place, fiddling with her collar and smoothing down the coat - and then, with a final grimace of nervousness, she turned and walked through the open door and she crossed the street to where her brother sat.