Free Soul and Shadow by Susan J McLeod Page B

closet had a stain on it. I cursed silently as I yanked another one from its hanger. It didn ' t match my pants as well, but it would have to do.
    I felt like a disheveled mess as I ran from the house to my car. After hitting every red light, I arrived at the University to find the last parking spot in the hinterlands of the vast lot. When I finally got inside, Dr. Briggs was waiting for me, looming in the doorway like Mt. Vesuvius about to erupt. " Lily! The AIA has moved up their deadline. I need all the reference checks for the paper finished. "
    It always amazed me that Dr. Briggs, a man who made a living writing books and papers, could only muster up the minimum of words when speaking. Was he reluctant to toss them away on mere conversation? I was used to terse instructions from him, but today it rather put me out. I resisted the urge to salute and say, " Yes, sir. " Instead, I went to my desk and got straight to work.
    By ten-thirty I was so hungry that I had to stop and grab something to eat. Katy was getting a cup of coffee, and she looked at me sympathetically. " Old Briggs is on the warpath today, isn ' t he? " she asked.
    " Blame the AIA. " I took a sad-looking donut from the only remaining two in the box. " I don ' t know why they didn ' t clear their change of plans with me. "
    " When you ' re famous, you can have someone to boss around, " Katy said in an attempt to soothe me. " I would have thought he ' d be cozying up to you, now that you ' re practically related. "
    I shrugged. " All he said was, ' I understand you ' ve met Dame Ursula. Fine woman. '"
    " A big roadblock on memory lane? Well, no one ever called Briggs a chatterbox, did they? It ' s hard to imagine him being young and having a girlfriend. Yikes. " She picked up her cup hurriedly. " There he is, looking at us. Better get back to work. "
    By the end of the day, I was only too happy to leave. The first thing I did when I got home was to check the answering machine. The blinking red light told me that I had a message, and I pushed the play button in anticipation.
    " Lily, hi. Kent here. Can you ring me when you get home from work? I was wondering if I could come see you tonight. At the risk of sounding hopelessly feeble, I miss you. Thought perhaps you might like to go for a coffee or a walk or something. Sevenish? If you ' re not busy, ring me. Ta. "
    The tensions of the day fell away. I got a drink from the refrigerator, kicked off my shoes, and sprawled on the sofa. Cleocatra jumped up and settled herself on my lap. I stroked her thick fur with one hand and dialed the phone with the other.
    " Hello, you ' ve reached the voice mail of Kent Ashton. I ' m sorry I ' m not available to take your call at the moment. Please leave your name and number, and I ' ll get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you. "
    " Kent. It ' s me. I don ' t think you ' re feeble at all, and I miss you too. I have yoga at six tonight, so if you want to come over around seven-thirty, that will be great. I ' ll see you then. "
    I hung up, leaned back, and closed my eyes. It felt good to relax. I thought of all the things that Kent and I had done in such a short time. I had been caught in a whirlwind, and I liked it. This romance might be unconventional, but it was exciting.
    This man was different from anyone I ' d ever met before. Certainly different from the self-contained, practical Stephen. I remembered how proud I had been to introduce Kent to my friends on Saturday night. He had enjoyed the club, fitting in easily. He seemed to have a knack for that.
    I allowed myself half an hour to lie there in contentment, then got up to feed Cleo. Thursday had been my yoga night for a while, and my classes started at six.
    I changed into my sweats and twisted my hair up in a ponytail. For a second, as I glanced in the mirror, I wondered what color a mix of gray and brown eyes would produce in a child. Then I laughed at myself and gathered my mat, a towel, and some water into my