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‘You make your point very well.’ Jamie’s gaze was still fixed on her face. Anna knew that she wasn’t classically beautiful, but he made her feel that way.
‘I’ve got some notes from talks I’ve done in the past.’ The lump in her throat was entirely inappropriate for a work environment. ‘Would you like to borrow them?’
‘I would, thank you. Or can I persuade you to come and take part in the workshop yourself? It’s next Saturday afternoon.’
This was blending their weekends with their jobs. But although she’d tried to keep the two separate, Anna couldn’t think of a single reason why she shouldn’t.
‘I’d really like that. Saturday afternoon, you say?’
He nodded. ‘We’ll have a few different people giving short presentations, and then we split everyone up into groups to talk.’
‘That sounds good. Um... I’ll send you my notes, then. They cover some of the more serious issues as well...’
‘That’s okay. I don’t need to see them.’ He smiled as Anna’s eyebrows shot up. ‘I trust you. Just come along and be perfect, the way you always are.’
‘I’ll drive down on Friday evening?’
Jamie nodded. ‘I’d love that.’
The conversation was turning into one of the long, slow seductions that belonged to the weekend. Sitting too close. Staring into each other’s eyes as they spoke. A little blurring of the boundaries was acceptable, but this was going a bit too far, and a hint of panic made her hand quiver as she grabbed the mouse. This was her office, and it was supposed to be for work.
‘Okay. I’ll see you then.’ She shut down her computer, aware that his gaze hadn’t left her face.
Suddenly he stood. ‘Yeah. Thanks for the...demonstration. I appreciate it. I’ll look forward to seeing you tomorrow.’
‘Yes. Me too.’
He left with a smile, and Anna resisted the temptation to open up her computer again and stare at Jamie’s picture. That would be courting trouble, because she could only contemplate their loving friendship if it stayed within the entirely arbitrary rules that they’d set.
‘Stupid rules!’ She murmured the words to herself, knowing that the rules weren’t stupid at all. She could never have all of Jamie, and this arrangement allowed her to have at least part of him. When something good happened, it was wise not to meddle with it.
* * *
Jamie sat at the back of the community room at the youth centre. Community room was a bit of a grand title as it doubled up as a basketball practice court, a chess hall and a large enough area to do any number of things. But at the moment it had just one purpose. Anna was standing at the centre of an arc of chairs, several rows deep, and holding everyone’s attention.
She was giving much the same message as the two other speakers, but without the clichés or the solemnity. He’d noticed that Spark and Jen, who were sitting to one side of him, had been fidgeting a bit through the first par
t of the afternoon, but now they were captivated, turning to each other and nodding from time to time when Anna made an important point.
Jamie was spellbound, too. He knew that Anna had chosen her bright red top to stand out and be seen. That the jokes she made were to reinforce serious points. But he still couldn’t take his eyes off her.
She smilingly announced the fun part of her talk, switching on the overhead projector and displaying the picture of herself from her computer, and comparing it with the ‘ideal’ proportions of a woman’s face. She gave herself an electronic rhinoplasty to straighten the slight kink in her nose, which Jamie happened to love very much. She also shaved her jaw, taking out some of the determined air that Jamie also loved. Finally she’d made her eyes bluer, obscuring the pale magic of her gaze.
‘What do you all think?’ She folded her arms, looking up at her work.
‘I prefer the real one.’ Jen spoke up, waggling her finger at the screen, and Spark nodded. A murmur of agreement went around the hall.
‘Well, that’s a relief.’ Anna grinned. ‘And the lesson that I’ve learned from showing this simple example to a lot of people is that it’s the things that are different about us that make us who we are. It’s very unusual to find someone who has a perfectly proportioned face, and I’m loving all of the different faces here...’
‘And here’s a little puzzle for you.’ She shot Jamie a momentary glance, and he felt the back of his neck begin to tingle. ‘By chance, I happen to know that there is one person here who does have a perfectly proportioned face. See if you can guess who it is.’
Everyone looked round and Anna laughed. Jamie saw Spark nudging Jen furiously, and their heads both turned toward him. He chuckled, spreading his hand across his chest in a who, me? gesture, and Jen rolled her eyes disbelievingly.
He was going to take some stick for that as soon as Spark and Jen got to share their suspicions with the others. Jamie didn’t care. Anna had opened up a conversation, and everyone was thinking about what she’d said and the more serious points she’d made.
There was some lively discussion, and Anna answered the difficult questions that were fired at her honestly and with a large helping of common sense. The speakers were all thanked, and then it was time for drinks before everyone split up into their discussion groups. A group crowded around Anna almost immediately, and he could see her animated and smiling in the centre of it. Jamie knew that a lot of thought had gone into her presentation, and a lot of experience into her answers, but she made it all seem so natural and personal.
He saw Joe’s father making his way towards him, while Joe and his mother hung back a bit. ‘Hi, Steven. I’m glad you could make it.’
