Chapter 30 Forward Moving - Backward Thinking

Before Meredith entered the scene, Jasmine always looks forward to going home but now its making her feel the exact opposite. Her fears vanished in a flash, however, when Julia greeted her with a fierce hug as soon as she stepped into the house.

"I'm glad you're back," she said to Jasmine's pants.

"I wasn't gone all that long."

"It was long enough," Julia answered with a roll of her big blue eyes.

Before Jasmine had the chance to find out what Julia meant, Meredith came in, followed by Lindt whose carrying enormous boxes of signature bags.

"Where's Mr. Rickman?" Meredith asked, glancing at them. Jasmine guessed the help would refer to him by that title.

"He'll be here any minute, he's grading papers, I believe."

After hearing her explanation, the other woman paid no mind to our heroine as she walked pass by. Jasmine went to her room and change, she returned to the kitchen, surprised to find Julia huddled up with Taylor and Mrs. Woods. "Your supper is in the dining room."

"Can't I eat here with you, Jassy? I've already convinced Taylor and Mrs. Woods."

"I thought you wanted to eat at the big table."

Julia sighed, theatrically. "I can't do it right."

"Eat?"

Julia nodded with equal theatrcis that earned a crooked smile from Taylor and head shaking from Mrs. Woods, then the child proceeded to explain her eating problems. "I don't hold my fork right or put my napkin in the right place or talk when I'm supposed to." Rolling her blue eyes before she added, "It's too hard to eat in there."

Jasmine bit back a grin. She didn't want to eat in there either.

"Cook?" It was Meredith, and bases on her tone, she wanted something.

Mrs. Woods looked at Taylor. Taylor looked at Julia and the persons concerned broke into laughter.

"Is there something you need?" Jasmine asked, finally forcing herself to return to the dining room.

"Yes," Meredith said, lifting her chin a haughty inch. "I want you to fix a picnic lunch for Mr. Rickman and I tomorrow. I think it's high time we have some quality time together."

"Please tell me you're joking," Meredith said, mouth gaping as she stared at the sea of commuters coming in and out of the central underground station at Oxford Circus.

"About what?" Alan answered knowing full well what Meredith was referring to.

"You expect me to commute?"

Alan shrugged. "It's either commute or no picnic at all, besides Battersea Park is quite some distance from here."

"Well," she said, tucking a blonde curl into her chignon, "if it means that much to you, I suppose I can manage." Then she smiled sweetly and held out her hand for help to aid her into the stairs.

He wasn't aware it had meant all that much to him. She was the one who's insisted on a picnic and when he agreed to it, he thought it'd include Jasmine and Julia but Meredith insisted they didn't want to, so, he hid his disappointment as they climb up the flatform.

He supposed he should feel sorry for Meredith. She bumped from person to person with one hand holding her gucci bag and the other gripping the railing as though convinced she was going to tumble over backward and by the time they changed train to Piccadily Circus and stopped at Sloane Square, "sweet" was no longer the word he would use to describe her smile. Come to think of it, even sweet wasn't entirely accurate. Grimace? That was closer. After exiting Sloane Square, they took a bus and made it to Battersea Park's entrance gate.

"Finally we're here," she said, reaching for Alan to help her on mounting off the bus. When her feet touches the ground, she stmbled slightly, landing full against his chest.

"Oh." She giggled, looking up at him through lash-lowered eyes. "Thank goodness, you caught me." Then she gave a little squeeze to his arms as though testing his muscles. Was she flirting?

Releasing her, he lifted the picnic basket momentarily forgotten on the ground due to Meredith's earlier feat. Meredith flirting was an uncomfortable thought and nor one he wanted to dwell on. "This way," he said ushering her inside the park.

She tucked her arm through his and stepped cautiously through the rock formation near the stream. A small waterfall poured from a spring in the side of a hill, cool droplets making a tinkling sound as they landed in a pool of water that flowed into the stream. Trees and wild flowers grew in abundance around the area and the smell of the forest filled the air.

"What a lovely place," Meredith exclaimed as Alan flipped open the picnic blanket to set on the ground.

"Jassy showed it to me."

"Jassy? Oh yes. You mean the cook."

Alan opened the basket full of treats Jasmine prepared, reluctantly admitting himself she was his maid. But Meredith said it as though that made her beneath them. "She's a wondeful assistant to Mrs. Woods besides she's my personal assistant not cook."

Meredith joined Alan on the quilt, taking several minutes to adjust the folds of her dress until finally giving him an expression that bordered on pity. "Really, Alan, do you think you should be on such friendly terms with the girl?"

"The girl's name is Jasmine, and we are colleagues, and I happen to like it that way."

She leaned toward him, placing her hand on his arm. "Please don't be angry with me. I'm just worried for you. You and I are both vulnerable right now." She lifted her hand and gently wipes the corner of her eyes.

"I miss Rima terribly," she continued, "such a dear sister, and it's only been two years since the unfortunate accident." She placed her hand back on his arm. "That's why I just had to come see you."

"I miss her too," he said, and he did miss her, but oddly enough it didn't hurt as much to say it as it used to.

Meredith touched his wedding ring. "Don't you think it's time we both moved forward?"

At the angle she was leaning, any more forward motion would probably cause her to spill from the scooped neckline of her dress. Pulling his gaze away from her décolletage, he reached for the picnic basket.

"I am moving forward. That's why I choose to have a teaching career in KCL."

"There's a difference between moving forward and running away."

But sometimes the latter can cause the former, though at that moment, the last thing he wanted to do was point that out to Meredith. She was a little too smug with her earth-shattering revelation, and he decided to let her bask in it for a while longer.