A date DILEMMA

Is dinner with an old flame really so naughty?

You’ll recall that last week we left our hero tied to the railway line as the 8.55 commuter special from King’s Cross steamed relentlessly towards him, the villain standing at a safe distance, wearing the appropriate high-visibility jacket and hard hat, and twirling his moustache.

Would our heroine manage to gallop alongside the train, climb aboard, and pull the communication cord? Or is she sitting quietly at home, having mistakenly pencilled in ‘9.30 – Rescue Hero’ on the following day in her diary?

If you don’t remember any of this, please note that I am speaking metaphorically. We did end with something of a cliffhanger, but it was more along these lines.

Our hero (Mr Dear) is taking a short break with some chums. Our heroine (me) finds herself at a loose end and is walking the dog in the park. It is raining heavily, and so she takes refuge in the café.

There, waiting for her, twirling his own metaphorical and in reality non-existent moustache, is The Villain (Graham, known to regular readers as The Man Who Once Spent an Evening Chatting to a Much Younger Rosemary on a Hay Cart, Thus Getting Her Hopes Up, Before Accepting a Better Offer).

We’d just reached the stage, you’ll remember, when he discovered that Mr Dear was away.

‘I don’t suppose,’ he said, ‘that you might be free for dinner this evening?’