A Surprise ⇢ Callum Ilott

EIGHT

The public transport arrived and departed from the busy station. People stepped out of the train or tube and made their way to the exit or another platform. The rush-hour only started, so the station was already filled with quite some people.

Callum checked out from the tube and walked towards the hall of the station. Healthy nerves flowed through his body as he walked closer to the meet-up point with Catherine. He would arrive ten minutes later than her, so she had to wait somewhere for him. Callum's eyes were scanning the people in the hall, and for a moment, he panicked because he couldn't find Catherine in the mass of people. Then his eyes stuck on one person who sat on a bench. A smile grew on his face when his look crossed with Catherine's.

"Hey," Callum said, he thought Catherine was looking beautiful.

Catherine walked towards him. "Hey," she smiled. They gave each other a quick kiss on the cheeks. "How are you?"

"I'm good, thanks," he replied. "Shall we go?"

Catherine nodded. "Yeah, of course."

"How about you? How was work?"

"I'm fine," she said to him. "Work was good. We had to serve a company who hired the restaurant for a meeting, so there wasn't much to do, but we had a fun team this morning." They left the station. "And you?"

Callum looked at her. "I drive around and deliver things," he casually said. "There isn't much to do these days, we are kind of on a break."

"Hmm-hmm," Catherine hummed. "Are you enjoying the break for so far? This year has been weird, and everything is different."

He ran his hand through his hair. "It's just the beginning of the break, actually, but I know what to do, and I have appointments throughout the break. No need to be bored," Callum chuckled.

It was a ten-minute walk to the museum. Callum had found a newly opened museum about the history of music. When he asked if Catherine wanted to visit the museum, she replied yes with excitement. A few weeks ago, at the wedding, they discussed their favourite artists and shared some music - that was the key for Callum to visit the museum.

There was a queue outside of the museum, meaning Catherine and Callum had to wait for a few minutes. Callum looked at Catherine, and when their eyes met, he gave her a soft smile.

"You look beautiful," he complimented Catherine.

A shy smile curved on Catherine's lips, and she looked away. "Thank you," she softly said. Light blushes appeared on her cheeks, something she wished it stopped. She bit on the inside of her cheek and looked at Callum again. "You have something in your hair. Uhm... Do you want me to get it out?"

"Yes, please." Callum watched how Catherine's hand reached for his hair, and his eyes were focussed on her face. There was just something about Catherine not many people had, but Callum couldn't figure out what it was, not yet.

"A small lint," Catherine said and showed the small lint.

"Ah, thanks."

"No problem," she said. They entered the museum and dumped their coats and Catherine's bag in a locker. "You look good as well," Catherine complimented.

Callum was wearing a plain black t-shirt, a jeans and black sneakers. It was a casual, simple outfit, but it looked good on him. His face lit up, "Thanks."

"Okay, before we actually are experiencing this, I want to ask you something," Catherine excitedly said. "What is your favourite time-area?"

A soft chuckle rolled over his lips, Catherine looked adorable when she was excited. "Probably the '90s or '00s. Yours?"