Sally's Secret

Chapter 30

Maria couldn't remember what they had been talking about as they cleaned up after dinner when Virgil found out she'd never been to Paris. None of the Tracys could possibly conceive what it was like to have never really gone much of anywhere in one's entire life. Maria had lived all of her 27 years in Los Angeles and only traveled to Mexico a few times in her childhood to visit some relatives before the Great Earthquake of 2052 that killed over ninety thousand people, including her family. The only reason she'd got the chance to go to London was because of a very modest life insurance policy she'd been sole beneficiary to when her mother passed. Russia didn't really count in Maria's mind, being as she was unconscious and deathly ill for the majority of the time and didn't see much except as they were leaving.

"I want to take you to Paris," Virgil said. "For a nice quiet dinner, just the two of us."

How could anyone turn down a dinner in the city synonymous with love? "That sounds lovely, Virgil. Are you going to make reservations?"

He frowned slightly. "I don't see how we could make reservations with my responsibilities here."

She touched his shoulder as a consoling act, quite aware she'd designated and demonstrated that particular body part as especially attractive. "Hey, it's okay. Spontaneous is not a problem. I can be as flexible as Sally allows." His grandmother had been very supportive of their relationship and very generous with granting time off. Maria doubted very much that Sally would do otherwise than shoo them out the door and yell at them to have a great time, regardless of when his free moment happened to come.

"Why don't you go right now?" Sally suggested. "It doesn't get much less busy than this. It's morning in Paris. Not dinner, but le petit déjeuner."

Only Scott was on a mission at the moment, and Virgil would of course be in uniform so he could go if he had to. Maria was aware any date could always be interrupted for an emergency.

"Grandma, we just ate!" Virgil protested.

"Oh, you're really going to Paris to eat? Silly me." She winked at Maria. "If you want to eat dinner on Paris time, you'll have to leave here at 0400. How does that sound?"

By the look on Virgil's face, that didn't sound very appealing either. Maria didn't particularly like the idea. She'd have to get up at 3:30 am to be ready, plus that was getting close to the busier time of the day for International Rescue.

"How about we take a walk on the Seine right now and grab some pastries to take home on the way out?" Virgil directed his compromise toward Maria.

"You're on," she said. "Do I have time for a shower?"

He chuckled. "Well, I need one too, so we'd better have time."

Maria quickly helped Sally up to the lounge. "Are you sure you're okay without me for a while?"

"Of course! I won't take any stairs without help. Gordon and Alan are both here. Go. Have a good time."

Maria ran upstairs and showered quickly. It would take too long to give her hair the proper 'date treatment', so she didn't bother trying. Her hair was clean and she would wear it down, but it would be a little bun-squashed and not as curly. Virgil had seen her hair when it looked more like a rat's nest than anything else. He probably wouldn't even notice a few indentations. He was so incredibly forgiving when it came to her appearance.

Her Hawaiian dress was none the worse for having been soaked in seawater and caked in sand. It was all clean now, and she knew Virgil liked it, so she put it on. Besides all the time she'd been able to spend with Virgil, the one other benefit she'd reaped from being deathly sick was the loss of ten pounds. Thirty would have been better, but she'd take any improvement she could get.