Pros and cons

Leonora enjoyed herself on Friday night. The food was good and so was the sex. She decided not to mention Morocco.

On Saturday morning, Leonora and Mark had a leisurely breakfast and then Leonora said she had some things to do at home.

Mark asked her to stay over the weekend, but she refused. She saw his look of disappointment though, and quickly added that they could meet up on Sunday.

Oh dear, she thought, I really can't mention this silly trip to Morocco right now.

Leonora felt slightly guilty when she shut the door on Mark and Sheba, wondering if he had expected her to ask him to stay longer, or for the night, or something.

She shrugged her shoulders and walked back up the hall.

"Leonora! Leonora!" exclaimed the first little crutch gleefully.

"We've missed you lots," added the second one.

Poor dears she thought. Why does everyone want my company all of a sudden? She decided not to tell them she was going back to Mark's on Sunday.

She had a fine afternoon doing nothing in particular, although she grudgingly admitted to herself that she enjoyed her meal on Friday better than the half-hearted attempt she made for herself that night.

On Sunday morning she bit the bullet and told the little crutches she was going out again.

"Oh," said the first little crutch, with a crestfallen face. "We'll see you tonight then."

"Er, I don't know, I might be staying over again," she admitted. Much as she loved them, the attraction of a man who could cook and a beautiful GSD was pretty strong.

"Have a nice time Leonora," said the second one sadly. "We'll be pleased to see you whenever you get back."

Sunday passed quickly, dog walks, more food, more sex, and a generally pleasant day. Leonora thought it would be churlish of her to ask Mark to take her home, so stayed the night. She didn't feel like mentioning Morocco though.

On Monday morning, Mark bounced up bright and early.

"Hey Leonora, you don't have to get up. Why don't you stay here all day, or at least until lunchtime and then I can come and take you home?"

"Don't be silly - I can get home myself," she said.

"Or if you want to get up now, I can drop you and Sheba off at your place, and you can spend the day together. I'll pick her up after work."

Leonora was interested. That sounded a very attractive proposition. Although she wasn't sure if Mark was finding ways to make sure he kept tabs on her every day.

"Well, if you think it won't put Sheba out of sorts, that sounds OK to me," she said.

So the three of them set off back to Leonora's and Mark went off to work, pleased with the way the weekend had gone. He was wondering when to broach the question of the business trip to Germany.

Sheba ran round Leonora's apartment, and when she had checked everything out, she curled up in a heap and went to sleep next to Leonora in the sitting room.

Leonora decided the time had come to send Leonard 'the' email. She realised she hadn't mentioned it to Mark because there wasn't any point.

"Hi Leonard
I'm really sorry but I just don't think it's a good idea for us to go to Morocco together. Don't be annoyed with me, but it won't work out. Please don't ask me again.
Sorry - seriously.
Leonora."

She pressed the send button before she had chance to change her mind.

Then she decided to justify her decision by compiling a pros and cons list. Leonora loved to write pros and cons lists.

She grabbed a pen and some paper and lay on the sofa, jotting down the pros.

Adventure
Fun to plan
Camping and independence
Opportunity to revise her French
And maybe learn some Arabic
Lots of super historic places to visit
The ferry crossings (Leonora loved ships)
Leonard would probably drive most/all of the time so she could sit in the passenger seat watching the world pass by
She could navigate (Leonora loved navigating)
Nice and warm during the day, she might even get a little bit of sun on her pale skin

Leonora sighed as she almost felt the wind in her hair and the warm sun on her face. She carried on with the list.

Leonard could be good fun at times, he did make her laugh
He was adaptable too and easy-going
He was patient and tolerant, even when she was at her most brattish
She always felt safe with him - apart from when they fell down on cliff paths together
He was organised and practical
Conversation was always easy, or they didn't even have to talk - there were no embarrassing silences

Leonora suddenly realised she hadn't started on the cons. She paused. What were the cons? Oh yes.

Leonard was bossy
And arrogant
And patronising

Leonora looked at her list. It did not look right. She had 16 pros and three cons. She hastily scribbled down a few more cons.

Leonard would probably insist on geocaching
He smoked
He wasn't vegetarian

This list was not working properly. She needed to knock out the travel bit and just concentrate on Leonard. Six pros, six cons. Well, that would have to do to justify her decision for now, because it was too late to change her mind. She decided a nap was in order to see if inspiration came to her in her sleep.

Leonora went for a blanket and curled up on the sofa. Sheba was still curled up next to her on the floor, and the two of them snoozed away happily.