by John M Grier
~***~
Janet led a reluctant Paul back to her base of operations. In no time at all, they were airborne on their way back to Harmony. Paul, however, would not speak to her, or even look in her direction. Once again, she was stumped. “Paul, why won’t you talk to me?”
Looking up for the first time since being led away from Jack and Suzie's dig, he said “I don’t have anything to say, Janet.”
Janet felt exasperated with Paul and said “I keep trying to save you from these horrible jobs you get yourself involved in and you never once thank me.”
Suddenly furious, he exclaimed “Thank you! Why on earth would I ever thank you? This is where I want to be, not stuck back in the city. There is nothing there for me; this is where my work is, not there. You keep interfering and making it harder to do what needs to be done. Why can’t you just leave me alone?” Having said his piece, he turned his back and tried his best to ignore her.
Janet was stunned. She had no idea he would actually want to be here. She didn’t know what to say. Finally, after much soul-searching, she said “Paul, I am sorry. I had no idea you actually wanted to be here. I thought I was helping you by getting you away from here. Although I can’t understand the attraction to this ice and this old junk you dig up, I can see that you are sincere. Please forgive me.”
This certainly came as a shock to Paul. He was under the impression she was out to make his life miserable. Never had it occurred to him that she was actually trying to help. Finally, he said “Janet, I can’t see how you came to your conclusions, but I forgive you. Just please, let me do my job from now on.” In his mind, however, Paul was very nervous. This all seemed real sudden…too sudden. It made him feel uneasy, which he never had been around women before. He was always relaxed and confident around the ladies. After all, it wasn't like being with a woman meant anything. And besides, they always took the lead anyway.
Looking at him with an expression on her face that Paul found to be sincere she said “I have tried to show you for quite some time now that I actually care about you and want to spend more time with you, but obviously, you never got the idea. When I found you way out in the wilderness by yourself, I was looking to have a good time, and couldn’t think of anyone but you to spend it with. That is why I was dressed like I was.” Janet's insides were all a-flutter with nerves. “Why was that,” she wondered to herself? “I have always been good at getting the guys to do what I wanted. Why is it so different with Paul?”
“Wow. All you had to do was say something, Janet. I really had no idea. I assumed you hated me and were trying to make my life miserable for some reason." Frowning, Paul continued, "But why me? You are government. I’m just a civilian. I can’t think of anyone else that has crossed that line.”
“Actually, I did some checking and there is no law against it that I can find. So, what do you say? Would you like to spend some time with me? I like you Paul. I don’t know why, but I do. You're different than most other guys.”
Paul had only recently noticed that Janet was attractive, now she surprises him with this. Smiling, he said, “Sure, Janet. That might be fun.” His concerns started to melt away.