He took a moment to review them and nodded. “Gentlemen, and ladies.” He nodded to her and Jane. “I am happy and relieved to report that your extraordinary efforts here have reaped the desired outcome. After several years of hard work and dedication, we have reached our target goal. Congratulations.”

Everyone in the room broke out in smiles. The men clapped each other on the back and shook hands. She and Jane hugged.

“Hold on a second.” The general held up a hand. “I want to be clear. We must stay the course and continue our production unabated. This is not the end, but the ascertainment of an important milestone. I am counting on all of you to keep your people pressing forward. And remember…”

The group repeated, “What you see here, what you hear here, what you do here, let it stay here.”

“Dismissed.”

Outside the conference room, Nora breathed a sigh of relief. Whatever they had done, indications made it appear as if it would all be over soon.

Mary thought she’d never been as glad to see home as she was this morning. Normally, third shift was challenging, but with the additional hours of overtime on the front end, tonight had seemed interminable.

She opened the door and slipped inside, fully expecting to hear the shower running and Nora getting ready to go to work. But the house was quiet. Maybe she’d already caught the bus. In any event, Mary was looking forward to falling into bed for a few hours before she had to go run some errands in Jackson Square.

She went first into her room, stripped, and threw her dress in the hamper. It was a humid early August morning, and she didn’t feel like putting on a nightgown, so she didn’t bother. She brushed her teeth and headed for bed.

“I thought you’d never get here.” Nora lay in the center of the bed, her head propped up on her elbow, wearing nothing but a bemused expression.

“Argh!” Mary’s hand flew to her heart. “You’re still here. You nearly scared me to death.” Her mouth went dry. Even after all this time, and all they’d been through, the sight of Nora like this set her on fire.

“It is my house, you know. Occasionally, one should expect to find me in it. And yes, reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated.”

“That’s not what I meant. Why aren’t you on your way to work?”

“Because my girl had a really long night, we haven’t had nearly enough time together lately, and I wanted to surprise her. Surprise!”

Mary crawled across the covers and landed on top of her. “Really? You’re not going to get up and run out on me, are you? No emergencies? No mysterious disappearances?”