Kath’s mind quickly spun with the arrangements she’d have to make. Mrs Davey probably wouldn’t mind, especially if Kath threw lunch into the mix. She’d have to scoot over the road straight after this call, though, to catch Mrs Davey before she went off to bingo. Tuesdays was always bingo.

“I’ll need to check with the neighbour, but I’m sure that will be okay. What time do you want me in?”

“Say noon, so a couple of hours earlier than normal? I need to get out of here at three to catch a train to London at three thirty.”

“Off to do anything nice? Oh wait, you said a family thing—I’m guessing not so nice then?” Kath made sure to put a laugh into her voice.

Jude snorted. “Yeah, you guessed that right. Father’s birthday. I have to meet them at some fancy restaurant in Covent Garden and then stay overnight before catching a red-eye train back here Thursday.”

“Okay, let me go and talk to the neighbour right now. I’ll send you a quick email once I know it’s going to be all right. If not, I could always see about coming in on Thursday instead?”

“Sounds good, let me know either way. Thanks.”

Her visit to Mrs Davey was short and sweet—yes, there was no problem with her coming in a little earlier to sit with Mum, and her eyes definitely brightened up at the thought of lunch. Kath made a mental note to pop out later to Tesco and get something nice for the pair of them to eat.

When she got back to her desk, suddenly she wasn’t in the mood to work. She’d done pretty well this morning, so an hour off now wouldn’t kill her. She sent the quick email to Jude, then, smiling to herself, she opened up her personal laptop and resumed her search of sites that could help her in her…research. So far, she’d signed up for a couple of chat rooms that looked promising, and through them she’d made contact with two women who sounded as if they knew of a place.

One of her contacts was online and in a chat room already. Another homeworker maybe? Or someone sitting at her desk in an office, bored out of her mind and sneaking a little lesbian chat to pass the day?

Kath sent a message and got an instant reply. The afternoon was definitely looking up.

* * *

Kath pulled on her black leather trousers and zipped up. God, it had been so long, she’d forgotten just how good they felt against her skin. Black shirt next, over the black bra she liked to wear for nights out. She smiled to herself as she did up the buttons on the shirt. She was excited, and it had been a long time since she’d been excited about a night out.