~~Young~~

Chapter Nine

    “Hmm,” Gage looked over the menu, he was exactly fluent in French having never really been needed there, but there were a few words he could pick out like, sandwich à la dinde chaude avec pommes frites, or hot turkey sandwich and French fries, “let’s go with that and a pair of garden salads.”

   “Dressing sir?”

   Peeking over the edges of plastic sheathed pages he considered the sight in front of him, “maybe a vinaigrette,” he decided.

   “Any beverages?”

   Again he thought it over, looking to the menu for inspiration when he figured coffee wasn’t an acceptable meal accompaniment, “water will be fine,” who didn’t like water after all.

   “Very good sir,” the waiter dipped his head as he collected the menu, “I shall have it right out for you.”

   “Add in a couple of coffees would you,” he threw in before the man could turn his back on him. What the hell, she could obviously use the pick me up, screw table etiquette.

   “Yes, sir,” the waiter popped open his order book one more time, “very good sir.”

   Gage had to laugh, would he still have said ‘very good sir’ if he had asked for fried dog shit…watching Mr. Fancy-pants practically shiver as he disappeared into the next car he thought yes. He’d do his job and to the upmost standards if it killed him. Though the man didn’t seem to appreciate being forced to leave his cozy travelers car to serve Gage out with all the common folk, ah fuck him. He had paid for his ticket just like everyone else and that ticket included lunch service. Not lunch itself, oh no, he was going to be dropping more on lunch for the two of them then he did his train ticket.

   Having taken care of the meal he leaned back in his seat, folded his arms over his chest and continued waiting patiently for sleeping beauty to open her eyes. He thought for sure she would have splurged on the travelers cabin too- assumed she would and was why he booked one- but though he arrived early enough to be the first to board, she never passed his window. He knew she was on this train, she said she interned in Vancouver on the weekends, and if she was taking the train then this was the only one that would get her there before the weekend. There was only one train in, and it only ran Friday thru Monday, she had to be here.

   Unless she lied to him, no, she wouldn’t have…would she?

   So as soon as that feminine voice announced they were free to move about the train he took full advantage of it. Of course when he moved to the doors to the commuter trains the staff all frowned at him. They had meant he could use the restroom or visit the dining car at the end of the train, not car hop.

   Too bad, because that’s exactly what he was going to do.

   He missed her the first time he passed through this car, he reminisced simply to get his brain on a different track- ha, track. His gaze had been too high, centered on that table full of girls at the other end of the car. He had seen that one, Marisa, outside one of Sera’s classrooms when he had first begun his investigation. Though admittedly he had not been there in behalf of his work, but again, because of that piqued curiosity he had in Sera.

   Like the travelers cabin, he thought for sure she would be amongst them. But though they seemed more then interested in what he had to say, his concern was lost the moment he saw Sera wasn’t amongst them.

   That was twice she had managed to throw him off, twice she did what he had not expected.

   One of the girls had glanced over the seats in an offer of assistance. Rising up and arching her back surely just to give him a better look down her already bared-to-the-world low top and the red lace peeking out to look for Sera, sure she was on this car too. And as tempting as the offer was with youth such as that- his gaze darting to the tiny restroom and back to her- he had to reject her advances …much like he had tried with Avery last night, he thought as he scrubbed a hand over his face.