Duncan awoke unusually lazily.  There was something both frightening and thrilling about awakening next to Aliyah the next morning. Any fear was lost as she greeted him and headed off to get ready for work.  He couldn’t help but enjoy those moments.  Then he took stock of himself.  He had had no idea that having a clue what he was doing would prove more tiring than not.  Aliyah was going make an old man out of him soon.  He grinned, slightly worried at that thought.  Maybe he ought to slow down - just a little - and enjoy life.

She had settled the matter of his worries about children.  He had done a little research on that as well.  He had expected to find the effectiveness rate to be in the 90-95% range at best.  He had been surprised to learn how wrong he was - over 99%.  Technology had come a long ways.  Of course, he wasn’t really worried either.  But he did want to get to know Aliyah better before starting a family - if that was in their future.  He wouldn’t have even gone so far if it hadn’t been considered.  The fantasy of such a beautiful wife was alluring.

He waited until Aliyah was gone and forced himself out of bed.  This time he had been considerably more organized about things - well, almost.  He had tried anyways.  He did have a trail to follow to find everything.  He half expected to need to look for another shirt.  He was not about to wear one of Aliyah’s.  Not only would it never fit, he was have felt about as silly as it got.  After getting himself cleaned up and ready to start the day, he called Gary to come pick him up.

As he headed out he locked up, then stared at the key. That had been unexpected.  He had always had a way of putting people at ease after speaking with them.  He just tended to foster trust.  

Gary noticed that Duncan was far less the emotional train wreck he had been the other day.  He glanced up.  “You seem to be doing better today.  I would guess that the date went well?”

Duncan tried not to grin.  “Well … and better.  Thanks.”

Gary smiled.  “You’re the one taking the initiative.”

Duncan shook his head.  “No, believe it or not, you being there helped the other day.  And thanks for letting me work through it myself.  You know, I had absolutely no idea what I was going to say or do until I read the menu.”  He laughed.  “Then …” he grinned.  “That impish side of me won out.  Once I started placing my order … the rest just rolled out.”

Gary laughed.  “Well, I am pretty sure she caught the innuendo.”

Duncan grinned, then looked slightly worried.  “Yeah, part of me is wondering if her choice of movie last night wasn’t also innuendo.  Hmm.”  He didn’t explain and Gary didn’t ask.

+++++++++

Duncan and Gary entered the diner right around opening time.  Gary already knew what he wanted - as did Duncan.  But not being in a rush they took coffee and let Aliyah take some of the other orders first.  The younger man looked up as soon as Aliyah was ready to take their order and did his best to keep a straight face.  But his eyes had a way of twinkling mischievously whenever he was about to enjoy a joke.

“Let’s see … I want … ahh … My Little Chick A Dee.  Couple eggs over easy in the side.”  A slow grin spread across his face.  “Couldn’t resist.”

Once Aliyah went of to take care of other customers, Duncan forced his attention to his laptop and began planning out the day’s work.  Mostly it was all about managing his money - taxes and such.  He hated it to be honest.    But he had to get things organized or he would never be free to travel.