After saying goodbye to Robin ,Abi returned to her office and tried to work on a couple projects, but it was impossible. She was distracted and aroused. She fretted and wondered how Robin was planning to break this idea to Xavier. She was scared of the prospect that they might tell Xavier about their encounter. She had had other affairs over the years with women, never with men and part of what she enjoyed so much was in part the secrecy. This would open all of that up which would change her relationship with her husband forever - maybe not for the better. The prospect frightened and excited her both in equal parts. A couple times she almost texted Robin to ask what they were going to say and to tell them not to talk to Xavier yet. But what if Robin had already done it? The die maybe cast. Perhaps the officers have already taken the lifeboat and escaped the sinking ship. The allusion to Joseph Conrad's "Lord Jim" amused her momentarily.<br/><br/>She looked at the clock. 5:10. She felt a knot in her stomach. "Time to go home." She was afraid.<br/><br/>She picked up her phone and noticed that her hand were trembling. With difficulty she texted Xavier: "Hi hon, I am just finishing up. I should be home by 6:00. Do you want to go out tonight? I'm not up to cooking. What do you want to do? [heart]"<br/><br/>She told herself that if he writes back a cold or angry note she would just not go home.