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Harm led
the way, taking them straight down the broad walkway from where the hotel was
situated.
Seven
minutes later, Mac noted they were approaching Hôtel de Ville, the
“We’re going
ice skating?!” Mac exclaimed. Definitely not what she’d expected. She’d seen
the large outdoor skating rink days earlier but had no initiative to try it
out.
“Uh huh”
Harm confirmed enthusiastically.
“Uh, I
haven’t had dinner yet” Mac hinted, hoping he’d forego the idea.
“You will
be fed soon, I promise, but this’ll be fun.” he assured her.
“Harm I
can’t skate” Mac admitted, looking away self-consciously.
Harm
nudged her side to regain her attention. “Then it’s about time you learned.
What happens if we get sent on some crazy mission of Webb’s somewhere on the
Antarctic? We can’t have a Marine skidding around like some crazed lunatic can
we?” He smiled down teasingly into her eyes.
Mac rolled
her eyes for the second time that night at the absurdity of his warped mind,
but the thought made her laugh. “Right. The closest we’ll come to such
circumstances is if Singer’s actually one of Santa’s elves and we’re sent on a
visit at the North Pole.”
“Exactly!”
Harm agreed with exaggerated exuberance.
Fifteen
minutes later, Harm finished tying up Mac’s laces and tapped her skate with two
fingers. “Come on Marine, get these land legs moving.” Standing up, he
stretched out both arms and offered her his hands. Mac took them unsteadily and
he led her slowly on shaky legs onto the slick ice surface.
There was
a significantly large amount of skaters and Mac gripped nervously at the edge
of the wooden gate. “Harmmm I don’t think this is such a good idea” she said
uncertainly, unconsciously backing away an inch towards the safety of firm
ground.
Harm captured
both her hands firmly within his own. “Mac, you’ll be fine. Trust me.”
Damn those
wilful sea green eyes.
Every time I look at you, baby, I see something new
That takes me higher than before and makes me want you more
I don't wanna sleep tonight, dreamin's just a waste of time
When I look at what my life's been comin' to
I'm all about lovin' you
Within an
hour Mac was having the time of her life - after three relatively hard falls
onto her presently frozen six. Harm’s reaction to her first fall had been
apologetic and full of sympathy. The second time round he’d been encouraging
and faintly amused. Just now on her third fall, he’d laugh outright, loud and
long. He must’ve caught her murderous glare, taking off seconds later after
seeing her get back onto her feet with the aid of two helpful kids.
Mac established herself gradually, grasping the concept of
mastering wobbly legs on the skittery ice surface. She had just proudly completed
an entire round single-handedly, albeit slowly at a snail’s pace. Spotting Harm
ahead grinning smugly at her, Mac looked down in concentration, intent on reaching
him at a faster rate. Looking back up mere seconds later with a wide smile on
her face. she scarcely had time to absorb the sight of Harm’s large build
skating at high-speed towards her, before being caught and twirled around
precariously. Harm skated them both around a few more rapid turns, before
bringing them to a skidding halt, carving up a small pile of ice in the process
at their feet. Mac found herself engulfed in the solid wall of his chest.
“Harm!” She yelled, laughing breathlessly and somewhat giddy.
Harm was also laughing vigorously, just as out of breath. Tufts
of his short hair astray in the wind. He gazed down at Mac’s upturned face,
still holding onto her in his arms. His breath hitched in his throat, suddenly
mesmerised at her large, luminous brown eyes sparkling with laughter, her whole
face rosy and aglow with happiness. This was their perfect hallmark moment. He felt
the ridiculously strong desire to stop time and cherish this moment forever.
It had taken no more than a second for Mac to bend down swiftly
and before Harm could suspect a thing, thrust a handful of ice under his layers
of clothing. She smirked cheekily and attempted to escape from his reaches, momentarily
forgetting that she still had skates on.
Harm caught her mid-stumble before she fell to the ground
– for the fourth time.
“Whoa,” Mac gasped. “That was a close shave, thanks Harm.”
“You should be more careful Mac. That could’ve been a bad
fall!” he chided, guiding her to sit down on the metal benches outside the
rink. “And it’s not nice to do THIS -” he added, shoving his own small pile of
ice down the back of her sweater.
“Uragh!” Mac yelped glaring daggers
at him, although the small quirk at the corners of her mouth betrayed her
seriousness. Just then as she felt the pangs of hunger return at full force,
Harm looked at his watch, whilst she started to deliberately make a big show of
her hunger.
“I’m –-”
“I know,” Harm
cut her off. “Its time I feed you.”
“Damn
right Sailor.”
They continued
down the main street again, Harm once more leading the way. He seemed to know
his directions around easily. It only occurred to Mac then to ask, “Harm have
you been here before?”
“Nope.” He
didn’t offer any further expla
A ten
minute stroll through the crowds later, they arrived at the wharf junctions of
the left and right banks. An impressive fleet of boats and ships of all sizes were
anchored on the embankment of the
Harm
guided Mac to stand in front of one of the largest and most elaborately
decorated ships in sight. The name ‘Le Cristal II’
was emblazoned in large blinking lights.
“We’re
eating here?!” Mac stared with disbelief, back and forth between
Harm and the ship.
“Uh huh” Harm
muttered, he was suitably impressed with its grandeur. He guessed its length
ran no less than sixty metres. It consisted of only one level, entirely
transparent from the roof to all four sides. They could see the throngs of
people on board, already seated in the seemingly endless long row of
tables.
A waiter
dressed immaculately in black, met them on the gangplank and bowed.
“Bonsoir
Monsieur, Mademoiselle. Vous avez
une reservation?”
Mac opened
her mouth to translate and was rather taken aback with Harm’s prompt answer.
“Oui, Rabb.”
The waiter
consulted his book and nodded with a gesture, “Dis
way si’l vous plait.”
Harm
grinned at the surprised expression on Mac’s face. This was too easy. Gee, it
wasn’t that hard to assume what the waiter would ask, nor was it
that much of a strain on the brain to recognise the word ‘reservation.’ But he
kept quiet and laid a hand on the base of Mac’s back to escort her after their
attendant. A guy’s got to have his secrets.
Soft
strands of classical music played in the background by a group of violinists on
a small stage near the large dance floor. The rest of the ship had swiftly
filled up and was now packed. And just what were they waiting for? Eight
minutes and sixteen seconds after being seated with still no menu or food in
sight and unable to get Harm to divulge any details, Mac was beginning to get
fed up. She was startled however soon after, to see the shoreline slowly slip
away.
“Harm,
we’re moving?!”
“Well, I
think that’s what ships are supposed to do Mac, even here in
She didn’t
have time to formulate a sarcastic retort. Their waiter reappeared to fill up their
wine glasses with what Mac soon found out would be sparkling cider. Moments later he was back to serve entrée; Mangoes with an Essence
of White Truffles. It looked heavenly, but Mac didn’t touch it. Instead,
she stared in puzzlement at the drink before her. How would they have known to
serve a non-alcoholic drink? She was sure literally all the other three hundred
plus patrons on board were all having champagne, wine or something of a similar
variety.
“You
arranged all of this didn’t you?” she asked Harm, who was watching her silently
with amusement. She was sure to figure it out soon.
“What??
How was I suppose to know we’d be lucky enough to get a nice scenic cruise down
France’s famous Seine River whilst we’re having dinner?” he replied with all
the air of innocence he could muster, and with a bit of bragging thrown in for
good measure. He could tell she was loving this night
as much as he’d hoped she would.
Mac’s eyes
narrowed with suspicion as understanding dawned. This meal and cruise would
have set him back at least a few months pay, especially on New Years Eve.
“Just how
did you arrange all this?” It was more a demand than question.
Harm gave her
a big, self-satisfied smile and began digging into his neglected plate of Truffles.
“Harrrm!” Mac hissed with exasperation. All this
mysteriousness and being kept in the dark was not something she was used to and
it was killing her with infuriation.
“Ok, ok! I
have a confession to make. I had most of this planned out beforehand with the
help of mom and Frank … and Webb” Harm admitted grudgingly. It sure had been one
tough task that relied on higher powers. After pulling the idea out of the blue
to spend New Years with Mac, he’d found that it was next to impossible to plan
anything extravagant at the last minute like he’d wanted to do. Sometimes, being
closely acquainted with the usually annoying Clayton Webb made it all worth
while.
“Mom
suggested both the ice skating and cruise. Her and Frank have been here a few
times. And Webb yanked a few strings to get us seats on this ship. He said
happy New Year by the way, along with message and I quote: ‘looking forward to
working more with your talented skills in ’03 Colonel.’” Harm said with a
smirk.
At this, he
heard Mac groan out loud. “Now eat your food. The mains yet
to come.”
There was
no need for further encouragements to get Mac to start eating. She was already
well into finishing her plate since listening to Harm start his ‘confession.’
I've lived, I've loved, I've lost, I've paid some dues, baby Dinner was
the most enjoyable and leisurely affair both Harm and Mac had had in a very,
very long time. Harm had ordered for Mac well, dishes with unimaginably long
French names. Their waiter, Pierre had taken great pleasure in translating and
describing to the best of his ability in broken English, each dish he served
them. But basically, Mac had veal roast with caramelized shallots and port sauce
with a warm salad of duck confit. For his
vegetarian self, Harm had chosen sweet bread with Sole Meunière or as Harm liked to pronounce it – me_mini_ear. To top it
all off, for dessert they shared a Camembert cheese and broccolis Quiche, chocolate
profiteroles and orange soufflé.
Ok, so he went a little overboard, Harm had thought, but mannn! Mac had eagerly devoured
everything like some three hundred pound sumo wrestler. Not that he dared to voice
his thoughts out loud. The image comparison was too damning and if Mac ever heard,
she really would crush him like a three hundred pound sumo wrestler. Mac
couldn’t remember the last time, if ever, she’d tasted such fine French
cuisine. There was nothing like genuine, authentic local cooking. And she felt
positively stuffed like a bloated frog. She couldn’t believe only a few hours
ago, she’d been dreading New Year’s Eve, facing a discouraging night alone. Now
she was having a blast. She reached over the table impulsively, akin to Harm’s
earlier gesture and covered his hand with a light squeeze. He smiled back with
unspoken, mutual understanding. Withdrawing
her hand, Mac looked out at the latest picturesque scenery. All throughout their
long dinner, she’d marvelled in fascination at the famed sights that glided by slowly.
Places which she’d only ever previously read about. Now she was seeing them for
the first time in all their magnificence and at their best presentations. It was a
good forty-three minute rest after dinner before Harm and Mac were able to take
to the dance floor.
We've been to hell and back again
Through it all you're always my best friend
For all the words I didn't say and all the things I didn't do
Tonight I'm gonna find a way