"All right?" Tom asked surprised.

"Yes. I just feel such a fool." Annie cried.

Tom just looked a little more confused. Then he spied a tin of water biscuits. "Mind if I have a water biscuit?" he asked.

"Have the lot." said Annie.

"No. Just one." said Tom seriously, "It'll spoil my dinner. Ah, high baked..."

"Tom," Annie suddenly said, startling Tom a bit. "What did you think when I said I was going away this weekend?"

"Well, I don't know," replied Tom,"I suppose I thought-you were going away this weekend. Want a biscuit?" Tom asked offering the tin.

"No," Annie said in irritation.

"They're a bit stale," continued Tom, "it did occur to me you might have liked someone to come along with you..."

"It did?" Annie said. A glimmer of hope at last.

"And then I thought, well probably not," said Tom. The glimmer died.

"Why? What on earth made you think I wanted to go off and sit in some dreary hotel room on my own?" Annie suddenly yelled. "How long have you known me? Years. And in all that time have I ever even hinted that I'd like to go off on my own?"

"Not as far as I know," Tom stammered out.

"Then why the hell should I suddenly decide to do it now?" Annie yelled again. "Why didn't you say--Annie, will you be all right on your own? Would you like company? Someone to come along too? Why didn't you think of saying it? Just once."

"Well you should have asked," Tom stammered out.

"Yes, I'd have had to have done," Annie said weakly. And with that, she screamed again, and stamped out of the room.