"No," said Hart.

"Nor embraced a girl for a hug?" asked Mrs Long.

"No."

Mrs Long was sitting on her legs, which were now completely covered by her skirt. Hart was also sitting on his legs, at an angle to her position.

Mrs Long smiled and leaned towards him and put her arms around him, turning the upper part of his body towards her. He put his arms around her.

She was bringing her face towards him!

Slowly she turned her head to a slight angle and pressed her full shapely lips to his own!

Hart had never felt such a gesture before, and enjoyed it immensely.

"This is what she must have done with her husband!" he thought, "I didn't even think of her husband's existence in prep school."

She stretched her legs, so that he was lowered backwards onto the rug, and he stretched out his own legs.

Mrs Long lay down on top of him, and kissed his cheeks in turn.

He stroked her hair.

"Was that nice?" she asked.

"Yes, Mrs Long. You are so beautiful. Do you really like me enough to enjoy doing this, or are you just teaching me how to do proper kissing?"

"You gorgeous lovely boy! Of course I enjoy doing this! I came back to Mount Street two days ago in the hopes of seeing you. You were just a child when I saw you last. When you came walking towards my car two days ago, I couldn't believe what handsome boy you've grown to be."

They rolled over, so that they were still embraced, but now on their sides.

"The girls in my youth group don't look as nice as you, Mrs Long. Can I touch your mouth?" he asked, holding his finger near her lip.

"Be my guest."

He rubbed his fingertips across her lovely lower lip.

"I didn't know how you felt about me either. I've just been in a fantasy world, ever since I saw you again the other day."

"You're my greatest fantasy too, Mrs Long."

"So did you have a crush on me back in sixth class. What started it?"

"The day we had our final rehearsal for the excursion musical in the assembly hall. It was well lit, and you were opening your mouth wider than ever to sing. I saw how lovely your mouth looked and thought to myself, 'I've just realised how pretty Mrs Long is'."

"That was in first term of sixth class! I remember that. You were only ten. I feel like a cradle snatcher now."

"I feel like a very lucky boy, if you're going to keep seeing me, that is."

"Of course I'll keep seeing you. What we can have together is very special."

"I'm so happy now. We'll have these school holidays together."

"Yes. We need to be careful though. I'm a schoolteacher, and although I don't teach at your old prep school anymore, it might put my career in jeopardy, if anyone found out that I was dating a teenage school student. There's nothing wrong with you, and I'm not embarrassed or ashamed to be your girlfriend from now on. I just have to keep it secret, so that I don't lose my job."

"I understand. I'm good at doing things secretly."

"Oh Hart, I love you! Kiss me again."

Hart did so.

After a while, Mrs Long said, "Hart, would you like to come with me to my old high school, where I was a student, on Saturday? It's high up in the Blue Mountains. The school fete is being held, because it's the first Saturday of the school holidays. Then in the evening, they're having the old girls' reunion ball. I was hoping you might like to come as my date."

"You wouldn't mind being there with a student? I'd love to go."

"It won't matter up in the mountains. Nobody up there knows where I teach. I'd love to show you off to all my old school friends."

*          *          *          *

Mrs Long took Hart to the Blue Mountains on the Saturday. She met him at the local park near his house, and drove him on the long journey up into Medlow Bath, where Upper Blue Mountains Girls College was located.

They arrived at around ten o'clock, and began to enjoy the atmosphere of the fete. The historic buildings of the school was pleasant for Hart, and he felt extra special to be exploring a part of Mrs Long's past.

After they had visited all the stalls, they had lunch, and then took a ride on the Ferris wheel together.

Then Mrs Long took him on a walk through the school grounds and buildings not used as part of the fete, so that she could tell stories from her teenage years. He kept remembering that she had been married for some of these. When she had been in her final year of high school, she had gone to the annual fete, and met a third class boy, who had come to the fete with his older sister, a friend of Christine's.

The boy had said, "I'll bet you can't catch me," to Christine, and run around in the bushes and gardens.

Christine had mischievously said, "I'll bet I can."

The boy's sister had left them to it, and gone to look at fete stalls. Christine had said, "If I catch you, I'll give you a big wet kiss!" and chased the boy around, giggling, until she caught him and gave him the kiss.

Now she told the story to Hart.

"I wouldn't have run so fast, if it had been me expecting that kiss," said Hart.

After the informal tour of Mrs Long's memories, people began to pack up their unsold goods and dismantle their stalls.

Hart and Mrs Long enjoyed the meal at the reunion ball, and then danced together for the evening.  Mrs Long's friends were all happy that she had fallen in love with Hart after she had become a widow, and seemed to have no misgivings about the age difference between them.

At the end of the evening, Mrs Long and Hart walked hand in hand to the car, and drove back to Pymble.

"Thank you, Hart."

She leaned across and kissed him.

Mrs Long made a date to spend Tuesday evening in North Sydney with Hart, going for an evening stroll around the suburb where they had first met each other, and looking at the old preparatory school.

Tuesday evening came, and Mrs Long and Hart had their walk around North Sydney, and kissed under the moonlight for a while. Then they returned to North Sydney station, and caught the first train home.

Halfway down the North Sydney railway tunnel, the train came to a halt. A teenaged boy with a gun came into the carriage. He was one of the boys in Hart's class.

"Don't anyone move. We're holding this train hostage. There's one of us in every carriage, including the driver's!"

"It's Donald Poullson, Mrs Long," said Hart quietly, "He's in my year at school."

"So this is what he does in his holidays," said Mrs Long.

"Take your bank cards and cash out of your handbags and wallets, all of you. Move!" said Donald.

Hart took his wallet from his pocket, which had no money in it at the time, and aimed it at the light globe of the train. The glass shattered, and the filament broke as well, destroying the circuit. The carriage was now plunged into darkness.

"Quickly, Hart, this way," whispered Mrs Long at his side.

Hart felt her feminine hand gripping his arm.

She led him to the carriage door, felt about to open it, and then said, "Now jump."

It was not until the two of them were running along the ground in the tunnel outside the train, that Donald noticed their escape. The tunnel itself was well lit by fluorescent tubes.

Since Hart, Donald, and Mrs Long had been in the rear carriage, Mrs Long led Hart back behind it, out of sight of any of the other gunmen in the forward carriages.

"Donald's jumped out, and started to come after us," said Hart.