He thought for a few minutes, and then texted her back:

“Sorry, it’s not that you’re any less lovely to me. I’ve needed to think a bit more about moving to another dimension. There’s a cafe near a station, with a very nice atmosphere, where we could meet and talk about it ... and let me treat you this time.”

He pressed send, to give her time to read that message while he was writing the address of the cafe, and then sent it in another text message.

A few minutes later, she sent a reply:

“I can be there in an hour, if that time works for you.”

He sent one more back:

“It does. I’ll see you then, pretty lady.”

He got to the cafe first, acquired a table for two beside an attractive looking indoor plant, and waited for Pandora to arrive, perusing the menu.

She came in and sat down.

“I’d already had an early dinner before you returned my sms,” she said.

“Are you sure? I can afford this, and it would be nice to do it. It would mean something to me,” said Lennox.

“I could eat a lot of dessert then,” she said, “Something with plenty of cream and pastry.”

“See what you like in the menu,” said Lennox.

She looked through it for a few minutes, and then said, “I think that apple turnover will give me all the cream and pastry I feel like.”

He waved his hand for the wandering waitress who was looking for people ready to give their orders.

“For the lady, an apple turnover” he said, and paused for the waitress to write it down, “and I’m having satay beef kebabs, a side salad, and for dessert, a family size serving of lemon roulade.”

“It’ll be ready in about twenty minutes,” said the waitress, and walked away.

“That’s quite an order. You can certainly eat,” said Pandora.

“It seems that so can you,” said Lennox.

She looked a little uncomfortable, and briefly thought of the time that Reba and Lennox had been talking by themselves in Lane Cove Mall.

“Are you sure it’s just the big move that you’ve been thinking about the last two days?” she asked.

“I’ll tell you all about it, but can you promise me that you won’t be upset with me or anyone else if I do.”

“On my word,” said Pandora.

Reba, she thought. Pandora remembered the time she’d first mentioned what she was planning to do upon becoming Upsized. Reba had said she felt sorry for the as yet unknown young man that Pandora would select. Well, she’d never turned on her daughter before, and she’d just effectively promised Lennox that she wouldn’t now.

“Reba told me about Upsizing, and about why you want me to meet you after you get there. I didn’t decide not to call you. I just needed a day or two at least, to think about what to say to you. It was almost an unbelievable thing to find out, that you wanted to, that you still want to quite literally eat me, to swallow me whole, as she explained it.”