[MP – Landshut] O'zapft is (Sam)

Her new role as a Hogwarts professor still felt rather strange but not unpleasantly so. Professor Ellington… She rather liked the sound of that. Then again she might not be professor Ellington for very long any more. The newly appointed teacher looked at the ring on her finger and smiled. They hadn't set a date yet but she was engaged to be married. She hadn't talked to Sam if he expected her to take his name yet. It might not be ideal to have two professors Dickinson at school but she felt ready to give up the name Ellington that unpleasantly reminded her of her late father.

She was glad that Sam had agreed to use their free day to travel to Landshut for the annual Oktoberfest. Louise was no regular visitor of the festivity, in fact she had never been to an Oktoberfest before, but she rather liked the idea of travelling for a day and enjoying pretzel and weissbeer with her fiancé.

As a surprise for Sam she had even bought a dirndl for her to wear for the occasion. She wasn't sure if she was really pulling it off very well, but she had  styled her hair to match the dressing style. While she found that her outfit was looking quite nicely, the English witch felt like she was in disguise. It felt odd to be wearing a traditional Bavarian costume.

When she was done styling herself, she made her way to Sam's office where they had agreed to meet. Knocking on the door, she didn't wait for his response before opening the door and stepping in. “Sam,” she said, a wide smile spreading across her face, “so what do you think?” Louise asked, spinning around to let him take a proper look at her attire. “I even did some research on the correct placement of the bow,” she explained, pointing a the bow that was on the right.

“Are you ready?” she then asked. They were planning to walk through the grounds towards the gate and apparate from there and Louise could hardly wait for them to leave because the earlier they got to Landshut the longer they'd be able to stay and enjoy the day.

@Samuel Dickinson

Leaving Hogwarts to go somewhere other than Hogsmeade on a day off felt delightfully...naughty. It didn't matter than Sam was a professor and had arranged with Minerva that he and Louise would be able to take the day off together, he still felt as though someone was going to ask where he was going or disapprove. Naturally, one of those people was Enitan, who felt that a day of lessons definitely wasn't a good enough reason for her not to be allowed to come along. The fact that she had settled into her new house and already made several friends who would be upset if she received special treatment had been just to convince his daughter that she shouldn't go with them on this occasion, but Sam had promised he would take the little girl on a trip away during the Christmas break, just the two of them. He hadn't actually told Louise yet, but he hoped she wouldn't mind. It would only be a couple of days and one night, anyway.

Sam had decided not to mention that to Louise until the evening. Maybe he was being a coward, but he didn't want anything to overshadow their day together. Any longer though, and Enitan would be sure to happily inform Louise of their plans, and that would be less than ideal.

Having not attended Oktoberfest for some years, the Seer had been unsure how to dress. He knew that a lot of people dressed up for the occasion, but he had been rather too busy with his classes to do much research and thus had dressed in one of his nicer pairs of jeans, a loose-fitting pale blue shirt. In an effort to look like he hadn't just thrown on the first clothes he found, he added a leather waistcoat he hadn't worn for some years. Actually it looked quite nice, he decided. Despite the late September day it was warm and sunny, barely a cloud in the sky and apparently the weather was even warmer in Germany, so he didn't worry about taking a cloak. He had just finished marking the first batch of NEWT-level essays for the year when there was a knock at the door. Before he could even say "Come in", the door opened.

His face broke into a wide smile. "You look amazing" he said, crossing the room to where she was pointing out the accessories of her costume "I feel quite underdressed by comparison..." A quick flick of his wand closed the office door so he could kiss her in greeting, concealed from the curious eyes of any students who might happen to be passing. So far the rumourmill had been fairly quiet, but he knew it was only a matter of time. Grabbing his wallet from the desk where he'd left it earlier, he slipped it into the pocket of his jeans. "For you - always" he said with a smile as they left his office, which he quickly locked with both key and charm, just in case any students should try the door in his absence.

"So how are your classes going?" he asked, as if he hadn't already asked the same question every time they'd met for the past few weeks.

"Why thank you," Louise said brightly, spinning around once again. "It's an entirely different feeling to be wearing this outfit," she said, grinning at Sam. She did feel a little like she was going to a costume party if she was being entirely honest. However, she also rather liked the way she looked. It was a pretty dress, after all.

Sam said that he felt quite underdressed in comparison and Louise looked him up and down, nodding slightly. "Yeah, you're right," she teased him. "Maybe we can get you a proper Bavarian outfit when we get there. I wouldn't want you to feel underdressed, you know?!" Well, she really didn't mind what Sam was wearing and he probably knew this very well. While she did like a compliment on her looks every so often - which woman didn't, anyway? - their relationship was hardly based on superficial things such as the right attire. Of course Louise liked to look at pretty things (and pretty people), she did not choose her friends (or life partner in this case) by their looks, though.

The kiss that Sam offered as a greeting felt wonderful and Louise closed her eyes as she leaned into it and flung her arms around his neck. She appreciated that he had closed the door before kissing her but, truth be told, she thought she could kiss her fiancé wherever and whenever she pleased. However, she assumed there were kisses and there were kisses. The latter were clearly not meant for students to see. 

Louise was quite pleased to hear that Sam was ready as she was quite eager to get to Landshut now. They left the office, Louise feeling only slightly awkward at the prospect that she might run into students in this unusual attire. She was relieved when they put some distance between themselves and the school building. The risk of running into students in the grounds was still given, of course, but it somehow felt less uncomfortable.

She shrugged as Sam, like almost every day so far, asked her how the classes were going. Louise was still pretty new at teaching and she felt that she couldn't really say a whole lot about it yet. So far it was rather tiring and stressful but that did not mean that things weren't going well or that she didn't enjoy it. It was basically just that she was still getting used to the whole situation. "It still feels a little strange," she finally admitted casually. "I am not regretting my decision though, don't worry," she quickly added, taking Sam's hand. "Let's just enjoy today though. I'd like to not be professor Ellington for a few hours." She laughed. It would clearly take a while until she'd get used to being called 'professor'.

Probably he should have made more of an effort, but the first weeks of term had been so busy Sam felt as though he'd barely had a moment to himself. In previous years he'd had time in the evenings and on days off to spend painting or reading, writing letters and of course leaving the school grounds for a few hours, but that had been before both his daughter and fiancee were under the same roof. So naturally he was now spending more of his free time with Louise and he liked it that way. Still, he was impressed that she'd found the time to assemble such an outfit.

"Sure, we can do that" he said agreeably. Given Sam's preference for African style robes in bright patterns, he was used to wearing clothes that weren't necessarily what people expected (even in the wizarding world) and thus he felt quite happy at the idea of spending the day in a costume. "Of course, people are then going to assume we're able to speak German...and I think my translation charms are a bit rusty" he joked as they left his office and made their way through the school.

Once outside, Sam felt himself relax. It wasn't that he felt uncomfortable or stifled in the school building, but that he was able to leave his 'professor' persona behind for a little while and instead just be himself. "That's understandable. I pretty much felt for my whole first term that someone was going to call me out as a fraud and for not being a 'real' teacher! That feeling passes quickly enough, though. But you're right. Let's just be Sam and Louise today..." They'd reached the edge of the grounds now and Sam did feel momentarily uncomfortable. One of the symptoms of the sickness that had claimed so many students at the Victory Ball several years earlier had been the loss of magic, and having refused treatment until he'd taken care of as many students as possible, Sam had naturally been affected. The lasting effect was that he'd lost the ability to apparate, apparently permanently. Most of the time he didn't mind, particularly now that he had Enitan to take care of. Floo powder felt much the safer means of travel with a child and even portkeys were easy enough to book in advance. But for ease of travel Apparation couldn't be beaten.

"Okay, I'm ready" he said with a slightly forced smile. Louise knew that he still felt a little embarrassed about the loss of that part of his magic. But nobody else needed to know. Once they arrived, nobody would even realise which of them had controlled the apparation anyway. It didn't matter, he told himself, closing his eyes and taking a slow, steadying breath.

Louise grinned as Sam agreed that they could get him a proper outfit. It was not like she did not love him in whichever atrocious attire he might choose – his African style robes were something she had never warmed up to – but, like most women, Louise liked to go shopping and since she already had her perfect outfit she was more than happy to try and find one for Sam as well.

“Well,” Louise said, pouting a little, “I do speak a little German. At least enough to order a beer and to understand what we need to pay, I should hope.” She was far from being fluent in the language, never having enjoyed it quite as much as for example French. However, she had basic knowledge and figured that it would probably suffice to survive a day in Germany.

“I do hope that feeling passes,” Louise said, laughing. She wasn't too worried but she couldn't deny that she had already had moments where she had doubted herself since she had come to Hogwarts. She knew enough about the subject she was teaching not to fear students asking questions – then again the risk of that wasn't too high, considering that only very few students showed interest in history anyway. Her worries were more that she did not get teenagers anymore. Her teenage days lay far behind by now and as she had no kids of herself and no nieces or nephews she felt like she did not always connect to her students in the way she had hoped to. They pretty much seemed like aliens to her most of the time. However, there was still hope that they'd get used to each other.

“I like that,” she smirked, “let's just be Sam and Louise.” They had reached the end of the grounds now and Sam announced that he was ready to apparate. She tightened her grip on his hand and brought them safely to Landshut. For a moment she stood there, still holding on to Sam's hand, looking around and trying to figure out which way to go.

“Shall we go this way?” she asked, hoping that Sam would have a better sense of orientation. She really had no idea which way they should go.

"You're full of surprises" he said, squeezing her hand affectionately. Sam knew that Louise spoke fluent Russian and French, but had assumed that was all (not that it wasn't enough). He wondered if she had any more languages under her belt and even felt a little inferior for a moment. He knew a few words and phrases in half a dozen languages, but Welsh and Portuguese were arguably only useful for confusing people and for swearing when in a situation whn rude words would be frowned upon. He could well remember the lesson where three fourth years had driven him to such distraction he had informed them - in Afrikaans - that they were fornicating baboons. Very satisfying!

"It'll pass. One day you'll wake up and realise that you're actually not worried about what's going to happen in class, because you know that whatever it is, you're going to be able to handle it..." he paused, and then added with a grin "for me, that day was last thursday" and then took a step away lest she should dig him in the ribs for such a ridiculous comment.

Then they were apparating, and Sam swallowed down the feelings of discomfort that always came with that form of travel. It was different, when someone else was in charge, one couldn't ever be quite as prepared for the sensations and... It was fine. They'd arrived, and they were safe as he'd known they would be, and now he could forget about it for the rest of the day. He opened his eyes and looked around as Louise asked where they should go. Really, Sam had no idea either, but he could smell savoury cooking smells and figured that walking in that direction would at least bring the to some stalls. It was probably too early for a snack, but they would probably be able to find a map of the area that way, or Louise could try out her German and ask for directions.

"Let's try over here" he suggested, pointing in a slightly different direction "I'm pretty sure I can smell Bavarian sausage cooking, and I seem to remember from last time that the food stalls were situated near the centre of the festival. We might even find something more suitable for me to wear..."  Without letting go of Louise's hand, he took a step in that direction, hoping she would follow.

“I'd like to think so,” Louise said in response to him telling her that she was full of surprises and smiled as he squeezed her hand. Her German wasn't good by any means but she really liked to be able to at least speak it a little even if she'd have to rely on any German native speaker to know English (or another language she knew better than German anyway) if they ever got to more complicated topics of conversation.

Louise laughed at Sam's comment that only last Thursday he had stopped worrying about what was going on in class. “That's silly!” she exclaimed, still grinning. “I hope that moment comes soon for me. The students have been absolutely okay to me so far but I keep feeling like someone put me into the cage with wild animals that might decide I'm their prey at any moment.” She smiled but quite honestly, she felt that her students hadn't yet decided if they were going to keep taking her seriously or not. She didn't want to be one of the strict professors that were respected but no fun. However, she didn't want to be a teacher that had no authority either.

Sam seemed to have a plan where they should go and Louise was happy to follow his lead. She didn't know it any better anyway and she was sure that no matter where he'd take her would be good because, after all, they'd be together and time spent together was always good.

She could smell the sausages as well and wondered if they'd taste as nice as they smelled. She had heard that eating a Bavarian Weisswurst wasn't all that simple. There was either the way to suck it out of the skin or to eat it like a banana or, most the most appealing way, to cut it lengthwise and roll it out to separate the meat from the skin.

“So,” Louise said as the food stands came into view, “shall we get food first or look around for something more suitable for you to wear so you do not have to feel ashamed of yourself?” She nudged his side playfully. “Look at this guy. I suppose suppose that would look nice on you.” Truth be told Louise really didn't care what Sam was wearing but she thought it would definitely be fun to watch him try on some traditional Bavarian clothes.

Of course he'd been joking - mostly. It had been a long while since Sam was fazed by anything that went on in the classroom, though returning after more than a year had felt uncomfortable to begin with. Naturally the students had made up all sorts of reasons why he had left and some had actually been surprised to learn that he wasn't dead, with one third year going as far as to insist for several weeks that the divination professor was actually a ghost and asking Sam if he would walk through a wall to prove it. Even that had been less irritating than the small group of fifth years who had insisted he must have spent time in Azkaban and would whisper and pass notes discussing what crime he must have committed. They had eventually stopped when Sam had kept them in a Saturday afternoon detention in which they were asked to write an essay on all the things they had imagined, something that they had clearly found both annoying and embarrassing. The whispers had stopped after that.

"You're right, and it'll be fine. Every day you get a bit more used to it, am I right?" he asked affectionately "Mind you. at least you've never had Peeves attending one of your classes..." he didn't bother to expand further. Louise had heard the tale many times and could probably repeat it as if she'd been there by now.

He stopped walking then and took a stance that pretended he was offended, hands on hips and staring at his fiancee. "Ah, I see how it is...I didn't realise I actually looked shameful" he said, though he was laughing too much for his words to sting. Besides, it seemed a little early to get food, particularly given that they'd had breakfast not long before leaving. He looked in the direction Louise had indicated though. His first impression was that the traditional clothing looked tight and uncomfortable, and certainly not something he would wear by choice. It was certainly very different to the long flowing robes he wore on a daily basis or even the loose shirt and jeans he favoured when trying to blend in with the muggle world. But he knew that it would make Louise happy, so he could tolerate it for a few hours.

"Okay, if you can find a stall you like, let's pick out something for me to wear so we look like we belong together" he said, squeezing her hand. Now he thought of it, dressing up would be quite fun and certainly he wouldn't feel like a professor on a day off anymore.

“Yes,” Louise nodded. “Absolutely. But then there are moments that feel a little like a setback anyway.” She laughed. “The students always manage to surprise me. I suppose that's actually good. It makes the job interesting for sure. I'm just not always prepared for these surprises and sometimes...” she shrugged, “sometimes it just feels like I could and should have handled situations more efficiently and more confidently.” She sighed and smiled a little. “I guess I'll get there, don't worry.”

Louise couldn't help but laugh out loud as Sam pretended to be offended. “Well, now you know,” she said, still chuckling with laughter. “Honestly though, I think the process of finding something to make you fit in here better will be fun.”

She could tell that her fiancé wasn't too fond of the traditional Bavarian clothing and she could relate to that. While the woman really loved her dress she felt costumed herself. It wasn't anything she'd ever want to wear in a different setting but as it was it felt like they were heading to a costume party and she rather liked the idea of that.

“I think we should enter that shop over there,” Louise said, feeling intrigued by the window display of a local shop called 'Edelweiß'. She pulled him gently towards the shop and pushed the door open before he could act like a perfect gentleman and open it for her.

“Guten Tag,” she said as she stepped further into the shop and then turned to beam at Sam. “I think we'll find something here for sure,” she said confidently, scanning the room and picking up a waistcoat. “How do you feel about that? With leather trousers and a white shirt, maybe?”

At the back of his mind Sam wondered why he'd agreed to this. Oh, yes. Because he loved her. He smiled as Louise took the lead and let her decide where they were going next. At least this area of the festival wasn't too crowded so he wouldn't have to model costumes in front of a huge audience of strangers. He glanced at one display where everything seemed to be in various shades of violent red and yellow and felt grateful that he wasn't going to be dragged in there. Louise, as an artist, would at last only want him to wear something tasteful.

"Alright, we can..." he began, but already she had once again gone first and opened the door. He grinned as he followed a couple of steps behind and stepped through the door as his fiancee was greeting the shop owner. Okay, so this wasn't too bad. Most of the clothing on display was in muted shades of blues and neutrals, and his eye was drawn to a rack of shirts not dissimilar to several he already owned. Sam took a couple of steps towards them and touched the fabric. Some sort of soft linen or cotten probably, and more comfortable than it looked at first glance. He was about to ask what Louise had in mind when she held out a waistcoat for him to inspect.

"Actually, that's quite nice. I mean, I'd like it more if it was royal purple and had swirling patterns, but..." he laughed and took a step backwards in case Louise decided to dig him in the ribs, but held his hand out at the same time "sure, I'll try that on. And...leather trousers? Hmm, I'm sure they'd come in useful next time I want to ride a dragon" he added, though at that moment he heard a snort of laughter and realised the shopkeeper had reacted. Clearly they understood English. Sam was glad he hadn't said anything rude about the clothes in here - and equally glad they hadn't gone into the shop next door, because he definitely wouldn't have been able to be polite enough to try anything in there!

"What do you think of this one?" he asked, selecting the shirt he'd been looking at and offering it to his partner "Now you just need to find some trousers that you approve of and I can try everything on" Having observed the costumes of some of the other visitors to Oktoberfest Sam had a sneaking suspicion his knees were going to be on show, but as long as Louise was happy, he could deal with that.

“I’m sure I can find something in royal purple with swirling patterns too,” Louise said, grinning. “However, I think this one is really pretty and it’s of a really good quality as well,” she acknowledged, glancing at a shop worker with a polite smile. It was not exactly cheap as the price tag revealed but Louise thought that it was totally worth it.

Louise handed her fiancé the waistcoat and nodded as he mentioned leather trousers. “Yes, leather trousers for sure,” she agreed, laughing as Sam mentioned riding dragons. It probably sounded like a silly joke to the muggles in the shop.

Sam had found a shirt in the meantime and showed it to her. Louise shrugged and then nodded. “Yeah, that looks nice. You should try it on.” She smiled when Sam said that she should find him trousers she approved of rather than stating that he wanted to find trousers he liked. It was nice to hear that he wanted to please her and trusted her to pick clothes for him.

“I suppose you’d prefer long trousers?” Louise asked, tilting her head to the side as she examined the rack with the trousers. About three quarters of the trousers at the shop seemed to be short but there were also quite a few nice looking long trousers. Louise pulled out some light brown leather trousers and held them out to Sam. “These should fit you and they’d be nice for a dragon ride as well.”

Louise thought that it might be sensible to pick a few different outfits to try on but she figured that Sam might not enjoy trying like five pairs of trousers, several shirts and a couple of waistcoats.

“So, would you like to find some alternatives or do you want to try these pieces on already?” she asked. She was happy to collect more items but would only do so if Sam really wanted it himself.

Actually this wasn't as bad as Sam had suspected it might be. He was actually enjoying clothes shopping, though he decided that was because he was with Louise rather than the activity itself. "No, if I'm going to wear the correct costume I want to do it properly" he said, though a glance from Louise reminded him of his mistake. Muggle didn't think dragons were real, but as she'd laughed, anyone overhearing was going to assume he'd been making a joke.

"I'd prefer them long, but I don't mind trying short trousers if you want to see what they look like" he said with a wink. He wasn't just trying these clothes on for his own amusement, after all and he'd actually prefer to wear something that his fiancee had picked out. "How about I try these on, and while I'm doing that you can pick out anything else you think I ought to try?" The shop assistant, who had clearly been politely listening without seeming to eavesdrop, stepped forward and led him to a small private changing room with a floor-length curtain and mirror.

Sam always felt a little self-conscious trying clothes on in a shop - even after a quick non-verbal spell on the curtain had ensured nobody would open it by accident while he was half-dressed - but he did his best to ignore the feeling as he removed his own clothes and first pulled on the shirt, glad that the shop was well-heated. He immediately decided not to look any further - the shirt was comfortable and fit nicely. The trousers were a different matter though. He supposed that technically they fit, but the style wasn't anything he felt comfortable with. They were extremely tight, to the extent that there was no way he was going to tuck the shirt in lest he feel too exposed. He left it untucked and added the waistcoat which he had to admit was also a good choice.

Then he pulled the curtain a few inches. "Louise..." he called softly, waiting for her to approach "The shirt's great, but I can't wear these trousers, they're, um..." Still safely inside the changing room he struck a pose with one hand in his hip which pulled the shirt up to about the level it would be if he'd tucked it in. "See what I mean? I can't exactly wear these in public" he said with a grin, hoping she'd found something else he could try. Short trousers that left a little more to the imagination suddenly seemed like a much better option!

“That’s good to know,” Louise said, smirking mischievously. If Sam wanted to do it properly then she might feel tempted to choose an outfit that she did not think would suit him but would be as Bavarian as possible. However, for the time being she was still tempted to find him an outfit that he might actually enjoy wearing.

“Well,” the Hogwarts teacher teased, smiling at her fiancé, “I know what your legs look like even if you do not show me how the short trousers look on you.”

She nodded as Sam suggested that he could try the first outfit on and that she could look for alternatives as he did so. “Sounds like a good plan,” she acknowledged and watched as the shop assistant led Sam to the changing room.

Louise browsed the Bavarian style clothes and picked out another waistcoat in slightly more flashy colours that she felt might appeal to Sam although she rather preferred the first one he was already trying on now. In terms of shirts she did not find anything that she particularly fancied and figured that she might get back to that if Sam wasn’t pleased with their current choice.

Before she could get to examining more leather trousers she heard Sam call her name and she turned to join him in the changing room.

The witch bit her lips to hide a grin as she tried to look as innocently as possible. “Hmm,” she muttered, tilting her head to the side and examining Sam’s outfit. “Well,” she said, clearing her throat to hide that she could barely stop herself from laughing, “they fit. I’m pretty sure they have to look like this.” Okay, she could not pull this off. A soft chuckle escaped her and she nodded.

“Alright,” she offered, holding out the alternative waistcoat for Sam to take. “You try this on, just so we’ve seen two options and I’ll get you nice short leather trousers. Never knew you like to expose yourself like that, though.” She swirled around and approached the clothes rail with the leather trousers, looking for something in Sam’s size that would fit a little more loosely than the previous trousers. Having found two pairs of trousers, she returned to the changing room, waiting in front of the curtain. “Are you dressed? Can I come in?” she asked and it was clearly audible in her voice that Louise was rather enjoying herself.

Sam was glad there weren't many other people in the shop. There was an elderly couple who looked as if they might be local (and thus hopefully didn't understand English) who were examining a display of waistcoats, but other than that there had been nobody other than the shop assistants when he'd stepped into the changing room, something he was very glad of now.

He moved slightly more to one side so nobody else would be able to see him as Louise tried and failed not to be amused by the fit of the leather trousers. "I'm sure you'd love it if they looked like this, and if we were planning an evening at home alone, I wouldn't mind either...but I am NOT walking around in these!" he was trying to sound serious, but now they were both trying not to laugh. He had to admit, this was more fun than he'd expected, though he was glad they'd done this first so they had the rest of the day to explore the town. Then Louise held out the alternative waistcoat.

Immediately he loved it, and was pleased that she'd found something that suited his own personal sense of style. "That's great" he said shrugging the other ones off ready to try it on, but then she stepped away to find some trousers that would leave a little more to the imagination and he hurriedly pulled the curtain back in place. Yes, he definitely preferred the second waistcoat, but he wasn't sure it suited the costume quite as well. It wasn't as if he'd spent much on anything else recently though, so maybe he'd take both and then he could wear this one with his ordinary clothes.

Louise returned quickly and he pulled the curtain for her to step inside the rather small room, drawing it behind her so they were now facing each other. "Okay, which shall I try first?" he asked, looking at the two choices and deciding it probably didn't matter. One was a darker shade of brown, almost black at first glance, and the other were more of a tan colour. He took the lighter ones and...

"Are you going to let me try them on, or did you want to assist me with that as well?" he asked, speaking very quietly now lest anyone should realise they were in the changing room together.

Louise shrugged and tried to suppress the amused grin that was spreading across her face. She was tempted to make it a dare and buy the tight fitting leather trousers for Sam and tell him he needed to wear them all day or better yet - wear them at Hogwarts for a day. However, she figured that would not amuse her fiancé quite as much as herself. While it was sometimes fun to test one’s limits, that probably went a little too far.

She was glad the alternative waistcoat was well received although, personally, she preferred the first one. It didn’t matter, though. The most important thing was to find something that suited Sam and the second one was clearly more his style than the first.

When Sam let Louise into the small changing room, she held out the two pairs of trousers to him and shrugged as he asked which he should try first. Sam chose the lighter pair and Louise stepped a little back to give him more space - as far as that was possible in the small room.

“What?” she asked, truly amused by his question. “Do you want me to get out of here?”

It hadn’t even occurred to her that he might not want her to stay inside as he tried the trousers on, but since she heard a cough from the other side of the curtain, she shrugged, glanced one last time at Sam in the tight fitting trousers and slipped outside again.

“You will let me take a look when you’re ready, won’t you?” she asked from the other side of the curtain. The shop assistant passed her, offering a polite but seemingly judging smile and Louise smiled back at her widely. “Men,” she said, “they’re like small kids, if you let them choose clothes by themselves nothing fits together.” She wasn’t even serious about this comment, but she wanted to see the woman’s reaction and she had fun teasing Sam a little. The woman did not seem to be eager to engage in a conversation about men with one being just behind the curtain and went into put away some clothes a customer had left in another changing room.