I am in the restaurant. I have been placed at a table that has a free table almost opposite me and all the other tables are full of a mixture of couples and a group who seem to be celebrating a birthday. When you walk in I know immediately that it is you; the fleeting glimpse of her new hairstyle is enough, but I also know from the way that both of you are surreptitiously scanning the restaurant. He notices me first but makes no hint of recognition. As the waiter takes her coat, she notices me too but similarly does not pay more than a glance. We do not exchange any eye contact as the waiter guides you to the free table.
I am sipping at my wine as you order yours and this momentary distraction as you engage with the waiter allows me to take in her dress. I can see partially under the table and notice that the dress comes to just above her knees and I see that her legs are covered by stockings. I cannot see the top of the stockings but I still know that they are stockings. You see, what nobody else in the restaurant knows as they engage in their conversations and eat and drink, is that I know all of the clothes that she is wearing ... because I bought them for her; chose her size for her basque, the right length stockings for her height and the suspenders that match the two items. And he knows too. He knows because he took them from me when we met in a pub days before, when he took them home to give to her. But ... it is our secret.