Tony sat back on his chair, closing his eyes as sighed. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he realized he would have to tell Jeannie about his upcoming mission.
But this wasn't just any mission. This would end up being one of the most important missions of his career. And also the one that would be hardest on Jeannie yet.
He was going to Vietnam.
Of course he didn't want to go. But it was his duty. The conflict over there was hell. And they needed good pilots like him.
He sat up and dialed the number to his house.
"Hello Jeannie?"
"Good afternoon master darling! I'm surprised to hear from you," Jeannie remarked on the other end.
"Listen darling," Tony began. "I'm gonna be home around six. When I get there I want you to be wearing a pretty dress – I'm taking you out tonight, just the two of us. How does that sound?"
Jeannie practically screamed.
"Oh yes master I will!"
"In fact, do you remember when Dr. and Mrs. Bellows invited us over for dinner last year – the dinner where you blinked the wine that made them invisible?"
"Yes master. You want to drink that wine?" Jeannie sounded puzzled.
Tony laughed. She was adorable.
"No darling – I want you to wear the jumpsuit that you wore that night, but in a different color."
That had possibly been one of her more distracting outfits, the way it hugged her waist and breasts so perfectly, her arms and shoulders completely bare. He was glad when they finally got home after the chaotic dinner so he could admire her fully.
"Oh I see," Jeannie said. "I remember master."
"Alright darling, I'll see you at six. I love you."
Jeannie looked at the clock, it was nearly six. She went back into the bathroom quickly. She had to look perfect when Anthony came home. Putting on her pink lipstick, she smoothed her hair one last time.
"Jeannie!" Anthony called upon coming through the door. "I'm home honey!"
He set his briefcase on the couch, and then put his hat and his jacket in the closet. When he turned around there was Jeannie, smiling at him, and his breath caught a little.
Her hair was down, save for a twisted section that formed a headband, with the ends curled. And she had indeed fulfilled his wish that she wear the outfit he requested. But tonight she was even more desirable. Pink was always a gorgeous color on Jeannie (which came in handy seeing as how it was also her favorite color) but it wasn't too often that she wore black. Tony would have to do something about that.
He couldn't decide if he wanted to stare at her or kiss her.
The figure hugging jumpsuit she wore was none other than a sparkling black. She also wore black high heels.
Tony gave her an expectant look as he motioned for her to turn around. He let out a whistle of appreciation as she did so. Jeannie giggled as he pulled her into his arms.
"Where are we going tonight, Master?" She asked eagerly as her nose touched his.
"Well," Tony kissed her, his hands running up and down her arms. "I think I'm gonna keep that a surprise. But if you wouldn't mind blinking me into a suit, we can be on our way."
Jeannie grinned, and instantaneously Tony was no longer wearing his Air Force shirt and pants, but instead a crisp suit. It was rare that Tony asked Jeannie to blink anything at all, as most of the time he tried to gently discourage the use of her magic.
"Anthony, what a beautiful restaurant!"
Tony grinned down at her as Jeannie's eyes lit up. It was indeed one of the more romantic restaurants he'd brought her too. But they hadn't yet properly celebrated his promotion to Lieutenant Colonel. So tonight seemed the perfect night to do that, since he wanted one last relaxing, carefree weekend with Jeannie before he told her about his upcoming deployment.
"Welcome to Terra & Mare!" The matire d welcomed them warmly in his Italian accent. This was a family owned Italian restaurant over looking the Cocoa Beach pier. It was a favorite of many of Tony's fellow officers to bring their wives for romantic evenings, and the staff always treated them well.
But their most regular customer?
"I was told to mention that Roger Healey sent me?" Tony told the man, putting his arm around Jeannie's shoulders.
The host looked surprised and instantly was alert.
"You're a friend of Colonel Healey's?"
"Well, I'd say so," Tony chuckled. "He was my best man after all. I'll be his one day…." He looked down at Jeannie doubtfully. "If he ever gets married that is."
Jeannie put her fingers to her lips, trying her best not to laugh out loud.
"I'm so glad you told me!" The host grabbed two menus from the shelf he was standing by. "For a friend of Colonel Healey – the best seat in the house! If you and the beautiful lady will follow me."
"That'll be wonderful, thank you," Tony placed his hand on Jeannie's lower back as they made their way to the back of the restaurant.
"Oh, how marvelous!" Jeannie gasped when they got to their table, her hands flying to her chest. "Truly, this is for us?" She looked at her husband to make sure this wasn't some kind of mistake.
"Well, darling, I told you I was taking you somewhere special tonight didn't I?" Tony held Jeannie's chair out for her as she sat down.
Yes, this was perfect, Tony decided. The "best seat in the house" was a table for two on the restaurants private deck overlooking the beach and the pier. It was already dark outside, but made for a romantic mood thanks to the candles on the table and the torches and lights that lit up the deck. There was already a bottle of wine and two glasses on the table as well.
"Here are your menus," The host handed them to Tony and Jeanne. "Your waiter will be with you in a just a moment. Please make yourselves completely at home!"
The couple said their thank yous then they were completely alone.
"So were you surprised, darling?" Tony inquired his wife as he poured their wine.
"Oh yes, Master I was!" She picked up her glass of wine. "And now we finally get to celebrate your promotion – to Lieutenant Colonel Nelson."
"Well, there wouldn't be much worth celebrating if I didn't have a Mrs. Lieutenant Colonel Nelson to celebrate with," Tony looked deep into her eyes.
Jeannie blushed as their glasses touched.
She took a sip of her wine, closing her eyes.
"Do you like the wine?" Tony inquired, taking another sip himself.
"Oh yes, Master! Fruity wine like this is my favorite," Jeannie set her glass down.
"Well, in that case, we'll have to ask if they'll sell us a bottle of it. We'll take it home, enjoy some by the fire this weekend..."
Now Jeannie really blushed. Tony loved it. It meant her thoughts went to the same place his did.
A few moments later, an appetizer was brought out to them.
"That looks delicious," Tony gestured to the plate. "But I think it belongs to another table, we didn't order this."
"This is on the house sir," Their waiter exclaimed. "We bring this dish out to every couple celebrating a special occasion – Mussels are known as one of the most powerful aphrodisiacs in the world. Just our way of saying 'thank you' for choosing us for your celebration."
Tony grinned, while Jeannie shrugged, half delighted half confused.
"Well thank you," He said to the waiter. "I'm beginning to think Roger has a stake in this place," he muttered as the waiter walked away.
"A 'stake,' Master?"
"It means he helps run the place," Tony explained, bringing the plate closer to the middle of the table. "I'm not sure if he does or not, but this is a very…..Roger-esque date we're on. Wine, Mussels, candlelight."
"It's so romantic though," Jeannie grasped Tony's hands.
"Oh it is," Tony assured her that he was happy with their choice of restaurant. "Which is why we're not here to talk about Roger, but us," He squeezed her hands. She smiled. But then she was confused again.
"Master, the word 'aphrodisiac' sounds so familiar, but I cannot remember what it means..." She bit her lip.
Tony took an extra second to answer, as he was distracted. He adored when Jeannie bit her lip.
He cleared his throat, thinking of how best to explain.
"Well, an aphrodisiac is a type of food, or drink, or scent that relaxes you, and uh….puts you in the mood."
"In the mood for what?"
It was all Tony could do not to sigh and chuckle at his wife. He was going to have to be direct with her. Luckily they had the privacy of being the only ones on the deck.
"For making love, darling."
Jeannie's eyes went wide.
"Oh, I see," She giggled, blushing again.
Tony laughed.
"Shall we give them a try?" He picked one up, and fed it to Jeannie, wiping a bit of garlic butter off her lips with his thumb after she'd gotten it in her mouth.
"Are they good?"
"Yes, Master!" Jeannie took one her hands. "It's your turn now."
She laughed in delight as she fed to him.
Tony ate the mussel, then he could only gaze at Jeannie's shining face. He wanted this moment to last forever so that come Monday he wouldn't have to break her heart.
"I can't eat another bite," Tony said as he and Jeannie finished off their dessert of cheesecake and chocolate covered strawberries.
"Everything was so wonderful though," Jeannie said, licking the chocolate off her fingers.
Tony tugged at his tie, thinking of how if she kept doing that they'd be stuck at that table for a long time.
"You know what looks wonderful," Tony said, and Jeannie looked at him expectantly. "That beach. Want to go take a walk down there?"
"Oh can we master?"
"Sure! Right after we pay the bill."
Jeannie closed her eyes. The breeze felt divine coming off the ocean as they walked along the shore. The stars above her, her husband's arm around her shoulders...she was in heaven surely. She looked up.
"It doesn't seem possible that you've been up there," She said.
"It is pretty wonderful," Tony commented, also looking at the clear sky above them. "But you want to know what? I've only been to the moon and around the Earth. Compared to where I've been the stars are billions of miles away. There are stars that are hotter than the sun, but because of how far away they are they look like every other star – tiny to us," He looked down at Jeannie. "We've barely begun to explore space."
She looked up at him and smiled. He kissed her.
"Show me another one, please Master," Jeannie pleaded.
Jeannie had blinked up a large blanket for them to lay on on the sand. He was showing her the constellations he could see.
"Well," He took her hand, pointing her finger at the sky, guiding it in the shape of the constellation. "There's Pisces. The two fish of the sky represent Aphrodite and her son Eros, who turned themselves into fish and tied themselves together with rope in order to escape Typhon, the largest and most vile monster in all of Greek mythology."
"I didn't know that all the stars had stories attached to them," Jeannie snuggled against his chest.
He held her tighter.
"It's definitely one of the more interesting parts of being an astronaut, learning things like this," He looked down at her, her cheek against his shoulder. She was beautiful. Surely he was the luckiest man in the world. Her eyes met his.
Next thing she knew, he was on top of her, kissing her passionately.
"Master," Jeannie's breath started to quicken. "May we go home now?"
Tony looked at her, pleased with what she wanted.
"Yes, but I don't want to wait – blink us and the car home."
"But what about the restaurant staff? Won't they-"
"They'll think we walked around the restaurant to get the car. Besides, they're too busy closing down the restaurant to care about anything else."
Jeannie nodded. "Yes, Master."
Soon they were inside Jeannie's bottle, her lamp blown out.
Hours later, he knew he was beginning to wear Jeannie out. But he needed this weekend to carry him months overseas. He was going to make every moment count for both of them.
"Sleep tight, sweetheart," He finally whispered to her as he brushed her hair away from her neck, her eyes drifting shut. A slight sheen of sweat still shown on her forehead, chest and shoulders.