"You know I like surprises," Quinn said, as Artie started the car. "But I really wish you'd tell me where we're going."
Artie shook his head, a big grin on his face. "All you need to know is that it's not somewhere we've been together," he said, backing out of the driveway. "And that it's somewhere I really like, and I think you said once you really like it too."
"Does it involve ice cream?" Quinn asked, giggling.
"Um…no," Artie said. "I wish. But we could go for ice cream after?"
Quinn nodded. "Promise?" she asked.
He nodded back. "Promise."
"The museum?" Quinn asked, as they pulled into the parking lot. "I love this place! I haven't been here in FOREVER."
Artie grinned. "I thought we had come here," he said. "But then I thought about it some more, and realized that we actually haven't."
"I think the last time I was here I was around 12, for a school field trip," Quinn said. "I wonder if it's changed much?"
Artie shook his head. "I come here at LEAST three times a year, and it really hasn't. I think that's part of the charm."
"I'm really glad we finally have some time to ourselves," Quinn said, as he parked in one of the parking spots in front of the museum. "It's been too long since we've had an evening just for us."
"I know," Artie said. "Which is why I thought it would be nice to plan this for us."
Quinn grinned, leaning over. "We could cuddle in the car for a bit before we go in," she whispered into his ear. "There aren't any other cars parked here right now. And we have lots of time."
Artie's face reddened, slightly. "Not that I would EVER turn that down," he said. "But we're RIGHT in front of the doors. Everyone that goes in or out is going to see us."
"Artie, it's 3:00 on Sunday afternoon," she said. "The parking lot is pretty much empty right now. It'll be fine!" she said, leaning further. "But, if you don't want to…" she trailed off, a smirk on her face.
"Ahhh, screw it!" Artie muttered. "To the makeout mobile!"
Quinn giggled. "I don't think you actually have to say that," she said. "Seeing as we're already IN the makeout mobile."
"I just wanted to make it epic," he said. "Because this is supposed to be our epic date!"
Quinn grinned. "It already is our epic date," she said. "Because we're together."
After about fifteen minutes, the car started to get hot. The windows were slightly fogged, until Artie opened the back two a bit.
He'd put the seat back a bit, giving them some more room. As Quinn gently kissed his neck, he looked over her shoulder.
"Um…" he whispered. "There's…" he trailed off.
"There's what?" she whispered back, breathlessly.
"An old man," Artie muttered. "Oh my God, is that my grandpa?"
"WHAT?" Quinn said, sitting up and almost hitting her head on the car ceiling.
"Oh…" Artie said, looking sheepish. "Totally not my grandpa. Sorry."
Quinn smacked him on the shoulder, giggling. "Now what?" she asked. "Continue, or be polite and stop…until he leaves?"
Artie chuckled. "As much as EVERYTHING in my body wants me to say continue…we should probably stop. And go in. And resume this after, in a more…private setting."
Quinn laughed, sliding back over to her seat. "Ok," she said. "But only because you're so adorable."
He grinned. "I try," he said.
"This is my FAVOURITE section of the museum," Artie said, as they entered the prehistoric life wing. "I could spend hours here."
"You mean you have spent hours here," Quinn said, gently nudging his shoulder.
He grinned. "Maybe," he said. "But don't worry…I won't make us do that. Last time I came here, it was with Martin. Between his obsession with geology, and my obsession with this stuff…we were here for almost five hours."
"Five hours?" Quinn asked. "Really? AJ wasn't with you, I'm assuming…no way he'd last for five hours here."
He nodded. "He was at his grandma's. We did bring him once…we were out within 45 minutes. It was just…yeah."
Quinn giggled. "I can imagine," she said. "What's your favourite part of this exhibit?
"OH!" Artie said. "I can't have one favourite, woman!"
Quinn giggled again. "Ok…what are your top…10 favourites?"
"Well, the ammonites," Artie started. "And the woolly mammoth teeth, and the woolly rhino stuff, and…ok, actually the whole Ice Age section," he went on. "And who couldn't love the dinosaurs? I mean…they are HUGE, and awesome. I am SO glad they have more than just stuff that's been found locally," he said. "Not much in the way of Ice Age mammals in this part of the country."
"I…don't know anything about this stuff," Quinn said. "I think you should give me a fully-guided tour."
"I can do that," he said. "Just this part, or the whole museum?"
Quinn grinned. "Whatever you want," she said.
After Artie gave a VERY detailed tour of the entire museum, they headed back to the car.
"That was amazing," Quinn said, as they headed towards the accessible parking section. "You should work here."
Artie grinned. "I have thought about it," he said. "But then I worry that might take some of the fun out of it."
Quinn nodded. "Yeah, I guess that's true," she said. "Maybe some stuff is better left as purely for enjoyment. So," she said, as they got in the car. "What's next on your epic date schedule?"
"Well," Artie said. "I thought maybe we'd go for a romantic dinner for two, followed by ice cream, followed by some more…alone time," he said, grinning at her. "Sorry, I know this probably isn't as epic as you were expecting."
"As I said," Quinn answered, grinning at him. "It's epic because we're together. We could just sit in the car and stare at each other for an hour, and it would still be more epic than most people can possibly imagine."
Artie grinned back. "Yeah, most people just don't get our level of awesome," he said. "Are you hungry?"
She nodded.
"To the dinner mobile!" Artie exclaimed, starting the car.
"Again…we're already in it," Quinn said, giggling.
"I was just setting the mood, woman!" Artie said. "And maybe I like saying 'to the…whatever mobile!'"
Quinn burst out laughing. "Ok," she said. "If you say so."
"Your waiter will be with you shortly," the young woman who seated them in the restaurant said to both of them.
"Thanks," Artie said. "We're not in a rush."
"I'm in a rush," Quinn whispered, once she'd left.
"Oh?" Artie whispered back, a small grin forming on his face. "In a rush for what?"
"To get you back out to the car and ravish you, obviously," she whispered back.
"I thought it was my turn to ravish you?" he asked, his face lighting up.
"Why don't we see who gets there first?" Quinn asked, as the waiter approached their table.
After he had asked Quinn what she'd like, and she'd ordered, rather than turning to Artie, he continued to speak to her.
"And what will he have?" he asked, gesturing over to Artie.
"I don't know," Quinn said, a slightly confused look on her face. "Why don't you ask him?"
The waiter turned to Artie. "What…would…you…like…to…order?" he said, in a loud, patronizing tone.
Artie muttered his order, his cheeks burning, after which the waiter looked at Quinn, as if seeking confirmation, and then headed off in the direction of the kitchen. He was pretty sure EVERYONE at the tables surrounding them was looking at him.
"What the hell was that?" Quinn hissed, as soon as he was out of earshot. "That was ridiculous! I'm going to find the manager," she said, putting down her water glass, and preparing to stand up. "I cannot believe that just happened."
"Quinn," Artie said softly. "Just leave it. It's fine."
"It's not fine!" she said, scanning the room to see if she could spot someone who looked like they were in charge. "He just treated you like…I don't even know!"
"It's not worth the trouble of complaining about it," he muttered. "It never is. Please. Just leave it."
"Wait…" she said, softly. "Has this happened to you before?"
She couldn't quite make out what he mumbled in response, but she was pretty sure it was a yes.
"I have to say something to someone," she said. "I can't just let this go."
"Please," Artie muttered. "Let it go."
Quinn nodded. She didn't verbally agree to that, because she planned to complain about what had happened to someone on her way to or from the washroom at some point before they were served their food. It was clearly something that had made Artie seriously uncomfortable, and, judging from his reaction, complaining about it hadn't done any good in the past. But still, she thought…the way the waiter had treated Artie was completely ridiculous and inexcusable, and she couldn't just let it go.
Artie wasn't oblivious. He had quickly put two and two together when Quinn had excused herself to go to the washroom, and then shortly thereafter, they had a new waiter, who came to check that everything was in order twice before bringing their food, and three more times once they had started eating.
Similar things had happened to him so many times that he'd lost count, but it still stung. He knew things like that were just a result of people being ignorant, but that really didn't make him feel any better about the entire situation.
The fact that it happened while he was TRYING to have a romantic dinner with his girlfriend just made him more annoyed. Nothing could possibly have been less romantic than that.
Actually, he mused, there were several things that could have been less romantic, but that was definitely in the top five.
"You ok?" Quinn asked, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Artie?"
"Sorry," he muttered. "I was just thinking about something."
She smiled at him, wishing she could go find that waiter and strangle him with her napkin. "Anything you feel like talking about?" she asked, as she stuck the piece of carrot she'd been holding on her fork into her mouth.
"Well," he said, thinking for a second. "I would REALLY like it if we got out of here. Because I really want ice cream," he added.
She grinned. She knew perfectly well that wasn't what was on his mind, but she didn't want him to feel like she was forcing him to talk about it.
As Artie paid the bill, he couldn't help but notice that it was significantly less than he had been expecting. He didn't say anything, because he was trying his best to forget the entire thing had ever happened. He was slightly conflicted…
On one hand, he wished he COULD forget it had happened. And on the other hand, the fact that Quinn had stood up for him like that, even though he didn't think it was necessary, or he would have done it himself (maybe), felt good. It was nice to know she had his back. Not that he didn't know that before…it was just another confirmation of that fact.
He had a feeling if she knew even half the things he'd endured in his life, as a result of people being ignorant, she would explode with rage. Despite the fact that he'd agreed to talk about things with her…he was never going to talk about that.
"You have ice cream on your face," Quinn said, looking over at him, as they sat in a corner of the mall parking lot.
He went to wipe it away.
"Wait," she said, putting out a hand and stopping him. "Let me," she added, leaning over and gently licking it off. "There, all better," she said.
"Oops," Artie said, touching his ice cream to his face, just beside his lips. "I think I just got some more on there."
Quinn giggled. "And we don't seem to have any napkins," she said. "Too bad. Guess I'll just have to take care of that for you."
As she leaned in, he turned his face slightly, his lips meeting hers.
Once they'd broken apart, he looked back at his ice cream. "Um…" he said. "Ok, not to totally kill the mood, but half my ice cream is on my pants now. We actually DO have napkins…right?"
Quinn burst out laughing, handing him several of them. "I could clean that up for you too, if you like," she said.
Artie's face turned beet red. "I think I've got it," he said, hastily crumpling up the napkins and stuffing them into the side pocket of his door, before realizing that was REALLY not a good idea, since they were full of ice cream.
"Ok…" Quinn trailed off. "Oops. Now I have ice cream on MY face. A little help?"
Artie grinned. "I think I can offer my cleaning services," he said. "You know the A-man is skilled at ice cream removal."
Quinn giggled. "Yeah, I can see that, from the state of your pants," she said. "That…somehow sounds wrong."
Artie burst out laughing. "Whatever," he said. "I think we both care too much about how stuff sounds sometimes. Or…ok. Mostly I care too much about how stuff sounds. You always sound perfect."
Quinn grinned. "You're so cute," she said. "Have I told you that lately?"
"Actually…not really," he said, a sly smirk on his face. "Maybe you'd better show me just how cute you think I am."
Eventually, they both decided it was time to head for home. Artie dropped Quinn off, and thought a bit more about the evening as he drove home.
The incident at the restaurant definitely wasn't forgotten, but the time they'd spent after they left there had definitely made it sting a little less.
He thought a bit more about various occurrences in recent years, and realized that, of all the things that had happened, that was actually one of the tamer ones, and if Quinn had to witness ANYTHING, maybe he was glad that it was that, and not something else.
As his thoughts bounced around in his head, he went from irritated, to not irritated, to annoyed, to not annoyed, to agitated, to not agitated, and back to irritated. People were just so ignorant, and it made him angry. Not because of how it made him feel…but because of the way he knew those things made others feel. He was just glad that his mother hadn't been there. Those sorts of things still made her tear up a bit most of the time. He definitely had no intention of telling her.
As he headed into the house, he decided that, despite the fact that they had had an amazing date other than that, he wasn't in a very good mood. He just couldn't get the image of Quinn's face during the whole incident out of his mind.
He had just closed the door, when he heard a commotion in the living room.
"Mom, Arthur Jacob just pooped on the floor AGAIN," Linds yelled, running out into the hallway. "Oh, hi Artie," she said, running past him. "I have to go get Mom."
Had he been in a better mood, he might have just laughed, and headed to his room. But…he wasn't.
When Linds came back, she gave him a hug, and then went back over to where the puppies were playing.
"Mom is coming in a second," she said, sitting down on the floor. "Arthur Jacob pooped in the living room twice tonight, and he also peed on the stairs," she said. "And earlier, we were outside, and he was being bad, so I told him to stop."
"Linds," Artie muttered. "Can you PLEASE change the damned dog's name?"
"No, Artie," she said. "I named him after you."
"I don't care," he muttered quietly. "Just change it, ok?"
"You…don't care?" she said, softly, reaching out for the puppy. "But Artie…I named him after you because I love you," she said. "I wanted him to have a special name. And he isn't a damned dog, he's a cute little puppy."
Immediately regretting that he'd said anything, Artie held out his hand.
"Sorry," he said softly. "I didn't mean that. I'm just not in a very good mood."
"But weren't you with Quinn?" the girl asked, sitting up on the couch, next to her brother's chair. "I thought that always makes you happy?"
He grinned softly. "It does," he said. "There's just some other stuff that's making me grumpy. But I am sorry," he went on. "I don't think he's a damned dog, and I guess you don't have to change his name…" he trailed off. "But maybe, instead of announcing what's going on using his full name, you could say something like, 'Mom, clean-up on the stairs," or… 'number two in the dining room.' That way, you could use it for both puppies?"
Linds thought for a moment, twisting her lips in much the same way her brother frequently did.
"I could do that," she said. "Daisy didn't poop inside at all tonight."
Artie smiled. "That's great!" he said. "Or…maybe not," he trailed off, looking over at his guilty-looking puppy. "Looks like it's number two in the living room…not the dining room."
Linds giggled. "Are you still mad?"
"No," he said. "It was a stupid thing to be mad about anyway. What I should have been mad about," he went on, a sparkle in his eye, "is that someone was very clearly trying to dress up the puppies, judging from the little hat she's playing with now."
Linds blushed, a sheepish grin spreading across her face. "I just wanted to try," she said. "It looked really cute, but she wouldn't keep it on."
Artie grinned. "Well, if it was really cute," he said, "then we'll just have to work on getting her to keep it on."
Linds beamed. "Can we do that now?" she asked.
"Maybe we'd better get this cleaned up first," he said, motioning over to the carpet. "And then we'll see what we can do."
That night, Artie was lying in his bed, staring at the ceiling, when his phone lit up. It was a text from Quinn.
Q: I had a really nice time tonight.
A: Me too. :)
Q: I'm sorry about the stupid waiter.
A: Don't be sorry…so not your fault.
Q: I know…but I still feel bad. I can't believe he was that rude.
A: It's ok, Q.
Q: You don't always have to say everything is ok, you know. You can say it's not sometimes.
A: In the grand scheme of things…everything IS ok. At least where that was concerned.
Q: …if you say so. I found ice cream in my hair.
A: I must have missed that. ;)
Q: I'm surprised. You got the rest of it.
A: :D
Q: Are you in bed? With puppies?
A: I'm in bed. Not with puppies. :( Not quite ready for that yet…don't want any unnecessary bed-related accidents.
Q: How's Arthur Jacob?
A: I'm just fine, thanks.
Q: I meant the other Arthur Jacob, duh!
A: I told Linds she didn't have to change his name tonight…now we're stuck with it.
Q: Awww! Not like you would have made her change it anyway.
A: She's agreed to NOT announce EVERYTHING he does using his full name.
Q: LOL!
A: I hope our epic date lived up to your expectations.
Q: Exceeded my expectations, yo! ;)
A: Yes…because the museum is everyone's idea of an epic date.
Q: Told you…don't care where we are, or what we're doing. You plus me is epic.
A: :)
Q: I am SO tired. Bed time?
A: Yeah, I think so. Night! ILU!
Q: ILU too! :D
Artie set his phone back on his nightstand, a big smile on his face.
Next time, he thought, as he started to drift off to sleep, he'd make the date even MORE epic.
If that was possible.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Sorry this wasn't posted yesterday like I'd said…something came up.
Corresponds with All My Dreams chapter 120 and The Smile on Your Face chapter 102.