Another bout of writer's block on my next chapter, which led me to write this unrelated story instead. Just a short and sweet one-shot. Enjoy!
Ted couldn't recall ever being this happy.
He and Tracy had only been dating three weeks—three glorious, mind-blowing weeks—but he couldn't help but feel the ease and comfort that normally came with being in a long-term relationship. He felt that serenity the moment he walked up to her on the train platform; Tracy made it easy to talk to her, to be honest with her, to pour his heart out to her.
It was a blissful state, and he knew that Tracy felt the same way, too. The way she smiled up at him at that very moment, her hand in his, as they made their way to dinner, opting out of taking a cab, preferring to enjoy the mild weather (and each other's company) and walk the extra blocks instead.
They had been trying to figure out what to have for dinner, and Ted suggested Manolo's. He hadn't been there in a couple of years—it was his usual first date restaurant—and while he didn't want to take Tracy to a place where he'd taken many a girl before, he couldn't deny that the food there was outstanding.
He told her as much, and Tracy insisted that she wanted to check the place out anyway. "I don't know if I should be offended that you didn't treat me to the Ultimate Ted Mosby First Date Experience, though," she teased him lightly, as they strolled towards their destination.
Ted laced his fingers together with hers. "All those first dates, I was just following some lame script," he admitted. "But you... you were different. You were worth going off-script for."
"Smooth-talker," she said.
"I do have a way with words," he joked boastfully, but then turned serious. "But it's the truth. You're an original, Tracy McConnell, so you deserved an original date."
"I wouldn't trade our first date for anything," she assured him with a smile. "But I am curious to see what you're "script" was like."
Ted laughed. "Believe me, it was pretty lame," he said. "I was just some poor schmuck saying and doing whatever he could in hopes of scoring a second date."
"How about this?" Tracy said, getting that tone in her voice that meant she had a great idea in mind and was getting excited about it. "Let's pretend we're on a first date, and do everything you used to do to try and impress the ladies. It'll be fun!"
"Alright," Ted agreed, up for the challenge. "But be warned: you'll fall pretty hard by the end of the night."
Tracy arched an eyebrow. "Really?" she asked.
Ted sighed and hung his dead down. "Probably not," he said. "Most dates never really led to a second."
"Well this is, like, our 10th date, so I think you've got sure thing going here," she assured him.
Ted beamed. Yep: totally, ridiculously happy.
They continued their walk, exchanging stories, with new bit of information about each of them being shared, stored in their mental Rolodex along with all the other info they picked up about one another these last few weeks.
"Well, we're here," Ted said as they arrived at their destination, stopping in front of the restaurant. "So let's go in and see if there'll be an 11th date, shall we?"
They walked in, and waited in a short line, and we're quickly seated at their table by the hostess.
"So, what's your first move?" she asked him, curious, as their waiter showed up and placed the menus before them.
Ted smiled, and picked up the wine list. "Well, first I'd pick up the wine list and make sure to show off my knowledge... which is minimal, by the way." He looked up at the waiter: "Do you have a red from the Bourgogne region?"
"Yes, sir," the waiter responded. "We have a lovely Côte de Beaune Grand Cru."
"That sounds delightful," Ted said approvingly, handing the wine list back to the waiter.
As the waiter disappeared, Ted leaned forward. "All I know is that Grand Cru is a pretty high classification. That bottle is going to cost me a pretty penny. But, of course, I'm trying to make an impression here."
Tracy giggled, and picked up the menu. "And what about the food? Do you point out the menu and share your recommendations?"
"You're getting ahead of yourself, Trace," he said. "First, I ask if you want to share the oysters..."
"I don't like oysters," Tracy pointed out. "Oh, can we share a plate of mozzarella sticks?"
Ted shook his head. "What you like is irrelevant here," he explained. "I ask about the oysters, because it leads to my shellfish joke, which you've heard before."
"Ah, yes," Tracy teased. "I love your shellfish joke, by the way. It's the perfect combination of clever and cheesy."
"Well, if you like cheesy," he said. "My next move involves pointing out the grammar errors in the menu. Which, sadly, are plentiful here."
"Tragic," Tracy agreed, frowning at her menu.
"Right?!" Ted exclaimed. "Anyway, so I go over the menu and see that they spelled Maine Lobster without the 'e'. So then I say, 'Main lobster? Good to know we're not getting the crappy understudy lobster'."
Tracy laughed heartily, which made Ted beam with pride. She quickly noticed the pleased look on his face: "Wait, am I the first woman who's actually ever laughed at this joke?"
"Pretty much," Ted admitted, which made the both of them now laugh even harder.
"Ted?" a voice asked from behind him.
Ted stopped laughing, and turned around in his seat to see Jen, the girl he had gone on a second first date with a few years earlier, sitting at the table behind theirs, having dinner with a guy.
"Oh, wow, Jen!" Ted exclaimed, surprised, but pleased to see her.
She laughed. "I knew I'd heard that lame joke before."
"Guilty," Ted said sheepishly. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, despite our unsuccessful dates, this place has some really great food," she admitted. "My husband and I come here all the time."
Ted looked down at Jen's hand and, sure enough, she was wearing a wedding band on her finger. "Husband? Wow, that is so great to hear! How long?" he asked.
"We're celebrating our first year anniversary, actually." She looked over at her husband. "Jake, this is Ted. Remember that guy I told you about, whom I went out with twice?"
Jake laughed, clearly familiar with the story. "Really nice to meet you, Ted," he said kindly.
"Likewise," Ted said. "Congratulations, by the way."
"Thanks. So what about you?" Jen asked. "Pulling the same familiar shtick on a first date?"
Ted chuckled. "Oh, no, not at all," he explained. "I'm just poking fun at myself. We've actually been dating for three weeks. This is Tracy, my..." He paused, relizing that he and Tracy hadn't labeled one another yet. He turned to look at Tracy, an uncertain look in his eyes. "Girlfriend?" he finished his sentence in the form of a question. Tracy nodded at him and gave him a shy, approving grin.
Ted breathed a sigh of relief. "My girlfriend, Tracy," he repeated, more confidently. "Trace, this is Jen."
"Hi there," Tracy said in a friendly manner. "It's nice to meet you."
"It's really lovely to meet you, too," Jen said.
"Anyway," Ted said. "We should get back to our date, and I should let you get back to your anniversary dinner. It was real great seeing you again, Jen. I'm glad to see you've found your Cat Guy."
Jen smiled. "Yeah, I'm glad I held out for the right guy," she told him. "And what about you? Is Tracy your Shellfish Lady?"
Ted turned to look at Tracy, who looked up from her menu and smiled at him warmly. His heart skipped a beat. "She is," he said softly, not averting his gaze.
"I'm glad," Jen said in earnest. She wished him a good night, and went back to her dinner.
He turned back to face Tracy and gave her a smile. "Crazy! Never thought I'd bump into her again."
"So what was that all about?" she asked him, curious. "I feel there's more to this story than the fact that you guys simply went on a couple of dates. And did I hear incorrectly, or did she call me a Shellfish Lady?"
Ted laughed lightly and reached across the table for her hand. "It's actually quite the funny story," he said, lifting her hand up to kiss it lightly. "It all started 11 years ago..."