Disclaimer: I do not own Roseanne, the series and its characters are all property owned by Carsey-Werner
Forbidden Love
Written By: SSJ God SS Juuhachi
Chapter 25: Valentine's Day
Dan and Darlene arrived at 50's style Diner. He held the door open for her, and they walked inside.
Darlene looked around at the place, following Dan as he grabbed a booth.
After they sat down, a waitress came walked over, "Hello, my name is Amanda, and I will be taking care of you this afternoon. Could I interest any of you in our house special?"
"No, thank you," Dan told her.
"All right, what can I get you?"
"Two Chocolate Milkshakes, please,"
Amanda wrote down the order.
"Is that going to be all for you today?"
"Yeah,"
"All right, I'll be right back with those milkshakes,"
After the waitress walked away, Dan turned to his daughter.
"You know we were just worried about you, right?"
"Yeah, I know..." Darlene said, looking away from him
"I know your Mom hurt you with the things she said, but she didn't mean them. She was just upset over what happened today..."
She sighed and leaned against her seat as she continued to avoid eye contact with him.
"You know she loves you, Darlene, it's just that sometimes when she is upset, her emotions just get the better of her, and she says and does things without thinking..."
Darlene turned to him, "Well, how convenient for her," She said sarcastically, "She acts out and says whatever she wants, and that's fine, but when it's somebody else, they're wrong."
The waitress, Amanda, then returned and set the milkshakes down in front of them, giving father and daughter each a straw to use.
She smiled, "Here you go, enjoy." Amanda said before walking away.
Once she was gone, Dan spoke again.
"You may not agree with her, but she wasn't wrong." Dan said, "Choices have consequences, and what you did, you could be expelled for it."
"I know that, all right? I don't need any of you telling me that."
"Then what can we do? Tell me, what can your Mom and I do to reach out and help you?"
Darlene sighed, "Dad, you don't understand. It's not you. Okay, it's not you. It's Mom. The way she sometimes treats us like we're children, or how she treats people close to us. We all have seen the way she belittles Mark and puts him down the smallest thing. Becky, I'm sure, is just doing her best to keep it together before she explodes on her. For me, yes, I got into a fight, but it was for a good reason. I did it to keep someone else safe."
"I know that...and I'm sorry that you were forced into that situation, but that doesn't make what you did right."
She scoffed at his words, "That's a bit hypocritical; don't you think? Because you did the same thing once." She said, crossing her arms
"Darlene, that was different..."
"How? Fisher was beating up Aunt Jackie, and you stepped in and stopped it. You protected her. How is what you did any different than what I did?"
Dan looked at her a moment before shaking his head.
"There isn't any difference," He finally admitted, "I paid the consequences, just like you did, I went to jail. But I had to also deal with our friends and neighbors finding out about it. And how that changed their perception of me. The same will happen to you too."
"The point is you had a good reason for doing what you did. The same as I did and, sadly, Mom can't see that. Just like she can't see other parallels."
"Are you talking about Mark and Becky?"
"Yeah," She replied, "We all heard the stories, Dad. We know how rebellious you were with your leather jacket and motorcycle. We know you and Mom got together in High School, and Grandma and Grandpa weren't fans of your relationship..."
"That's true, they weren't," Dan said
"So once again, why is it when it's her, it's all right, but when it's someone else, it's wrong?"
"Because she thinks she is protecting you girls, with butting in your lives. She doesn't want history to repeat itself. But just like your grandma, she is quick to judge a situation and other people."
"Ain't that truth," Darlene grumbled, "Why can't Mom be happy for Becky? I mean, she could have ended up with someone guy who didn't treat her right."
He nodded his head, "You're right," Dan said in agreement.
"Same with my punishment. I know Mom was angry with me about lying to her about David and I living together in Chicago, but is that any reason to take away my future?"
"Darlene, there is more to it than that." Dan started, "You have to understand she loved David. He was like another son to her, and I wanted her to send him away to live with his family," He said, "It hurt her inside to do it, but she did it. She sent him away, and she was angry with me for a long time because of it."
"No, she wasn't," Darlene corrected him, "She was angry at both of us. I know Mom, and while she may have been upset at you for telling her to send him away, she was angry with me because she thinks it was my fault."
"Darlene..."
"That's why Mom punished me. She blames me for what happened; I know she does. If I hadn't convinced him to live with me in Chicago, he would still be here, and none of this would have happened. It's my fault he's gone."
Dan looks at him sympathetically as she continued, "It doesn't count that he hurt me, telling me he didn't love me anymore or that I was the meanest person alive. None of that matters to her. Hell, she probably thinks I deserved it."
"That's not true, and you know it,"
"Look, what happened in the past is done." Dan said, "I need you to focus on the present and what I want from you is to apologize to your Mom,"
"Why should I?"
"Because even though your Mom would never admit it, I know she was scared today. She was afraid you had gotten hurt again." He explained, "She loves you, Darlene, and despite how you may feel about her right now, you love her too,"
Darlene didn't respond. She sat there for a moment, contemplating what he said for a moment before shaking her head, "Damn it, I hate it when your right," Darlene grumbled, "All right, I'll do it."
Dan smiled, "Trust me, once you say it, you will feel better,"
"Yeah, yeah," She said, not wanting to hear it. Darlene had already finished her milkshake and was waiting for her father now.
"Are you done yet? I'm ready to get out of here."
"Just a moment," Dan slurped up the last bits of the milkshake, annoying Darlene. "Now I'm done,"
"Great, let's go." She said dryly
"Okay," Dan said as they both got up from the booth. "We should be getting back anyway. Mark and Becky are probably having a hard time trying to calm down your Mom."
"Mark and Becky aren't there..." Darlene said as she and Dan approached the counter to pay for the milkshakes. "I guarantee they took off somewhere and are hiding out, leaving Jackie to deal with Mom's insanity."
"Your probably right. We should get back before things get ugly. Just remember what I said, okay?" Dan said,
"Yeah, I know, Dad. Apologize to her because she is my mother, and she loves me...blah, blah, blah I got it already." She said, growing frustrated now. "I'll apologize to her, but not tonight. I'll do it later after I've had some space from her."
The cashier handed Dan the receipt.
"Have a nice day,"
"Thank you," He said, stuffing his wallet in his pocket. Afterward, he turns to Darlene, "How do you plan on having some space from her?"
"Motel room probably," She said, as they walked out of the door.
"You don't need to do that, Darlene," He said,
"Why not?" She asked as they got into the truck
"It's Valentine's Day," He said, "We are all going out tonight for dinner. DJ is going to sleepover at a friend's house. Your Mom and I will be gone all night, the same with Mark and Becky. You will have the house to yourself."
"I actually forgot it was Valentine's Day today..." She said, "Thanks, Dad."
"No problem, kiddo. Now let's go home," Dan said, turning on the ignition
Jackie was sitting on the couch, watching TV when Mark and Becky walked through the front door.
"Hey, Jackie." Becky greeted
Jackie turned towards them
"Hey, guys, how was the ride?"
"Oh, it was fine. We took the scenic route," Mark said as he and Becky hung up their coats
"Yeah, it was quite beautiful, seeing the trees bare and the snow on the ground..."
"That's good. I'm glad you two enjoyed yourselves," Jackie smiled.
"How is Mom doing? Has she calmed down any?"
"I don't know," Jackie replied, "She hasn't come out of her room."
"Really? Should we go back there then?"
Just then, they heard the bedroom door open and close. The three of them turned as Roseanne stepped into the living room. "Hey, Mark, Becky."
"Hey, Mom." Becky smiled
"Jackie, what are you doing here? I thought you left a long time ago."
Jackie searched for a response when Becky spoke up.
"We had to run an errand and she told us she would stay and watch DJ," Becky quickly responded.
"Oh, well you didn't have to do that. I was here he would have been fine." Roseanne said, looking at her sister once more
"I know, but I just wanted to help out."
"Well, you don't have to stick around. If you have plans with Fred you can go, I'm calm now."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, go ahead," Roseanne assured her
"All right, I'll see you later, sis." Jackie got up and grabbed her coat and walked out the back door. After she was gone, Roseanne made her way over to the pantry to grab herself a snack when she heard the back door.
"What's the matter did you forget something?" Roseanne asked, before turning around. She froze as she saw it was Dan and Darlene. Mother and daughter locked eyes with each other.
Mark and Becky entered the kitchen and watched in silence as Roseanne and Darlene continued to stare at each other, anticipating another fight was about to happen when Darlene surprised everyone as she then walked away, disappearing into the basement.
The remaining family members turned to Roseanne, waiting to say something, do something. Instead, what they got was she put the snack she had grabbed back on the pantry shelf and walked into the laundry room.
As she disappeared into the next room to fold laundry, Dan stepped closer to Mark and Becky.
"How did things with Darlene go?" Becky whispered
"Fine," Dan said, glancing back at Roseanne as she began going through.
"I got her calm her and down, and she said she will apologize to your Mom, but not tonight. She said she still needs space away from her."
"I can understand that," Mark commented.
"How did she plan to get away from Mom for a while?"
"She was going to get a motel tonight, but I told her we would all be going out tonight Valentine's Day and would most likely be out all night."
"Well, that's good you talked her out of it."
"Yeah, she seemed satisfied with that answer." Dan answered, "How are things with your Mom?"
"She seems okay," Mark replied, "She told Jackie; to leave that she was calm now,"
"Dan!" He jumped at the sudden rise of her voice
"Yes, my pet?" He asked, putting on a smile as he turned to her
She walked out of the laundry room, "What are you standing around for? Get in the shower! We got to get ready for dinner tonight!"
"Um, no, you go ahead. I'll take one after you."
She shoots him a look before disappearing into the bedroom again. Once she was gone, Dan turned to his son-in-law and daughter.
"I thought you said she was calm now,"
"She is," Mark told him, "Well, calmer than she was at least,"
"Don't worry about it, Dad, everything will be fine," Becky reassured him,
"I hope so," Dan said, "I really don't want to deal with your Mom being in a bad mood tonight,"
"It will be okay, Dan." Mark "I am sure by the time you guys are ready to leave, she will be in a better mood,"
"Where are you taking her, anyway?" Becky asked
"The Lanford Inn," Dan replied, "We haven't have been since you kids were little and I thought it would be a nice surprise."
"That will be a good surprise," The blonde responded, "We have reservations to go to a really nice Italian restaurant."
"Speaking of which we should really start getting ready."
"Yeah, I need to start getting ready too before your Mom-"
"Dan, get in here! It's your turn in the shower!"
Dan cringed at the sound of his wife's screeching voice
"Coming, dear." He called to her as he walked off towards the bedroom to get himself ready for their dinner tonight. Mark and Becky did the same walking upstairs to get ready for their romantic evening out.
Darlene sat at her desk working on her homework. She had a textbook open and was taking notes when she suddenly ran out of paper. "Damn, out of paper." She got up from her seat and walked over to the cabinet where she kept her spare notebooks. She opened the cabinet doors and began rummaging through her belongings till she found a fresh notebook.
Darlene pulled out the notebook, as she was about to close the cabinet doors again she noticed something resting in the back. Curious she reached in and pulled it out as well. What she found not only surprised her but got her a bit choked up.
It was the Sci-Fi Gothic Novel she and David had worked on before she moved to Chicago. Keeping her eyes on it, she walked over to the bed and sat down.
It was the comic book she and David had worked on together before she
A small smile spread on her face as she looked through it. The memories of the two of them, staying up all hours of the night, working on the comic book, trying to get it done, came back to her.
They got a few of them done, and she asked her parents for a loan to publish them, but they would not give it to her. Soon after, she received her acceptance letter from Chicago, and they stopped working on the comic book together.
It was the beginning of the end for them. Everything fell apart after that happened.
Her smile was now gone, she closed the book and stared at it a moment. This was all she had now of David and the friendship they once shared. She stood up and put it back in the cabinet, trying to fight back the tears that threatened to fall as she did. Once it was closed, Darlene quickly wiped away the tears, walked back over to the desk, her fresh notebook in hand, and resumed working on her homework.
Just then there was a knock on the door.
"Come in," She said keeping her focus on her homework. Becky walked into the room. Her usual straight hair was full of curls, with a fair amount of make-up on and gold hoop earrings. She wore a blue dress with lace on it along with matching heels.
"Wow, you look nice," Darlene said, turning to her sister
"Thanks," Becky smiled, "We're getting ready, I just came downstairs to give you this before we did," She said, handing her a piece of paper
"What is it?"
"It's a paper with the names and numbers of the restaurants and hotels we are going to be staying at, in case you need to call for anything."
"I won't," She said going back to her homework
"Also, just to let you know, DJ has already left for his sleepover so you will have the house to yourself."
"Great,"
"Are you sure you're going to be okay alone?"
"Becky, would you, relax, okay? I'll be fine." Darlene said, growing annoyed but her insistence
"All right," She said, "Well if you need anything give us a call."
"Yeah, yeah I got the numbers now get out of here and have a good time,"
Becky then left the room leaving Darlene alone once more to work on her homework. She soon got it finished and afterward went upstairs to get something to eat.
Darlene opened up the refrigerator and began looking for something to eat when she heard the doorbell ring. "Who could that be?" Darlene asked before crossing the living room and over to the door. She opened the door and found Molly standing there.
"Molly," Darlene said, surprised to see her, "What are you doing here?"
"Well Dad is still at work, and Charlotte left for her date. I thought maybe I can keep you company since Becky mentioned that you would probably be alone. That is if you don't mind."
"Is that the only reason you came over?"
Molly was silent a moment, "No, it's not." She shook her head, "I'm sorry, I know you told me not to bother you again but after what happened today, I had to see how you were doing. Are you all right?"
Darlene looked slightly uncomfortable.
"Yeah, I'm fine." She replied, "Would you like to come in?"
"Sure," Darlene stepped aside so the other girl enter. "So your really alone for the night, where's DJ?"
"He's at a sleepover," Darlene said, closing the door behind her. "I was about to get myself something to eat. Have you had dinner yet? Are you hungry?"
"No, I haven't actually," Molly admitted as they made their way to the kitchen.
"Well, let's see what we have here..." The dark-haired girl opened the fridge once more and looked inside. "Besides Mom's casserole and some leftover meatloaf it doesn't look like we have much here to work with," She told her
"What do we do then?"
"How about we order a pizza?" Darlene suggested
"Sounds good,"
"What type do you want?"
"Vegetarian," Molly said,
"Is there anything you don't want on it?"
"No anchovies."
"All right, why don't you go on into the living room, and I'll go ahead and order it."
Molly nodded her head and walks into the living room.
"So what do you want to watch?" She asked as she sat down on the couch
"What are our options?" Darlene asked as she picked up the phone and began dialing the pizzeria.
"Let's see here," Molly began to thumb through the TV guide, "Dirty Dancing, Pretty in Pink, Ghost, or Sixteen Candles."
Darlene thought a moment, "Ah, how about Sixteen Candles?"
The brunette turned on the TV, flipped through the channels till she found the movie, and began watching it.
"Yes, hello I would like to order a large pizza. Vegetarian, no anchovies but I want everything else on it. Delivery. Cash, 714 Delaware Street. Okay, thanks."
She hung up the phone.
"It will be 30 minutes," She said as she walked into the living room, soda in hand. Darlene sat down next to Molly on the couch.
"Okay," She said, keeping her focus on the movie
Darlene cracked open her soda and took a drink as she watched the movie along with her for a few moments before turning to Molly.
"So you didn't have any plans to go out tonight?"
"Nope," She said, taking a drink of her soda.
"Why not?" Darlene asked
"I wasn't interested in doing anything."
"Didn't anyone ask you out on a date?"
"There was one guy who asked me out, but I turned out him down."
"How come?"
"He wasn't my type"
Then what is your-" There was a knock on the door, interrupting Darlene's question.
Darlene walks over and opens the door. It's the pizza delivery guy.
He shoves the pizza in her hands, "Here,"
"Geez, no tip for you." She said glaring at him.
"Yeah, well I just broke the speed limit to deliver your pizza. I have a date tonight with my girlfriend and she's going to break up with me if I don't pick her up on time..."
"Spare me your relationship issues." Darlene reached into her pocket and handed the guy a twenty-dollar bill. "Here, keep the change."
After she kicks the door closed
"Wow, talk about express delivery," Molly role an eyebrow as she saw the pizza box. Darlene walked over and placed it on the coffee table, folding back the lid. She sat down next to Molly again. Both girls took a piece of pizza as they continued to watch the movie.
"So how come you chose Sixteen Candles?"
"For me, it was a choice between Molly Ringwald and Patrick Swayze, and I'm not really into Patrick Swayze."
Molly grinned, "What's the matter? Is he too pretty for you?"
Darlene turned to her, "No, that's not it." She started, "He's the stereotypical leading man, and that's just boring to me. Not to mention every movie I have seen him in, he always gets the girl."
"And what about Molly Ringwald? What makes you want to watch her movies?"
"I don't know," Darlene shrugged, "I saw the Breakfast Club and thought she and the other actors were good in it, so I decided to see her in other stuff too. Don't get me wrong, Sixteen Candles isn't like my favorite movie or anything, but it's a nice coming of age story..."
"The Breakfast Club, I love that movie; it's one of my favorites. I love the earring scene; I always thought it was sweet."
"Really?"
"Yeah, it symbolized to me that Clair was willing to meet Bender halfway. That she finally saw something beyond the social structure that society put on her."
Darlene looked at her, intrigued, "Hmm, never looked at it that way before. What about Bender? What do you think it symbolized for him?" She asked as they both grabbed another piece of pizza.
"He saw that Claire wasn't as stuck up as he had thought, and in the end, he accepted that rich people like Claire were also human,"
"Interesting,"
"Yeah, I also noticed the earring thing became something that couples started doing..."
Darlene smiled, "Yeah, it did," She said, " I know Mark wore one of Becky's earrings in his ear; they thought no one would notice."
"Really?"
"Yeah," Darlene said, "Did any of the guys you dated in the past...did they do that?"
"No," Molly shook her head, "I remember asking one of them if he wanted to do that and he thought that was lame and dumb." She then turned to her and asked her, however hesitantly. "What about David? Did he ever..."
"No," The dark-haired teen responded, "David didn't have his ears pierced...even if he did I doubt he would have done it because of his Mom. She would have flipped out on him for sure if she ever caught him with an earring."
"Wow, really?"
"Yeah, she was a real head case...I even saw her hit David once."
"Jesus," Molly said, appalled at what she heard, "She hit David, why? Wait, does Mark know about that?"
"No he doesn't," Darlene confessed "If he did I can guarantee you it wouldn't be pretty. He probably would've gotten into a screaming match with her, much like he did that one time with Mom."
"I never would have guessed that was going on..."
"I've never talked about this with anyone, your the first person I've told."
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone,"
"Thanks..." Darlene smiled
She then turned her focus to the TV again as she rubbed her hands together. Molly looked down at them and that is when she noticed her knuckles.
"Your hands...They're broken open."
"Oh, yeah that," Darlene said, looking at her hands
"This was caused by the fight earlier, wasn't it?"
"Yeah,"
"Does they hurt?" Molly asked concerned
"They did at first, but now they're fine."
"Did you put alcohol on it?"
"No, it's doesn't need it." Darlene told her, "I got a shower earlier and cleaned it with soap, it's fine."
"Darlene, you need to clean it with alcohol."
"No, they don't. They're already clean."
"Well, it doesn't hurt to clean them again, get up," Molly said standing up
"Molly, they're fine.." Darlene protested as the smaller girl extended her hand to her
"Come on, let's go," Refusing to get up, Molly grabs Darlene's hand, forcing her to stand up.
"Why do you have to be so persistent about this?"
"Why do you have to be so stubborn?" asked Molly as she then begins leading Darlene to the bathroom, connected to Dan and Roseanne's bedroom.
They entered the bathroom and Molly released her hand, "Take a seat over there," She said, gesturing to the tub.
Darlene reluctantly takes a seat on the side of the tub and watches as Molly opens up the medicine cabinet, grabbing the alcohol, cotton balls, and bandages.
Molly then walks over to the tub and takes a seat beside Darlene. She sets down the bandages on the hamper before grabbing a cotton ball and putting alcohol on it.
"Give me your hand," Molly instructed
Before Darlene had a chance to respond Molly carefully grabbed her hand and began dabbing the cotton ball against the open wound, making her hiss slightly.
"Sorry,"
"It's okay,"
"Man, you really messed up your knuckles, the skin on them is completely gone. Are you sure they don't hurt?" Molly asked examining the damage.
"I told you already, they're fine,"
"I'm going to put some more alcohol on these, just to make sure I got them clean." Darlene watched as Molly applied more alcohol to the cotton ball and carefully cleaned her wounds.
"So you want to tell me what happened, what caused the fight today between you and Marcy?"
Darlene rolled her eyes not wanting to go through this again. "Not particularly," She replied, hoping that would end the conversation.
"Why not?" Molly asked as she carefully began working on the other hand
"Why do you care what caused the fight? It's over now anyway,"
"Why do I care?" She asked her, "Darlene, I have never seen that side of you before. You had so much anger in your eyes today as you fought with her...something set you off, something she did and I'm just curious as to what that was,"
The dark-haired girl didn't answer. She avoided eye contact with Molly as she clenched her jaw, growing frustrated by her unwillingness to let it go.
"Come on, Darlene, talk to me. What caused the fight today?"
Darlene turned back to Molly, staring at her for a few moments before saying, "You want to know so bad? Fine, I'll tell you." She began, "I heard some things at school, okay?"
"Like what? What did you hear?"
"Things that happened...to you," Darlene told her hesitantly
Molly stopped what she was doing, "To me? What are you talking about?" She asked confused
Darlene tried to brush it off, "Never mind, just forget I said anything,"
"No, I want to know. Who told you something happened to me?" Molly asked persistently.
"Your friends...they told me,"
"And why did you talk to my friends?"
"Because of this," Darlene pointed to the bruise on her face. "I saw it earlier and asked them if they knew anything about it. They didn't. But they told me they had seen Marcy and her friends push you, shove you into lockers, knock you down."
"I see," Molly now finished with cleaning her wounds grabbed the bandages
"I told them I would take care of it, and I did. I waited till after school to talk to Marcy. I asked her to leave you alone. She refused and began shoving me. I shoved back, and she hit me. Before I knew what was happening, I got her to the ground, and we began fighting."
Molly looked at her, "So the fight...you getting arrested, it was all because of me?" asked Molly
"Yes," Darlene reluctantly responded.
"Darlene, what were you thinking?" Molly asked, now upset, "Don't you remember what happened last time? She could have really hurt you,"
"I know that,"
"And then getting yourself arrested like that...I never wanted you to get in trouble on account of me."
"Molly, this was between her and me, and that's where it should have stayed," Darlene told her gently, "She had no right to go after you like that,"
"Yeah, but look what happened to you...and it's because of me, you got hurt like this," Molly looked as if she was going to cry as she held Darlene's now bandaged hands in hers
"No, it's not. You did nothing wrong. None of this is your fault; it's mine." Darlene reassured her
"Darlene-" Molly began to protest.
"No, this," She said, gesturing to the bruise on her face, "This is because of me. It's my fault that you got hurt,"
"Stop punishing yourself, and stop taking the blame for what happened. It's not your fault, Darlene."
"Yes, it is." Darlene corrected her, "She went after you because of me, I know she did. That makes what happened to you my fault."
Everything was silent for a few moments before Darlene broke it.
"Molly, this isn't easy for me to say, but what happened to you, the terrible things I said to you...I want you to know that I'm...what I mean to say is-" She said, struggling to get the words out.
"Darlene stop," Molly placed a finger against her lips, silencing her again. "You don't have to say anything, okay? I forgive you,"
"Y-You do?" Darlene asked as Molly dropped her finger from her lips
"Yeah...I know you didn't mean it, you were just angry and embarrassed." Molly explained to her, gathering up everything.
"It doesn't make it right though," Darlene said as Molly put everything away.
"It doesn't," Molly turned to her, "And I would be lying if I said what you said didn't hurt...but it's over and done with now and I forgive you for what happened. All we can do is move forward from here and start over." She walked over to Darlene and gently grabbed her hands, forcing her to stand once more.
"Okay..." Darlene nodded and Molly smiled. The two continued to hold hands, as they stared at one another. Both felt content that things were finally resolved between them.
After a moment they looked down and noticed they were holding hands. They quickly pulled apart.
Darlene cleared her throat, "Well, um, thanks for doing this, I would have just let them go..." She said holding up a bandaged hand
"You're welcome," Molly responded, "I am just glad they're covered so they won't get infected,"
"Yeah,"
"Yeah,"
An awkward silence followed before Darlene broke it.
"Well, I guess we better get out there and finish the movie,"
"Yeah, plus we need to put away the pizza,"
"That's true we do," Molly then exits the bathroom. Darlene stands there a moment watching her before following after her.
"What do you mean you don't have any tables at the moment?"
Becky and Mark stood at the podium of the Italian restaurant when the host responded.
"I'm sorry, this is our busiest night you should have made a reservation."
Mark glared at the man, "We did,"
"Well, I'm very sorry but we don't have any tables available at the moment, you will have to wait."
Mark muttered under his breath as walked away from the podium and took a seat in one of the chairs on the side.
He crossed his arms as he looked irritated at the situation, "No tables available...what's the point of making a reservation if, in the end, they are just going to give your table away? I mean it's not we arrived late, we got here in plenty of time..."
As he complained Becky saw a couple walk in and soon began to argue with the host.
She nudges Mark,
"What?"
"Look at that couple over there,"
Mark looked over at the couple arguing with the restaurant host.
"What do you mean we can't get in?" The wife raised her voice, earning the attention of the other customers in the restaurant.
"I'm sorry but your reservations were for 6:30. It is now after 7."
"But that is not our fault, there was an accident on the way over here and we got stuck in traffic..." The husband argued, being just as loud as his wife
"I'm sorry, but it doesn't matter why you weren't able to arrive on time. The point is that you didn't and because of that your table was given to someone else,"
you didn't arrive at the appointed time so your table was given to someone else," The host explained, his tone calm "Now I am going to ask politely for you and your wife to please leave,"
The couple stormed out of the restaurant, saying something that the next time they were going to leave in plenty of time so this wouldn't happen again.
"Man, that sucks for them,"
"It does but that means there is a free table now,"
"You're right," Mark smiled, "Come on," He beckoned, taking Becky's hand as they walked over to the podium again, "Um, excuse me," The host turned to them, "Um, we couldn't help overhearing and we were just wondering with their reservation gone if by chance is there a table free now,"
The host looked at them and said, "Right this way, please." He escorted them to their table. Mark pulls out a chair for Becky to sit down.
"Thank you," She smiled as she took a seat
"You're welcome," He kisses her cheek before taking a seat across from her.
They picked up a menu and began looking it over when a waiter approached their table. "Hello, my name is Antonio and I'll be your waiter this evening. Would you like to hear about specials?"
"No," Mark and Becky shook their heads
"Very well, what can I bring you to drink?"
"Yes, can you bring us a bottle of Champagne, please?"
"Right away," Antonino walked off to the champagne.
"Champagne?"
"Well, we're going to be staying out for the night, we might as well go all out," Mark winked at his wife, making Becky smile.
Antonio came with two champagne glasses, and a bottle of Champagne. He popped the cork on the bottle and poured the liquid into the glasses.
"I'll be back in a few minutes to take your orders," He walked away once more, leaving the couple alone to look over their menus.
At the Lanford Inn, Dan and Roseanne had finished their meals were now dancing on the dance floor, among the other couples.
"Ah, this really brings back memories, doesn't it, Dan?" She said, placing her head against his chest.
Dan looked down at his wife and smiled, "Sure does, babe. I remember the last time we were here. The kids were still fairly small and Jackie baby-sat them."
"Yeah, that was a wonderful night, dinner, dancing, talking about the good times with our friends and divorce,"
"Yeah, that was a nice night,"
Roseanne then lifted her head and said, "You know, Dan we ought to just take off on vacation sometime and leave the kids alone for a while,"
"Rosie, we can't do that,"
"Why not? Becky and Mark are adults now, Jackie is over at the house all the time, everything would be okay,"
"What if we come back and the house is burned down," Dan then asked her
"I know we make jokes about Mark, I don't think he's pyromaniac,"
"No, he's not...that's DJ," Dan responded
"That's true...that title used to belong to Darlene but like most children, she outgrew it. DJ hasn't reached that point yet."
"He will, someday I guess," Dan said, "Anyways, it would be nice to go away for a while, just the two of us, alone together..." He said, holding her close as he rested his chin on top of her head.
"It would be, Dan. But between your work and my work, we don't have the time."
"We could make time. Our 21st wedding anniversary is coming up; we can take a few days and spend the weekend somewhere, just the two of us."
"Sounds good to me," Roseanne smiled.
As the song, came to its inevitable conclusion, Dan then dipped Roseanne, keeping a firm grip on her as he placed a tender kiss on her lips.
A/N: That is it for Chapter 25! I hope you all enjoyed it, I have another chapter I am currently working on that I will be releasing soon so stay tuned for that. Stay safe and take care, everyone!