Hello.

Hi, Sally, is Rob around.

Sure, just a moment. (It's Laura.)

(Thanks!) Hi, Laura.

Hi, Rob.

How did your doctor's appointment go?

Pretty good. He says there's no bones broken, but I should try not to walk on the foot, for a few days.

Glad to hear that.

Listen, I've got a little proposal.

I already made a proposal ten years ago, remember?

Rob!

Just kidding! What is it?

Since it's Friday night, I thought we'd have a romantic dinner together.

Good idea. Where do you want to go.

Nowhere.

Nowhere?

What I mean is we'll do it at home. I bought a leg of lamb, after the appointment, and I'm cooking it now. You could buy a bottle of wine on your way home. We could have Millie babysit Ritchie for a couple hours. We could pretend we're going out, only we're not. I'll even put on a special outfit. How does that sound to you?

Laura, that sounds like a wonderful idea!

I'm glad to hear you say that, Rob.

I might be able to get off a little early-not promising, mind you.

Sure, that's fine. So, I'll see you this evening.

I'll be there! Bye!

Bye!

Rob came home at 6:00.

"Honey, I'm home-wow!"

She walked out of the kitchen wearing a white dress.

"Hi, Rob." They kissed. "How do I look?"

"Like I said, wow!"

"Thank you. Oh, I see you bought the wine."

"I wasn't sure whether to get red, or white, so I got champaign!"

She smiled. "Well, that was a good compromise! Dinner will be ready soon."

"Ok. I'll open the bottle." And then, he noticed something about her: "You're not wearing shoes!"

"Dr. Feinstein suggested I go barefooted for a while. If you disapprove, I'll put shoes on."

"No, that's fine with me. You look kinda cute, barefooted!"

She smiled. "Why, thank you, Rob! I'll be right back."

"Ok."

She went back in the kitchen. He found a wine opener. He uncorked the wine and poured into the wine glasses that were on the set table.

"We need music," he said to himself.

He then went to the hi fi. Selecting a record, he took it out of the cover and put it on the turntable. It was instrumental mood music.

Laura soon came back out. She carried a tray. It had the lamb, a salad, and mashed potatoes, as well as various utensils. She sat down and began serving the food.

He raised his glass when she finished. "Cheers."

"Cheers."

They saluted and drank.

"Good choice," she said.

"The Champaign?"

"No, I mean the music. The Champaign is good, too."

He dug into the lamb. "Laura, this is as good as a restaurant, if not better!"

"Thank you, Rob!"

They ate and listened to the music.

"How long is Millie babysitting Ritchie?" he asked.

"I told her until 8:00. Will that give us enough time?"

"Yes, I think it will."

Rob refilled their glasses.

"I'm beginning to feel a little lightheaded," she said.

"I'll help carry you home."

"But we're already home-oh, Rob!"

They laughed.

The record began playing a slow tune. Rob got up. "May I have this dance with you, my dear?"

"I don't know. My foot still hurts, a bit."

"I promise I'll be gentle. In fact, since you're barefooted, I'll also take my shoes off." He did this.

She smiled. "I can't resist!

She got up and joined him. They danced a waltz to the music.

After a couple minutes she said. "I'd better sit back down again; my foot's starting to hurt a little."

"Ok."

They both sat down and continued eating. She crossed her leg and rubbed her foot.

"I'll do that, if you'd like,"

"Thanks Rob.:

She put her foot in his lap, and he began massaging it. She winced a little at first.

"I'm sorry, honey!" he said.

He continued his massage and she gradually relaxed.

"That does feel nice, Rob; thank you."

"Any time, Laura." And then he smiled. "You know, we probably couldn't do this in a restaurant!"

She also smiled. "You're probably right! By the way, I'm taking those shoes back tomorrow. It's not worth wearing them if they're going to do that to my feet."

"I agree."

"Dr. Feinstein told me that high-heeled shoes are the bane of women's feet."

"I can understand that!"

They continued eating. The side ended, so Robert got up and turned the record over. Before sitting back down, he walked over to his wife.

"I love you, Laura Petrie."

"I love you too, Robert Petrie."

They kissed, and he sat down.

"This was a great idea; let's do it once a month."

"Good idea."

"Maybe next time, we'll go to a restaurant."

"Ok."

"The only thing is, we'll need to wear shoes!"

She giggled. "That's right!"

They finished their food.

"A meal fit for a king!" he proclaimed.

"And it's not finished, yet!"

"It's not?"

She put the plates and utensils back on the tray and took it into the kitchen. On her way, she said, "Refill the glasses; I'll be right back."

"All right."

A couple minutes later, she returned with the tray. it had bowls with a brown substance in it.

"Chocolate ice cream?" he asked.

"No, chocolate mousse! This is my first attempt at it, so please be kind to me."

"I will!" He tried it. "Laura, this is wonderful!"

"Thanks, Rob."

They ate the mousse and finished the Champaign.

"Now, I'm really lightheaded!" said Laura.

"So am I!" He looked at his watch. "We've still got an hour until Millie brings back Ritchie."

"I'll make coffee. We can drink it on the couch and watch tv."

"Great idea."

They got up. He helped her clean up then he went into the living room. He turned the tv on and sat on the couch. Ten minutes later, she came in with the tray. It had coffee on it, along with cream and sugar. She sat next to him and served the coffee.

"Want another massage?"

"That would be wonderful, Rob!"

She put her feet in his lap, and he massaged them.

"My foot feels much better, now."

"Glad to hear that. This was a wonderful idea, Laura."

"Thank you, Rob."

They relaxed and watched tv. Millie came by with Ritchie at 8:00pm.