~~~~Part 5~~~~
~1917 est~
~Café Milano~
~Washington, D.C.~
~(Harm's POV)~
We don't talk about much on the way to the restaurant. She keeps prodding me to tell her where we are going. I'm not going to say. I want to hear her surprise when we get there. I pull into the valet parking lot and stop at the curb.
"Oh, Harm, you've really outdone yourself this time." She's grinning now, because she's just noticed where we are.
"So, Harm...we're going mighty fancy tonight. Any particular reason?"
I just give her a secretive smile. I'll let her wonder. Instead of answering the question, I just say, "Shall we go? Don't want to lose our reservations."
I step out of the car and go around to the other side, handing my keys to the valet. I open up Mac's door and offer my hand to her and help her step down. She takes the offered hand, and we step up onto the curb. She laces her arm through mine as we make our way inside to claim our resrvation.
"Good evening, sir, madam. Name?"
"Rabb, two."
He looks down at his book, then looks up at us. "I'm sorry, I can't seem to find your name on this list, Mr. Rabb...are you sure you called?"
"Yes, I'm positive I called. I called at 1530." He gives me a confused look. "Sorry, I mean 3:30. This afternoon. I gave my reservation to James." At the mention of the name, the man's face takes on a knowing look.
"Oh, James. Yes, he did take calls for about five minutes this afternoon. We don't normally let him handle those things. Well, Mr. and Mrs. Rabb, I can put your name down right now, and we'll seat you when we find an opening."
"Mr. and Mrs. Rabb? That sounds kind of nice." I hear her say something in her head, but she said it just as I was thinking how good it sounded to be addressed as 'Mr. and Mrs. Rabb' with Sarah MacKenzie standing at my side.
"Actually, sir," okay, this is the part where she corrects him, "I think we'll just come back some other time." Okay, I guess I was wrong. "Is that okay, Harm? I'm really hungry, and it'll take awhile before they're able to seat us, no offense, sir." He just shakes his head in understanding.
"Uh...sure, if you really want to go." She nodded, giving me an apologetic smile. "It's settled, then. Is there any possibility of getting my name down on that list for next week?" He looks down at his book and flips a few pages to next Friday.
"Yes, but I'm afraid it might be crowded...next Friday is Valentine's Day." Valentine's Day? I completely forgot about that.
"You got plans for next week?" I look down at her and she looks at me quizzically.
"Whoa, I didn't see that coming. This could get good." "I do now."
I grin at her and then turn back to the gentleman waiting. "Alright, then. What times are available?" He looks back down at the book.
"There's a spot for you at 7:30." I look down at Mac questioning with my eyes. She nods confirmation.
"That's perfect." I watch him fill in 'Rabb-2' under 7:30, in pen, then look back up at him. "Thank you very much."
"No, thank you for your understanding, sir, madam. I apologize again for the mistake." I wave it off, and then guide Mac back out to claim my vehicle. While we're waiting for the valet, I ask,
"So, 'Mrs. Rabb,' where do you want to go eat now?" She laughed at that and shook her head.
"Okay, I'll play along." "Well, Mr. Rabb, there's a place just three minutes from the theater. It's not fancy or anything, but I hear it's a nice little family place."
"Ooh, a family place. I like the sound of that." I help her into the SUV and close the door after I'm sure she's in. Then I get the keys from the valet and get into the driver's side, and point the car towards Falls Church.
~1936 est~
~Flavors Soul Food~
~Falls Church, VA~
~(Harm's POV)~
"Well, it looks nice," I say as we pull into the parking lot.
"Yeah, a friend of mine told me about it. Said that he comes here a lot-"
"He?" I didn't mean to interrupt her, it's just a verbal reflex now. Any time she mentions something about a guy friend who isn't me, I get tense, as though I'm expecting her to announce her engagement or something. Okay, so I have insecurities when it comes to her, but, damn it, I want to keep her all to myself!
"Yes, Harm...'he'comes here a lot with his wife and children." She gave me a searching look. "Hmm...somebody is a little insecure tonight."
I mentally kick myself. I knew I shouldn't have interrupted. "Oh, well, let's hope he's right." I get out of the car before she gets the chance to call me on my momentary lapse. I offer her my arm again after helping her out of the car, and she takes it. We walk inside and look for somewhere to sit, at the same time looking around at the place. They have a bar with TVs above it, but it somehow doesn't really seem like a bar. I think it might have something to do with the whole place being well-lighted. It is definitely a family place. We finally settle into a booth.
Almost immediately, a pretty, blonde waitress comes over to our table with two menus and two sets of silverware. "Good evening, folks, what can I get for y'all to drink?"
"What do you have?" I ask, without even checking the menu. I hate searching on menus for the drinks.
"Well, we have Pepsi products, Snapple, bottled water, coffee, tea, umm...oh, as you can see, we have a full bar, so I can also get you something from there."
"Mac, you go ahead and decide what you want."
"I'll just have a bottled water, please."
They're both looking at me now. "I'll have the same, thanks." The waitress nods her head and goes to get our waters.
"Harm, you know you can get something from the bar if you want to."
"I know that, Mac. I didn't want anything from the bar." I threw in a reassuring smile just for good measure.
"Yeah, right." "Okay, if you're sure...but if you feel like getting one later on, don't feel uncomfortable."
"Okay." Yeah, so it was a lame response, but I don't like getting into these things with her. We both start perusing the selections on the menu. They have one vegetable platter...a choice of any three sides.
"Oh, I didn't even think to ask Kev if they had good vegetarian food here. I hope Harm can find something he likes."
"Okay, here are y'all's drinks. Do you need a little more time to decide what you want, or are y'all ready now?"
"Um, I'm ready...Harm?" I look up at Mac and nod.
"Ladies first." She smiles and rolls her eyes then gives her order to the waitress.
"Okay, I'll have the hickory smoked barbeque rib dinner with...mashed potatoes and string beans."
"Okay, and for you, sir?" the waitress looks at me.
"I'll have the vegetable platter. Mashed potatoes, cabbage, and blackeye peas."
"Alrighty, would y'all like dinner rolls or cornbread with your meals?"
"Cornbread," Mac and I both say at the same time.
She walks away and I pull the entertainment section of the paper from my pocket and wave it in front of me, showing it to Mac.
"What do we want to see? You pick tonight," I say to her.
"But I picked where we ate." Oh, she wants to play this game. Well, I can do that, too.
"Only because the place I picked messed up my reservation," I point out to her.
"Yeah, I'm really sorry about that, Harm. I had no idea they would have such a limited choice for vegetarians." No, wait, this is the part where she comes up with another reason I should pick the movie. Okay, I know this game pretty well, too. It's called unnecessary apology.
"It's okay, Mac. I'm sure it'll be great."
"Okay, if you're sure."
"I am. And on that note, pick your flick!"
She laughs and takes the paper from me. After a few seconds of her perusing the show times, she asks, "What kind of movie do you want to see?"
"I don't care, it's your choice." I know it irritates her when I do this, and I love seeing her irritated. She shoots me a look that says she's ready to switch into 'Marine mode' and beat me up if I don't quit messing with her. "I want to see whatever you want to see."
She sighs heavily and looks back down at the list. "Okay, how about 'The Lord of the Rings'? Have you seen it yet?"
"No, I haven't; that sounds good to me."
"Have you seen the first one?" she asks.
"Yeah, we rented it and watched it at your place a little while back, remember?"
"Oh, yeah. That was right after the Prever court martial, wasn't it? I remember now."
"Yeah...hey, do you still think that one elf is cute?" I have to tease her.
"'That one elf'? His name is Legolas, Harm, and yes, I still think he is very cute."
"What the heck kind of name is 'Legolas'?"
"It's an elvish name, Harm." Oh, yeah, that's what I was going for. I love it when she uses that tone with me, when she talks to me like I'm a child. It reminds me every time of what a great mother she'll make.
"Oh, elvish." It's my turn to roll my eyes. She kicks me under the table and then plasters a saccharine smile on her face and flutters her eyelashes.
My witty retort is interrupted by our waitress with our food.
"Are y'all okay on drinks? Want to get anything other than water to go with your meals?"
"I don't, what about you?" I look at Mac and she shakes her head. "No, thank you. We're fine."
"Alright, well, enjoy your meals, and I'll check back on you in a little while." And with that, she leaves to take care of her other customers.
We start eating our meals. I watch as Mac picks up a rib that's dripping with barbeque sauce and bites right into it. I scrunch my nose up into a semi-disgusted look, and she must notice, because she laughs at me.
"You know, Harm. These are some really good ribs. In fact, I'll bet they're even good enough to turn a vegetarian normal."
"Normal? You're saying I'm not normal?"
"Uh-huh! That's exactly what I'm saying! Come on, Harmon. Live a little...try some meat." She tears off a piece of dead pig off of the bone and waves it in front of my face. What's really funny about this is that she doesn't think I have the guts to do what I am about to do.
She keeps waving it closer and closer to my face. Suddenly, I grab her wrist and look down at the dripping piece of meat in her fingers. I look back up at her, and then take the meat right out of her grasp...with my mouth. But I don't just want to surprise her by taking the meat, I want to totally render her speechless. So, after I've taken the meat, I lick her fingers clean.
"Oh, my God...I definitely should not be enjoying this as much as I am! This is stupid, but this is the sexiest thing I've ever seen him do. God, MacKenzie, get a grip!" Okay, this mind-reading thing is really turning out to be a very good thing. I had my doubts, but I like the way her mind works.
She's now regained her power of speech, and she says to me, "Well, Harm, did you like it? Because it certainly seemed like you did."
"I liked the sauce more than the meat," I dead-pan.
She snorts into her water, and then starts choking because it went down the wrong way. I reach over the table and pat her back as best I can, and she regains control of her breathing in a few seconds.
We both laugh a little more and then get back to eating.
"Harm, these are good string beans, you should try some...from a fork."
I laugh and nod. I start to reach for my fork, but she's already got hers loaded with the vegetables, and she reaches across the table with it. I take the fork in my mouth without restraining her wrist this time.
"Mm, they are good," I agree, and then we both go back to our own meals.
************************************************************
She's on her last rib, now. I've been finished for a few minutes. I'm just casually watching her. This last piece is drowning in sauce, and the sauce is dripping off the meat. She takes a bite, and ends up with the sauce running down her chin. We both start laughing again as I reach over with a napkin and wipe her face.
"Geez, Mac, I think next time we ought to get you a bib."
"Hey, I was doing fine until you started watching me eat."
"Are you uncomfortable when I watch you?" She stops laughing and considers me for a second.
"Not the way you look at me; it makes me feel like I'm worth something." Say it, Mac.
She doesn't. Instead, she says, "It's distracting to have someone watch you while you eat."
"Oh, okay. I won't watch you while you eat anymore."
The waitress comes back to our table. "Can I get some dessert for you folks? I highly recmmend you try the sweet potato pie. Ain't none better within three hundred miles."
"Oh, Kev says it's really good, but Harm's paying for dinner and the movie."
"Yeah, we'll get a piece to share. I'm too full to eat one all by myself, but I'm sure my friend, here, still has room in her stomach for some sweet potato pie." She knows I'd say yes to anything she asks of me. "You think you can handle it, Marine?"
"Bring it on, Navy."
~1917 est~
~Café Milano~
~Washington, D.C.~
~(Harm's POV)~
We don't talk about much on the way to the restaurant. She keeps prodding me to tell her where we are going. I'm not going to say. I want to hear her surprise when we get there. I pull into the valet parking lot and stop at the curb.
"Oh, Harm, you've really outdone yourself this time." She's grinning now, because she's just noticed where we are.
"So, Harm...we're going mighty fancy tonight. Any particular reason?"
I just give her a secretive smile. I'll let her wonder. Instead of answering the question, I just say, "Shall we go? Don't want to lose our reservations."
I step out of the car and go around to the other side, handing my keys to the valet. I open up Mac's door and offer my hand to her and help her step down. She takes the offered hand, and we step up onto the curb. She laces her arm through mine as we make our way inside to claim our resrvation.
"Good evening, sir, madam. Name?"
"Rabb, two."
He looks down at his book, then looks up at us. "I'm sorry, I can't seem to find your name on this list, Mr. Rabb...are you sure you called?"
"Yes, I'm positive I called. I called at 1530." He gives me a confused look. "Sorry, I mean 3:30. This afternoon. I gave my reservation to James." At the mention of the name, the man's face takes on a knowing look.
"Oh, James. Yes, he did take calls for about five minutes this afternoon. We don't normally let him handle those things. Well, Mr. and Mrs. Rabb, I can put your name down right now, and we'll seat you when we find an opening."
"Mr. and Mrs. Rabb? That sounds kind of nice." I hear her say something in her head, but she said it just as I was thinking how good it sounded to be addressed as 'Mr. and Mrs. Rabb' with Sarah MacKenzie standing at my side.
"Actually, sir," okay, this is the part where she corrects him, "I think we'll just come back some other time." Okay, I guess I was wrong. "Is that okay, Harm? I'm really hungry, and it'll take awhile before they're able to seat us, no offense, sir." He just shakes his head in understanding.
"Uh...sure, if you really want to go." She nodded, giving me an apologetic smile. "It's settled, then. Is there any possibility of getting my name down on that list for next week?" He looks down at his book and flips a few pages to next Friday.
"Yes, but I'm afraid it might be crowded...next Friday is Valentine's Day." Valentine's Day? I completely forgot about that.
"You got plans for next week?" I look down at her and she looks at me quizzically.
"Whoa, I didn't see that coming. This could get good." "I do now."
I grin at her and then turn back to the gentleman waiting. "Alright, then. What times are available?" He looks back down at the book.
"There's a spot for you at 7:30." I look down at Mac questioning with my eyes. She nods confirmation.
"That's perfect." I watch him fill in 'Rabb-2' under 7:30, in pen, then look back up at him. "Thank you very much."
"No, thank you for your understanding, sir, madam. I apologize again for the mistake." I wave it off, and then guide Mac back out to claim my vehicle. While we're waiting for the valet, I ask,
"So, 'Mrs. Rabb,' where do you want to go eat now?" She laughed at that and shook her head.
"Okay, I'll play along." "Well, Mr. Rabb, there's a place just three minutes from the theater. It's not fancy or anything, but I hear it's a nice little family place."
"Ooh, a family place. I like the sound of that." I help her into the SUV and close the door after I'm sure she's in. Then I get the keys from the valet and get into the driver's side, and point the car towards Falls Church.
~1936 est~
~Flavors Soul Food~
~Falls Church, VA~
~(Harm's POV)~
"Well, it looks nice," I say as we pull into the parking lot.
"Yeah, a friend of mine told me about it. Said that he comes here a lot-"
"He?" I didn't mean to interrupt her, it's just a verbal reflex now. Any time she mentions something about a guy friend who isn't me, I get tense, as though I'm expecting her to announce her engagement or something. Okay, so I have insecurities when it comes to her, but, damn it, I want to keep her all to myself!
"Yes, Harm...'he'comes here a lot with his wife and children." She gave me a searching look. "Hmm...somebody is a little insecure tonight."
I mentally kick myself. I knew I shouldn't have interrupted. "Oh, well, let's hope he's right." I get out of the car before she gets the chance to call me on my momentary lapse. I offer her my arm again after helping her out of the car, and she takes it. We walk inside and look for somewhere to sit, at the same time looking around at the place. They have a bar with TVs above it, but it somehow doesn't really seem like a bar. I think it might have something to do with the whole place being well-lighted. It is definitely a family place. We finally settle into a booth.
Almost immediately, a pretty, blonde waitress comes over to our table with two menus and two sets of silverware. "Good evening, folks, what can I get for y'all to drink?"
"What do you have?" I ask, without even checking the menu. I hate searching on menus for the drinks.
"Well, we have Pepsi products, Snapple, bottled water, coffee, tea, umm...oh, as you can see, we have a full bar, so I can also get you something from there."
"Mac, you go ahead and decide what you want."
"I'll just have a bottled water, please."
They're both looking at me now. "I'll have the same, thanks." The waitress nods her head and goes to get our waters.
"Harm, you know you can get something from the bar if you want to."
"I know that, Mac. I didn't want anything from the bar." I threw in a reassuring smile just for good measure.
"Yeah, right." "Okay, if you're sure...but if you feel like getting one later on, don't feel uncomfortable."
"Okay." Yeah, so it was a lame response, but I don't like getting into these things with her. We both start perusing the selections on the menu. They have one vegetable platter...a choice of any three sides.
"Oh, I didn't even think to ask Kev if they had good vegetarian food here. I hope Harm can find something he likes."
"Okay, here are y'all's drinks. Do you need a little more time to decide what you want, or are y'all ready now?"
"Um, I'm ready...Harm?" I look up at Mac and nod.
"Ladies first." She smiles and rolls her eyes then gives her order to the waitress.
"Okay, I'll have the hickory smoked barbeque rib dinner with...mashed potatoes and string beans."
"Okay, and for you, sir?" the waitress looks at me.
"I'll have the vegetable platter. Mashed potatoes, cabbage, and blackeye peas."
"Alrighty, would y'all like dinner rolls or cornbread with your meals?"
"Cornbread," Mac and I both say at the same time.
She walks away and I pull the entertainment section of the paper from my pocket and wave it in front of me, showing it to Mac.
"What do we want to see? You pick tonight," I say to her.
"But I picked where we ate." Oh, she wants to play this game. Well, I can do that, too.
"Only because the place I picked messed up my reservation," I point out to her.
"Yeah, I'm really sorry about that, Harm. I had no idea they would have such a limited choice for vegetarians." No, wait, this is the part where she comes up with another reason I should pick the movie. Okay, I know this game pretty well, too. It's called unnecessary apology.
"It's okay, Mac. I'm sure it'll be great."
"Okay, if you're sure."
"I am. And on that note, pick your flick!"
She laughs and takes the paper from me. After a few seconds of her perusing the show times, she asks, "What kind of movie do you want to see?"
"I don't care, it's your choice." I know it irritates her when I do this, and I love seeing her irritated. She shoots me a look that says she's ready to switch into 'Marine mode' and beat me up if I don't quit messing with her. "I want to see whatever you want to see."
She sighs heavily and looks back down at the list. "Okay, how about 'The Lord of the Rings'? Have you seen it yet?"
"No, I haven't; that sounds good to me."
"Have you seen the first one?" she asks.
"Yeah, we rented it and watched it at your place a little while back, remember?"
"Oh, yeah. That was right after the Prever court martial, wasn't it? I remember now."
"Yeah...hey, do you still think that one elf is cute?" I have to tease her.
"'That one elf'? His name is Legolas, Harm, and yes, I still think he is very cute."
"What the heck kind of name is 'Legolas'?"
"It's an elvish name, Harm." Oh, yeah, that's what I was going for. I love it when she uses that tone with me, when she talks to me like I'm a child. It reminds me every time of what a great mother she'll make.
"Oh, elvish." It's my turn to roll my eyes. She kicks me under the table and then plasters a saccharine smile on her face and flutters her eyelashes.
My witty retort is interrupted by our waitress with our food.
"Are y'all okay on drinks? Want to get anything other than water to go with your meals?"
"I don't, what about you?" I look at Mac and she shakes her head. "No, thank you. We're fine."
"Alright, well, enjoy your meals, and I'll check back on you in a little while." And with that, she leaves to take care of her other customers.
We start eating our meals. I watch as Mac picks up a rib that's dripping with barbeque sauce and bites right into it. I scrunch my nose up into a semi-disgusted look, and she must notice, because she laughs at me.
"You know, Harm. These are some really good ribs. In fact, I'll bet they're even good enough to turn a vegetarian normal."
"Normal? You're saying I'm not normal?"
"Uh-huh! That's exactly what I'm saying! Come on, Harmon. Live a little...try some meat." She tears off a piece of dead pig off of the bone and waves it in front of my face. What's really funny about this is that she doesn't think I have the guts to do what I am about to do.
She keeps waving it closer and closer to my face. Suddenly, I grab her wrist and look down at the dripping piece of meat in her fingers. I look back up at her, and then take the meat right out of her grasp...with my mouth. But I don't just want to surprise her by taking the meat, I want to totally render her speechless. So, after I've taken the meat, I lick her fingers clean.
"Oh, my God...I definitely should not be enjoying this as much as I am! This is stupid, but this is the sexiest thing I've ever seen him do. God, MacKenzie, get a grip!" Okay, this mind-reading thing is really turning out to be a very good thing. I had my doubts, but I like the way her mind works.
She's now regained her power of speech, and she says to me, "Well, Harm, did you like it? Because it certainly seemed like you did."
"I liked the sauce more than the meat," I dead-pan.
She snorts into her water, and then starts choking because it went down the wrong way. I reach over the table and pat her back as best I can, and she regains control of her breathing in a few seconds.
We both laugh a little more and then get back to eating.
"Harm, these are good string beans, you should try some...from a fork."
I laugh and nod. I start to reach for my fork, but she's already got hers loaded with the vegetables, and she reaches across the table with it. I take the fork in my mouth without restraining her wrist this time.
"Mm, they are good," I agree, and then we both go back to our own meals.
************************************************************
She's on her last rib, now. I've been finished for a few minutes. I'm just casually watching her. This last piece is drowning in sauce, and the sauce is dripping off the meat. She takes a bite, and ends up with the sauce running down her chin. We both start laughing again as I reach over with a napkin and wipe her face.
"Geez, Mac, I think next time we ought to get you a bib."
"Hey, I was doing fine until you started watching me eat."
"Are you uncomfortable when I watch you?" She stops laughing and considers me for a second.
"Not the way you look at me; it makes me feel like I'm worth something." Say it, Mac.
She doesn't. Instead, she says, "It's distracting to have someone watch you while you eat."
"Oh, okay. I won't watch you while you eat anymore."
The waitress comes back to our table. "Can I get some dessert for you folks? I highly recmmend you try the sweet potato pie. Ain't none better within three hundred miles."
"Oh, Kev says it's really good, but Harm's paying for dinner and the movie."
"Yeah, we'll get a piece to share. I'm too full to eat one all by myself, but I'm sure my friend, here, still has room in her stomach for some sweet potato pie." She knows I'd say yes to anything she asks of me. "You think you can handle it, Marine?"
"Bring it on, Navy."