Chapter 19: Wining And Dining

December 16, 1991 - Monday

Ellie walked into the living room, looking for Alan. He wasn't there. They had come home to Montana for the holidays and her mother had insisted on coming there. Ellie had tried to talk her out of it, but that simply didn't work. She had just gotten off the phone with Patricia and wanted to give her significant other the update.

She looked in every room of the house with no success. She was about to yell his name, when she noticed he was walking around the backyard. She reached the back door and opened it. The cold instantly hit her face as she walked out onto the snow-covered deck.

"Alan," she said quietly.

He had been pacing back and forth, making his own worn out pathway in the snow. When he heard his name, he looked up at her.

"You all right?" she asked.

He nodded. His hands were in his coat pockets, and he looked pretty cold.

"You do realize it's the middle of winter, right?" she asked, trying to lighten up his mood.

"Yeah."

"Why don't you come inside? I'm already freezing and I've only been out here for a second."

After nodding again, he walked toward her. When he reached her, she put an arm around him and coaxed him the rest of the way.

"Did she call?" he asked, as if it were a dreadful question.

"Yes, she did. Her plane just landed."

"Shouldn't we be picking her up?"

Ellie was happy to hear him say, 'we'.

"No. She insisted on getting her own rental car."

It looked as though Alan was going to say something, but then he didn't. After a short uncomfortable silence, Ellie spoke up.

"I think we should get going. We have a thirty minute drive."

"Okay," he said softly.

Ellie laughed at him.

"Relax, will ya? She's just a person."

He grabbed her car keys and then opened the front door, holding it open for her. He was very quiet.

"No matter what happens. I love you," Ellie said.

That statement finally pulled a smile out from behind his seriousness. As she walked through the door, she turned and grabbed the collar of his coat and pulled him toward her. She planted a quick kiss on his lips and then continued out into the cold. He watched her for a second, shivered from the cold hitting him, and then finally followed.

Waiting at the restaurant for about forty-five minutes already, Ellie got up to use the phone for the second time.

"I'll be right back. I'm going to call Rob. See if he might have heard from her."

Alan nodded.

"I'm going to order some wine," he said, as he ushered the waiter over.

"Alan. Do NOT get drunk. That wouldn't be a good first impression."

"I'm not going to," he said, rolling his eyes, "I'm just going to calm my nerves."

Ellie nodded and headed for the phone. She put coins into the pay phone and dialed Rob's number. He was at the dig site. Since, two of the trailers were actually bought and paid for, he was always left in charge of them, and that's where he was now. He would go there every holiday, to check on various things. He answered on the first ring.

"Rob here."

"Rob. It's Ellie."

"Whoa. You've got good timing. I was about to have you paged in that fancy-dancy restaurant."

"About what? My mother?"

"Yeah. She was just here. I found her snooping around Alan's trailer. Somehow, she found out where it was and which trailer to go to. That woman is very clever to find something in the middle of nowhere, let me tell you. I asked her who she was, telling her it was a private area. And, oh, she was very nasty."

"Sorry about that, Rob."

"That's how I knew she was your mother," he joked.

Ellie chuckled.

"So, what did she say to you?"

"Stuff like 'This place is a dump', 'Who the hell are you?', and 'I don't see why my daughter voluntarily stays in such a barbaric place'."

Ellie laughed, as Rob did his own impression of her mother, that didn't sound all that far off from the real person.

"I know she sounds mean, but she really is a wonderful person."

"I'll have to take your word for it," Rob said in a disbelieving way. "I do have one thing to say, though."

"What's that?"

"Whatever anxiety that Alan is feeling . . . it's all very well called for. I talked to that woman for three minutes, and I'm fairly certain I'll have nightmares about her."

"Rob, it couldn't have been that bad," Ellie said, knowing that it probably was that bad.

"Well, you better get back to Alan. Your demon mother should be getting there very soon."

"Okay, Rob," she said, chuckling again, "Thanks for the information. I'll talk to you later."

"Tell Alan to call me . . . providing he's still alive when this thing is over," Rob said, laughing.

"Good bye, Rob," she said, hanging up the phone.

She made her way back to the table. This restaurant was very large . . . and very expensive. It took three days to get a reservation, and in Montana, that was an enormous amount of time. Alan had told Ellie to let her mother pick the restaurant and had offered to pay, in an attempt to make her mother feel special. It had backfired on him. Patricia had deliberately picked the second most expensive restaurant in Montana. She would have chosen the most expensive, but it was on the other side of the state. Ellie had been furious with her, but Alan had insisted on keeping his side of the deal. So, here they were. Waiting for her mother, who was now almost an hour late.

She reached the table and Alan quickly stood, waiting for her to sit down.

"Rob just saw her. She should be here very soon," Ellie said, sitting down and adjusting her napkin.

"Was Rob still at the dig site?"

"Yeah."

"Why would she go there?"

"Maybe she's trying to make you nervous."

"Well, it's working."

Ellie laughed and reached for his hand.

"Alan, please relax. Rob said she was very pleasant."

"Really?"

"Yes."

This seemed to steady his nerves a little bit, although Ellie felt awful for lying to him like that. She was hoping and praying that this whole thing would turn out okay, knowing that her mother could be so menacing, at times. She would just have to do her best in making her mother be nice. Still in thought, she looked around the table.

"Where's the wine?"

"I decided not to order it."

"Why?"

"Because I would be drinking it heavily, just like you predicted."

Ellie was about to try and say something, anything, to calm him, but then she saw that her mother had just walked in.

"Here we go," she sighed.

Alan followed her gaze and saw a dark-haired woman approaching them. She was very beautiful, but the dark hair threw him off. He had just imagined her with blond hair, like her daughter. He watched as Ellie motioned to her mother. Patricia saw her, nodded, and began to walk toward them. It seemed to Alan as if everything was moving in slow motion. He took a very deep breath and stood up, as Patricia approached the table.

"Hello, Mrs. Sattler," he said softly.

Patricia reached the table and stared at him. She continued to stare at him, saying absolutely nothing for the longest time. Alan nervously walked over to the other side of the table and assisted Patricia with her chair.

Even before she had ever met him, she had already made up her mind about him. She didn't like him. Her meanness was diverted temporarily, though, as she noticed he was good looking and seemed to have manners. She took possession of her chair and he walked to the other side of the table again. Patricia still hadn't taken her seat, and after making him stand in waiting, she finally cracked an unemotional smile.

"Hello," she said, almost sneering.

Ellie was getting upset, but she didn't want to make a public scene. She grabbed her mother's arm and gently persuaded her to sit down. The table was oval shaped and Patricia ended up sitting straight across from Alan, with her daughter to her left. Ellie stared at her mother, while her mother stared at Alan. Alan wasn't making eye contact with either Sattler woman. The silence was broken by the waiter.

"Are you ready with your drink order?" he asked the man of the table.

Alan looked at Ellie for the answer, since he couldn't think for himself suddenly. He stole a few glances toward Patricia and found her eyes to be piercing through him, every time. He was getting even more uncomfortable, if that was possible.

"Can you give us another minute?" Ellie said, holding up the drink menu.

"Sure," the waiter answered.

As the waiter turned to leave, he almost ran directly into one of the other waiters. The staff was moving frantically around the restaurant, trying to appease all of the customers in a timely fashion.

After a few very dirty looks from her daughter, Patricia finally stopped staring at Alan. This took some pressure away from him, as he picked up a menu. He began to look through it, acting like he hadn't done that yet. He looked up at Ellie.

"What are you having?"

"I haven't decided yet. You?"

"I was thinking of a New York Steak."

Ellie was looking over the menu and found something to tease Alan about. Maybe it would put him in a better state of mind.

"Hey, how about this New Zealand Red Deer?"

Alan smiled.

"Never liked the stuff," he said.

Patricia was reading her menu, as she listened to them talk. She had pulled a pair of glasses from her purse so that she could read the fine print. She was dead set on ordering the most expensive thing on the menu . . . even if she didn't like it. She found something . . . Great Plains Bison Tenderloin for 38.50.

"I think I'll get the House-Ground Cajun Burger," Ellie said, going for something in the low price range.

It sounded delicious, too. A half-pound, open face hamburger topped with ham and Gruyere cheese and accompanied by a creamy Cajun barbecue sauce. Served with roasted garlic mashed potatoes. She looked at her mother, "What are you having?"

"This Bison Tenderloin entry. Sounds excellent," Patricia said.

Ellie looked it up on the menu and instantly saw that it was the most expensive thing there. She leaned in next to her mother.

"Can I talk to you for a moment," she whispered through gritted teeth, "in private."

"Of course," Patricia said in a tone that seemed like she had no idea why Ellie was annoyed.

Ellie smiled at Alan and then the two women excused themselves and walked toward the restrooms. Alan had smiled back, although it was a faint smile. He simply couldn't believe how one woman could get him so edgy. He sincerely thought that if she had a way to get rid of him, she would.

Reaching a private area, Ellie stopped and looked at her mother.

"What is wrong with you?"

"There's nothing wrong with me. What is wrong with you?"

Ellie ignored that question.

"If you don't stop acting that a snob and a witch, I'm going to leave. Do you hear me?"

"Ellie, can't you see this is just some sort of phase you're going through? He's probably the only semi-good-looking guy around you. Of course you would latch onto him."

"You have no idea what you're talking about," Ellie whispered.

"And power. He has power. That's a very big draw."

"Mom, I love him. He loves me. We've been through some very emotional things together and as a result, I've grown into a better person."

Patricia didn't respond to the matter at hand this time. She changed the subject.

"Let's just get back there. I want to eat."

"And that's another thing, damn it. Why pick this place? And why do you need to order the most expensive thing on the menu?"

"Okay. That I will admit to. I'll order something more suitable."

"You better."

"Ellie, I just wish you could see all of this from my side."

"And I wish you could see my side. Can we just agree to disagree and stop this senseless bickering? He's not a bad person once you get to know him. That is, if you choose to get to know him. He's the best thing to happen to me for a long time."

Patricia got uppity again.

"What about your education? Is that just flying out of the window now? I can't help but notice that you went to Colorado these last few months. You should be trying to find a college to obtain some kind of assistant-professor status. But no. You're doing God knows what in Colorado. Couldn't bare to be away from . . . him?"

People were beginning to take notice of the argument.

"Mom," Ellie whispered angrily, "Why would that bother you? I graduated. I'm a doctor. I'm finished with school. I've even managed to get a job next semester. What is so wrong with taking a break and being with the man that I love?"

Patricia fell silent again. She was finally beginning to come around a little bit. Ellie seemed to have a clear mind about the whole thing, so maybe . . . just maybe . . . she was making too much of a fuss about this new man in her daughter's life. And the fact that Ellie just mentioned that she had a job really helped. She would try to be a little more understanding, although she wasn't sure why her daughter hadn't told her that until now. Being friendly and pleasant was going to be hard, especially since she really believed that this man was taking advantage of his status AND steering Ellie onto the wrong path.

"Okay. Look, I'll try to be nicer. That's all I can promise at this point," Patricia whispered.

Ellie breathed in a sigh of relief.

"That's all I'm asking, for now," she said.

Patricia nodded and they headed back to the table. Ellie was temporarily content with the peace treaty she had just negotiated. As they approached the table, she couldn't help but smile at Alan. He had poured some wine in his glass and was drinking it like there would be no tomorrow. The importance he had placed on this meeting made her love him even more. He spotted them returning and quickly stood up as they sat back down.

"Everything okay?" he whispered.

"Yeah, don't worry," Ellie reassured him.

"I took the liberty of ordering some of the house wine," he said, holding up his glass.

"And sucking it all up, I see," Patricia commented.

Ellie gave her an evil stare. Alan could obviously hear her mother and it made her furious. The little private chat that they just had didn't seem to phase Patricia in the least. She had given her mother a chance to be nice and it had backfired. She stood up, ready to make good on her promise to leave.

"What are you doing?" Alan asked.

"We're going."

Alan stood up and took Ellie's hand in his own.

"It's okay, Ellie. Don't leave on my account. Please. That won't help the situation."

Ellie looked into his eyes and tried to forget all of her anger. It worked. He had a way of settling her down, which was one of many wonderful traits that he possessed.

Patricia sat in silence, observing how Alan handled the situation. She was impressed by his willingness to stay and be tortured, but she would not reveal that. The waiter interrupted the moment.

"May I take your order now?"

Alan and Ellie were still standing. He nodded at her, giving her encouragement. She sat back down and he followed suit.

"Yes, we're ready to order," he said. He gestured toward Ellie, "The lady will have the House-Ground Cajun Burger. I'll have the New York Steak, well done please."

The waiter wrote it all down, including what sides they wanted, and then looked at Patricia.

"And for you, ma'am?"

"I'll have the Springdale Colony Hutterite Roast Chicken," she said.

It was only about half as expensive as her first pick. Ellie smiled at her mother, silently thanking her for trying to be reasonable. Patricia faintly smiled at her daughter, and then went back to glaring at Alan.

Between the three of them, there were less than ten words spoken while waiting for the food to arrive. The waiter finally brought the main course out, lightly placing each plate in front of the designated guest. After he left, the conversation began to lengthen.

"So, Alan," Patricia began, "How long have you been a scientist?"

"About eight years."

Patricia nodded. She really wanted to ask him more personal questions, but she knew that would upset Ellie. She would inquisition him later, if and when she had the chance to corner him alone. They continued to eat.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Patricia said, wiping her mouth with a napkin, "Kurt has been trying to get in touch with you."

"Okay," Ellie said. She didn't want to get into the Kurt thing right now.

Patricia noticed the questionable look on Alan's face, as he glanced at Ellie. She took it upon herself to explain.

"She hasn't mentioned Kurt? Oh, well he is one of Ellie's oldest friends. They've known each other since grade school. I had always thought they would have gotten together at some point."

"Thank you . . . Mother," Ellie said angrily.

Patricia continued.

"Anyway, he's been calling quite a bit. Wants to catch up with you. See how things are going, I guess. You should give him a call."

Ellie leaned toward her mother. It was time for directness.

"Why are you being such a bitch?" she whispered.

Alan was just sitting there, watching the drama unfold. He felt very out of place, as the two women continued to bicker in angry whispers. And, as is usual for a man, he had no idea of what to do or say to appease the feuding women. He had to try something, though. He cleared his throat loud enough for both of them to hear. Ellie looked at him.

"Ladies. Can we just try to have a peaceful dinner? We're all adults here," he said, hoping that he didn't overstep his bounds with Ellie's mother.

Ellie glared at her mother as she spoke to Alan.

"You're right. I'm not going to let her get to me any more tonight."

"Fine," Patricia said.

The waiter interrupted again. Alan was beginning to think that management would just send him to the table whenever the voices got a little too high.

"Would any of you care for dessert?"

"No, I don't. Thank you," Alan answered.

Ellie shook her head no, and so did Patricia.

"Very well, then. I'll be right back with the bill," he said.

He produced a fake looking smile and then disappeared again.

"I'm staying at a hotel near your apartment," Patricia said, breaking the silence.

Ellie nodded. She just wanted to get out of there. She wanted to go home and relax, to get away from all of this tension. The waiter finally brought the bill, which seemed like an eternity to Ellie. He placed it in front of the man of the table.

Alan didn't even look at it, he simply surrendered his credit card to the waiter. He didn't want Patricia to see the look on his face when he looked at the dollar amount. A few minutes went by, and then the waiter showed up with a charge slip and a pen. Alan quickly signed it and then stood up. Ellie and Patricia stood up, as well. And that's when something unexpected happened.

As Alan turned to leave, one of the waiters ran right into him with a full tray of food. The short waiter had been holding the tray up quite high in the air and had managed to hit Alan directly in the head with it. Alan fell down and just seconds after, the waiter and all of the food accompanied him onto the floor.

Ellie gasped when she heard the sound of his head hitting the steel tray. She quickly made her way to him, checking to see if he was okay. The waiter had been transporting some pasta dishes and the sauce had splattered all over Alan. He was covered in it.

"Are you okay?" Ellie asked him, as she began to wipe some of the sauce away.

"Ouch," he said, as he continued to lie on the floor.

The waiter, who had mowed him down, quickly disappeared into the back, obviously embarrassed by the incident. Alan looked around for him, but couldn't find him. In his search, he found something else, though. Patricia was still standing near the table . . . and laughing hysterically. Even from the floor, Alan could see that she was laughing so hard, there were tears in her eyes.

Ellie helped him up. They were about in the middle of the restaurant and people were staring at them from all sides. A lot of rich and snooty people. Ellie was holding his hand and looking him over. They made eye contact with each other, and with her mother laughing in the background, they began to laugh, as well. The three of them laughed and laughed, as they made their way to the front of the ritzy restaurant. They were standing near the coat-check, just getting the coats, when a manager approached them.

"Sir, I would like to apologize for that terrible accident. If there is anything I can do to help, just let me know. We've already taken the liberty of reversing the charges on your credit card, sir," the manager said, as they reached the door.

Alan nodded and politely thanked the man, while Patricia spoke up.

"I cannot believe what I just witnessed in there. Your staff should be better trained or something."

"Well, uh, they do get extensive training. I assure you, ma'am."

Alan handed Ellie her coat and opened the door for her. Patricia had looked away from the manager, but then she stopped and turned toward him one more time.

"And I don't think I'll be returning here . . . ever. Good evening."

This statement left the manager speechless and Alan was happy to see Patricia venting her anger on someone else. With the help of some well placed dumb luck, they had made it past their precarious beginning. Ellie was relieved to see that Alan and her mother were still laughing as they went outside. Alan handed a card to one of the valets. The young man ran out to find Ellie's car. Patricia gave her card to one of the other valets.

"So, you really did rent a car, I see," Ellie said.

"Yes, I did."

"You know, we could have picked you up," Ellie added.

Alan stepped in between them.

"Do these little details really matter so much? What's done is done. She rented a car. Maybe she wanted to be able to come and go as she pleases."

Ellie was about to protest, but she noticed that her mother was looking at Alan in a new light now. She wasn't staring or scowling at him, so she decided to let it go.

"Okay. Point taken," she added softly, reaching for his hand.

Things were looking up for Ellie. The holidays were coming soon and it looked as though she would be able to spend it with the two most important people in her life. Her mother and Alan. Her inner happiness was seeping out, as a smile developed on her face. Then it turned to laughter as she took another look at the stains on Alan's clothes. He gave her a shifty look and she raised his hand to her mouth, kissing it gently.

Ellie's car arrived in front of them and they walked toward it, with Alan going toward the driver's side. As he tipped the valet, Ellie turned to her mother.

"Are you planning on coming back to the house?"

"I was already there," Patricia said.

"No. Not the trailer. Alan has a house. About thirty minutes or so away."

Patricia looked at Alan, who hadn't gotten into Ellie's car yet.

"A house? Impressive," she said, smiling.

"I try," he said, smiling back.

"Well, if I'm invited, I'd love to go," she said.

"Of course you're invited," Alan answered.

Patricia nodded. Her car was already pulling up behind Ellie's Taurus.

"Okay. Just follow us, then," Ellie suggested.

Patricia nodded again as she handed the valet a tip and got into her rental car.

When they were alone in the car, Ellie looked at Alan.

"Well, I'm glad that's over," she said, sighing.

He breathed in deeply and glanced at her.

"Oh, yes. And I don't think she even hates me, which is a positive sign."

Ellie laughed.

"Thank God for that waiter whacking you in the head."

He placed a hand on the sore spot on the side of his head and chuckled.

"Well, I'm glad I was able to amuse the two of you."

Moving his hand out of the way, Ellie reached over to check the bump on his head. He winced.

"Wow, that is certainly going to hurt for a while," she said, taking her hand away.

"Yeah. I've already got a headache."

"You'll live," she teased.

He nodded. It was quiet for several minutes while Alan wove in and out of traffic. Without looking at her, he asked a question.

"So why did you tell me that Rob said she was pleasant? That wasn't very nice, you know."

"Oh, Alan. You were already so nervous and anxious. I didn't want to make it any worse by telling you that she succeeded in scaring Rob, too."

"She scared Rob?"

She laughed.

"Yeah. Oh, and by the way, he wants you to call him when we get back."