An All American Love Story
Ch. 3: Off to the Icecapades
It was a quarter until noon when Elizabeth heard her doorbell ring. She had just finished getting dressed and looked hard into the mirror before making her way to the door. She had her hair half up and curled to perfection. Light makeup along with a deep blue wool skirt and sweater made perfect attire for just about anything.so she thought.
When Elizabeth answered the door she was shocked. She was always so use to seeing Romano in a suit or scrubs, anything else looked odd. She blinked her eyes and looked at him again. He was dressed in hiking boots, which was understandable because of the snow, blue jeans, an off white tee shirt and a long black jacket that reached his knees. As the wind blew again he pulled down on his baseball cap and waited for an invitation inside. "Hey Lizzy! I'm not to early am I?" realizing he had asked a question she quickly searched her brain for the proper response. "Not at all, come inside." Perfect.
Elizabeth quickly sprung into action as to not keep him standing in her hallway too long. Once inside Romano took a moment to look around. "You have a beautiful home." This made her stop for a second. "Thank you Robert. I'm sorry, I'll be ready in a second." Romano smiled, "Take your time." After finally finishing a few last minute chores she sighed, "I think I'm ready." She knew Ella was safely with her babysitter and Rachel was with her mom this holiday. As reluctant as she knew she must have appeared, Elizabeth was ready to think about something else then work or kids. Motioning for Elizabeth to lead the way they both climbed into his car. "So Lizzy I am really glad you decided to come with me. It would have been a boring weekend otherwise." Romano stated with a smile as he carefully put his arm behind her headrest and backed out of her driveway. Searching for a conversation starter Elizabeth looked around his car. It was impeccably clean, spotless even. Memories of Ella's cracker crumbs and her smoothie from two days ago sprang into mind as she thought of her own. Looking more at Romano she realized that he looked just as tidy. His smooth jaw line was freshly shaved, as were his sideburns. She could faintly smell a nice cologne and soap sent coming from him too. Her eyes moved from his face up to his hat. It was badly worn and the black was faded almost to a gray. After pausing at the logo she didn't recognize the mascot. "What's on your hat Robert?" Reaching up from the steering wheel he touched it as if trying to remember. "Oh. It's the 76ers." Looking quickly over at her and realizing she didn't have a clue he added more. "The Philadelphia 76ers. You know, the basketball team?" Elizabeth smiled and nodded trying to keep the conversation going. "Oh, I didn't know you were a basketball fan." Pressing his lips together and semi nodding he continued, "Well I'm not really. I like baseball better but I've had this hat since I was young. I use to always wear it back home, it's hard now in Chicago."
"Where is home for you?"
"Philly. Born and raised. I only moved here after college."
" I didn't know that Robert, I always thought you were from Chicago." Elizabeth enjoyed learning new things about Romano since he hardly ever gave out personal information without a fight. "Well we're here." He said as he put the car into park. Elizabeth hadn't even noticed. She was surprised to be caught up in such a pointless conversation. Elizabeth looked around. There were a few others parked and more skating. "Skating!" Romano laughed, "Yeah, do you like to ice skate? I thought it would be fun and it's a pretty nice day." Elizabeth bit her lip. She didn't want to hurt Romano's feelings but she had to tell the truth. "Actually I haven't ever been. I mean since I was a little girl." Getting out of the car this put a smile on Romano's face that he didn't try to hide. "That's ok, I'll teach you."
After renting and dawning the skates Romano led Elizabeth slowly to the ice rink. Seeing the young couples fly past her she was reluctant to step out. "Come on." Romano jumped onto the ice and stopped quickly with a skid. "It's all about the first step." He held out a hand for her to grab as he set a foot on the slick surface. As soon as she had her weight on the ice she placed her other foot right beside Romano's. "Ok, now just lift up your foot and." he was cut off as Elizabeth slipped out of his grip and fell promptly on her tailbone. "Bloody hell! I hate ice, I give up." Elizabeth reached her hands in the air expecting help but Romano was too busy laughing. "I'm glad you think that this is funny Robert. Your idea is awful." After Romano heard that he straightened out the look on his face and took her hand. After pulling her up he took both of her shoulders and firmly held her. "Now you can't give up that easy," he started "How about you grab the ledge and I'll go around once and show you?" once Elizabeth had a confident grip on the side of the rink Romano was off. Not trying to show off he slowly skated around in a circle. With his hands placed in his pockets Elizabeth could see the muscles of his legs working under his jeans as he went around. Carefully gliding from one foot to the other he gracefully returned to her on the side. "See? There's nothing to it. Now come on, we'll take it slow." Taking Elizabeth's hands in his he skated backwards in front of her as he pulled her out into the center. Shaking even more now Elizabeth desperately wanted to go back and sit down. Feeling this in her hands Romano knew he had to give her some confidence. "Come on. I'll stand behind you. You wont fall so don't even think about it. The whole thing with skating is confidence.and a little grace." Elizabeth reached back for his hands as he led her through the steps of moving.
Hand in hand they moved slowly around the center of the circle. "See I knew you could do it." Romano added as a seed of encouragement. He had already gotten over the fact that she had wrapped his arms around her and was desperately clutching them. He knew it was just because of fear. As he pushed harder with his legs they picked up speed. Fully aware of the fact that he was directing where they went he led her to the outside of the ring. Once there he increased speed even more. "Robert slow down!" Elizabeth squealed. Laughing he let go of her hands and watched her go. "See you can do it! You're going! You're going!! You're.falling." Romano squinted as he watched Elizabeth fall, hands flailing, into the ice. "Oh God." He said before he flew over to her after she didn't get up. "Elizabeth are you ok?" he yelled now feeling really bad about letting her go. He stopped on a dime and reached for his with his right hand. Having him fall perfectly into her trap Elizabeth quickly rolled over and pulled him down onto the ice. Falling on his shoulder with a thud she laughed whole-heartedly. "How's it feel to be on the wet ice now?" She laughed and she grabbed some ice chips and threw them on him. Romano, being slightly less then amused decided to play along. "Ok, you're in for it now." Elizabeth's eyes grew big as she saw him ball up a pile of ice. She tried to crawl away but it was no use. Within seconds Romano had her by the leg and pulled her back shoving the cold shavings of ice underneath her scarf. Screaming and pushing him onto his back she did the same back to him.
After a matter of minutes they both grew cold and tired. Realizing that everyone else around them had left they laughed at each other. Romano looked down at his soaking wet clothes. "Here we are again. You're going to be the death of me. Let me help you up." Elizabeth watched how he got his footing and tried to mimic it when it was her turn. "Don't let me fall anymore please Robert. I've taken enough abuse for one day."
Finally off the ice and back into their regular shoes they both sat on the bench together. "I'm sorry, I should have told you to wear pants. I didn't know you couldn't skate Elizabeth. Where I come from everyone knows." Romano said in a kind tone, not trying to be sarcastic. "So I guess you want me to take you home right?" he added almost lowering his head, but certainly his gaze from her. Reading his body language Elizabeth reached for his face. She felt Romano slightly jump at her touch and she turned his head to look at her. "Not at all." She said, "Not for awhile."
It was a quarter until noon when Elizabeth heard her doorbell ring. She had just finished getting dressed and looked hard into the mirror before making her way to the door. She had her hair half up and curled to perfection. Light makeup along with a deep blue wool skirt and sweater made perfect attire for just about anything.so she thought.
When Elizabeth answered the door she was shocked. She was always so use to seeing Romano in a suit or scrubs, anything else looked odd. She blinked her eyes and looked at him again. He was dressed in hiking boots, which was understandable because of the snow, blue jeans, an off white tee shirt and a long black jacket that reached his knees. As the wind blew again he pulled down on his baseball cap and waited for an invitation inside. "Hey Lizzy! I'm not to early am I?" realizing he had asked a question she quickly searched her brain for the proper response. "Not at all, come inside." Perfect.
Elizabeth quickly sprung into action as to not keep him standing in her hallway too long. Once inside Romano took a moment to look around. "You have a beautiful home." This made her stop for a second. "Thank you Robert. I'm sorry, I'll be ready in a second." Romano smiled, "Take your time." After finally finishing a few last minute chores she sighed, "I think I'm ready." She knew Ella was safely with her babysitter and Rachel was with her mom this holiday. As reluctant as she knew she must have appeared, Elizabeth was ready to think about something else then work or kids. Motioning for Elizabeth to lead the way they both climbed into his car. "So Lizzy I am really glad you decided to come with me. It would have been a boring weekend otherwise." Romano stated with a smile as he carefully put his arm behind her headrest and backed out of her driveway. Searching for a conversation starter Elizabeth looked around his car. It was impeccably clean, spotless even. Memories of Ella's cracker crumbs and her smoothie from two days ago sprang into mind as she thought of her own. Looking more at Romano she realized that he looked just as tidy. His smooth jaw line was freshly shaved, as were his sideburns. She could faintly smell a nice cologne and soap sent coming from him too. Her eyes moved from his face up to his hat. It was badly worn and the black was faded almost to a gray. After pausing at the logo she didn't recognize the mascot. "What's on your hat Robert?" Reaching up from the steering wheel he touched it as if trying to remember. "Oh. It's the 76ers." Looking quickly over at her and realizing she didn't have a clue he added more. "The Philadelphia 76ers. You know, the basketball team?" Elizabeth smiled and nodded trying to keep the conversation going. "Oh, I didn't know you were a basketball fan." Pressing his lips together and semi nodding he continued, "Well I'm not really. I like baseball better but I've had this hat since I was young. I use to always wear it back home, it's hard now in Chicago."
"Where is home for you?"
"Philly. Born and raised. I only moved here after college."
" I didn't know that Robert, I always thought you were from Chicago." Elizabeth enjoyed learning new things about Romano since he hardly ever gave out personal information without a fight. "Well we're here." He said as he put the car into park. Elizabeth hadn't even noticed. She was surprised to be caught up in such a pointless conversation. Elizabeth looked around. There were a few others parked and more skating. "Skating!" Romano laughed, "Yeah, do you like to ice skate? I thought it would be fun and it's a pretty nice day." Elizabeth bit her lip. She didn't want to hurt Romano's feelings but she had to tell the truth. "Actually I haven't ever been. I mean since I was a little girl." Getting out of the car this put a smile on Romano's face that he didn't try to hide. "That's ok, I'll teach you."
After renting and dawning the skates Romano led Elizabeth slowly to the ice rink. Seeing the young couples fly past her she was reluctant to step out. "Come on." Romano jumped onto the ice and stopped quickly with a skid. "It's all about the first step." He held out a hand for her to grab as he set a foot on the slick surface. As soon as she had her weight on the ice she placed her other foot right beside Romano's. "Ok, now just lift up your foot and." he was cut off as Elizabeth slipped out of his grip and fell promptly on her tailbone. "Bloody hell! I hate ice, I give up." Elizabeth reached her hands in the air expecting help but Romano was too busy laughing. "I'm glad you think that this is funny Robert. Your idea is awful." After Romano heard that he straightened out the look on his face and took her hand. After pulling her up he took both of her shoulders and firmly held her. "Now you can't give up that easy," he started "How about you grab the ledge and I'll go around once and show you?" once Elizabeth had a confident grip on the side of the rink Romano was off. Not trying to show off he slowly skated around in a circle. With his hands placed in his pockets Elizabeth could see the muscles of his legs working under his jeans as he went around. Carefully gliding from one foot to the other he gracefully returned to her on the side. "See? There's nothing to it. Now come on, we'll take it slow." Taking Elizabeth's hands in his he skated backwards in front of her as he pulled her out into the center. Shaking even more now Elizabeth desperately wanted to go back and sit down. Feeling this in her hands Romano knew he had to give her some confidence. "Come on. I'll stand behind you. You wont fall so don't even think about it. The whole thing with skating is confidence.and a little grace." Elizabeth reached back for his hands as he led her through the steps of moving.
Hand in hand they moved slowly around the center of the circle. "See I knew you could do it." Romano added as a seed of encouragement. He had already gotten over the fact that she had wrapped his arms around her and was desperately clutching them. He knew it was just because of fear. As he pushed harder with his legs they picked up speed. Fully aware of the fact that he was directing where they went he led her to the outside of the ring. Once there he increased speed even more. "Robert slow down!" Elizabeth squealed. Laughing he let go of her hands and watched her go. "See you can do it! You're going! You're going!! You're.falling." Romano squinted as he watched Elizabeth fall, hands flailing, into the ice. "Oh God." He said before he flew over to her after she didn't get up. "Elizabeth are you ok?" he yelled now feeling really bad about letting her go. He stopped on a dime and reached for his with his right hand. Having him fall perfectly into her trap Elizabeth quickly rolled over and pulled him down onto the ice. Falling on his shoulder with a thud she laughed whole-heartedly. "How's it feel to be on the wet ice now?" She laughed and she grabbed some ice chips and threw them on him. Romano, being slightly less then amused decided to play along. "Ok, you're in for it now." Elizabeth's eyes grew big as she saw him ball up a pile of ice. She tried to crawl away but it was no use. Within seconds Romano had her by the leg and pulled her back shoving the cold shavings of ice underneath her scarf. Screaming and pushing him onto his back she did the same back to him.
After a matter of minutes they both grew cold and tired. Realizing that everyone else around them had left they laughed at each other. Romano looked down at his soaking wet clothes. "Here we are again. You're going to be the death of me. Let me help you up." Elizabeth watched how he got his footing and tried to mimic it when it was her turn. "Don't let me fall anymore please Robert. I've taken enough abuse for one day."
Finally off the ice and back into their regular shoes they both sat on the bench together. "I'm sorry, I should have told you to wear pants. I didn't know you couldn't skate Elizabeth. Where I come from everyone knows." Romano said in a kind tone, not trying to be sarcastic. "So I guess you want me to take you home right?" he added almost lowering his head, but certainly his gaze from her. Reading his body language Elizabeth reached for his face. She felt Romano slightly jump at her touch and she turned his head to look at her. "Not at all." She said, "Not for awhile."