I know it's slow going. I don't even know if I like this story anymore. But I'm going to try and work through all this plot stuff and then get back to the banter in the next chapter.
Elizabeth stood outside of Romano's front door holding an aluminum-covered pan of lasagna, talking herself out of leaving. "Damn it Elizabeth you're already here, just do it!" She inhaled deeply and then rang the bell.
"Auroog," Gretal said waking up and getting to her feet. Gretal looked down the stairs. Seeing the open door and hearing the music she went to the front door herself.
"Gruff Gruft! Shluuupt!" She barked at the door shaking the sleep out of her head.
Elizabeth leaned into the door trying to make out the noises coming from the other side. Gretal had leaned her head down to the bottom of the door and smelling the lasagna she reared up on her back legs and threw her body full force into the door pushing it open.
Gretal's paws flew forward and landed squarely on Elizabeth's shoulders causing her to drop the pan. Gretal licked at her face rapidly. Then seeing the pan on the ground, she proceeded to dig into the reward she assumed was payment for the kisses.
"No! Wait! Shoo!" Elizabeth tried feebly to direct the dog away from the food. Looking at the mess, she changed her tactics, "good job Gretal. Get it all. No need to leave evidence on Robert's doorstep."
Once the mess was sufficiently cleaned up, Elizabeth picked up the tray and followed Gretal into the house. She was immediately taken in by the high ceiling and the hardwood floor. It was an architect's dream with hexagonal windows artistically arranged letting in the evening's light.
"Robert?"
"Grrrulff," Gretal answered indicating to Elizabeth that she ought to be following her.
"Well, OK. Lead the way."
As the approached the rear of the house she heard two voices singing, "I can't help myself, I've got to see you again." She immediately recognized one voice as Nora Jones but dropped her mouth open wide when she realized the other was Robert's.
Gretal resumed her sleeping position at the head of the stairs indicating with her eyes that Romano was down "there". Elizabeth froze realizing the informality of her practically letting herself in and walking through his house. Nervously she thought about leaving. But as the song ended she found her courage.
"Robert?" she asked from her position at the top pf the stairs behind Gretal.
"Gretal?" he thought quietly. Then thinking about it, he shook his head and redirected his attention to the artery he had just circumvented. "Slowly…slowly…" he said quietly while intensely focused on releasing the clamp.
Nervous that another song would start up again and she would miss her opportunity to have him hear her, she yelled, "ROBERT?"
The clamp clattered to the floor releasing the air pressure sensors to register a "failure" on his program. "Shit!" He spat and threw a pair of forceps across the room.
Then recognizing what startled him in the first place, he turned off the CD and asked, "Elizabeth?"
Upon hearing the commotion she ran to the stairs quickly and was bumping up against Gretal the whole way down as they both raced to him. Once they hit the bottom step Romano shouted, "NO! GRETAL! BACK UP!"
His tone startled both of them. Elizabeth offered a soft apology before she turned and started back up the steps with Gretal (tail between their legs.)
"No wait, Lizzie, not you," he scrambled removing his latex glove with his teeth and following her. "I didn't mean you."
"No Robert, I'm sorry, I'll go." She said as she continued up the stairs more embarrassed than anything.
"No, I don't wait you to go. I was just…"
"No really I didn't mean to interrupt."
"You didn't, I just…"
Pausing she stopped and turned to him at the same time they said…
Elizabeth: What did I interrupt anyway?
Robert: How did you get in here anyway?
They looked at one another and smiled. Neither one had a simple explanation to offer. After a beat Elizabeth finished, "I really didn't mean to startle you."
"No really, it's fine. I was just finishing up. I just wasn't expecting any company." He paused and thinking back to their last conversation in the hospital room earlier that day he finished, "You know when I said I wanted you opening doors for me on our date. I didn't mean I was incapable of opening them. You could have knocked. In fact, color me jealous, you could have knocked and rang the bell at the same time."