With reviews like these, I'm afraid to stop. Thank you so much everyone! This chapter isn't as snark-filled as the others, but don't give up on me. Romano hasn't gone soft. He's just not a phone person.

Elizabeth woke at the sound of her phone ringing. It had been a long day and when she finally got home that evening she barely had the energy to kick of her shoes before curling up on her couch for a nap. She looked down to her watch before answering the phone. It was 7:45. She had slept for less than an hour.

"Hello?"

"Lizzie."

"Uh hello Robert." She stumbled. A silence settled between them. She was confused. It was if the phone call has somehow inconvenienced Robert. But you called me. "What's on your mind tonight?"

"I thought we should find a way to communicate without an audience."

"Okay." And again Elizabeth's response was met with silence. She was growing frustrated. "Anything in particular you'd like to communicate?"

"No."

"Well you have a nice evening then"

"Has Ella had desert?" Robert interrupted.

"Desert? No. Actually Ella is staying with my mother this week."

"Oh." Elizabeth resisted the urge to speak first. "Because I found a place that sells gelato near me. You're right. This place does have food with flavor."

"Careful, you might fall in love with this city after all."

"Doubtful." He scoffed. "Any country that can make the happiest place on earth an economic failure, is not for me."

"See there now I never pictured you a Mickey Mouse fan."

"Definitely, you'd be surprised at what an aphrodisiac a trip to Disneyland can be."

"Oh really? You sound like you speak from experience."

"I do. I did my undergraduate studies at Cal Poly."

"Cal Poly? That's not exactly a Big Ten, is it?"

" Not exactly. We can't all be Oxford graduates. Actually, I wasn't exactly Big Ten material after high school."

"You weren't?" Elizabeth asked in shock. She couldn't imagine Robert ever had any kind of struggles in academia.

"Elizabeth."

She was caught off guard by his formality. "Yes?"

"I'm hungry."

"Oh, okay. I'm sorry. I'll let you go."

"No."

"No?"

"I mean yes, I would like to go. Would you?"

"To eat."

"Yes. I read recently that the antidote for hunger is food. It was the New England Journal of"

"Funny."

"Yes well, point is you never left the directions."

Elizabeth smiled. She wanted to make him work for it. "Oh well, I'm sure it's in the book. The restaurant's called, Strings and as I said it's right down from"

"Elizabeth." He cut her off.

"Yes?" she answered lyrically.

Robert took a deep breath. It was nervousness mixed with exasperation. Elizabeth took it as indecision and felt instantly guilty. "Would you like to join me for dinner tonight?"

"Yes Robert. That would be lovely."