Chapter 17

The restaurant was a nice place tucked away on the corner of two streets, which made pulling in and out a nightmare. Diana and Tom waited as the hostess pulled out two menus and escorted them to a table for two. Tom pulled Diana's chair out allowing her to sit before he took a seat across from her.

It was an Italian restaurant and right behind Tom's head was a poster that taught the reader how to say cheese in Italian. It amused Diana and she started laughing before she looked down at her menu.

"What?" Tom asked.

"There's a poster about cheese in Italian behind your head," Diana pointed out.

Tom turned around and let out a small laugh at the cartoons on the poster. "Cheese can be funny," he said.

"So," Diana sighed looking at her menu. "What looks good?"

"To be completely honest, I haven't been here before."

"Well, were do we start then?" Diana asked. "The wine list? The menu? The specials?"

"The wine list sounds good. What kind of wine do you like?"

"Red," Diana said. "But I don't like strong wines."

"Why's that?" Tom asked.

"Because I tend to get extremely drunk," Diana said. "I mean that would be fine if you wanted me to get drunk for some reason."

The both laughed at the implication. "This one seems good," Tom said gesturing to one of the wines on the list.

"Let's go for it," Tom said as they both went back to the regular menus. "So how has it been being home alone?"

"I can't believe that I have to stay home for another two weeks," Diana said. "My siblings won't let me do anything."

"That's kind of the point of relaxing," Tom said.

"If this is relaxing then I don't enjoy it one bit," Diana said as she sighed. "I miss Maia so much."

"We're going to find her Diana," Tom said. "We've made a lot of progress on the case; it's only a matter of time."

"I know, but that doesn't make waiting any easier," Diana said. "You know what she said to me about a week ago? She said that we would end up having dinner one night. I didn't believe her. She provided so many details and I just let out a little chuckle."

"Well I wouldn't have thought of asking you out a week ago either but tragedy could push people together or pull them apart."

"I guess so," Diana said. "So what are we going to order?"

"I'm going to for the veal cutlets," Tom said.

"I think I'm going to go for the fettuccini," Diana said as she closed her menu.

"Have you talked to your father?" Tom asked.

"Yes, I am glad that I did talk to him," Diana said. "They're leaving in a few days."

"Really?"

"Yeah, Darryl has to get back to his B and B and my sister thinks that dad would be more comfortable at home. I can't say that I blame them."

"Your sister is a very colorful character. She told us about the Madonna thing."

"She won't let that go," Diana said.

"Just out of curiosity, which song was it?" Tom asked.

"I hate to disappoint you, but it wasn't Like a Virgin, it was Holiday," Diana said.

"Which one was that again?" Tom asked.

"You're gonna make me sing?" Diana said.

"Come on," Tom said. "Just a few lines."

Reluctantly, Diana began to sing in a very low voice, "If we took a Holiday, took some time to celebrate, just one day out of life." She stopped singing. "I can't sing anymore."

"Did you buy her latest album?" Tom asked referring to American Life.

"I think I got over that phase of my life," Diana said.

"Are you ready to order?" the waiter asked.

"Yes," Tom said. "I'll have the veal, and the lady here will have the fettuccini and we would like a bottle of the house's red wine."

"No problem sir," the waiter said. "I hope you enjoy your meal."

"Thank you," Tom said.

The entrees passed quickly and soon the couple ordered dessert before they headed home.

"Have you thought about getting Maia a dog?" Tom asked.

"She's slid it into the conversation more times than I can count," Diana said. "Secretly, I've checked with my landlord and he said that pets were allowed in the building. So, I was thinking maybe I'd surprise her for her birthday."

"What kind of dog were you thinking of getting?"

"I was thinking of a yellow lab, " Diana said. "I found a reputable breeder, but I could get her beagle."

"I think she'd like the beagle," Tom said. "She'd be able to hold it. It would be a puppy right?"

"Yeah, figured we would start with a puppy, and then the puppy would grow into an adult dog," Diana said.

"You may want to take Maia out and have her pick the puppy," Tom said.

"Yeah, I think that's a good plan," Diana said.

Tom sighed, "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah," Diana said.

"Check please," Tom called to the waiter. The waiter bought him the check and he paid before they headed out to the car.

"Dinner was fabulous," Diana said as she and Tom took a seat on the couch.

"To think I am actually capable of picking a place that looks nice just from the exterior," Tom said.

Diana laughed briefly and then smiled. Tom moved closer and kissed her on the lips. She deepened the kiss allowing his tongue access into her mouth.

Without verbal communication their bodies rose from the couch and traveled into Diana's bedroom without breaking the kiss. Once they reached the edge of the bed, Tom began stripping of Diana's clothes before laying her on the bed. Diana began removing Tom's clothes as their passion for each other deepened and the two bodies became one.

TBC