Francisco drives around after dropping Elena off at her mother's. He has called Lynn for the last couple of hours and each time it keeps going to voicemail.

"Lynn, this is maybe the tenth call I've made. I know that you're mad, but you can't just ignore me because of that, so we need to talk," Francisco shakes his head. He knows that it is a terrible message, but he is getting annoyed with her behavior.

He went to DieselCity and she wasn't there. He went to Lucy's place and she wasn't there either. He went to Lynn's Table, the gym, her favorite lake, and even swung back to his place to see if she returned, but nothing.

"Romano's!"

It's Sunday and he figures that they would know where she is or that she would be at the looks around the parking lot to see if he could find Dutch, but nothing.

"Maybe they would know of another place," he convinces himself.

He peers through the window and sees a light coming from the back, "Wow they really changed the place."

Francisco knocks on the door, and hopes to grab someone's attention before the light goes out.

Raffaelina and Stefano step out from back and see him. She opens the door, "Francesco, why are you here so late?"

"Apparently, he still hasn't learned how to work that watch of his," Stefano complains.

Francisco checks him watch, "Look, I know it's late and that you guys want to relax and not worry about company, but I've looking for Lynn for a while and I was wondering if either one of you knew where she is."

Raffaelina looks at her son, "Chiudi la porta e vai di sopra, devo parlare con lui."

Stefano closes the door and left the two. Raffaelina leads him to a table and has him sit down, "What happened?"

Francisco winces in pain as he sits pulls out a pill and a broken piece, both of which he swallows dry, "I was mad her for mess she made, but it's not the first fight we've had. She's been more prone to outbursts, just the other day she got mad about me not liking that she gambles because I told her how she can do better with her life."

Raffaelina looks at him, "So you know? Good. I want her to stop too."

"Tell me about it. I know that she's good, but eventually her luck is going to run out and I'm afraid of what kind of trouble she'll get herself into trying to get her money or luck back."

"It's a dumb way to make money, but she always wins, that's why she keeps doing it," Raffaelina comments. "She's stubborn, but she calms down after our talks. How has she been?"

Francisco looks at her, surprised, " Wow…I never noticed that a few days after seeing you, she would end up as hot-headed as she is," he remembers to answer her question, "but I don't think much has changed since last Sunday except that she's probably going to work in her dad's restaurant."

She nods, "That's good. But we haven't talked in seven weeks, it's why I ask."

"Seven weeks? I thought that she always came to you every Sunday."

Raffaelina shakes her head, "Not since she found out that we were changing from deli to trattoria. She'll be back, but she's stubborn."

"How do you know she'll be back?"

She looks in dead in the eye and said, "She calms down and learns. But not just her."

He realizes what she means, "Me?"

She nods, "We talk and she tells me about you. She says that you're smart, hard-working, but too tough on yourself, that you love your daughter, hate your brother, but she hates him more."

He nods his head, "Yeah, that last part is definitely true. They've been at each other's throats since they met back when we were teenagers."

Raffaelina listens. She knows that the two have known each other for years, but Lynn had also mentioned that neither one asks the other much about their time after graduating high school.

"What do you know about her time before you meet?"

Francisco stops to think about it; he doesn't know much. Just like he doesn't talk much about his life while they were separated, she doesn't talk her life either. He's picked up a few things, but nothing that he could say is significant.

"I know that she went to college, she gets a lot of things from the tech company, Bryt Solutions, she bought that old car that keeps breaking down, she had some sort of run-in with an older guy, and her Pop-Pop and sports buddy died; that's all I know," or at least that's what he picked up on his own.

Raffaelina shakes her head, "That's it?"

Francisco is surprised, "What? You know more?"

"Yes, we talk and she told me some things."

"We've been dating for years, known each other for years before that, meanwhile you've both known each other for only a few months before her 29th birthday, how do you know more?"

"Not important."

"Yes, it's important!" he says, as he begins to get riled up, "If she can't even tell me about her past how are we ever going to get further in our relationship."

Raffaelina pulls out her phone and snaps a photo of him, "Do not speak when you are same way. She says you do not talk much, how you can receive if you do not give." She looks at the photo, and shows it him, "You are angry too, just like Linda…and maybe," she shakes her head before she searches through her phone and shows Francisco a photo of Lynn from the first day that the two women met. He looks at the photo and almost can't believe that it is Lynn; she is messy and looks defeated, as if life kept beating her down over and over again.

"What happened?"

Raffaelina doesn't speak, and contemplates what to do from here; she wants to tell him, but it isn't her place to tell him what Lynn hasn't already done so, "Enough…"

That isn't what Francisco wanted to hear. He wanted more information about what caused the spunky athlete to turn into the woman that he knows now.

"In the future," Raffaelina starts, "take deep breath and stay quiet. She'll tire out and you can calmly make points for yourself."

"So I just have let her lash out while I take it?"

"No, you take a deep breath and stay calm, if not, you lose. Trust me; fighting back on everything does no good with her."

"I guess…" Francisco looks at his watch, "It's getting late. I should leave you to your family."

"Wait!" she says before pulling out an invitation. "We are having a grand opening and would love if you and Linda can come."

Francisco looks at the invitation, "October 13th at 7pm. Are you organizing a date for us?"

She shrugs her shoulders.

"Uh…thanks, I think we might need it."

As Francisco gets up to leave, "Francesco, can I ask for something? Martino is stubborn like Linda, and is in pain and needs medicine, who is your doctor?"

Francisco stops and looks at her. She had a genuine look of concern in her eyes, and he responds, "Dr. Reynolds. I've been seeing him for years."

"Thank you, Francesco. I know you and Linda will make things better."

When Francisco left, Stefano comes back into the room, "Mamma, why did you lie? Babbo's back doesn't hurt."

Raffaelina shrugs her shoulders and locks the door before going upstairs.


The lunch bell rings and the students walk out of their classrooms to head to the cafeteria. As the cafeteria begins to fill with students, Francisco looks around for a place to eat in peace without attracting too much attention.

Ever since Lynn got the bright idea to throw her jock at him, he has been the target of some light teasing. As the days passed, he didn't encounter it as often, but there are still moments where he hears people bring it up just for fun.

Francisco hears some random boys tease him and he rolls his eyes at their taunts. He figures that if he ignores them, they'll eventually get bored from his lack of response, but regardless, there is still always someone willing to tease him for falling into the trashcan with a jock on his face.

"How long until someone else embarrasses themselves?" he asks himself, in hopes of getting those stubborn classmates to move onto someone else.

Rather than having to spend his lunch period hearing the same repetitive taunts, Francisco figures that he can leave the cafeteria and spend lunch elsewhere, but he notices an adult blocking the exit to keep the students from leaving.

He has an idea of how he can get around the principal's assistant, but he isn't sure if she'll believe his lie. Francisco looks around the cafeteria and spots Lynn in the lunch line. He waves to her; hoping to grab her attention and get her on board with his plan. She runs out of the line with her food in her hands, before she is called the cafeteria lady telling her to get back in line to pay for her food.

After she gets out of line, Lynn runs towards him and as soon as she gets close, he quietly tells her, "Pack your lunch."

"What? Why?" she asks, confused by his request.

He shrugs his shoulders, "It's too crowded in here, and the teachers aren't going to let us out if they see our lunch."

Lynn looks around, the cafeteria is no more crowded than usual, but then she hears someone tease him about the trash incident as they pass by the two, "You want to say that to our faces?!" she threatens the boy.

The boy shrugs his shoulders, "Really Francisco? You're gonna get your girlfriend to defend you?"

Both teens blush and Francisco quickly says, "She is not my girlfriend. We're just friends."

Lynn doesn't say a thing, but she still glares at the boys; she doesn't feel like being reminded of the relationship that isn't going to be.

Francisco places his hand on Lynn's shoulder, "Forget it; it's not worth getting in trouble for."

She takes a deep breath as she calms down, "Fine!" she turns to face the troublemaker, "but this isn't over!" she declares.

The two walk away, but as Lynn passes the boy, she takes the opportunity to kick him in the shin for teasing her friend.

Near the trashcan, Lynn packs her lunch into her backpack and follows after Francisco. She doesn't know why he cares so much when he's been taking things in stride against their peers, but she isn't going to say no to spending lunch with him.

As the two head towards the door, the principal's secretary stops them both in their tracks, "Mr. De Los Reyes, Ms. Loud, where are you both going?"

Francisco immediately says, "We got in trouble with the librarian and Ms. Gibson told us that we had to spend lunch helping her organize the books. Probably shouldn't have kept talking after she shushed us so many times, but someone," he points his head at Lynn, "couldn't help herself and we both got in trouble."

Lynn turns her head to Francisco; surprised by the lie that he is telling the administrator.

The secretary looks at both of them, unsure if she should believe him, but considering Lynn's history with the school staff, especially when it comes to instructions; she believes them and lets them go.

As they walk away from the cafeteria, Lynn speaks up, "What the–"

Francisco glares at her to keep her quiet; they are still too close to the cafeteria and the hallways can possibly echo what she says.

When they are far enough, the two take a seat by the stairs, and Lynn asks, "What the heck was that? Why'd you lie?"

"I didn't want to spend lunch in the cafeteria and this is the only way that we would have been allowed to leave," he says. "It's not like it's true, so why does it matter?"

"You threw me under the bus!" she complains.

"Call it revenge for the jock you threw at me," he says in a matter-of-fact tone.

Lynn glares at him, "I thought you let that go?!"

He chuckles, "I don't remember saying that. I just asked why you did it."

She rolls her eyes before walking ahead of him, "C'mon! Hurry up before someone sees us."

Francisco notices that Lynn is being to run further ahead, so he quickly runs to catch up as she leads him to some stairs that go down beneath the school.


After leaving Romano's, Francisco drives towards Lynn's childhood home; it's one of the last places left, and a place, that admittedly, he should have started at first. He spots Dutch parked in front of the house and he parks behind her.

Francisco steps out and heads towards the front door, he rings the doorbell and a shock of electricity shoots up his arm.

The sound of his stifled yell grabs Lynn Sr.'s attention from inside and he opens the door to let him in, "Francisco, how are you doing?"

As Francisco clutches his arm, he responds, "Good evening Mr. Loud. I'm good. Is Lynn around?"

"Yes," he responds, "I'm here," he jokes.

Francisco gives a polite chuckle before the older man walks back into the house to get Lynn.

She steps outside and closes the door behind her, "Hey…" she says, unsure of what to say.

For the last couple of hours, Lynn has had a nice little conversation with her dad and it has given her a small opportunity to calm down, but she is still nervous to talk to Francisco, especially after what she said and how she has behaved.

"Are you okay?" he asks.

"Yeah…" she says as she takes a seat on the steps.

Francisco follows her and struggles as he takes a seat next to her. He pulls out his medicine from his pocket and takes a broken pill dry, "Look, about what happened. I know that you're stressed about this job and–"

"I don't…I don't know why I did it; why I got mad…I was just…" she struggles to find the right words.

"Frustrated?" he finishes.

He understands that she's stressed, but it isn't an excuse for her behavior. When they were young, Lynn was the type to get mad and be aggressive, and while she doesn't show it as frequently it still pops up from time to time.

"No," she shakes her head, "Look, the word's not important, I'm trying to apologize. I've been moody and you and the others didn't need to hear me blow up like that. So yeah, I'm sorry."

He wraps his arm around her shoulder, and they silently look out at the front yard. He doesn't know what to say; it's hard to let go with just a few simple words, but there isn't much more that can be done except learn from what has happened.

"I mean…" Lynn starts as she tries to explain what went on in her head, "it's just hard when I try to explain what's going on, but no one understands me. It probably doesn't help that I'm as moody as I am."

Francisco chuckles, but stays quiet. Yes, Lynn can be emotionally intense sometimes; he's used to it, but sometimes it takes him by surprise what sort of things can upset her.

When he doesn't say a thing, she continues, "I mean, I try. I don't think that I'm as bad as I was as a kid, but…" she remembers how aggressive she was when she was very young with her siblings, "Is the house still bad? I mean, I can clean it up, it is my fault, and it's not fair that you and Elena had to clean up after I left, especially since they spent the afternoon as my taste testers."

Feeling that she may not stop any time soon, he decides to bring up what happened earlier while he was searching for her, "I talked with Raffaelina. She says that you haven't visited her in the last couple of weeks."

Lynn scoffs, "We don't have to see each other every week. I'm sure she's sick of seeing me all the time, and sometimes I need a break from driving to her place."

He doesn't believe her. He's sure that she was bothered by the changes to the former deli, and it would explain why she hasn't visited in such a long time; but he can tell by the look in her eyes, that she misses seeing them.

"I think that she would appreciate you, you know, going," he starts, "and then you can see what you missed."

She shakes her head, "I'm fine. Besides, it's not like I have to eat their sandwiches every week."

"Lynn," he says firmly. "The changes have been done, and I think that they would appreciate their best customer, friend, going to see them on their opening night," he pulls out the invitation that Raffaelina gave him, "What do you say?"

She looks at the envelope. Her fingers are gliding across the crease as she thinks about whether or not she actually wants to go back to the restaurant.

"Fine… I'll talk with them. Then we'll see what happens."

"That's all I ask."

She walks into the house and steps outside again, this time with a bag in her hand.

"What do you got?"

Lynn smiles, "Your favorite," she pulls out some chocolate chip cookies from the bag, "Do you want one?" He shakes his head, as Lynn takes a bite out of the snack. A large chunk breaks off and falls to the ground. She chuckles, "Guess you wanted a piece, didn't you?"

"I'm fine," he assures her.

She doesn't take no for an answer and places it in front of his face, "Eat it!" she orders him. "You know you want to."

Francisco sighs and takes a bite out of the cookie. It's been years since he's had the Loud's famous chocolate chip cookie, and it still tastes exactly the same as it did when he was younger, "Thanks…" he mutters as he leaves the rest of the cookie uneaten.

Lynn helps him up and they head to their vehicles, "Do you mind swinging back here tomorrow so that we can look at Dutch?"

"It broke down again?!"

"I don't know! It was making a funny sound and I don't want to be stranded on the side of road in the dark."

Francisco sighs, "Fine, but you drive," he says as he tosses her the keys to his truck.


The two go down, and Francisco sees a poorly lit hallway devoid of any life; the sounds of their footsteps echoes down the hallway and it makes Francisco wonder if the film club is shooting a horror movie down here.

"What are we doing down here?"

Lynn begins walking down the hall, "No one seems to come down here, so I figured that it would be perfect. Now, no one can bug us and the teachers won't punish us for lying." Francisco follows after her. "But try to remember which way we came from," she warns. "We don't want to spend all day down here."

Francisco laughs at her warning, "We'd have to make a lot of mistakes for that to happen."

Lynn scowls, but Francisco doesn't notice, "I found this place in sixth grade and I've been coming down here whenever I can."

"Why?"

She shrugs her shoulders, "Boredom, curious, just cause. Who cares?" She notices that Francisco is about to step on a discarded cleat stud, "Look down," she tells him.

He looks at the little cleat and picks it up, "Did you put this here?"

"Yup," she proudly boasts, "That's how I know where I've been. Pretty impressive, huh?"

Francisco isn't sure why she's proud of that idea; it seems simple enough to get in and out by retracing their steps. He also can't figure out why she's curious about this place; there's nothing but dust, discarded desks and trash.

Lynn turns over two desks for them to sit on, blows the dust off, and takes a seat. She pulls out her lunch bag and digs around in it, "Let's see what my dad packed – a chicken sandwich, fruit, chips, my favorite sports drink–"

"Fruit punch?"

"You know me so well," she teases, "and I know that my dad packed me a cookie in here."

Francisco realizes something, as she goes through her packed lunch, "Why did you bother going through the lunch line if you already had something from home?" he asks. "I doubt that you'll be able to finish it and the food you got from the cafeteria."

"Is that a challenge?"

Francisco laughs, "No!"

"I think it is! Watch out! I'm gonna show you that I can eat all this food"

He doesn't bother stopping her; he knows that he can't, but it never hurts to see if today is the day that Lynn decides to listen to reason rather than her gut.

Lynn takes a bite from her meatball sub, and with her mouth full of food tells him, "You're gonna eat your wor-" she begins choking on her food and she makes a grab for her sports drink.

"Have you learned lesson?"

"What lesson?" she scoffs.

"Never mind," he says, knowing that she isn't going stop her 'challenge'.

The two eat quietly. While they do spend their lunch periods with one another, it's rarely as quiet as it it's at the moment; however, that may be due to Lynn trying to finish two meals at once and Francisco spending his time looking around the empty halls.

"Are you still getting teased from when I threw my jock at you?"

Francisco doesn't say a word. He doesn't want to remember the shock or the laughter; he just wants to put it behind him.

"It's no big deal," he says with a smile, in hopes of reassuring her.

Even if he says that he's fine, Lynn still feels bad that their peers keep bringing up the incident.

"You know that I'm sorry about that, right?"

He nods his head and places a hand on her shoulder, "Yeah, I know. That's what friends are for."

She down at her lunch and smiles; it's not just that he still considers her a friend, but it's those unfortunate residual feelings that she still has for him. Lynn knows that she probably looks silly to him, but it's going to take a while to forget that she likes him. She spent a long time looking at him as more than just a friend, and now they have to go back to that.

"Exactly!"

Before pulling out his lunch, he spits in his hand and offers it to her, which she happily accepts and returns the gesture.


Lynn pulls into the parking lot at Romano's. She takes a deep breath before she knocks on the front door. It had been almost two months since she last talked to Raffaelina and here she is, like a dog with its tail between its legs.

Raffaelina opens the door, "It's nice to see you again. Come in."

Lynn looks around the trattoria. The once simple deli with checkered floors is now transformed into, what Lynn imagines, to be an authentic Italian restaurant. The exposed brick walls, the wine bottles decorating the walls of the new bar, the warm lighting, the beautiful wooden furniture; it is all so different.

"Wow…this looks…great," Lynn struggles to say.

Raffaelina can sense the words getting caught in Lynn's throat. For as long as the two have known each other, this place has always the deli; the place where she could expect to talk and eat in peace without fear or judgment, now all of that is gone; at least in Lynn's mind.

Lynn takes a seat and looks at everything again. She can't believe how different it looks, everywhere she looks, she expects to find the something familiar, but everything is new and she doesn't know how to feel.

Raffaelina takes a seat in front of her, and breaks the ice, "How are things, Linda?"

Lynn's eyes keep wandering around the restaurant. No matter how many times her eyes are seeing the new Romano's all she could do is feel like she didn't belong.

Raffaelina snaps her fingers in front of Lynn, "Are you okay?"

"Yes, it's just different and…yeah…"

"Does it bother you?"

She knows that Lynn liked how things were before; especially if she thinks that they are a part of her 'good luck ritual'. However, Lynn needs to learn that just because something changes, her good fortune isn't going to go away; no matter how insistent she is that her hard work isn't the attributing factor.

Lynn scoffs, but Raffaelina knows the truth; Lynn is bothered by the changes to her once favorite deli. The deli that she's known for as long as she's known the family, that she's visited weekly, that never changed despite everything else changing; that deli is changing too.

Without looking at the woman in front of her, Lynn says, "I'm guessing that you guys aren't going to be serving your sandwiches anymore…"

Raffaelina shakes her head, "No, we are going to serve more traditional food."

"Great…" Lynn complains.

She's aware that the family wants to do better for themselves, but she just wished that they didn't have to go through all these changes just to get ahead in life.

'You could've just added the tomato sauce to the old menu, and then you wouldn't have had to change much…'

"Francisco told me that you invited us to your grand re-opening," Lynn mentions.

The older woman nods her head, "Yes, we hope that you'll be there."

Lynn nods her head, "Yeah…I think that Francisco and I can, you know, make it and whatnot."

"I'm glad. How is he doing?"

The younger woman is surprised; Raffaelina rarely brings him up unless she was quiet and stubborn.

"He's fine, why?"

"Are you sure? There's nothing going on?"

"We made up after we fought," Lynn reasons. "He said that we were fine and he hasn't brought it up at all, although he does complain a little more about my trips to the casino."

Raffaelina groans; that's not what she's talking about, "No! I mean do you notice anything about him?" she asks in hopes that Lynn can piece together what she's referring to on her own.

It isn't exactly something you bring up without proof, but surely Lynn has seen something after all their years together, even if she hasn't put together all of the pieces herself.

Lynn shakes her head; unsure of what she's talking about. She gets up from her seat, "I should probably get going, so I guess I'll see you tomorrow or something…" she says as she turns around and walks away.

"Dimmi con chi vai, e ti dirò chi sei," Raffaelina says.

Lynn sighs, she hates when Raffaelina speaks to her in Italian as if she understood it, "Okay, I get it; you want me to keep learning! I'll try to keep the streak going," she tells Raffaelina, who sighs at her friend's thick-headedness.


Francisco finishes his lunch, he pulls out his favorite dessert from his lunch bag, a Gansito cake. As if he were a little boy, happily hums as he sets down the snack and puts his trash away, excited about the sweet treat that he is about to consume.

Lynn spots the unfamiliar chocolate snack cake on his desk and she asks him, "What's that?"

"It's my dessert," he says.

She rolls her eyes, "I know that, I meant what is it?"

"It's a vanilla cake with strawberry jelly and vanilla cream covered–"

"In chocolate," she finishes. It looks good and it sounds delicious based on his description, "Can I try a bite?" she asks hoping that he would let her try a piece of his dessert.

"No way!" he says, taking the treat away from where she can take it, "This is my favorite treat. Besides, you don't have anything to trade that would be worth it to me," he says as he looks at a bag of chips that she has yet to eat.

"I can find something!" she says in desperation, as she searches her backpack for some sort of snack to trade. "Remember that cookie I told you about? I know that my dad put one in, and you can have it; it's got cinnamon, and somehow my dad can make them crispy on the bottom with a soft and chewy center, plus it's homemade which has got to be better than something you get from some factory."

Her description is making Francisco wonder why she wants his treat when her's sounds better; but he doubts that if he says anything that Lynn will listen, as she already has her sights set on his dessert.

Lynn empties her backpack onto the floor and Francisco sees a bunch of papers make a mess on the floor. She doesn't worry about the mess that she made; instead, she just shuffles old assignments and notebooks in search of a treat.

As he waits for her to find anything to offer him, Francisco cleans up some of the sheets that she littered on the floor. He notices the date and wonders why she bothers keeping an old assignment from the beginning of the school year. As he grabs more papers, he sees that Lynn practically carries a year's worth of worksheets, notes, and flyers in her backpack for seemingly no good reason.

"Why do you have so much junk in your backpack?"

"Strength training," she says as she proudly shows off her muscles.

He laughs, "You exercise everyday, and I'm supposed to believe that? Besides, you're probably doing more harm to your back than good."

She sticks out her tongue at him, and continues her search. Lynn is aware that she should clean out her backpack more often, but if she doesn't keep the papers in her backpack, she's sure that she's just going to lose them or make a mess in her room; rather than risk that, it's easier for her to keep them on her person until she is sure that she no longer needs the papers.

Francisco organizes the papers that she's searched under. He looks at the time on his watch and he notices that he and Lynn don't have much time until lunch is over and they have to go back to class.

"Look, I'll tell you when I bring another Gansito cake next time and then you can have a dessert ready," he tells her. "C'mon we have to get back upstairs."

"I know it's in here," Lynn says as she searches in her near empty backpack.

Francisco takes a seat on the desk as he watches her drop her pencils onto the floor.

"I found it!" she declares.

He points to the mess that she made.

"Fine! Give me a minute," she tells him.

The boy unwraps the snack cake, but absent-mindedly places it into his mouth before remembering that Lynn wanted to taste it.

"What the heck?! I thought that you were going to share?" Lynn complains.

He shrugs his shoulders; he never agreed to share in the first place and there's nothing she can do now that he's eating it.

Lynn, not wanting to miss out of the snack cake, takes a bite from the opposing side that he hasn't eaten yet. Francisco blushes as she sees her smiling face pull away from his, "Thank you," she teases as she licks off the chocolate frosting from her lips. "That was delicious."

A small piece of the snack cake falls to the ground, and both of them look at the uneaten piece. She takes the piece and places it with the rest of her trash.

Francisco gets up from his seat, "Well, we should probably get going before the bell rings. I doubt we want to get lost," he says with a smile.

"Yeah," Lynn agrees before tossing her trash into her backpack. She takes her cookie and hands it to him, "Sorry for stealing half of your dessert."


Lynn stares at herself in the mirror. Even after all these years, she can't seem to get the hang of putting on makeup correctly without making a mess. She groans in frustration before grabbing a makeup wipe to clear the excess mascara. She looks at herself in the mirror, and is reminded of when she and Francisco went to Corbett's Lodge; she was nervous then and now she feels those same feelings as she gets ready to leave.

Francisco walks up behind her and rests his chin on her shoulder, "You look beautiful," he says as he gives her a teasing kiss on her neck, "and while I don't mean to rush you, are you almost done?"

Her cheeks begin to warm as she feels his teasing lips on her skin, "I figured that I should at least try to look nice for their grand re-opening," she says as she tries to re-apply her makeup, "You know, I wouldn't take so long if I didn't have to putting on more concealer than necessary," she teases.

A small tint of red appears on his cheeks, "Well I didn't hear any complaints," Lynn glares at him, he clears his throat, "Anyway, we should get going, I don't want us to be late."

She rolls her eyes, "How about instead of trying to rush me out the door, why don't you put on a tie?"

"Because we don't have an hour for me to learn how to tie one and–"

"You still can't tie a tie?" she interrupts. "I mean how have you gone all these years without learning?"

Francisco stops to think about it, "Because my dad never owned one, or wore one, and I never had many occasions where it was necessary to wear one."

"All I hear are excuses," she tells him. "I know you have one, go get it and I'll help you tie it," she tells him.

As he walks out of the bathroom, Lynn looks back at her reflection, she tries to hype herself up, "Alright, let's get this done and then we can go and be supportive," she tells the mirror.

Francisco steps inside with his tie, "Here it is."

The tie that he's holding onto is wrinkled, stained, and looks as though it has been collecting dust in his closet for years.

"Seriously? That's your only tie? What do you do when Elena has a nice event going on?"

"I iron my nice pants and button-down shirt and call it a day," he tells her.

Lynn sighs, "When we get back we're getting you a tie," she tells him.

Francisco chuckles and leaves her alone to finish getting ready. As she steps out of the bedroom, he steps back inside and hears Lynn complain about how he was now wasting their time. He laughs and mentions that he is just giving her a taste of her own medicine.

He walks up to his cabinet and pulls out some cologne, "Let's do this," he tells himself, despite worrying that Lynn will probably be too close-minded to enjoy the night out.

As they step into his truck and drive to the restaurant, "Are you nervous?" he asks her, despite knowing the answer.

After she came back from seeing Raffaelina yesterday, Lynn appeared the same as before, except he could tell that she couldn't stop thinking about the changes and their upcoming dinner date. For most of the night, Lynn was pacing back and forth, muttering to herself; she eventually calmed down after she fell asleep in the morning, but he knows what she is feeling.

"No, why?"

"Just wondering," he says.

As the two step out of the truck, they look inside of the trattoria; they can see the family and the new workers inside as they make the grand re-opening a success.

She nervously holds onto his arm and notices something different, "Are you wearing cologne?"

"Yeah, it's date night. I thought that I'd surprise you and try something a little different since you didn't like me not wearing a tie. Also, how did you not notice when I was driving here?"

"I don't know! I think I was distracted," she shakes her head, "I like how you normally smell."

"Normally? You mean when you compare me to a baseball glove in a gym bag in a garage? You're kidding."

Lynn doesn't answer and instead chooses to walk through the doors. Francisco follows her, and the two walk inside. While they had an opportunity to see the trattoria in the daytime, the ambiance feels much more differently at night when the smells of the food are combined with the chatter from the patrons and the warm lights.

The two take a seat at a table and Lynn opens the menu; she is unfamiliar with the menu's new items that are far from what she accustomed to, "I don't know what to get."

Francisco looks in the menu. He has an idea of what traditional Italian cooking is, but judging by the look on Lynn's face, she's lost and has no idea what she may like.

"Do you know what you want to eat?"

"I don't know…maybe some chicken parmesan," she tells him.

She isn't going to find that on the menu. Francisco looks back down and looks for anything that would be safe enough for her to try and not complain, but he knows that what she thinks of Italian food is far from what is on the menu.

"How about you try the chicken cacciatore? I think that you'd like that."

Lynn reads the description, "But it doesn't have pasta noodles."

"Try it anyway," he tells her. "I had it once in college and I liked it, and I'm sure that they make it better than I've had it." Remembering Raffaelina's words, he continues, "I mean, I know that the dorm I lived was big on Italian culture, but still."

"Really?"

"Okay, I'm exaggerating a bit, but seriously, we had bocce ball tournaments, movie nights, and these large family-style dinners. Some of the students really took to it and tried creating 'authentic' dishes, well, as authentic as you can get at a California university on a college student's budget."

Lynn is a little surprised that he began speaking up about his time in college; he would rarely bring it up, and she doesn't often feel like reliving the idea of college by asking about his time there.

"Did you ever learn how to cook one of these so called 'meals'?" she teases.

He opens his mouth, "Not one bit." They both laugh, "I think I tried once and one of the upperclassmen complained that I was doing it wrong." In a mocking tone he imitates the girl, "Why is your sauce so salty? The pasta is falling apart! You threw away the water?!" Lynn laughs at the mistakes, "I eventually got banned from cooking for the others when we made these large dinners."

"Yeah, I bet," Lynn says as she stifles a laugh. "But hold on, when I was sick you made some pretty decent soup; that tomato, chicken and stars one was good, so I know that you aren't an entirely hopeless cook," she says in an effort to make him feel a little better.

Francisco chuckles, "That's because when I came back to Royal Woods, my mom insisted that I learn how to cook something edible so that I can take care of Elena and Caroline; so at least I can make soups and very simple dishes from my childhood."

The waiter walks up to the couple, "Would you like to look at the wine menu?"

Francisco looks over at Lynn, "I can drive if you want," he offers.

"But you can't drink."

"It's by the glass, not the bottle. Just order one for yourself if you want."

"I don't," she tells both him and the waiter, "Water'll be fine."

Raffaelina places a hand on the waiter and has him leave to tend to other patrons. She looks down at the couple, "I'm glad you were able to come tonight, it means a lot to us."

Francisco speaks up, "It's nice of you to have us. Right, Lynn?"

Lynn, who appears as if she is coming out of a trance, looks up and tells Raffaelina, "Nice to see you."

The older woman smiles, "Nice to see you too," she says as she places a hand on Lynn's shoulder to get her attention away from the trattoria's decorations, "I'll leave you both to enjoy your evening," she tells the couple.

Francisco's eyes follow Raffaelina, "That was nice of her."

"Yeah…"

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asks, hoping that being here could help her think and speak about what has been bothering her.

Lynn shakes her head, "No, I think I know what's wrong and it's not gonna go away overnight."

"Can you tell me? Maybe I can help."

She takes a deep breath, but decides not to tell him; she's had years to do so, but she doesn't want to him to worry or look at her like he feels sorry for her.

"It's fine. Now, let's get that waiter over here so I can order that catcher's chicken."

"Cacciatore," he corrects.

"Whatever."

After finishing their meals, which Lynn admits to have enjoyed despite missing the deli's old menu, the two get up from their seats to call it an evening. Raffaelina walks over to the two and she hands them a jar of their favorite tomato sauce, "Thank you for coming," she hugs Lynn and whispers into her ear, "I'm sorry…but you know that everything is going to be fine."


Well, we got an opportunity to see what this story was originally going to be. Before the idea of past shots, there was supposed to be parts where Francisco and Lynn explain their pasts, but I couldn't convince myself that people stop and reminisce as much as I was going to make the two, and the shots give us an opportunity to see their real lives without it being misremembered.

Apologies for the tardiness, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter.