Diana glanced at her reflection. Enzo had done well in picking out this necklace and earring set. She finally had a man who cared enough to pay attention to her tastes, although she didn't hesitate to remind him by dropping hints when they shopped together. No straight man had ever indulged her shopping habit like Enzo had. He really spoke her language and knew what she loved, buying her what she didn't buy herself.
Lauren stopped by Diana's office with her phone already out, reviewing notes for the meeting.
"Hey, sweet bling!" Lauren nearly yelled across the room. Diana rolled her eyes. She kept Lauren in their marketing department because as frustratingly obnoxious as she could be sometimes, she had a good eye for what would sell.
"It was a gift from Enzo. He really is the most thoughtful husband." She patted her neck.
"Hey, you're here early!" Liza exclaimed cheerfully, stepping through Diana's doorway. Charles waved as he walked past her office. "Our morning routine took a little longer than expected, but I'm here!"
"I have no idea how you can be so bubbly in the morning. It's aggravating," Diana half joked. It really was a sight to behold. She never knew a true morning person until she met Liza.
"Oh, well if you start the morning with some activity, it puts you in a good mood all day."
"I could never get to the gym before work. Good for you."
"Who said I went to the gym early?" Liza stopped herself, realizing she had revealed too much about her late arrival. "Well, since I'm running late, better grab my coffee now." Liza's phone rang, distracting her. "Yes," she said, "We have you on the schedule for next week. I suppose we could move it up." She left Diana's office at her usual brisk pace.
"She seems innocent at first, but deep down she is just as dirty minded as me," Lauren concluded. "But that's what they say, a lady in the streets, but a freak-"
"Oh, Lauren. I just don't want to know. Don't make me imagine." Diana shooed Lauren away from her desk as she picked up her coffee and notes for the meeting.
It was morning meeting time at the office and everyone was heading to the board room. Liza arrived at the coffee maker, seeing she only had five minutes until their meeting started. "I guess there's no time to make myself coffee," she sighed.
"I made you something," Charles said, appearing next to her. He had less work to organize this morning and was a few steps ahead of her.
"You are a lifesaver, sweetheart," she replied, kissing him gently as she scanned for anyone in the area. Liza tried her hardest to keep a businesslike demeanor despite working with Charles.
She followed him into the boardroom, where a few others were already seated. Liza sat down and he handed the perfectly prepared cup of coffee to her. "Thank you!"
"As you wish," Charles said, repeating a familiar inside joke. The Princess Bride was a favorite movie of theirs, and they quoted this line when they wanted to express their love without making anyone feel uncomfortable.
Diana smiled, seeing her opportunity to ask them something important. Liza and Charles were both here and the meeting had not yet been called to order. "Can you two join me for a dinner party?"
"Maybe, when is it?" Liza asked.
"This Saturday. At my place," Diana replied.
"Don't you mean yours and Enzo's place?"
"Yes, well you know what I meant."
"I do. But I see him flinch every time you call it only your place."
"He does? I need to be more observant. And I still don't understand his recent need to text me constantly. I mean, what man in his forties sends cutesy little text messages all day? Can't he just call me?"
Liza was silent for a minute, glanced at Charles and then said, "Well, we send each other texts all day." Noticing he looked uncomfortable, Liza decided to stick to business. She could talk to Diana later about why they enjoyed their texting conversations.
"Let's call this meeting to order," Liza said, noticing everyone she needed in attendance was finally there. After discussing some new business and some old business, the budget estimates for the quarter, and then a newly acquired author, they were done. This meaning had run over time, and Diana noticed she was late for her conference call. Luckily, Liza was attending too, so they could continue their conversation.
"Liza, Let's take the conference call in my office today, is that okay with you?" Diana asked.
"Yes, it is," Liza said. "I'll get my paperwork."
Their call was short, as the author was called away early for an emergency with one of his kids at school. He apologized profusely and they agreed to go over the marketing strategy for his novel at another time. Diana was grateful for the break.
"So, I know you didn't want to get into it at the meeting, but tell me more about texting someone you live with, work with and spend almost all your time with?" Diana asked sharply. "I only ask because Enzo thinks I'm too traditional. I don't get the appeal of sending mindless initialisms and funny faces to each other when we will just see each other soon."
Diana noticed when Enzo's friends from work were over to watch ball games, they were constantly texting their wives and girlfriends. It drove her crazy trying to get an answer out of them about ordering takeout when they were on their phones. But Diana knew he found texting fun, and she concluded it must be something he secretly desired when they weren't together.
"It doesn't have to be mindless and you don't have to send emojis if you don't understand them. It's kind of like flirting. Even when you're in a serious relationship, you still should have fun, be playful," Liza explained. "We actually find it kind of romantic sometimes."
"I can't imagine what you would say when you can just walk down the hall and tell him," Diana said sarcastically.
"Just try it. You might be surprised. It's a love language of sorts. You know, like that book about the five love languages. You could try speaking his language, if that's what it is. I'll find you a good example of what to say." Liza started scrolling through her texts.
Diana vaguely recalled that book. She knew that Enzo liked her to say how she was feeling, but she still had a difficult time doing that. Using affectionate language did not come naturally to her. If she loved someone, she figured they knew.
Diana glanced at Liza's phone as she scrolled their conversation, finding something to show her. Liza pulled her phone back suddenly, realizing some of this was probably not safe for work. She pondered what would be acceptable to show Diana that wouldn't violate their privacy as a couple. "You know I want to help you but some of this is really personal. Hold on a second."
"Sorry for reading over your shoulder. Just wanted an idea of what on earth I would say back. I'm better at flirting with my husband in person."
"Okay, here's a few less personal lines."
Diana read their exchange until Liza yelled "Stop!" and pulled her phone from Diana's hand. Clearly there was something juicy that Liza wasn't comfortable sharing.
"So you miss each other constantly, even at work and you quote literature. Not sure that will work in the case of a plumber. And some of this I don't understand, like why you ask each other about the stairwell so often. Or maybe I don't want to know."
Liza took that opportunity to change the subject away from their secret rendezvous point. "Well, you're going to have to be creative. Talk about something Enzo likes. Or just what you're thinking about doing later. With him. You know. I'm not going to spell it out." Liza laughed. She had no idea Diana was this bad at being flirtatious. But then again, she hadn't really been a big texting person since she knew her. Usually Diana sent emails or left voicemails.
"It's just so informal. I wasn't brought up that way," Diana reminded her.
"I'll send you a link." Liza searched and found '100 Flirty Texts for Your Partner' and sent it to her.
Diana was determined to do this if it was something Enzo wanted. Maybe Liza was right that it could bring a playfulness to their relationship. She and Enzo already had a better relationship than she ever hoped for, better than she could even imagine possible. After their long honeymoon in Italy, Diana was thriving at work again. Although she was upset at first to come back and see her old assistant promoted so quickly, she knew Liza deserved it. Their personalities were sometimes polar opposites, but they worked well together. Now that Charles had returned and taken an editing position, Liza and Diana were in charge together.
After her texting lessons concluded, Diana brought up the dinner party again. She needed Liza and Charles to be there as a buffer for her other guests.
"I think we can come," Liza said, after checking her calendar "Thanks for the invite. Who else will be there?"
"I'm glad you can. It will be the whole family, Enzo's mother, Filomena, and his collection of siblings and their spouses. I will be overwhelmed and I need someone on my side to be there."
"Don't worry, you can count on us. Do you want me to bring someone else I know? Someone distracting and lively? Michelle and Tom are around our age, my friends from New Jersey."
"That would be great. Maybe we would bond over not being from New Jersey. Then his mother and I might have something in common to laugh about."
She looked at Liza's disapproving face and corrected herself. "I really don't make fun of you being from that godforsaken place very much, I promise."
"Okay, I guess I believe you. And this couple are big talkers, at least Michelle is anyway. So you shouldn't have to worry about lulls in the conversation."
Diana called Enzo and confirmed their guests on voicemail when he didn't pick up. Then she decided to give this texting thing another try.
"Hey sexy, how's your day going?" Diana started to text. She looked through the other suggestions in the article. This didn't sound like anything she would say, but maybe Enzo would like it. She contemplated an emoji but decided against it. Less was better. She pressed send.
"Is this my wife?" Enzo texted back after a few minutes.
"Yes. I'm trying something new."
"Love it. Love u xoxo."
"Thanks. Can't wait to see you at home."
"U 2."
Enzo had then sent something she knew was a collection of emojis. In her lesson, Liza had shown her some common ones. Diana blushed when she realized it wasn't fruit or vegetables like she thought. It wasn't Enzo asking her to make dinner, in fact it meant something else. "This is like deciphering hieroglyphics," Diana muttered under her breath. It was exhausting that people communicated like this. "What is so wrong with proper grammar and syntax?"
Diana responded back with, "Yes. Got it. Okay, bye." It was a start, at least. She sighed. Being around the younger apprentices had changed Enzo. Diana tried to like the new guys he brought on the crew, but most of them grunted and called each other 'bro'. They wanted to meet at bars and watch sports, neither of those things appealed to her. She had gone along a few times, wanting to spend time with her husband. Enzo seemed to understand that it wasn't her thing, and they agreed that they could have a few nights apart each week. She didn't want to deprive him of this time, as he seemed to need it.
Diana agreed as long as that meant that she got some nice dinners with him every week and they could practice their cooking together. Diana was proud that she had picked up some minor cooking skills from their friend Maggie, as they had dinner at her place quite often. However, she knew Enzo was the star student. Cooking came naturally to him.