At first thought, taking her 1960 Volkswagen Beetle to the fanciest restaurant in New York didn't seem like such a bad idea. At least it was better than riding shotgun in a side cart of a scooter. But now that they were actually in the restaurant's parking lot, Jane felt bad.
"Is something the matter?" Peabody asked, taking quick notice that she was drumming her fingers on the Bug's steering wheel nervously.
"This car is so out of place here..." Jane said, staring at the many Mercedes-Benz models and other luxury cars owned by the men and women in New York who could easily pay the cost of the car in full. Mr Peabody looked at the cars too, then chuckled lightly.
"The scooter would have looked like the wrong puzzle piece if we had brought it tonight." he told her, starting to get out of the VW. "Besides, nothing makes people buzz more than the sight of a Bug!"
Jane held back her remarks as Mr Peabody shut the door and walked over to her side of the car to open her door. She stared at him as he straightened his tie a bit.
"Oh, and please try to limit you admiration of the high class tones in this dining establishment." he said. "There are many here who... question my motives toward human activities, and I'd like to keep their gossip at bay, if at all possible. Alright?"
Jane only continued to stare. Mr Peabody picked up on this, and stared at her as well.
"You look very beautiful tonight Jane." Peabody then told her, half hoping to motivate her out of the car. "It would be a shame if no one could see the beauty in you that I see now."
Involuntarily, Jane blushed a deep shade of red. Realizing what he had said, Mr Peabody could feel a rather distinct tinge of embarrassment. But it got her out of the car, and it was fine enough for him.
. . .
"Name?" the host asked dully.
"I believe I placed the reservations under Barlow-Peabody." Mr Peabody said. The host looked down at the dog, then looked at his reservation book.
"Ah yes, the BP party." the host then said in a dry amusement, as if remembering a joke said earlier that had not been funny. "If you'll follow me please."
Without further instruction, Mr Peabody and Jane followed the host to their table.
"Would you like anything to drink?" the host asked after the duo had taken their seats.
"Water would be wonderful enough." Mr Peabody told the host. The host gave Peabody a dry looked, then nodded before leaving. Jane started to look through the menu.
"They have a lot of offer here..." she said in a small voice as she also took a look at the prices.
"Don't worry about that," Mr Peabody assured her, "I know just what to order and how you like it. To be honest, I'm not all that fond of the food here."
Jane put her menu down and looked at Peabody.
"Then why are we here?" she asked. "As much as I love getting dressed up and spending over five hundred dollars on an appetizer..."
"Jane, I wanted to ask you something important, and it requires your utmost attention."
"What?" the woman asked curiously with a hint of confusion.
"If I were to provide you with a time machine, who would you visit first?"
"I think I've heard this question before."
"Then you shouldn't have a hard time answering the question."
Jane looked at her lawful other and smirked.
"Okay then." she said as if she was accepting a challenge. "If someone gave me a time machine for a day to see only one figure in history, I would choose Mary the First of England."
"Why?" Peabody asked her, almost sounding as patient as a teacher who just wanted their student to spit out the right answer.
"The false pregnancies." Jane said, her eyes almost twinkling. "We all know that she was a bit crazy, but what was going on in her mind and life that she was crazy enough to make her body believe that she was pregnant not only once, but at least twice in her lifetime."
"And you know what it's like?" Mr Peabody asked, almost smirking a bit.
"I know what it's like for everyone to expect something out of you, only for the truth to come out and everyone only hates you more." Jane said, the sparkle in her eyes quickly vanished. Peabody smiled a little though.
"You do realize that Mary the First had a cousin that went by the name of Jane. You may confuse her." the dog said, attempting for a more joking tone.
"Her aunt was named Mary too, I don't think she'd care." Jane responded, smiling a bit.
Mr Peabody chuckled as he spotted the host coming with their drinks. Maybe tonight would be the night he'd tell Jane about the WABAC.
Maybe.
He had to change her views on Tudor monarchies first.