"Would you care to see our wine list?" The waiter said solicitously after Helen and Nikola had been seated with their menus.
"We would not." Tesla responded instantaneously. "I'd like to know what single bottles the sommelier has in private reserve. Reds in particular. In fact, just send him over."
The waiter smiled with more excitement than professional decorum allowed, tonight's tip would be worth the dismissive arrogance of the gentleman diner. "Very good, sir. I'll relay the message to the sommelier to join you."
Nikola saw Helen's meaningful frown and said. "What?"
"You catch more flies with honey." Helen said.
"Your premise in that statement, I suppose, is that I want to catch flies. The whole purpose of waitstaff is to serve. Do you want me to make friends with our waiter? Perhaps invite him to join us for dinner?" Nikola said sarcastically.
"Common courtesy would be enough, I should think." Helen said with a chuckle. She inspected the menu and Nikola did the same.
"Do I like risotto?" He asked. "Or do I hate it?"
"You like risotto, you hate ravioli." Helen reminded him.
"Oh yes, ravioli." He shuddered. "Meat pockets."
"You should try the puttanesca, it's a relatively new dish. Well, new since you last had taste buds anyway."
"Puttanesca? Does that mean what I think it does?" Nikola asked with fascination.
"You speak Italian every bit as well as I do. You know very well what it means." Helen said primly.
"Then I'll have that." Nikola said, clapping his menu closed briskly. "Where's that sommelier?"
"That sommelier is here, sir." Said a very young woman, approaching at his elbow.
Nikola quickly masked his surprise. "You? Hm." He looked her over, nonplussed. "How old are you?"
"Nikola." Helen chided.
"Old enough to lie about my age." The sommelier said mildly, her eyes twinkling in amusement.
"Old enough to drink wine?" Nikola countered, unimpressed.
"Certainly, sir. Older than you might think." The woman replied. "I'm Prisca Ferko, Senior Sommelier here at Felidia, I understand you are interested in my private reserve of reds."
"Senior...?" Nikola whispered, his eyes narrowing. He quickly smoothed his features. "Yes, I'd like to know what you have in your cellars that would complement your puttanesca."
"Is cost a concern?" The sommelier asked frankly. "I ask to ensure that I make proper recommendations."
"Cost isn't a problem." Nikola replied in a bored tone.
"I have the 1995 Chateaux Margeaux. It is quite elegant, a compact fruitiness, smooth, powerful, racy, with fragrances of blackberry and cassis. I also have one bottle of the 1986 Chateau Mouton Rothschild Pauillac. Very palatable with an elongated aftertaste. Reminiscent of chocolate, raspberries, and spices." The sommelier paused. "Shall I go on?"
Nikola had been hanging on her words and had reached across the table to hold Helen's hand during the recitation. He smiled silkily. "Bring both." He said.
The sommelier blinked, then gave a gracious smile. "Of course. I'll also be happy to inform chef of your orders. Puttanesca?" She said, looking between them.
"Please." Helen replied. The sommelier whisked away the menus and glided toward the kitchens.
"She's an abnormal." Nikola declared.
Helen laughed. "Just because she's a bit young for her job?"
"Prisca, from the Latin...?" Nikola said, leaving the end of his sentence trailing. He raised his eyebrows at Helen to finish his thought.
"Priscus. Ancient." Helen completed the translation.
"Very good." Nikola said.
Helen still looked amused. "It's a common enough name in Hungary. Her last name is Ferko. Ancient French?" She translated the last name as well.
"Laugh at me." Nikola sighed dramatically. Helen laughed. He toyed with her fingers, still held in his. "I do like to hear you happy, Miss Magnus, even at my expense." He said in a low voice. He kept his eyes focused on their hands and Helen was surprised to see a small amount of color on his cheekbones.
Helen's face blossomed into a smile. "You gave me a new reason to be happy, Mister Tesla. To your credit." She laced her fingers with his and he raised his eyes to hers. They gazed at one another, finally looking their fill after over a century of hidden glances.
"Do you know...this is going to be complicated." Nikola said lightly, retreating slightly behind his smooth mask. "I'll eventually convince you to marry me, perhaps in another fifty years or so, and then we'll be stuck with one another forever. Two immortal - well, infinitely prolonged anyway - beings cannot swear to only part in death."
"Marry you?" Helen said a little breathlessly, hearing the serious tone under his flippant remarks.
"Oh, you'd say no today because who knows if I still might not explode and kill everyone here. But I've got all the time in the world and I've gotten awfully good at waiting for you." Nikola shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm quite loyal, you know, when I choose to be."
"Would I say no?" Helen mused, half to herself.
"Let's find out." Nikola gracefully rose and circled the table, starting to kneel before Helen swatted his arm.
"Nikola!" She hissed. "You and your theatrics. Sit down, for pity's sake."
He gave her a toothy grin, his eye twinkling. "I knew it!" He declared, not the least bit put out. He returned to his seat. "Well, it's for the best. I haven't gotten you a ring yet."
"Can we discuss something else? Something serious?" Helen asked in exasperation.
"This isn't serious? Helen, you wound me." Nikola smirked. "Here I am, offering myself to you on the altar of matrimony and you..."
The sommelier arrived with her assistant carrying two plain bottles, effectively cutting off Tesla's monologue.
Tesla went through the ritual of uncorking, sniffing, tasting, rolling his eyes in ecstasy, and badgering the sommelier before they were left alone with two uncorked bottles between them. Tesla poured a splash from each bottle into the two glasses set out for Helen. "We'll have to give it a while before it really opens up, but taste this." He drew out the word 'taste' in a reverent tone.
Helen sipped each dutifully and was surprised by how transporting the flavors were. "Mmm." She said, nodding. "Wonderful."
"I know." Tesla said in true enjoyment. He poured similarly small amounts into his two stemmed glasses and sipped, closing his eyes and groaning in a way that Helen, blushing, now recognized as Nikola experiencing deep pleasure. His eyes opened and grinned. "My God, wine is sexy." He declared. He scooped up her hand from the table and kissed the palm, then the wrist. His eyes were glowing and full of intentions. Helen was fascinated, aroused, then suddenly a shock traveled up her arm and the air crackled around her.
"No, no. Nikola, not now!" She said in horror.
"Helen." He said in a whisper, his eyes changing, dilating to blank pale gray. "We have to go. Now."
Helen sprang up and dragged him from him seat, getting another hair-raising charge of electromagnetic energy. The sommelier was approaching to check their progress and looked surprised as they bolted past her.
"Ma'am?" The sommelier said.
"He's unwell." Helen said urgently, she was pulling him with one arm and digging into her purse with her other hand.
The sommelier quickly assessed the situation and said in a low tone. "Come with me." She took Nikola's other arm, jumping slightly at the shock she received, and the two women pulled him into the wine cupboard.
Just in time, for now Tesla threw his head back and a pulse of energy exploded from him, shattering wine bottles. From the restaurant, shouts could be heard as glasses and light bulbs exploded. Metal trays jerked, silverware whizzed, whirling in the magnetic storm Tesla was producing. He turned toward Helen and grabbed her arm, zapping her again. Helen produced a prepared syringe from her purse and jabbed it at his neck. The syringe bent against his skin without puncturing it.
The sommelier looked on with an unreadable expression. Then she stepped forward, pushing into the fray. "Let me." She said. She pulled off her white sommelier's gloves and grabbed either side of Tesla's face between her palms. Her body jerked with another shock but, immediately, Tesla collapsed into Helen's arms. She crumpled under his weight, bearing them both to the floor.
Helen knelt in a puddle of wine, Tesla's head against her chest, and the sommelier pulled her gloves back on.
"You're an abnormal." Helen said. Prisca Ferko shrugged.
"Told you." Nikola said, opening his eyes. He frowned. "What happened?"
"You exploded my stock." Prisca said.
Nikola scrambled up and reached to raise Helen to her feet. He looked around at the damage to the wine cupboard. "This is the just the house wine, right?" He said hopefully.
"Yes, the good stuff is in the cellar. You better hope you didn't explode that." Prisca smiled. "You two get out of here. I'll send you a bill."
Nikola winced and nodded. "Thank you."
Helen handed the young woman a card. "Send it to this address, or bring it by yourself. I'd very much like to chat with you." She said.
"I might do that." Prisca smiled and tucked the card into her skirt pocket.