Chapter 104: Dinner For Two
"All couples should learn the art of battle as they should learn the art of making love. Good battle is objective and honest - never vicious or cruel. Good battle is healthy and constructive, and brings to a relationship the principle of equal partnership." – Ann Landers
"For they had lived together long enough to know that love was always love, anytime and anyplace, but it was more solid the closer it came to death." – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
"A man on a date wonders if he'll get lucky. The woman already knows." – Monica Piper
"Dance is the hidden language of the soul" – Martha Graham
"When a man and woman understand each other dancing, simply carrying the beat, dancing for three minutes to a music called tango, it's the closest thing to an orgasm but sensual rather than erotic." – Juan Carlos Copes
She sat looking at him for a few more minutes and then said, "Do you want me to hold you for awhile yet?"
"Yeah," he said smiling, "I'd like that..."
"Ok," she said moving back to hold him again. After she'd had him in her arms for a few minutes and was playing with his hair again, she asked, "Are you sure you're ok Vaughn?"
"Yeah, I'm ok..."
"Ok, you'd tell me if you weren't, right?" she asked in a similar manner to his similar question.
He smiled, "Yeah...I'm just thinking...I'm ok..."
"Ok," she said, letting them fall back into a comfortable silence.
After about a half hour, she looked down to make sure he hadn't fallen asleep, but his eyes were open. They has stilled considerably, so she knew that his thoughts must have been calming.
She smiled, "You know we have the house all to ourselves tonight..."
"That's right..." he said wistfully.
"Are you hungry?" she asked, "I can make dinner..."
"I'd offer to help, but..." he said.
She was worried for a second, but when she looked down, he was smiling.
"It's one way of getting out of dish duty," he said turning to look at her.
"You're bad...what do you want to eat tonight?"
"You like me bad...what do you feel like making?"
"What do you feel like?"
He smiled, "I'm easy to please – you make the meal, I'll eat it..."
"If only there were more of you around," Sydney said sighing.
"The world would be a much more boring place..." Vaughn said chuckling.
"Not a chance Boyscout," Sydney said moving him back to the pillow as she got up, "I'll go see what we have..."
"Ok," he said smiling as she walked out.
After Sydney left and he was alone, he started to think again. What Barnett had said to him could be completely true. Would Sydney actually tell him if she was frustrated? The last thing she ever wanted to do was upset him...she would have no reason to tell him...
He sat wondering how long she'd been frustrated and how hard it must be to do the same thing every day and be frustrated.
He heard Sydney calling something from the kitchen, but he had been too lost in thought to hear her.
"What?" he asked.
She appeared at the door, "How about turkey? Francie left some turkey in the fridge...so it's thawed and everything...I could throw in the oven...make some potatoes...how's that sound?"
"Heavenly..."
She smiled, entering and kissing him softly, and then went back out into the kitchen.
Another several minutes passed and Sydney appeared again, "Ok, turkey's in the oven...we've got a while until I have to do anything else. What do you wanna do now?"
"I don't know..."
Sydney studied him a minute, "How are you feeling?"
"I'm ok...why?"
She narrowed her eyes, deciding if she should say this or not.
"What?" he asked.
"Well...I was just thinking...but here's the thing...you have to tell me the truth...absolutely MUST..."
"Ok," Vaughn said.
"I mean it Michael – no lying to me..."
"Why would I lie?" he asked.
"Will and Francie are out...and I was just wondering if you wanted to go on a date tonight..."
"A date?" he asked.
"Yeah, a date," she said smiling.
"Well...uh...I'd love to go on a date...but..." he looked around the room, "I can't really GO anywhere...I'm sorry Syd..." he said sadly.
She approached the bed quickly, "No...that's not the kind of date I mean..."
"I'm confused – what kind of date are we having then?"
"The stay at home kind..."
"OH! Sure!" he said smiling.
"Do you think you could sit up by the table? Candles? The whole bit?"
"I can try...I don't know how long I'd be able to sit there..."
"Well...we can try and if you start to feel bad, we can go on the couch – or we could just eat on the couch..."
"I haven't eaten at the table in months..."
"I know sweetie...that's why I thought...maybe..."
"I want to try," he said.
"Ok...we'll try it," she said. She kissed his cheek, "I'm going to go set the table then, get everything ready, then I'll be back."
"Ok," Vaughn said smiling happily.
Sydney went off to the kitchen, humming happily. She loved Vaughn more than life itself, and she would eat anywhere he needed to, but it would be nice to have a dinner at the table. Romantic, candles, music, wine. Well – maybe no wine...she'd have to decide that one...
She smiled as she set two places, next to each other instead of across the table. She set up four white taper candles in the middle of the table, and set the matches next to them.
She went to the cupboard and got out glasses, and then reached back up for the wine glasses. She set them down and went back to the bedroom momentarily. "Hey," she said as she entered.
"Hi," he said joyously, "Do you think it's completely lame and sad that I'm really excited about sitting at the table?"
She smiled at him softly, understanding, "Aw honey...no I think that's sweet...I'm excited too...it's the little things Vaughn..."
"But not too little..."
She smiled wider, "No...no...in that respect – bigger is good – and don't worry honey...you're VERY well endowed in that department – nothing little there..."
Vaughn smiled.
"I came in here to decide something," Sydney said.
"What's that?"
"I was trying to decide if it would be ok if you had a small glass of wine with dinner..."
"Wine?" he said excitedly, "Ooo...I remember wine," he said nostalgically.
Sydney laughed, "It hasn't been THAT long Vaughn...although I'm sure the European in you is in withdrawal."
"It is! It is!" Vaughn said giddily, "Please...please? Please can I have wine?" he asked like a child.
Sydney chuckled again, "Ok Vaughn...one glass, but that has to be it...just one," she said holding up her pointer finger.
"Ok..." he said, still excited, "Can I pick what kind?"
She smiled, "Sure honey...any kind you want..."
"Red. I want red."
"Ok...I'll see what kinds we have and you can pick. But don't tell Tom..." she said.
He laughed, "My lips are sealed with wine..."
She kissed him and moved out to the kitchen again.
She puttered around the kitchen happily, thinking about their dinner, and Vaughn. She placed the wine glasses in their places on the table and looked at the clock. The potatoes would take about a half hour to cook, so she only had a few minutes before she had to start those. She finished everything else, checked the turkey and started the potatoes.
After the potatoes started, she had precious time away from the meal. She wondered if Vaughn was doing ok, but she knew if he needed something, he'd call. The meal finished quickly and Sydney got everything together, placing it on the table and filling the plates. She poured the wine, smiling, and then moved the chair out, getting everything ready for Vaughn. She took one last look at everything, making sure it looked perfect, lit the candles, dimmed the lights, turned on some music and went to retrieve Vaughn.
She was all smiles as she entered and he returned her smile in kind.
"You ready?" she asked.
"More than you know," he said.
She chuckled, helping him sit, and then swung his legs over the side of the bed to help him stand as well. She made sure he was ready to move and started to slowly walk backwards out of the bedroom.
He kept his eyes trained on hers as they moved, sharing a spectrum of gazes; from bashful smiles to smoldering visages of lust, back to soft looks of love; it ran the whole gamut. Vaughn didn't get to take in the surroundings and atmosphere until Sydney gently sat him in the chair and he was able to tear his gaze away from her eyes.
His breath hitched as he looked over the table, lit by soft candlelight and dimmed overhead lights. The atmosphere was soft and warm, inviting and full of love. Sydney smiled at his reaction, and she couldn't have found the words to describe the look on his face when his eyes met hers again.
His smile mirrored the atmosphere, one of pure admiration for the woman sitting next to him, his face warm, his eyes slightly moist.
Sydney reached out her hand to cup his cheek. He leaned into her hand and then turned his head, closing his eyes and kissing her palm.
"This is really nice Sydney," he said finally, barely audibly.
"Thank you," she said, "I'm glad you like it."
"It's great," he said looking down at the plate.
She picked up on the slight change in his mood in an instant, "What's wrong honey? Are you ok?"
He smiled softly, "Yeah...it's just been awhile...it's really nice to...you know, sit at an actual table."
She smiled her understanding, "You wanna eat?" she asked.
He nodded, "This is gonna be sort of...difficult though..." he said sighing heavily.
She smiled, got up and moved her chair so it was right next to his instead of kiddy-corner like it had been. She moved her plate and all the settings over too and then handed him his fork. He took it and was going to start but she stopped him, "Wait..." she said.
She grabbed her own fork and stabbed a piece of meat, then looked at him, nodding. He did the same and then she said, "Ok..." and she brought her fork to him. He smiled and took the turkey from her fork and then moved his fork to her mouth, copying her motions.
They continued to feed each other, making their way through the meal. The potatoes were easy enough to get on a fork to feed each other, but the corn Sydney had prepared as well, turned out to be quite difficult. Sydney attempted it first, changing smartly to a spoon, but as she moved, a few kernels slipped off. She started giggling and more fell off. By the time she got it to Vaughn's mouth, they were both laughing so hard that all the corn wound up on the table.
"That went well..." Vaughn said smiling.
"Let's try again," Sydney said keeping her hand steadier this time and making it to his mouth.
"Sorry baby, I think you're going to have to do your own corn," he said.
"That's fine Vaughn...I'll manage..."
She smiled taking a longer piece of turkey in her mouth and moving over to kiss him, holding onto the back of his neck as she gave him the rest of the turkey through the kiss.
He smiled as they parted. He looked down at the mostly eaten plates, the half-burned candles and the drained wine glasses.
Sydney knew him too well, "What's up honey?"
He looked over at her, "Thank you..."
She smiled, happy he wasn't sad; "You're welcome...I love you Michael."
He smiled happily, "I love you too..."
She leaned over to kiss him, "You wanna go sit on the couch for a while? How're you feeling?"
He smiled, "I'm good..."
Her face lit up, registering surprise, like she'd just remembered something, "I have an idea," she said excitedly, grabbing his hand and helping him to stand. She walked with him to the couch and eased him back, kissing him quickly. "I'll be RIGHT back," she said. She ran back to the table, blew out the candles, and went back to the stereo.
She riffled through a few CDs, found the one she was looking for and put it in, pressing play. Then she turned back to Vaughn who was watching her with interest as the sounds of Kenny G's Forever In Love filled the room in light and sexy sound.
She walked over to the couch, keeping eye contact, and held out a hand to him, palm up, when she was near enough. He took her hand wondering what she was doing. She smiled and pulled gently on his hand. His brow furrowed, but he took the hint and stood up with her help. She moved her hands to his waist and moved his hand to her hip. She closed the gap between them, keeping his sling trapped comfortably between them.
"Will you dance with me?" she asked looking up at him.
"I...Sydney..." he dropped his gaze.
She moved his chin, "Just follow me..." she said.
He nodded and she swayed gently, not really moving her feet at all. She kept a firm grip on him around his waist in case he wavered, but he kept his eyes set on hers. She smiled a soft smile.
"I'm sorry Sydney," he said quietly.
"What for?" she asked.
"That I can't really dance with you...and everything else too..."
"I've told you before - you don't need to apologize. Vaughn...this is nice...this is great. We'll dance later...seriously...this is such a big step honey. It's almost better then if you really were 'better.' Do you understand what I mean? It means more...because you're hurt..."
Vaughn smiled, letting out a breath.
The faint chords of the tenor saxophone wafted through the living room as they moved slowly. Sydney let her head drop to Vaughn's chest, his head on top of hers.
The song ended and Sydney moved back so she could look at him. "You ok?" she asked.
He smiled, "Yeah, I'm ok...really good actually."
The next song on the CD started, slow and soft, similar to the first.
"Can we dance to another one?" he asked.
"Are you sure?" Sydney asked to confirm.
"Yeah...one more..."
She smiled, "If you're sure..."
He nodded.
"Ok," she said, "Like before?" she asked.
He smiled, "Yeah."
She smiled again, fitting her head under his chin.
They swayed through the song, silent...just sharing space...breathing...moving in time to the soft tones...
