Valentino's maître d' seats them in a booth immediately they arrive. He gives Mac a huge smile as he greets them effusively. "Will, Mac how lovely to see you. (the together was left unsaid but is plainly in his thoughts )
"Oliver, so good of you to squeeze us in at short notice" Will says warmly
"For you …..always! " Oliver's replies
"How're things with the family Olly?" Mac chimes in with a soft smile
"Aah! Mackenzie, my family is so grown up. My youngest boy is in college. But we still talk about the time he was hiding here in the kitchens and would only come out from beneath the sink for the pretty lady in the magic shoes." He reminisces.
"I think the English Cadbury's chocolate bar I had in my purse might have played a bigger role than my Dorothy impersonation" Mac says with a grin. "What's Alfredo set his sights on? Is he headed for the food industry- I remember he wanted to be a chef when he was 11."
Oliver looked embarrassed. "That was until the day he met you Mackenzie." He paused. "Now his heart is set on journalism and has been since you explained how it was so important to let people know the truth"
Mac looks pleasurably surprised. "How wonderful Olly, he can come and see round the FOX newsroom if he wants during Spring break."
"Oh! that is too kind Mackenzie" he gushes "Alfredo will be thrilled, thank you, thank you. But first you eat? Yes?" and he motions to a waiter to attend them with the menus.
Will watches their exchange with a soppy smile.
This visit is so different to that of a few weeks ago. He can't help making the comparison. Nina's formality and condescension versus Mac's interest in the people she comes into contact with. Alfredo had been remembered as though he was one of her own cousins. (Indeed, the fact that Mac had been in the kitchen to help locate a missing child says it all).
He glows with pride in Mac in a manner he never experienced when dining with any of his string of arm candy. Not that he'd ever taken any of them to Valentino's of course- that belonged to him and Mac. Only Nina had persisted in her wish to accompany him there and now he thinks she may have had knowledge of Mac's preference….Nina had spoken with Brenner after all and Mac might have told him.
"Will" Mac says firmly once their order has been placed with Dominic following a repeat of the greeting exchange that they had with Oliver. "Will, why are we here?"
"I need to talk to you Mac and I know you love this place" Will's giving nothing away yet
He feels the sharp edge of the Tiffany Box pressing into his thigh. He has no doubt at all now that he needs to get the contents of the box onto Mac's hand.
"This was…is… a special place for us…well for me anyway" Mac begins " …and if you want to eat here that's fine but I don't want us to argue here please Will" she says quietly her eyes caste down. "I'd forgotten just how much history I have at Valentino's, the special birthday meals and …just please we can talk later,"
Will's brow furrows. "What makes you think I'm going to row with you? I thought I was supposed to be explaining Neal's hacking story and Sloan's part in it."
"Are you Will? Really? And there was me thinking you might be set on talking me out of my move to FOX" she said giving him one of her piercing glares "I can't think of any other reason you'd want to ask me to an expensive and very memory packed dining experience"
"Wait" Will snapped back "you think I'm just wanting to bring you back into ACN? That's not the case"
Mac does not reply immediately but looks at him intently.
"Okay then, you don't want me back?" she checks
It's Will's turn to remain momentarily silent, selecting his words with care
"I said 'just' Mac. I don't just want you back with OUR show, that's not all that I'm hoping for." Will says exasperatedly. He is starting to get wound up, as Mac had anticipated
"Will, please. I'm asking you not to talk about this now, here….please" Mac begs him in a loud whisper. Her face begins to crumple as she turned away from him to hide the tears forming in her eyes.
"Right, no, Mac don't… I mean sure…. I'll tell you about the hacking story…..Sloan and I helped Neal with his first successful pitch."
Will gives an entertaining account of the process, including the part where Neal had constructed his graphic statistics by googling 'hacking' only to become excited when he unearthed lists of hackers that included most of the British royal family. Jim had put him right on the use of the term in horse riding and told him to stick with government websites- as he had been taught by Mackenzie.
Their meal is delicious as always.
Mac, as usual, declines dessert but Will's chocolate soufflé arrives as an extra-large portion, served with two spoons and cherry ice cream, exactly as it would have done six years ago.
Time has stood still in Valentino's.
He and Mac reminisce about the infamous, and remarkable, desserts they have shared there, which morphs into memories of the things that had warranted a celebratory Valentino meal when they were together: birthdays, anniversaries, great shows, terrible shows, first snowfalls, first Christmas card, first Christmas card from her parents to both of them…..the list seemed endless and got sillier and sillier. It seems so special that, by the end, Will can't think why allowed himself to be pestered into bring Nina under any circumstances.
He suddenly feels bereft for the many special meals they have missed out on, that they should have shared here if he had allowed them to. It's time to fix it. He's more than ready, he doesn't need a push. He draws a deep breath.
"Mac, I err.. you remember Nina and I have split up don't you?"
The genuine smile slides off her face to be replaced by a guarded expression, "Are we going to talk about Nina right now Will?" she asks
"Hell no, well yes, but no. I want,…. no I need you to know she and I are not together….at all…in any way…none whatsoever…never will be again." he struggles to make his point quickly to get past the Nina bit.
Mac picks up on his urgency thinking he's upset about the breakup and immediately feeing contrite at her lack of concern.
"I'm so sorry Will" Mac says sympathetically "If you need to talk it through please do. You must be so hurt and I was being selfish in wanting to keep Valentino's ….you know…" She trails off
"For us?" he says softly with a hopeful smile
"Well, yes. I suppose so… yes." She nods
"Surely she believed you when you explained?" Mac tries to continue the Nina thread.
Will shakes his head. Her belief in him as the impeccable boyfriend and therefore the injured party amazes Will….but then she always is amazing he thinks.
"Not the point I wanted to make Mac" Will shifts to watch her face more closely "I'm not sad at Nina's departure. I had mistaken how …no I think I need to show you something"
Will pulls the Tiffany box from his pocket and fumbles with the packaging, struggling to extract the jewel in the centre.
The sight of the small blue container brings back Mac's recent dinner with Max and the earing keeper he had presented her with. A smile accompanies the thought as her right hand touches her ear.
Suddenly, Will is talking again and holding up THE RING between his thumb and index finger as if he was going to use it to flip counters in tiddlywinks. Mac is momentarily puzzled. She tries to make sense of his words but she can't take her eyes off the ring. He'd told her he'd had it taken back.
"I didn't return it because I'm in love with you" she hears him say and continue on to stumble through a series of mis-starts and dear silliness's about Universal laws and her owning him and him doing this better if he could just have a cigarette, which apparently constitutes a marriage proposal.
Mac interjects with "Wait!" and "What's happening right now?" desperately trying to keep up. Doesn't he realise that they haven't even kissed in 6 years? That he's hated her for most of that time and that he has just been rejected by his beautiful and sexy girlfriend of 6 months?
Jesus. I 'm the rebound from Nina, he's using me to hit back at her and comfort himself.
But Mac can't reject him. She won't ever hurt him intentionally. He needs her support no matter how much it'll hurt her down the line when he pulls out.
She'll still love him forever whatever happens. Wait, he's just used that line on her….
"Yes, I'm saying yes" she hears herself say and is rewarded by the lips she's been craving since she told Will about Brian fastening blissfully onto hers.