The Long And Winding Road
Disclaimer: I don't own the show, the characters, etc.
Note: This chapter is made up of four scenes, each separated by a line inserted to indicate a transition to a later portion of the meal. (Hope that makes sense, but I'm sure you'll figure it out anyway.)
Chapter 14 -- Scenes From An Italian Restaurant
JT and Emma entered Campanelli's and walked over to the maitre d'.
"We have a reservation under Yorke," JT told the man. "That's 'Yorke' with an 'e'. Specifically, an 'e' on the end."
"What are you going on about?" Emma asked.
"Well, you could put the 'e' someplace else, but then you might end up with 'Yerk' and a lonely, abandoned 'o.'"
Emma rolled her eyes.
The maitre d' scanned his records.
"Yorke. Ah, yes. The special reservation. Come right this way."
"What does he mean by 'special reservation,' JT?"
Her boyfriend shrugged his shoulders in response. But, after Emma turned to follow the maitre d', JT smiled. The couple followed the man past several rooms filled with customers. They finally reached another room that would be their destination and the couple was seated.
"Your waiter will be with you momentarily. What would you like to drink?"
JT looked toward Emma.
"Iced tea," she answered.
"I'll have a Coke," JT followed.
"Very good, sir. Enjoy your meal."
After the maitre d' left, Emma looked around the room.
"JT, do you notice anything peculiar?"
"You don't like it here?"
"No, it's very nice. But we're the only ones in this room. The three other tables are empty."
"There's that strong power of observation you have that I love so much," JT teased. "It only took you 30 seconds to realize we're alone in here."
"Not funny. What's going on, JT?"
"I'm sad to say we've developed a bit of a reputation. Word spread that we make a habit of having loud conversations in restaurants, storming in and out from the parking lot, and then not eating a thing. Thanks to our little escapade at Steak & Stuff, our pictures are plastered on the wall of every major restaurant in town. From now on, anytime we go somewhere to eat we'll be forced into a room alone and away from civilized society."
Emma then gave him a look that clearly said she wasn't buying a single word of that explanation.
"Or maybe when I made a reservation, I went the extra mile, did some talking and some arranging and…here you go, Emma. Some candlelight, good food, and best of all…ME!"
Emma smiled, amazed at the lengths JT went to for her.
"Sounds perfect, JT. Even the part about you."
"All with complete privacy, Emma. Without some smoker at a nearby table coughing up a lung."
"Thanks for giving me THAT mental image."
"No crying babies," he continued. "No crazed double-daters. Just us. What do you think?
"Well, I GUESS I can live with eating alone with you in such an incredibly romantic setting. But just this once."
Though Emma's words were sarcastic, her smile gave her away and JT knew she was pleased. Still, JT played along.
"Oh, certainly, Emma. We wouldn't want this to become a regular thing. After tonight, it's back to eating at bus terminals and the school caf."
"Yes, Degrassi's caf does have a unique atmosphere."
"Yeah, Emma, and I think it's called bug spray."
Their waiter entered the room with their drinks, introduced himself and set the drinks on the table.
"Are you ready for your menus?" he asked the couple.
"Give us a couple more minutes," JT replied.
As the waiter left, JT looked over at Emma.
"Seriously, is this okay?"
"Way above and beyond the call, JT. I've never even been here before. And now, with all that you've put together here so that it's just us, it's even more wonderful than I could have imagined."
"And I don't hear any violinists, so we're safe."
"Safe?"
"Nothing, Emma. Just making sure everything tonight is perfect."
Emma reached across the table and grabbed one of JT's hands.
"It's been perfect since I opened my front door tonight."
Emma was busy eating her salad.
"So, Emma, when do you have to give your class presentation?
"Monday."
"And it's about musical animals? What is that? Like circus animals?"
"JT, do you even TRY to listen when I describe things?"
"I'm sorry, did you just say something?"
Emma laughed.
"Figures. No, not musical animals. It's about the effect that different types of music have on animals. After the zoo trip that Jack and my folks took, I got to thinking. I became curious, so I checked around on the Web, then made a few phone calls and talked to some of the local zookeepers."
"Hope you didn't tell off the zoo people before you got your info."
"I was very nice and didn't say a word about my feelings regarding animals and cages."
In response, JT clutched his heart.
"Stop that!" Emma laughed.
"Just a little shocked."
"I really can withhold my opinions," she insisted. "I don't always have to let everyone know everything."
"…Said the woman who not five minutes ago stuck her tongue out at me when I ordered meatballs with my spaghetti."
"Withholding my opinions only works for strangers who might be able to help me, so you're out of luck."
"I knew there had to be a catch."
"Hey, aren't you going to eat your salad?"
"I AM eating it, Emma."
"You haven't touched it. Not even to pick at it."
JT looked down at the two forks to the left of his plate.
"Remember what we've talked about, JT. Just because there's a lot of green stuff on your plate, that doesn't mean it's really a slime creature planning a sneak attack."
"Hmm? Oh, right. That's good to know."
JT put his hand on one of the forks.
"By the way," she added, "you don't have to…ahem…accidentally drop one of those on the floor."
"Um, what are you talking about?" he asked even though he knew she was onto him.
"What, you think I'm some kind of etiquette drill sergeant? JT, it doesn't matter to me what fork you choose for which part of the meal. Use a spoon for all I care. Now when your main course arrives later, if you start picking up spaghetti with your hands I might have to pour my drink on your head. But otherwise, don't worry about it."
"Wouldn't want to look dumb in front of you," JT confessed.
"That's never stopped you before," Emma said with a smile.
"True. Hey, how did you know what I was about to do?"
"You still don't know the extent of my powers?" she kidded him. "I'm all-seeing. All-knowing. Want me to give away the punchlines to three of the jokes you're going to tell tomorrow?"
JT laughed.
"Actually," she continued in a more serious tone, "I just saw that look in your eyes, as well as your hand inching closer to the utensil. Then I remembered you once told me of your little fork-tossing method, which you came up with for when you'd sometimes have to go out with your parents to one of their business dinners. You'd see these table settings with three forks and a couple of spoons, and you'd rather be thought of as a klutz who keeps dropping things than have someone think you didn't know what you were doing."
"I forgot you know that secret, too, Emma. That's been years, though."
"And I see some things never change."
"You know I love the classics."
"I remember a lot of things you've told me over the years, JT."
"And it will all come back to haunt me, right?"
"You better believe it."
"Then I'm lucky you only use your powers for good," he joked.
"Just remember, you don't have to worry about little things like not knowing which fork is which. I'm not Melanie."
"I know, and thank God for that. To return the favor, I can promise that you don't ever have to worry about me breaking out into hip-hop grooves on the spur of the moment."
Emma laughed.
"No Chris-isms from me, Emma.
"Please, no reminders of that guy."
"Sorry, but you know how much fun it is to torture you."
"And you do it so well," she responded. "I know that I was on the rebound at the time, but I think I must have completely lost my mind to get mixed up with that wannabe deejay with the phony charm. I'm glad it was just a phase. Chris and the others are ancient history, I'm happy to say."
"So am I. Not to sound all judgmental, but I never did like any of your boyfriends."
"Oh?"
"Never good enough for you," JT explained. "Not even close."
"I seem to remember saying something awfully similar to you awhile back about your own dating history."
"There you go, Emma. Something else we have in common."
JT raised his glass.
"Here's to ancient history."
Emma then raised her glass.
"Never to bother us again," she added to his words.
They clinked glasses and drank. Emma then raised hers again.
"And now here's to us. It took us awhile, but we're finally where we're supposed to be."
"I'll drink to that," JT said.
"Hey, JT, even though you were joking, it's not a bad idea."
"What's not a bad idea? I have so many bad ideas, I need to know which bad idea was actually a good one."
"A school report about circus animals. How they're treated. That can be my next project."
"Sounds great, Emma. And I'll help."
"You will?"
"Of course! I've always wanted to meet Igor the Man With No Neck, and his two-headed goat. Then there's the bearded lady."
"JT, you're thinking of a freak show, not a circus."
"Details, details. Don't bother me with details."
"Just eat your salad."
"How's the lasagna, Emma?"
"The best. What about your spaghetti?"
"Very good. You know, I'm glad you're not one of those girlfriends who thinks we should feed each other some of the food off our plates."
"Aside from that being a rather unsanitary practice, I'm greedy. When the food is good, I want to keep it all to myself."
"I know what you mean. Besides, I can be a messy enough eater all by myself. Who needs the burden of being messy for two people?"
Emma laughed.
"You seem to be doing a good job of keeping the food in your mouth and not on your face," she remarked.
"A concentrated effort, Emma, I assure you."
"JT, speaking of ways in which we're not like other couples, there IS one thing I've been a little concerned about."
Hearing that made JT nervous.
"What's wrong? What did I do?"
Emma grabbed JT's hand to reassure him.
"No, nothing's wrong. And YOU certainly haven't done anything wrong. You're terrific."
"Then what is it, Emma?"
"I've just been thinking about how when most couples start going out, chances are they haven't known each other for a long time. Or at least not very well. They spend months just learning the basics about one another. So they have plenty to talk about long before they have to start thinking of possible discussion topics."
"Okay…"
"But you and I…We've been a close part of each other's lives since kindergarten."
"Still not seeing a problem," JT interjected.
"We already know all that introductory information. We know so much about each other. I was just thinking that after awhile we might find we don't have much left to talk about. And if that happens, you'll get bored with me."
JT kissed Emma's hand.
"Emma, I love that you think so much, but any more thoughts like that and I'll have to find a machine to neutralize your brain."
"JT…"
"Hey," he stopped he before she could object, "this is my turn to ramble."
"Okay."
"You're right, Emma. We're way ahead of the game. We don't have to bother discussing our favorite color, our hobbies and our family backgrounds. We each know what the other does best at in school. We know a ton of stuff about each other. If you ask me, that's a GOOD thing. It means we've gotten all that out of the way and we get to avoid the awkwardness and guessing games of the first month of a relationship."
Emma smiled.
"Instead," JT continued, "we get to focus on the bigger things. The really interesting stuff."
"Like inner thoughts and feelings?"
"I was thinking more of my endless supply of jokes and classic comedy information, along with your never-ending tree trivia. But yeah, thoughts and feelings – that's okay to talk about too, I guess."
Emma rolled her eyes.
"Kidding," he said. "But my point, before I forget it, is that two of the things about us that I'm most sure about are that we love each other very much, and that we are NEVER going to be at a loss for words. Just tonight we've learned things we didn't already know about each other, so it's not like we know everything there is to know. And there's always going to be more stuff to find out. Emma Nelson, you are way too interesting and fun for me to ever get bored. I may get tongue-tied around you sometimes, but I'll never run out of things that I want to tell you."
"You are a very nice guy, JT Yorke."
"And don't forget a very strange guy," he suggested.
"That too. But definitely not boring. I guess I won't run out of things to talk to you about either."
"I'm glad. Now if you're feeling better about things, can we get back to eating?"
"Of course, JT."
"Good. Can you pass the salt?"
"You don't really want that, do you?" she questioned.
"No, I thought you could pass it to me just for kicks."
"You don't need salt on your food. I'm sure it's got plenty of flavor as it is."
"There's nothing wrong with a little salt."
"JT, I could recite a whole list of reasons why you…"
"Emma?" JT interrupted, smiling.
"Yes?"
"Sometimes you talk too much."
"JT, I can't get over this room."
"Yeah, that's the good thing about dining by candlelight…even if the room's a mess, who can see it?"
"No, I mean it's so elegant. Look at some of those paintings they've got on the walls. All the detail."
"Not exactly 'Dogs Playing Poker,' but they're okay."
"You don't fool me," she said.
"I have no idea what you're talking about, Emma."
"You can pretend all you want, but you're just a great big romantic. You'd have to be to set this evening up."
"Nah, it was either come here, or enjoy the franks & beans special at the bowling alley. I just didn't feel like wearing rented shoes tonight."
"Whatever, JT."
The waiter entered.
"Would you like to look at the dessert menu?"
"I don't know. Emma?"
"Tempting, but I couldn't. But I'd like some coffee, though."
"Make that two coffees," JT instructed.
Then the waiter left.
"You didn't have to skip dessert just because I passed."
"No, I'm fine, Emma."
"You may change your mind after you hear what I'm going to say."
"Uh-oh," he said, growing curious.
"You've noticed the music they have playing in the background?" she asked.
"Emma, you know I only pay attention whenever I'm talking. I tune everything else out."
Emma wanted to laugh but decided to act serious.
"Keep talking like that, JT, and you'll develop a different kind of fork fear because I'll stab your hand with one."
"Of course I've heard the music," JT answered seriously this time. "I don't know the names of any of the songs. They're mostly instrumental songs. But nice. Well, except when they put on some of that Italian opera music for a few minutes. Nobody needs to hear that sort of thing, especially while they're trying to eat."
"Dance with me, JT."
"But then most instrumental background music is nice…as long as it's not Muzak."
"I said I want you to dance with me."
JT looked at his watch.
"My, will you look at the time?"
"Come on," she urged.
"I can't dance, Emma. You know that."
"No, you DON'T dance. Big difference."
"Sure."
"You COULD do it if you really wanted to."
"Emma, me dancing is like you working in a kitchen. Bad idea and potentially dangerous."
"Well, if you're not going to even try…"
JT groaned.
"Don't go into pout mode, Emma. You know I can't take it when you do that."
"No, if you're not interested in trying something that would make me extremely happy, I won't say another word about it."
"Okay, okay. I'll try. Just stop with the look that's like you just lost your best friend."
"Good," Emma said, now all smiles.
"Emma, you're the only person I know whose facial expressions can move mountains. And your silences are deafening."
"Isn't it wonderful?"
JT groaned again.
"Don't worry, JT. You know I don't abuse the gift. But in this case you'll be glad I convinced you."
"Convinced? Don't you mean bullied?"
"Details, details. Don't bother me with details," Emma replied, mimicking JT and his earlier comment. "Besides, it's not as though you've never set foot on a dance floor."
"What?" JT asked curiously.
"At the end of Grade 8," she elaborated. "With Liberty."
"Moving around a gym floor for one night only with a friend who's not my girlfriend while hoping I wouldn't fall on my face - or my butt - doesn't exactly make me Gene Kelly," he offered.
"But it does prove that your body is not completely incapable of moving in a dance-like formation," Emma countered.
"Just don't say I didn't warn you," JT said as they stood up and moved away from the table.
"Anyway, it's just us in here," Emma attempted to reassure JT. "You've got nothing to be worried about."
"Our waiter could come back at any time," JT suggested.
"No more excuses. Now this is a nice slow song. No need for any fancy moves. We'll just try something simple."
"Emma, just trying to stay on my feet will be a fancy move."
"Okay, JT, just put your hands on my waist, like this."
JT then followed her instruction.
"Now," she continued, "I'll put my hands on your shoulders, like this. Don't look down at the floor."
"Your feet will be sorry if I don't look down there," the young man warned.
"You're not going to hurt me," Emma responded confidently. "Don't think too hard about it and you won't have any problems. Listen to the music and look at me. Then just start moving to the music."
"Okay," he said, feeling nervous.
"That's good, JT. Now that we're moving a little back and forth in one place, let's take a few small steps. To get you used to moving around a little like you might on a dance floor. You guide me. There you go. You're doing great. Now back a little in the other direction. That's it. Slow and steady."
'Ouch!' Emma thought. 'Right on the little toe. Just can't let Jamie read anything about it on my face.'
"Is this okay, Emma?"
"Yeah," she replied. "We won't get into complex things like dipping and spinning around tonight. Don't worry, the competition isn't for a whole week."
"Funny."
Emma kissed JT as they continued to slowly move back and forth. The waiter entered with their coffee, set it down and left without disturbing them.
"I knew you could do it if you gave yourself a chance," Emma soon commented.
"That makes one of us."
"JT, you should know by now you can accomplish anything that you want. But even if you still don't grasp that, I'll always be here to remind you."
"Works both ways, Emma. But even though I know you can save the world all by yourself, I just hope you'll always bring me along for the ride."
"You are NOT going to make me cry," she cautioned, all the while feeling extremely happy with the evening.
"I'm just saying…" he continued. "I mean, we DO have those freak shows to visit."
Emma rolled her eyes, but smiled.
"Oh, you are SO in trouble after this dance, JT."