When Dante started the car, Robyn pulled out her phone and opened a text from Mel.
Mel: So, how did he react when he saw you tonight?
Robyn sighed. She was still irritated at Mel for going behind her back with Delilah. She wasn't quite ready to talk to her and be all buddy-buddy yet. She put her phone away and turned to look at Dante. She wasn't going to let her issues with Mel ruin her night.
"Ready for some great jazz?" Robyn asked. She saw he had been watching her look at her phone.
"Always! You can never go wrong with jazz," he said as he pulled the car out of the driveway. "Are you okay?" he asked softly. "You look upset."
"Yeah, I'm just working through some things right now," she responded. "I'll figure it out."
"I'm not going to push you, just know, I'm always here if you need someone to talk to," he reminded her.
"I appreciate that you're always willing to be there for me," Robyn said. At the light, she offered him her hand. When he put his hand in hers, she entwined their fingers and laid their hands on the center console. After a pause, she said, "I'm currently dealing with some issues with Mel and Delilah and I'm not sure how I want to handle it yet."
"Should I be worried?" he asked. "I've learned that that's one pair of headstrong ladies right there."
"Who you telling?" Robyn said with an eye roll and a short laugh. "Honestly, I'm still trying to decide if I should be worried, mad, resigned, or all of the above."
"Is this the same thing that was bothering you at Misty's concert last night? I noticed you seemed a little distracted"
Robyn sat a moment before responding. "It is. Long story short, I found out that Mel has been training Dee behind my back after I told her no. They've both been lying to me about going shopping and hanging out when they were actually training. Dee ended up using her new skills to defend a friend at school and ended up injuring the kid. She almost broke his arm"
"That's a lot, a hard situation to be in. On the one hand, I know you're a proud mom and you want to be proud of your daughter for standing up for the little guy." He gently squeezed her hand. "But on the other hand, I'm sure you've got some strong feelings about your best friend and daughter lying to your face and going against your wishes." He gently brushed his thumb back and forth across the back of her hand. "With the recent events that have happened with you, I can also understand a part of Delilah's desire to want to defend herself. You've scared the crap out of all of us recently, multiple times." He glanced at her.
She looked over at him, "Yeah, that pretty much sums up what I'm working through. I talked to Aunt Vi last night after I got home and I think I've decided to let Delilah take some basic self-defense classes. She's still a kid, she doesn't need the intense training that Mel has been teaching her. I haven't figured out the rest of the situation though. My mind keeps pulling in different directions."
"If you need me, I'm there," Dante said.
She smiled as they turned down the restaurant's street. "That's an issue for another day though. Tonight, I just want to focus on spending time with you." A moment later, they were at The Lush Lounge.
Dante pulled up to the valet stand, released her hand, and stepped out. He walked around the car to help her out. He held out his hand and she placed hers in it. A bare leg with a sparkling stiletto appeared first, then seconds later, his white-clad dream woman exited the car. Again, he lost his ability to speak as they headed into the restaurant. Dante held open the door for Robyn and then followed her inside. Once inside, they turned left towards the archway. Instead of stopping at the desk, Robyn just gave the hostess a nod and led Dante to a booth against the middle back wall. The space above the booth was filled with spotlighted pictures of different people singing or playing instruments. The booth had a perfectly centered view of the stage where a band containing all of the instruments he saw previously was playing a mellow song.
When she turned her back to him, Dante helped Robyn remove her coat. He let his fingers brush over the exposed skin on her back before fully removing it. She turned and raised an eyebrow as she sat and slid into the booth. Dante removed his coat and shrugged. "I told you, a struggle," he said as an explanation, sliding into the left side of the booth and ending next to her. His hand landed on her exposed thigh and he began to absentmindedly draw random patterns. She didn't stop him. They both glanced up when glasses of red wine were placed in front of them.
"Shit," he heard her mutter. "Let me guess, from Ced?" she asked the waitress in a louder voice.
The waitress responded with a nod and grin. "Tell him I said don't wanna," she muttered loudly. The waitress grinned again, shook her head no while laughing, and then took their coats to be hung up.
"Is there a problem?" Dante asked, his hand now unmoving on her thigh.
"What?" Robyn asked distractedly. She zoned back in to focus on him. "Oh no, sorry. Cedric is just up to his old tricks. I hope you didn't have your heart set on anything specific because he seems to have everything all prepared and lined up, starting with the wine."
"No, I'm up for anything tonight," he said, looking at one of the pictures on the wall above them.
"Remember you said that," he heard her mutter. "On the plus side, at least it's Italian night and you're a sauce man."
Well, now he was curious. The restaurant smelled like garlic bread and fragrant aromas and it made his mouth water. He knew that whatever food Cedric put in front of him tonight, it would be delicious. Looking around the dining room, he admired the atmosphere change of the now-open restaurant. With the overhead lights dimmed, the room looked even more dramatic than the first time he saw it. The dim light created shadows that made the scattered black-and-white pictures stand out under their spotlights. He looked around the room at the people enjoying their candlelit meals. Suddenly, he paused and backtracked a table.
Gently squeezing Robyn's thigh he said, "Isn't that Mel and Harry over there?" he asked, gesturing subtly with his head. She looked at him, then the table he gestured to, then back at him, and again at the table. She took her phone out of her purse and sent a text.
Robyn: Seriously?
She saw Mel look up and see them in the booth. Her phone buzzed a reply.
Mel: We really couldn't miss Dolly tonight. Cedric promised she'd be here.
Robyn: I thought we were in agreement.
Mel: We are, but it's Dolly! …mixed emotions.
Robyn: hmm
Mel: You look drop-dead gorgeous, and you have one fine and sexy-looking date over there. You two are so dang cute! Any new updates?
Robyn gave Mel a look from across the room and put her phone away.
"Yup, that's them," she confirmed. "Would you excuse me for a moment, please?" Robyn asked. Dante nodded as she stood from the booth.
This was the first time he'd been able to watch Robyn from a distance tonight. Her high heels gave her hips an exaggerated and sexier sway than normal. She walked with tall confidence and essentially floated across the floor. Her dress caressed her curves while her leg played peek-a-boo with each step. It was one of the sexist things he had seen in his entire life. When she rounded a corner out of his sight, he turned to look at some more of the pictures around him.
A few minutes later, the music on stage softened as an emcee walked up to the mic. "Ladies and Gentlemen, you picked an excellent night to join us here at The Lush Lounge. We have a very special guest tonight. I know all of you long-timers remember her and have missed her," he paused. "Dolly has finally come home. As a special favor to our wonderful owner, Cedric, she has graciously agreed to perform a couple of numbers for us."
Dante looked around as cheers, claps, and whistles filled the room. He was curious about where Robyn was. This appeared to be a popular singer, and he didn't want her to miss it. He wondered if she knew the singer from back in the day. He glanced at another picture toward the top of the wall and then back at the stage. "Wait a minute," he muttered. He stopped and turned back to the picture. "Robyn?" The singer was young, maybe 17 or 18, and she was singing into a vintage-style mic with her eyes closed. At least she certainly looked like a younger Robyn.
"Ladies and Gentlemen. Please join me in welcoming home to the stage, Dolly!"
The music began to swell as the claps continued. Dante watched with interest as the lights narrowed until the only remaining light was a single spotlight on the mic and scattered candlelight throughout the restaurant. Seconds later, Dolly sauntered into the spotlight with a wave. Dante fell back against the booth. Robyn was Dolly.