Vaggie asked, "Are you sure we should invite him in like that? Brainstorming flower arrangements is an entirely different thing than inviting him in to spend time with us ."

Charlie nodded as she pulled out her new outfit. Vaggie had a similar one. She was rather proud; she'd remembered to go to the cobbler to get some shoes for her hooves. As she slipped on the dress, she said, "We keep going to his tower to have our dates. We should be the ones to host him this time!"

"I get that you're excited and all. What I don't get is why you ordered a meal from Derell Elnardo. I would've expected you to, you know, have me cook it?" Vaggie sounded a little hurt.

"I want us to be able to relax, not worry about whether the cherries on the cake are centered!" She pulled the dress down past her rear where it settled against her thigh, the beads at the bottom clacking noisily. "Don't you want to enjoy our company?"

"You always make things sound so simple." Vaggie shook her head. "I would've at least liked to make those Rockefeller oysters."

"I'm sure our chef will get it right!" Charlie punched the air in front of her. "He'll go BAM and the meal will be perfect!"

"Hopefully he doesn't get drunk on the job," Vaggie murmured.

"Don't be so negative! This is going to go smoothly, I can feel it!" Charlie took Vaggie's hands in hers. "Things will turn out better than you think they will."

"Considering I'm expecting the penthouse to start on fire…" Vaggie trailed off as she let go of Charlie's hands and, too, slipped her dress on.

"Nothing will happen! I promise." Charlie put the pearls around her neck. "And if it does, I'll take care of it."

"Ohhh, a promise." Vaggie wrapped her arms around Charlie. "You're really looking forward to this, aren't you?"

Charlie admitted, "Yeah. A lot."

She could feel the smile against her neck. "I'll do my best to make it a good night."

Charlie's eyes watered. "Thank you, Vaggie."

Charlie and Vaggie waited for Alastor to show up. The meal was ready: hot, steaming derby hot browns, the sauce's heat making the open-faced sandwiches smell divine; Rockefeller oysters, shiny and delicious looking; blackened pork Caesar salads, everything crisp and green; Manhattan clam chowder packed with vegetables; and gelatin with pineapple in it complete with warm spiced cider punch.

Vaggie checked the clock on the wall. "He'll be here any minute."

"Ohhhhh, I hope he comes soon!" Charlie looked around at the shadows trying to guess which one Alastor would pop out of.

Charlie jumped when there was a knock on the door. The two women exchanged glances. "Who could that be?" Charlie asked. "I hope it isn't something important…"

Vaggie went and opened the door. To both their surprises it was Alastor. He was dressed down from normal, with a very baggy zoot suit on instead of any tux or his regular clothes. He visibly perked up when he saw the two of them. He said, "Excellent! I felt like this was going to be a themed dinner. Glad to not disappoint! You two look lovely."

He was obviously referring to their dresses. Charlie's was a brown flapper dress, pearls and beads decorating everything. She had a matching cloche hat decorated with feathers. Vaggie's was a blue flapper dress, tassels instead of beads and a decorated headband around her head. The way they were crafted showed that they were related pieces.

"Come on in," Vaggie said, a hand bidding him to enter. He did just that, walking in as Vaggie closed the door behind him.

Alastor visibly sniffed the air and exclaimed, "Is that a derby hot brown I smell?"

"Yes!" Charlie brightened up as Alastor walked up to the table they'd set up in the middle of the room. The round table was set up with a luxury tablecloth, Louis IV's best tablewares, and a black burning candle in the middle. Charlie pulled a chair out for Alastor. His eyebrow twitched. Before he could say anything, she said, "We're the hosts! The guest gets seated first."

Alastor narrowed his eyes before saying with a tight smile, "Using my own words against me? I didn't think you had it in you!"

"You've only seen the tip of the iceberg with us," Vaggie noted. "I'm sure you've noticed."

Charlie was wondering what Vaggie was talking about. To her growing confusion, Alastor laughed and nodded. "Indeed I have."

She looked between the two, trying to decode the message the two were sharing. They didn't elaborate; instead, they started a conversation on power dynamics. Charlie watched and listened to them out of the corner of her eye and ear as she served herself, Vaggie, and Alastor the food.

They were entirely absorbed in their conversation. Feeling left out, Charlie began downing the oysters like there was no tomorrow.

She was mid-gulp on her fifth oyster when she heard, "What do you think, Charlie dear?"

Charlie choked on the oyster as she tried to ask what the question was. Coughing, she grabbed the entire pitcher of apple cider and downed a third of it to get the oyster to go down. Once it was down, she took several deep breaths to try and calm her heart and make the dizziness go away.

"What was the question?" Charlie gurgled out.

Vaggie and Alastor were watching her, Vaggie with concern and Alastor with a raised eyebrow, before Vaggie asked, "Is it embarrassing for a man if his partner comes and 'rescues' them?"

Charlie blinked before giving the obvious answer. "No? Why would it be? Partners are supposed to protect each other. Misogyny doesn't help anyone. It causes pain."

Vaggie looked at Alastor like she had made some sort of point. Alastor shrugged as he dropped the topic and turned to his meal. He took a bite of the salad and made a strange noise. Was that a purr of some kind? Not having noticed the noise, Alastor dug in as he took particular delight in the pork. Charlie had specified that his portion be somewhat raw.

Following his lead, Vaggie and Charlie dug in. Charlie absolutely didn't regret hiring the chef. This was almost as good as Chez Couteaux ! She could see now why they were called the Roaring 20s.

Alastor swallowed a bite as he looked around. "I'm assuming we won't be having any after-dinner entertainment?"

"Yes we will," Vaggie said instantly. "You'll have to be patient."

Again, Alastor's eye twitched at not being in control. It was noticeably less than it used to be. Instead of commenting, he dug into his clam chowder. It was quiet again as they all ate their fill.

Alastor downed the last of the apple cider and sighed. "This was absolutely divine!"

"I'll admit, I'm impressed," Vaggie said. "I expected everything to have enough wine in it to make us drunk."

"See? I told you to trust him!" Charlie stood up excitedly. "Let's do the surprise now! Vaggie, come on come on!"

Alastor looked amused as Vaggie made a face and got up, putting a napkin on her plate. They went to the corner where they had a decorative screen set up and pulled the ancient machine from its hiding place. Charlie pulled out the just as old record they'd managed to find. Vaggie wound the machine as Charlie set the record on and got it playing.

Alastor's ear twitched. Recognition lit up his face. He exclaimed, "My goodness, is this Rufus McKay?"

"Good ear," Vaggie said as she and Charlie made for the middle of the room, beckoning Alastor to join them. He complied, looking as if his expectations were blown through the roof. He was simply enjoying himself now. Vaggie and Charlie arranged themselves as they had practiced. Each took one of Alastor's hands and led him in the first few steps they had come up with.

Alastor caught on quickly. The three of them danced about to the music. The short record needed rewound several times. It didn't interrupt the flow of the dancing.

Then, disaster. Charlie tripped over her new shoes, unused to wearing different shoes. She tumbled with a gasp. The floor hit harder than it should've. Great; she was the one ruining the night. She rolled onto her back to catch her breath. C'mon, Charlie. She couldn't sigh until she got air back in her lungs.

"Charlie-"

"My dear-"

"Are you alright?" the two said as one. They looked between each other before turning back to Charlie and offering a hand to help her up.

She looked between the two hands. This was an important decision, she could feel it. Luckily, she knew the right answer.

She took both hands.