Clearly, it wasn't something whipped up in a chemistry lab somewhere. I was only slightly disappointed when we finally got to the restaurant – it meant that my time alone with the two of them in the car was coming to a temporary end, but that I'd be the envy of every man that saw the two of them that night by having one of them on each arm.
The valet at the restaurant just barely managed to keep his attention on his job – and even then it was only after he'd let them out of the car and I'd come around to collect them from him that he finally realized that he had work to do. When we got into the restaurant, the headwaiter recognized me, and greeted me by name, earning me pleased looks from the two of them.
He commented on the "lovely, delightful!" company that I had that night, and led us to one of the best tables in the house. As we were moving along, I could almost hear all the eyeballs following us (okay, Lucy and Robyn!), and when the headwaiter and I held their chairs for them, every man in sight seemed to hold his breath as he watched them move with incredible grace and serenity as they sat down.
Almost instantly, the wine steward appeared, and I could hear the headwaiter whispering to him to take special care of us that night; a comment I heard him repeat to our waiter as he left us. I think that Lucy must have heard it, too, because she gave me a look of mixed awe and appreciation.
I asked Lucy if she minded if Robyn had some wine with us, and she said that she didn't. Then I asked her if she had any preferences; I could see that she was a bit flustered by the question, and said that if she didn't, then I'd be happy to make the selection. She smiled her agreement, and after looking over the list, ordered us a carafe of white wine to sip until we'd made our order. When the wine steward left, Lucy admitted to me that if it didn't come in a jug with a handle and have a screw-on cap, she didn't have the faintest idea of what kind of wine it was. I told her to relax, that it was a nice restaurant, and that there wasn't anyone there that was going to say or do anything to embarrass her. She looked doubtful, and when the waiter came up and gave us our menus, I asked him if he would mind answering a personal question. He said that he would do his best, and I asked him if it were possible that one of the waiters or employees there had ever embarrassed a customer. He looked properly horrified, and said that he had never even*heard* of such a thing, and that if it ever happened there, the employee would be dismissed instantly. I pointed out that it sometimes happened that a customer would dine there, and possibly not be familiar with all the things that were involved in the enjoyment of such excellent cuisine. He thanked me for the compliment, and said that it was his job, as well as that of the rest of the staff, to not only provide the best service possible, but to assist any customer who was in need of such assistance, politely and quietly, without causing even the slightest offense or embarrassment to that customer. As he was finishing, the wine steward appeared with the wine I'd ordered, and soon we each had a glass of wine in front of us. When the steward had left, I told the waiter that I understood what he'd been saying, and thanked him for his honesty and assistance before he left us to look over the menu.
After he'd gone, Lucy looked appreciably more relieved, and when Robyn wasn't discretely looking around in awe at the rest of the restaurant (and it's patrons), was looking at me as though I were some kind of minor deity.
We looked over the menu, and when Robyn and Lucy told me what they thought they'd like to eat, I saw that they'd picked out things that were among the cheapest on the menu. I wanted to let them know that it was all right to order whatever they wanted, but without sounding as though I was bragging; I finally settled on changing the subject a bit, and telling them that I usually came to that restaurant 2 or 3 times a month, plus whenever I needed to take one of my clients out for lunch – but that because of my latest project, hadn't been able to come there for several weeks, and thanked them for giving me a muchneeded excuse.
About that time, the headwaiter returned, and politely inquired as to how things were, adding that it had been "what, a month or more?" since he'd last seen me there – and that I was too valuable of a customer to stay away that long, finishing by saying that they had started to worry that something had been wrong during my last visit. I assured him that everything had been fine, and that my absence was due only to too much work. He sympathized, and I told him that my two lovely companions were there with me for a small celebration, and that were it not for them, I might still be at home. He thanked them profusely, and when I introduced them, bowed and kissed their hands – putting Robyn even farther into orbit, and almost embarrassing her mother. When he stood up again, he told me that if we were there to celebrate, he would see what the chef had to offer, and that our waiter would let us know. I thanked him, and he immediately headed toward the kitchen.
After he left, Lucy looked at me strangely, and asked just how much money I made working at home. I told her that while I wasn't going to be another Bill Gates, I was comfortable enough that I didn't have to worry about my few bills. I explained to her that I usually got called in on a project when the people running it were in*big* trouble, and that because of that, I generally got paid pretty well for meeting deadlines. She asked me why I was driving a Volvo, and I simply told her that that was the car I liked – which she correctly understood to mean that I could have bought almost anything I wanted.
After that, I suggested that we have another look at the menu until the waiter came back, and a couple minutes later, when I checked with them again, they had been a lot less concerned about the price – they weren't mercenary enough to order the most expensive items on the menu, and had instead just decided on what sounded good to them.
We sat there sipping our wine for a few minutes before the waiter reappeared. He told us that the chef had gotten a small amount of particularly good squid, and wished to prepare some calamari to help us in our celebration. I said that it sounded delightful to me, and when I looked at Lucy, she agreed that she'd like to sample it, too. Robyn wasn't so sure that she was willing to eat an entire order of squid, so her mother said that she could try a couple of hers, and Robyn stayed with her (new) selection from the menu. The waiter bowed to her, said that he certainly understood, and left us again.
After the waiter left, the wine steward returned to bring us another carafe of wine, saying that he'd been told of our celebration and what the chef would be preparing for us, and that if I would permit his boldness, he would like to bring us a wine that he thought would be particularly good with our meal. I agreed, and he left us alone again.
As we waited for our meal we sat there and chatted to each other about all manner of things. Finally it got around to where, together, they told me how they'd talked out their differences, written down a set of Special Rules, and even been able to invoke those rules without causing offense to each other. They also admitted that they'd started opening up to each other, and after comparing notes a little, concluded that I'd been the one that had made it possible for them to reach the point they were at now.
I was fortunately saved from further embarrassment by the arrival of our meal, and shortly after that, our wine. The wine steward went through the normal routine of opening it with a flourish (mildly impressing Robyn), and offering me the cork. I declined, telling him that I knew him to have impeccable taste (he bowed slightly at the compliment), and he poured us each a glass of it before setting the bottle aside, and left us to our meal.