Before we got too far into the meal, Robyn decided that she'd like to have a taste of the calamari, and when her mother discretely gave her one to sample, she got it into her mouth, chewed it a few times, and swallowed it, saying that it tasted okay, but she wasn't sure that she wanted any more of it – which seemed to suit her mother just fine!
As we were eating, we started chatting again, but now on a different subject than what I'd done or not done by talking to the two of them. By the time we'd finished our meal, most of the other patrons had left, and only a few of them had been replaced by new ones – the restaurant was only about half full. As we were sitting there, finishing off the last of the wine, the waiter returned and inquired as to whether or not we would like any dessert. Robyn was interested, but Lucy looked as though she couldn't quite make up her mind. I suspected that she was pretty full, and possibly a little concerned about the additional calories, and said that we were still savoring the meal – and please our thanks to the chef for such an excellent meal, would he? – and said that perhaps if he could come back in a bit we'd have decided. He assured us that there was no hurry, and that we could have all the time we wished, before leaving. I looked over at Robyn and told her "I can see that you'd like some dessert!", to which she gave me a mischievous smile, and turned to Lucy, asking her "How about you?". She smiled and said that she'd like to, but after such a delicious meal, didn't want to go home feeling heavy or over-full. I assured her that the desserts there would only affect her taste buds and not her stomach, but she still looked a little dubious.
When we got to the point where only bottoms of our wineglasses were wet, the waiter returned to ask us about dessert again. I said that I knew that the young lady was interested, and that I would like to have a look, as well. He smiled and nodded, returning in a few moments with the dessert cart. I saw Robyn's eyes start to get real big at first, but she quickly regained her dignity, and pretended as though she saw such things every day. She quickly decided on something that was made up of about 7 different kinds of chocolate, and the waiter wheeled the cart over to between me and Lucy. The waiter could see her eyeing a couple of things, and politely said that everything on the cart was made by their own dessert chef, and he would be deeply disappointed if such a lovely lady declined his offerings.
That made her smile, and she finally settled on a small pastry while I selected an Italian ice. Before leaving, the waiter asked if we'd like some coffee – their own house blend, of course to accompany our dessert? I agreed, and suggested that perhaps coffee would be a bit much for the young lady – he readily concurred, and suggested that perhaps she'd like a nice cup of*fresh* hot chocolate to go along with her dessert? Robyn quickly agreed, and as he was leaving, took the first bite of her dessert – and her mother and I both got a chuckle at the look of pure bliss on her face when she got the full taste of it. It was mine and Robyn's turn to be amused when her mother started eating her pastry – as she chewed the first bite, her entire face seemed to light up in enjoyment. When she'd swallowed it, she turned to me and said "That's absolutely the lightest, most delicious thing I've ever tasted!". I told her that she would probably make the dessert chef's entire*week* if she would repeat that comment to the waiter, and she blushed a bit and said that he deserved it.
When the waiter came back with the coffee and hot chocolate, Lucy did repeat her opinion to him, causing the waiter to smile and say that the dessert chef would be delighted to know that he'd been able to please her so greatly – which made her blush slightly again.
We all took our time with our dessert, enjoying it as much as possible, and by the time we'd finished it, and our drinks, the restaurant had nearly emptied. Most of its regular patrons knew that it closed at 10:00 PM, and it was now a little before 9:00. When the waiter came back again, he asked us if there would be anything else. I asked Robyn if she'd like another cup of hot chocolate, and got an enthusiastic yes in reply; when I turned to Lucy, she said that the coffee was wonderful, but said that it was getting a bit late, and she didn't think she needed any more of it. The waiter told her that it was also available as decaffeinated – certainly with no loss of flavor! – and that we were their treasured customers and he would be delighted to serve us as long as we cared to stay. She gave in, and said that she would like another cup of coffee then, and confirmed with the waiter that she wanted decaf. When he turned to me, I simply told him that I would follow the lady's lead, and join her. He nodded, and headed off; returning a couple minutes later with another cup of hot chocolate for Robyn and coffee for me and Lucy, saying that he did not wish to disturb us as we enjoyed our coffee. I thanked him, and off he went again.
When we'd finished our drinks, I signaled to him that we were ready to leave, and he brought over the check. I looked it over, write in a nice tip for him, and put my American Express card on the tray. After he'd left, Lucy looked at me and said "That wasn't a Gold card, was it?", and I said that no, it wasn't. She said that it didn't look like the regular AE card, and I finally admitted that it was the platinum card. Her eyes widened a bit at that, and even Robyn seemed to understand what was going on, because she gave me another one of her minor-deity looks.
When the waiter came back, I signed the receipt, and when I'd gotten my card and copy of the charge, he moved around to hold Robyn's chair for her as she got up, letting me attend to Lucy. When we were all standing, Robyn came around to stand on the other side of me from her mother, and the waiter came around behind her, stopping in front of us. He bowed slightly and said that it was his pleasure to have had us as their guests that night; then he reached out first for Lucy's hand and then Robyn's, kissing them in turn before stepping aside to let us leave. Lucy and Robyn fairly *glowed* as we headed toward the door; when we got to the front, the headwaiter approached, and said that it had gotten a bit cool out, and if I cared to wait inside a moment, the valet would have the car ready for us in just a moment. As we waited, he thanked me for coming back, and after saying that he hoped my next visit wouldn't take so long "and do bring these two goddesses back with you – please!" winning him radiant smiles from both of them – and I assured him that it wouldn't. About then, the valet opened the door, and started to come in; but when he saw us standing there, stayed outside, holding the door for us, instead. As we passed him, he said that he hoped we'd enjoyed our time with them and would return.
When we'd gotten into the car (which didn't take too long; it really had turned cool), both Lucy and Robyn emitted sighs of pure contentment as I pulled away from the curb. All during the ride home, they talked about all they'd seen, and how lovely everything was, and "did you*see* that…", and so on. As I turned onto the street to our apartment complex, Lucy looked at me as thanked me for making her promotion something she'd remember for a good, long time; and prompting Robyn to chime in with her own expression of appreciation. I told them that it really had been my pleasure, telling them that I'd been the envy of every man who saw the three of us that night. The both giggled a little at that, just as I pulled into the parking lot of our apartment complex.
When I'd pulled into my parking space in front of my apartment, and we'd gotten out, somebody came toward us from the shadows, surprising the hell out of us. When they got closer, we could see that it was a teenager, and that not only was he pretty ragged-looking, but appeared to be high on something. When he got close, he stopped, and asked me for a couple dollars. I told him I didn't think so, and he said that if I didn't give it to him, he'd take it from me. I pushed Lucy and Robyn behind me a little, and they stepped back even more on their own. I told the kid that if he tried to take money from me, he'd be sorry when I didn't kill him.