Pink Flamingoed (13 page)

“So, you have, huh. Cool!”

+++

People marvel at how an upscale dining establishment
like Martinelli’s can draw enough business in a small town like Hopemont. Two
things make that possible. The first reason is that most people in Hopemont
make enough money to enjoy an occasional night out at Martinelli’s. But the
most important reason is that Martinelli’s has such a good reputation that the
restaurant can draw people from as far as Lexington, an hour away. Mention
Martinelli’s to someone three counties away and a smile immediately appears on
that person’s face.

+++

Amy heard the doorbell and rushed to the door. She
opened it and there stood Brad, but not the Brad she had come to know. His
opened overcoat revealed that Brad had on a black suit with a white shirt and a
red tie. She had never seen him so dressed up. Brad looked at the beautiful
young woman in the emerald green velvet dress with a strand of pearls around
her neck. He was impressed.

“My, don’t you look nice?” Amy exclaimed.

“You look pretty good, yourself,” Brad said, returning
the compliment.

“So, are we ready to go?”

“Not quite,” Brad said, as he reached over and picked
up a dozen red roses from where he had hidden them.

Amy’s mouth flew open.

“Does that mean that you approve of the flowers?”

Amy could only nod.

“Well, I guess I could stand here and hold them for a
while, or you could put them in water. That is, unless you want to take them
with you to Martinelli’s.”

Amy regained her composure, turned to find a vase.

After Amy had placed the roses in a vase, she returned
and asked, “Okay, Mr. Holmes, are we ready to go now, or do you have another
surprise?”

“Well, let’s just say that we’re not quite ready to
go.”

“What is it this time? More flowers?”

“No.”

“Well, what then?”

“What’s your hurry? Do you have to be back by a
certain time?”

“No, but the dinner begins at 8:00. Are you driving or am I?”

“No.”

“No, what?”

“No, I’m not driving and neither are you.”

“So, are we going with Frank and Cora?”

“No, they pulled out just as I walked over.”

“Well, then, are we walking?”

“No.”

“Are we playing twenty questions?”

“I don’t know. Are we? You’re the one asking all of
the questions.”

“You know I don’t like you knowing more than I do.”

“I know, and I’m enjoying this.”

“How well I know. So, how else are we going to get
there? Don’t tell me you rented a limo.”

“No, nothing like that.”

“Well, for a minute there I wasn’t sure, considering
you dressed up and you brought me roses.”

“Well, you dressed up, too.”

“Yes, but I didn’t bring you roses. Come on, are you
going to tell me, or not?”

“No.”

Amy tried to think of a reply, but her thoughts were
interrupted.

“What in the...?”

Amy heard the sound of horses’ hooves, and turned and
looked in the direction the sound came from. Her mouth flew open as she gazed
at the white horse that clopped and the white carriage that rolled down Aylesford Place behind it. Before Amy could speak again, the horse and carriage passed by,
turned, and stopped in front of her house.

“I believe we’re ready now, Miss Twenty Questions,”
Brad said, unable to suppress his grin as he extended his arm for Amy.

“Oh, Brad,” Amy exclaimed, as she grabbed him and
kissed him. “You ordered a carriage for us?”

“No, I met this guy the other day and he asked me for
the best place to exercise his horse. I told him our street didn’t have much
traffic.”

“Well, we can’t go yet. I have to get a few
photographs of the carriage.”

“Photographers!”

“Authors!”

Amy quickly grabbed her camera, took some pictures,
and decided to take the camera with her. Brad helped Amy into the carriage,
then climbed aboard. The driver turned and Brad motioned for him that it was
okay to go. As Brad and Amy cuddled and huddled under the blanket the carriage
company provided, Amy turned to Brad and said, “I wish you would’ve let me
know. I would’ve bought some glass slippers for the occasion.”

“Sometimes, it’s best if a woman is surprised.” Brad
said.

As much as she hated to admit it, Amy knew that was
the truth.

+++

Frank and Cora were among the first to arrive at
Martinelli’s. To Cora, it was much like arriving early at the Academy Awards,
only she had a front row seat. Seated near the door, Frank and Cora could see
everyone as they arrived. Cora was eager to see how much of Aylesford Place
booked reservations at Martinelli’s for that night. Cora knew of only one
couple who was expected, and another couple who had better be there. She soon
learned of a third.

“Well, Jim. Good to see you. I think this is the first
time we’ve seen you since Christmas,” Frank said, as he greeted his neighbor
from across the street.

“The prodigal husband has returned. It’s good to be
home. I’ve been on the road a lot, so I promised Kathy that I would definitely
be home for Valentine’s Day. This is my treat to her for being away from her so
much this winter.”

“Well, it’s good to see you. I hope you’ll get to be
home more often.”

“Me, too.”

“And me, too,” Kathy said, as she smiled at her
husband and wrapped her arms around his left arm as they turned to be seated.

Cora elbowed Frank when Harry and Ethel arrived.

“Well, Harry. It’s so good of you to bring Ethel here
to celebrate Valentine’s Day,” Cora said, ignoring the dirty look Harry gave
her.

“Harry, remember to pull out Ethel’s chair for her
when you get to the table, and don’t stuff any food in your pockets when you
leave. And, oh, by the way, that cloth thing by the silverware is a napkin. And
about that silverware, start with the smallest fork first. Work your way from
the outside in.”

Harry, relieved when he found out their table was on
the other side of the room from Frank and Cora’s table, nudged Ethel to their
table.

After they left, Frank spoke. “You shouldn’t be so
tough on the old boy, Cora.”

“Somebody has to, Frank. If it wasn’t for me being
tough on the old boy, Ethel would be sitting at home eating a pepperoni pizza,
and Harry would have insisted that they save half of it for tomorrow night.”

Couple by couple the residents of Aylesford Place made
their entrance.

“Hello, Barney, Bertha. Barney, those black pants
really bring out the color in your red socks,” Cora commented. “And how
appropriate they are for Valentine’s Day.”

“See, Honey Bun. I told you Cora would compliment my
outfit,” Barney said, as he turned to Bertha, and then headed off to their
table as they made room for their pastor to pass by.

“Scott and Nancy. So good to see both of you,” Cora
said. “Who’s babysitting tonight?”

“Mallory said she’d try to keep an eye on her
brother,” Scott replied.

“You’d better pay her well, then, because that’s a big
job.”

Soon, Melanie came in leading a date, smiled at Cora,
and headed to a table in the adjoining room.

“Where are Brad and Amy?” Cora asked apprehensively.

No sooner were the words out of her mouth when she saw
the young couple enter the restaurant.

“Oh, Frank. Don’t they look divine? They remind me of
you and me at that age.”

“Were we ever that age, Cora? Well, how’s the most
handsome couple here tonight?” Frank asked, as Brad and Amy passed by their
table.

“We’re going to have to watch it, Amy. We’re only two
tables away from Cora. We must remember to whisper. We don’t want everything to
get around the neighborhood by tomorrow morning.”

“I don’t think you have anything to worry about, Brad.
The neighborhood’s all around you tonight,” Cora replied. “But just in case,
Frank, would you mind changing seats with me? It seems this couple is sitting
behind me and that class I took in lip reading is finally going to pay off.”

Everyone had been seated. Frank looked up and saw
Harry heading toward his and Cora’s table. The tightwad looked panicky. Harry
knelt down beside Cora and whispered to her.

“Cora, you got me into this. There are no prices on
the menu. Is it okay if Ethel and I just split a chicken dish? We don’t usually
eat a lot at night.”

“Harry, get ahold of yourself. You picked up the wrong
menu.  The man’s menu has prices on it, but the woman’s menu doesn’t. Now go
back over there and order. Be sure and get two entrees and you’d better not get
the two cheapest things on the menu.”

It had been a few minutes since Brad pulled out Amy’s
chair, waited for her to be seated, and then took his seat across from her. The
two of them sat and stared at each other until Brad broke the silence.

“I guess we’d better look over the menu,” Brad
suggested.

After both of them had perused the menu, Brad asked,
“Do you have any idea what you want?”

“No, it all looks so good,” Amy replied. “Why don’t
you order for both of us?”

“As you wish, my dear. As they say, the way to a
woman’s heart is through her stomach.”

“I believe they say that about a man.”

“But just perchance,
they
might be wrong this
time,” Brad said, as he reached out and caressed Amy’s hand which she had moved
across the table as if her hand was searching for his.

When their server came over to take their order, Amy
was impressed when Brad ordered chateaubriand for two, asparagus with
hollandaise sauce, and braised new potatoes. After they had ordered, Amy asked
Brad if he would excuse her for a few minutes while she snapped pictures of
their neighbors.

+++

Halfway through the meal Cora turned to her husband.
“Frank.”

“Yes, dear.”

“Would you be a dear and go to the restroom?”

“I don’t understand. I don’t have to go to the
restroom.”

“I know, but it’s the only way we’ll know what Harry
and Ethel ordered for dinner.”

Frank smiled and complied.

“I’ll be right back.”

In a few minutes Frank returned with another smile on
his face.

“Whatever you said must have worked. Ethel ordered
Veal Oscar and Harry ordered the pan fried trout.”

“I must remember to kiss him for this, Frank.”

“Who knows? He might want to kiss you, too.”

“Would you be jealous if he did?”

“Of course. Shouldn’t I be?” Frank answered as he
grinned from ear to ear.

+++

Ethel looked down at her entree, thinly-sliced veal
scaloppini topped with crab meat, asparagus, and hollandaise sauce.

“What are you thinking, Ethel?” Harry asked.

Ethel looked at Harry and smiled.

“I was just thinking about how special this is. I’d
heard of Veal Oscar, but now I’ve had a chance to try it. It’s even better than
I imagined.”

Ethel’s comments made Harry choke up a little,
something he seldom did. He knew that his wife would no longer look at the
hamburger and macaroni casserole he requested she make so often in quite the
same way as before. But somehow he knew he could work through this. But Harry’s
next comment told the world that his thoughts were not focused on how much this
experience might cost him, but on the smile he saw on his wife’s face.

“Ethel, honey. Have you ever tried crème brûlée or
bananas Foster?”

“No, I don’t believe I have.”

“Well, why don’t we add to the occasion? Let’s order
both of them for dessert and share. I feel like splurging tonight.”

Those words seemed to hang on Harry’s tongue, as if he
were suddenly speaking in a foreign language. If Harry had ever said the word
“splurge,” he did not mean it was something he ever planned to do.

+++

Among the last to leave, Brad and Amy savored their
time together, as well as each morsel of food. Eventually, they finished their
desserts and noticed that the restaurant was almost deserted. They walked out
and found the horse, horseman, and carriage waiting for them in front of
Martinelli’s.

“Are you up to a little spin before I take you home?”

“Absolutely,” answered Amy, not wanting the night to
end.