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Date Night
July 2024
Tony was straightening up the living room in their new condo, rearranging the pillows on the small love seat and organizing the magazines on the coffee table. It had been a month since they moved out of their home on Oak Hills Drive. Samantha and Jonathan were adjusting as best as could be expected, with some bumps in the road. He knew exactly how challenging it could be blending two families together when you had two very different parenting styles, even if they were brother and sister.
“Angela! Are you almost ready? Our reservations are in an hour and a half! I wanna make sure we get a good parking garage near the restaurant!” he shouted to the bedroom door.
“Yes I’m almost done! Are we taking the jeep or the jag?” she asked as she popped her head out of the bedroom door.
“Probably the jag- it needs a good run” he said as he finished straightening up. He walked back into the bedroom to grab his suit jacket and tie. He stopped in the doorway to admire his beautiful wife.
“Can I help you Mr. Micelli?” she asked as she caught him staring at her as she put the final touches on her makeup.
“Just admiring the view Mrs. Micelli! I can’t believe it’s been thirty wonderful years of marriage! Plus four amazing kids and three grandchildren… what did we do to get so lucky?” he asked as he came to stand behind her at her vanity table as she closed up her makeup bag.
“I have no idea but lucky is exactly what we are Tony… and late is what we will be too if we don’t get out of her soon!” she laughed as she stood up.
“You really are absolutely stunning Angela… that dress is gorgeous on you…” he said as his hands found her hips, his eyes roaming her body.
“Oh this old thing?” she asked sarcastically as she stepped back and twirled around. It was a snug fitting black dress, cutting off just below the knee. It was quite conservative in the front but once she twirled around, it revealed a very low cut back. Tony pulled her back into an embrace, his hands roaming over the bare skin.
“You and Sam went shopping last weekend so I know it’s new… trust me I’m not complaining…” he said as he leaned in for a kiss.
“Didn’t think you would be… you clean up quite nicely. Although you really need a haircut…” she said as she ran her hands through his long hair.
“Eh oh, oh eh! Nicky says it’s the new style! I’ve gotta keep up with the times, especially with these silver locks!” he said as he ran his own hands through his hair.
“You’ve never looked better Tony! You’re still the same sexy guy who walked into my house almost forty years ago…” she said as she captured his lips with her own.
“Well then we are one good looking couple! C’mon let’s head out!” he said as he grabbed his tie and jacket. Once his tie was tied and Angela straightened it, he helped her on with her shawl before grabbing his keys and heading out to the car.
A little over an hour later, Tony was pulling into the underground parking garage. He helped her out of the car as they headed up to the street. They walked arm in arm to the restaurant they had frequented many times over the years. Tony was even on a first name basis with the owner.
“Reservation for two… name’s Micelli!” he said to the waitress. “Manny! How are you?” he asked a middle aged man who came from around the partition, his hand already outstretched to shake Tony’s.
“Tony! So nice to see you! Come on… I’ve got a table right outside for you and your beautiful wife!” said Manny, the owner of the restaurant as he led them to a table for two. Tony pulled back the chair for Angela as he sat down himself.
“A round of drinks for you, on the house! We have a wonderful new red wine. Would you be interested in a taste?” asked Manny.
“Sounds wonderful!” said Angela as she took one of the menus.
“So are you going to have the usual sweetheart?” he asked as he looked over at the familiar menu.
“I think I might switch it up actually! I’m going to start with the brie sur toast as an appetizer and then the roasted chicken! The usual for you too?” she asked as she closed her menu.
“Of course! Shrimp cocktail and the filet mignon! Have to have my surf and turf!” he chuckled. A few minutes later, the waitress brought out two glasses of the house wine.
“Here’s to this next chapter of our lives… may it be even better than the last forty years!” said Tony as he clinked his glass with hers.
“That’s a tough order Tony! We’ve had so many wonderful chapters over the past forty years! From getting married, to having two more wonderful children and raising them, plus Mother! Then to having our first grandchild then two more… it’s really been wonderful…” she said.
“Even the rough patches were better because we had each other…” he said as they both thought about losing Mona a few years ago and the recent death of Jonathan’s partner. Mona’s death had taken its toll on both of them. She had been in a decline for a few years before her death, suffering from the symptoms of dementia. Angela had gone into semi-retirement to help take care of her before they found a wonderful assisted living that could provide the care she needed.
“Well, now that we are both officially retired and back to empty nesters, the sky’s the limit!” he said as the waiter brought out their appetizers.
They spent the remainder of the meal catching each up on their children’s lives. They talked about their worries for each of their adult children. Jonathan and Samantha had been living in the house for about a month or so. Katie was a frequent guest, often raiding their refrigerator as she was prone to do even when she no longer lived at home. Despite being named after Angela, their youngest daughter was a clone of Mona, from her red hair to her fiery personality. AJ and his wife Sarah were settling in nicely to married life. They both speculated they’d be having another grandchild in the near future.
“Can I tempt you with our dessert menu? We have added some new additions to the menu since your last visit!” said Manny as he handed them a dessert menu.
“I think you can twist my arm Manny! You already had her at dessert!” chuckled Tony as Angela gave him a look.
“Sounds good! The waitress will be right back to take your order” he said as he headed back inside.
“So what are you thinking for dessert?” she asked as she looked over at the menu.
“I think I’m going to switch it up this time and have the apple pie a la mode! You?” he asked as he closed his menu.
“I think I’ll have the carrot cake this time…” she said as she too closed her menu. The waitress came back over and took their orders along with coffee and tea. They enjoyed their drinks and desserts until it was time to get a cab to the theater. Tony paid the bill as he thanked Manny for another great meal. Angela was able to hail a cab as they headed to the theater.
“Better late than never right Angela?” he smirked as they pulled up to the American Ballet Theater.
“Thirty years late… just under the wire! I can’t believe we are finally going to see Swan Lake together!” she said as Tony paid the cab driver.
“I can’t believe you forgave me after that whole thing! I should have never listened to those guys and just taken you back then! I don’t know what I was thinking…” he said as he helped her out of the cab.
“We were still trying to figure out how to be a couple and still have our own space back then. You should have been more honest with me but I shouldn’t have been so demanding of your time either. Once again, it was Mother who knocked some sense into us…” she said as she put her arm through his own as they walked up to the theater.
“Leave it to Mona to save us each and every time we… well mostly I, messed things up! How we managed to get to this point together is truly a miracle and really mostly Mona’s doing!” he laughed as they reached the theater doors.
“Well I’d like to think we had some say here and there…” she said before they both paused, looked at one another and said ‘no’ in unison before laughing out loud. Tony opened his phone and showed the ticket teller their tickets. They were led to the box seats up in the balcony. Tony helped her to her seat before sitting down.
“It’s like being transported back in time being here tonight! I know this isn’t your cup of tea Tony but it really does mean a lot that you’re here with me…” she said as she leaned over to give him a kiss.
“There’s no where I’d rather be than here with you…” he said as he pulled her closer to his side, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. The lights began to dim as the curtain rose. Angela was enthralled the moment the first dancer took the stage until the curtain call began. Tony found the ballet half way interesting but spent most of evening watching Angela’s reactions to it; he loved watching the excitement and love on her face as the dancers performed. When it was time to leave, he helped her into her shawl and headed towards the exit.
“Oh Tony… that was just magical! What a wonderful night! I don’t want it to end!” she gushed as she wrapped her arm around his waist.
“Who says it has to end? How about a night cap? It’s not like we have work in the morning or kids to take care of! Heck… we could even stay over tonight if you want…” he said as he hailed a cab to take them back uptown.
“That’s true… okay let’s do it! How about we head to The Carlyle Hotel? Maybe even stay over and then tomorrow we can head back to the car to go home. It is an overnight garage…” she said as they got into the taxi.
“Sounds good to me! Hopefully the band is still playing! To The Carlyle Hotel please!” he said to the driver. About fifteen minutes later, they were dropped off in front of the upper east side hotel and bar. They headed towards the hotel lobby to check into a room. They were initially self conscious to check into a hotel room without any luggage but once they were given their keys, they headed towards the bar area, forgetting any reservations they had as they found a table near the band.
“Can I get you a drink Angela?” he asked as he held out her chair for her as she sat down.
“Sure! A vodka martini dry please!” she said as she watched him head to the bar.
She took out her cellphone to send a text message to the kids about their impromptu stay over in the city. Samantha and Jonathan both sent laughing emojis as they had a bet going as to whether they would make it back that night or in the morning, with Samantha winning the bet. Katie sent a few inappropriate memes which caused Angela to blush as she scolded her youngest daughter through the group text. Once AJ sent a vomiting emoji, she figured it was safe to close her phone.
“You tell the kids our plans?” asked Tony as he sat down with the drinks.
“Yes and they were as horrible about it as you would expect!” she laughed as she took a sip of her drink.
“For all the hell they gave us growing up, especially the twins, they all need to back off! If I wanna take my gorgeous, sexy wife for a night out on the town and stay over, I’ll do just that!” he said.
“How about you take your gorgeous, sexy wife for a spin on the dance floor…” she said as she stood up, taking his hand in hers as she led him to the dance floor. He spun her around before falling into their perfected rhythm.
“See… with you in my arms… who needs kids?” he chuckled as his cheek found hers as they swayed to the music.
“Hmmm… what kids?” she practically purred in his ear, causing a shiver to run down his body. He was in awe that she still had this effect on him after all these years.
They continued to dance as the band played on. Tony was over the moon when they started playing a round of Sinatra songs, all of which he knew by heart, serenading in her ear as the band played on.
“You should really get up there and sing Tony! Your voice is beautiful and you’re ten times more talented than their lead singer!” she said as she pulled back from their close embrace.
“Me? Singing on stage? Without the Dreamtones? No way! I could never get up there and sing like that!” he said as he eyed the band.
“You absolutely could and should! Just don’t leave me for some young girl groupie when you are a famous musician touring all over the country…” she said with a smirk.
“Ha! There’s no way I’d do any of that but at the very top of the list is leave you. We are easily some of the most un-young people in this place yet most of the eyes have been on us all night. You know why? Because at any age, you are still the most gorgeous, beautiful woman in the room…” he said as he leaned back into her, capturing her lips in a soft kiss.
“You do know you were already getting some tonight… no need to lie…” she chuckled.
“It’s never a lie Angela! But speaking of our night ending… any chance you want to head up to our room?” he asked as his hand roamed around her body, landing on the small of her back as he pulled her even closer to him, letting her know exactly what was on his mind.
“I thought you’d never ask…” she said as she led him off the floor, grabbing their drinks before heading out the door towards to the lobby.
“Another successful date night in the books…” he said as he pressed the elevator button.
“The date night maybe over but our night is just beginning…” she said seductively as she walked onto the elevator, pulling him inside into another embrace as she captured his lips in a passionate kiss.