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“So you're not going to be at the poker game on Friday night?”
“No.”
“But…it’s the poker game.”
“My parents are coming and finals are in two weeks. I think you can do without me.”
“You're wrong.” He shook his head.
“Oh please.”
“Why are you saying it like that?”
“I sit on your lap for a few hours and occasionally fetch you beer or drinks.” Erin replied. “I love you but I really hate your poker games.”
“You're not Pamela OK, you're Yoko.”
“I don’t even know what that means, Dave.”
“You only call me Dave when you're pissed.”
“I'm not pissed.”
“I think you might be pissed.”
“Do you want to see me pissed?” she raised her voice some.
“No.”
“Then stopped telling me that I'm pissed when I'm not, OK? My parents are coming and I'm going to spend some time with them. I’m going to give them the geeky tour of the capital and then we’re going to go over and look at some apartments in Georgetown for graduate school. They’re staying at the Jefferson Hotel so we’ll have Sunday brunch there.
“It’s just a little family thing.” She said. “I know they're both upset, for different reasons, that I didn’t choose Columbia for grad school. They want me back home. I'm going to try to show them that DC is my new home.”
“It’s not just about the poker game you know.”
“And we’re back to the damn poker game.” Erin sighed, plucking her cigarette into the darkness and looking at him. “What is going on with you?”
“Nothing.” Dave said it dismissively as he shook his head. “I can't believe you didn’t even get the Pamela and Yoko analogy. You're my luck charm, baby. You're my baby.”
“And I appreciate that.” Erin put her arms around him. “But a visit from my parents kinda trumps…I know what's going on.”
“Nothing is going on.”
“I'm not going to drop you when my parents come around. I thought it was a little strange that they'd make a visit when they know how busy this time of year is. I'm going to be home for Christmas in a few weeks. But clearly they need to see me about something. I have a feeling it’s not just social. Still, you're my fiancée, David. I'm not just going to drop our life together, and our lives, when my parents call.”
“But when your parents asked if you had anything to do this weekend what did you said?” he asked.
“I don’t have any plans. How was I supposed to know how important this poker game was to you? You play like every other Friday.”
“It’s a $200 sit down fee this go round. I could make a lot of money.”
“I'm not overly fond of gambling.” Erin said.
“It’s just fun and games, baby.” Dave said.
“It’s not fun and games; its cutthroat. Don’t tell me; I sit through it. Need I remind you of the time you nearly beat the hell out of Jim Stanworth over five card stud?”
“That wasn’t about cards. He said something derogatory about you and I don’t stand for that shit. I surely don’t stand for it in my house. I don’t stand for it at all.”
“What did he say about me?” Erin asked.
“Its ancient history baby. We just blow off a little steam, make some money, drink some beer…I like having you there. You can't be there this time, OK, I can live with that.”
“I don’t want you to be upset. I also don’t want to tell you how to feel but they're my parents.”
“I know.” Dave nodded.
He had no idea what this visit was about and he didn’t trust it. It had been less than 2 weeks since the Thanksgiving dinner from hell. Knowing he was going to be breathing the same air in the same city as Erich Strauss made Dave’s stomach turn. He could only imagine that they were coming here to talk their only daughter out of marrying someone so beneath her station. They could offer Erin anything; money, stocks, bonds.
Dave didn’t have those kinds of things to offer. He wasn’t dirt poor but the Strausses were Upper West Side Manhattan loaded. Erin had a million choices and the one she made was killing them. At least it was killing her father. Joanna Strauss had never been anything but cordial to him.
To be truthful he wasn’t quite sure if she liked him or not. It seemed she had more class about keeping her feelings concealed. No, she liked him. She seemed pleased with the engagement, at least because Erin was happy. And she congratulated him, sincerely, when she found out he was going into the FBI Academy.
“I'm being an ass.” He sighed. “I don’t like your father. He doesn’t like me either. Every time he's around I feel insecure and I hate the idea he might be whispering bad things about me to you. I hate the idea that you might believe him.”
“I love you.” Erin softly kissed his lips.
She wondered if she would have to deal with this for the rest of their relationship, which she hoped would be the rest of her life. It was in no way Dave’s fault that her father seemed to think he was a horrible human being. He was nothing of the sort. He could be cocky, and full of himself at times, but that was one of the many aspects of a complex personality. Dave was brilliant. He was funny and sexy and sensitive sometimes too.
He loved his family and his brotherhood and his woman. He laughed at good films and even cried on a couple as well. He touched Erin’s heart, stimulated her mind, made her remember how good it was to laugh and be silly, and made her tingle in the most amazing places. She was in love with him. She wanted to be in love with him until she ceased to breathe.
“Dave Rossi is an insecure bastard,” he mumbled. “Take three.”
“We’re going to get through this weekend. I promise.”
“I want you to have a nice time with them.”
“And I want you to win everyone’s money, even if I'm not a fan of gambling.”
“I’ll take you somewhere expensive to eat after I wipe the floor with this guys.” He managed a smile as he kissed her again.
“Maybe we can get an overpriced hotel room.” She pulled him into a hug.
“Mmm baby, sex all night.”
“You adorable, dirty-minded bastard.”
“Till the day I die.” Dave moved his hands down to caress her hips. “I love you too, Erin.”
“You should probably walk me home though. I need to read a few chapters for a final and then get some rest.”
“I shouldn’t have you out here in the cold anyway.”
“It’s actually pretty warm where I'm sitting.”
“Aww yeah.” Rossi grinned and then laughed when she playfully slapped his chest. “I’ll go inside and grab and umbrella. It’s starting to rain a little harder.”
“They said this is gonna keep up all through the weekend.” Erin said.
“I have to say that it’s better than snow.”
“Too much rain makes me sad.”
“When your parents leave on Sunday, since we don’t have finals on Monday, maybe we can get together and watch a movie that evening. Just you and me.”
“You and me and a houseful of crazy frat boys.” She said.
“That’s been our thing for a while now. It’s probably gonna be crazy when the two of us are finally alone.”
“I can't wait to test that theory.”
Dave smiled, moving away from where she sat on the banister. It was early December but it didn’t feel cold outside. The temperature couldn’t have been above 40 or so, the rain could have created some humidity. He grabbed a big black umbrella from the stand in the foyer that was filled with them. When he came back out, Erin hopped off the banister. She zipped her pink insolated Tri Sig hoodie.
“I love you in pink.” Dave took her hand. “I love you in every color.”
“I love that you pay me a lot of compliments.”
“I consider it a privilege to look at you. I love you without clothes as well.”
“I knew we’d eventually get around to my being naked.”
“Not this weekend.” It was hard to hide his disappointment.
“It’s unbecoming when you pout.” Erin said. She looked at him as they walked down the street.
“Someone told me once that it was sexy.” Dave replied.
“They lied.” She shook her head.
“You cut me so deep, Strauss. That’s pretty sexy.”
***
“I know we’re a little early.” Erich smiled too. “We expected traffic on Saturday evening in the rain to be bad.”
“I'm almost ready. I just have to finish my makeup and put on my jewelry. Give me maybe 15 minutes or so.”
“It’s the ‘or so’ that scares me.” Erich laughed.
“Have a seat; I’ll be right back.”
Erin turned to walk up the stairs but her father calling her name made her turn back.
“I know its extremely short notice sweetheart, and we know he's quite a social guy, but perhaps David will want to join us tonight.”
“Oh, um…”
“It’s alright if he already has plans.” Joanna said. “We know Saturday night is probably important for his fraternity.”
“Alpha Sig isn’t having a party tonight.” Erin said. “I don’t quite know what his plans are but I’ll call him and find out.’
“Great.” Erich nodded.
Erin went up to her bedroom, pushing two on her cell phone as she applied lip gloss.
“Hey baby.”
“Hey. What are you doing tonight?” she asked.
“My plan is simple. I've got video games, chicken wings, and a six pack of beer. It’s guaranteed to be a good evening.”
“Well my parents are here to take me to dinner. My father asked if you might be interested in joining us.”
“Say what?”
“I know its short notice but…”
“Your dad invited me?” Dave asked.
“Yes. And it’s OK to say no.”
“No, no, I'm not going to do that. I can be ready in twenty minutes.”
“I know you planned for a girlfriend-free weekend, David.”
“What's the fun in that?” he asked.
“I don’t know where we’re going so you'll do best to go dressy.” Erin said.
“I can do that. Oh hey, you'll be happy to know that your duties as official poker game luck charm are over.”
“Oh really?”
“Mmm hmm. Night Fever helped me out last night. He did everything but sit on my lap. That kid was amazing luck…I won $650.”
“Oh my God, are you serious?” Erin asked. “Wow.”
“Oh yeah baby; hot sex, all night, expensive hotel room.”
“You're on speaker, David.” She covered her mouth as she laughed.
“Did your father hear that?” Dave was mortified.
“No, he’s downstairs.”
“We’ll talk more about this later. I would love to join you and your parents for dinner.”
“I love you.”
“Love you too, Erin. See you soon.”
“Bye.”
000
“Hey.” She took his hand, squeezed it, and then leaned to give him a kiss on the cheek.
“I hope we didn’t pull you away from something fun, David.” Joanna said.
“Oh no ma'am. I was just gonna hang out with my brothers and play video games. I'm sure the food I’ll have tonight has frat wings beat by a mile.”
“You didn’t say where we were going, Daddy.”
“I got a reservation at Charlie Palmer Steak.”
“That’s where David took me on our fourth date.” Erin said it before she could stop herself.
“That’s a rather expensive restaurant.” Erich said. He looked at David through the rearview mirror.
“It was worth every penny.” Dave said.
“What was significant about your fourth date?” her mother asked. “Other than the fact that you went to one of the most expensive restaurants in the city.”
“I think we turned the page that night.” Erin said. She looked at Dave. “What do you think?”
“I can agree that you finally stopped convincing yourself you weren’t crazy about me.” He said.
“I kissed you that night.”
“You did.” He nodded.
“It was our first kiss.”
“You didn’t have your first kiss until your fourth date?” Erich asked.
“I can admit to being a ladies man in my past, Dr. Strauss. I was trying to show Erin that I wanted to see her for her…it wasn’t about a notch in my belt. So I got to know her better and she grew tired for waiting for me and made the first move. She’s been doing it ever since.”
“I do not…” she smirked. “OK, sometimes I do. It was a really nice night.”
“I have to agree.” Dave nodded as he kissed her hand.
For some reason unknown to him, he wasn’t nervous tonight. He had been when Erin called and said her father invited him. Erich Strauss didn’t like Dave and had no problem mostly saying so. But when he climbed into that car tonight all Dave cared about was being with Erin.
The air didn’t seem as thick and poisonous as it usually did when he did his boyfriend duty and spent time with her parents. Dave didn’t know what anvil the Doctor planned to drop on him tonight. He would do his best to keep a watchful eye on Erich. That didn’t mean he had to do it with a chip on his shoulder.
“Have you guys been to Charlie Palmer?” he asked.
“Only once.” Joanna replied. “We like to go to a variety of restaurants whenever we’re in DC. And the hotels we stay at often have excellent room service so we don’t get a chance to go someplace twice.”
“Except for DC Coast.” Erich said. “We really love that restaurant.”
“I took Erin to Firefly for our first anniversary. We really enjoyed the atmosphere there.”
“David is a foodie. We love everyplace in the city, whether it needs a reservation or is down the block.”
“And you cook as well, David?” Erich asked.
“Oh yes sir. I know that Erin isn’t that good at it so I intend to make sure that she doesn’t starve.”
“I'm going to get better when I have more time to learn.” She said laughing. “You promised we’d cook together.”
“It’s a great way to spend time together.” Joanna said. “Your dad had this little apartment in Brooklyn when we first met. We cooked a lot of great meals in that kitchen.”
“I wouldn’t call them great.” Erich laughed. “But we definitely enjoyed ourselves while doing it.”
***
“This looks quite lovely.” Erich said to the server.
“Is there anything else I can get you, sir?”
“Not right now, thank you very much.”
Everyone else thanked the server too. She smiled and walked away. Dave and Erich ordered the same meal. It turns out they both loved medium rare New York strip steak. Erin preferred the Chicken Oscar while her mother ordered the grilled steak and artichoke salad.
“I'm sure you're wondering why we invited you here tonight, David.” Erich said.
“Well sir, I was hoping you wanted to share good food and good conversation.”
“Our last encounter wasn’t my finest hour.” He said.
“I think I did alright.”
Dave smirked. He looked at Erich and he was doing the same. Erin put her hand gently on her fiancée’s leg.
“I'm not a douchebag.” Erich said. “I've been told by some that I have douchebag tendencies and have come to accept that. A man is who he is. But the truth is that I am not prejudiced. I’m ashamed that I could behave in a way where someone would think I am. I am an elitist, which is saying something for a kid who grew up middle class in a Brooklyn German enclave.
“When I first found out Erin was dating you, I wasn’t pleased. Two years later and I'm still looking down on you. I want to apologize for my behavior. It’s not an easy thing to do but I'm doing it. It’s been rather disgusting and I'm honestly ashamed.
“I would like to get to know you. My daughter loves you…that much I can clearly see. Erin does things wholly. That’s the way she loves you. I can see in your eyes that you feel the exact same way.
“In the beginning, and a good while after, I thought you might see something you needed in Erin. She has money, a good family, and social standing in New York. After pulling my head out of my ass, I see that you want Erin. You wouldn’t care if she was poor. You don’t care that she’s rich. You love her.”
The younger man didn’t know what to say. He literally held his knife and fork, about to cut his steak, and seemed frozen. It took a moment to snap out of it. The first thing he did was look at Erin. She was smiling at him. Her smile was warm and comforting as always. It made him feel good. He cleared his throat, drinking some of his Jack and Coke.
“Erin loves you very much, sir. She loves her mother too. Her devotion to family and loved ones is one of the million things I love about her. I admit the first thing I noticed about Erin is her looks. It’s hard to ignore the fact that she’s stunning.
“But by the time we arrived in New York on our first trip home together I knew she was much more than just a pretty face. All I wanted to do was get to know her better. She protected herself at first, and I can't blame her. But when she finally let me in I made sure that she always knew how important she was to me. Not her money, her looks, or anything that comes and goes.
“I love Erin’s mind, I love her spirit, I love her smile, I love that she challenges me every day. I love the silly giggle she does while intoxicated. You're right, you were a douchebag. God, I've wanted to say that out loud probably since the day I met you. But I'm not doing it for myself, Dr. Strauss.
“You hated me…I’ll get over it.” Dave shrugged. “But you hurt Erin and that’s when I got angry. I never wanted her to feel like she had to choose yet I knew she did every time we were in a room together. I wouldn’t have loved her any less for choosing her father though I would’ve lost the person I love most in this world. I'm most grateful for the fact that, if what you're saying is true, that Erin never has to be in the middle again.”
“Perhaps we can start over, and I can be a better man about it.”
“Of course sir.” Dave nodded. He didn’t know what else to do. He wanted to tell Erich Strauss to go fuck himself. That might have felt good for a moment. After that Dave would’ve become the problem.
Erich was putting himself out there, admitting his mistakes, and trying to fix them. The least Dave could do was be as big of a man as Erich was trying to be. In doing so he would prove that he was bigger. So he cleared his throat and extended his hand. “Dr. Strauss, I'm David Rossi. It’s really nice to meet you.”
“It’s nice to meet you as well.”
***
“We just want to walk a bit and then we’ll hail a cab.” Erin said as Dave helped her into her coat. “We’re fine, Mum.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“It’s a bit cold outside, make sure to bundle up.” Erich said.
“I will Daddy.”
“Will you be joining us for brunch tomorrow afternoon before we go back to New York, David?”
“No sir.” Dave shook his head. “I’ll let you spend some quality time with Erin. I'm sure you have a lot to talk about. But I will see you again on Christmas Eve.”
“Will you?” Erich raised an eyebrow.
“Aunt Constance has invited David to her annual Christmas Eve dinner party.” Erin replied. “I think she wanted to finally get a look at him for herself.”
“My sister is a very interesting character.” Erich said.
“I'm sure I’ll have a lovely time.”
“It’s going to be a busy week.” Erin said. “It’s Christmas Eve with Aunt Constance, then Christmas at home, then the day after with David’s family before flying out on the 28th for a week in Vancouver. I'm going to need to sleep for a week when it’s over.”
“We should probably make some plans with your parents come January David, before you go back to school.” Joanna said. “I know it’s sometime away but we have a wedding to plan.”
“Yes ma'am. I’ll talk to my parents about it as soon as possible.”
When the valet returned with the keys, the four of them went outside. Dave buttoned the top button his wool coat; the wind had kicked up.
“It was a very nice evening.” Erich said. “I appreciate you joining us, David.”
“I appreciate the invitation sir.” He shook Erich’s hand. Then he leaned to kiss Joanna’s cheek. “Goodnight, Mrs. Strauss.”
“Goodnight, David. Erin, I’ll call you in the morning.”
“Alright.” She hugged and kissed her parents. “Goodnight, Mum; goodnight Daddy.”
“Goodnight, I love you.” Erich caressed her face. “You get her home safely, David.”
“Yes sir.”
The couple waited for the SUV to drive away. Then Dave put up his big black umbrella and he and Erin headed toward the National Mall, not far from Charlie Palmer Steak. She slipped her arm in his and cuddled close to her fiancée.
“I'm a little speechless.” He said.
“It’s alright.”
“Part of me thinks it’s a trap. Part of me thinks it’s about time.”
“My father isn’t an insincere man, David.”
“I didn’t say that he was. He put the olive branch out there and I'm going to take it. We’ll probably never be best friends; it'll be nice if things were more bearable though. Everything shouldn’t be a battle.”
“I just want peace.” Erin said.
“And I just want you to be happy because I know you love both of us. I hated you being in the middle, baby, it wasn’t right.”
“I wouldn’t choose my father over you.” She glanced at him. “I love you.”
“I love you too. You don’t have to worry about it all the time anymore. I know you were even if you pretended not to.”
She nodded. Erin sighed, cuddling closer as they walked in the rain. The night was busy, as DC always was, but also quiet. Under their umbrella Erin felt as if they were in their own little world. In these moments she could pretend that the world was already theirs and they were facing it all together.
“You know what I thought might be nice?” Dave asked.
“What's that?”
“Charlie Palmer Steak does receptions. We could have our wedding reception there. I don’t know how your parents are going to feel about it but mine are going to want at least the appearance of a Catholic wedding. That’s going to be important to them.”
“We don’t really do religion in my family.” Erin said. “My mother is Anglican and my father Lutheran. He did go to church as a child but for the most part is agnostic now. I'm not very religious either. Are we really talking about our wedding?”
“We’re going to have to eventually, don’t you think?”
“I would think our parents would want us to marry in New York. That way there won't have to be a long way to travel for most guests. Well except our family members who come from Europe. I have a feeling this might turn into a 500 guest extravaganza where we know about 50 people in attendance. Are you ready for our big day to be completely hijacked?”
“As long as you're the star of the show then I can live with that.” Dave nodded. “We’re going to make it ours no matter how many people come from how many places to help us celebrate.”
“Speaking of celebrating, does Night Fever know that he's officially replaced me at the poker games yet?” Erin smiled when she asked.
Dave laughed as they stopped walking at a red light.
“You're irreplaceable, baby.” He said. “But…if I can get him to sit on my lap I think I can double my money next time.”
“The rest of our lives is going to be quite interesting, isn’t it?”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
***