“Welcome to DC. I hope your flight was smooth and that you like these,” she took the flowers and gave him a hug, God he even smelled good, “Do you have any bags to claim?”
“Oh, you are cute. You see this tiny backpack and think I can be dinner level fabulous from just this. Of course, I have another one, silly man,” she said flirtatiously.
He seemed nervous which made her feel better. “They said it would be at baggage claim B,” she said.
His face flushed from embarrassment because of his assumption, but he quickly recovered, “Ok, great. Baggage claim is right downstairs. We can grab a cab right after that. Your hotel is about five, maybe ten minutes from here. With gas prices what they are here in DC the traffic is lighter than I have ever seen it. The subway, on the other hand, is more crowded than ever,” he took her backpack and carried it for her.
“Any chance you will tell me where dinner is now?” she asked taking his arm as they walked to baggage claim. The curiosity had been getting to her. She liked to know things like that. She reflected that even as a kid she used to open her Christmas presents early then re-wrap them so no one would know what she had done.
“Sure. But you have to promise me that you won’t say it out loud or in any way repeat it so anyone can hear you, and you have to let me whisper it in your ear,” he said with a boyish smile.
“I promise,” now she was really confused.
Why the secrecy for dinner with an Army unit here in DC. Surely there were tons of these things going on all over town. What difference could it possibly make?
He leaned in close to her. “The White House,” he whispered softly into hear ear.
“Is that the name of a restaurant? Is it a dining hall at some Army Base or something like that? I have been here as a tourist a few times and I’ve only ever heard of one of those,” she said, not considering for a second that he meant the real one. Things like that just didn’t happen.
“There isn’t a restaurant, or anything else by that name. It is just a dinner invitation from a guy waaaaaayyyyyy up my Chain of Command. I have it on good authority there will be at least one politician there. When he invited us he referred to it as ‘his house,’” he said trying to look innocent and failing.
“No Shit?!?” she asked entirely too loud for public discussion, and turning instantly red while covering her mouth, and glancing around to see if anyone was looking at her after her outburst as her eyes went wide with shock, “You are messing with me, aren’t you? Who will be there?”
“I’m not messing with you, and just some people from my chain of command, their wives, and the rest of my team which you met at the hospital. Before you ask again, yes, the one you are thinking of will be there. It is his house after all. That is, unless there is an emergency that keeps him away, which could happen given everything going on in the world right now. Even if he gets called away it is my understanding that his wife will be there,” he said.
“Just some people from your chain of command, huh,” she said grabbing her bag from the conveyor, teasing him a little.
He took the bag from her. He now had everything of hers, except her purse and the flowers. She couldn’t help herself anymore. She had to say something, “I’m not disabled, you know. I can carry a bag and not die.”
“I know you can,” he shrugged, “But I went to Catholic school, and for years the nuns beat into our heads, both figuratively and literally, that we should always be a gentleman to women. In other words, when I am around, you just have to learn to cope… Silly girl,” he used her line back on her.
He was trying, and largely succeeding, at being cute. Somehow it managed to put her mind at ease. The butterflies in her stomach were slowly leaving.
“I am just not used to someone being like this without an agenda, if you know what I mean. So, I will do my best to remember not to take offense, but you will have to understand that I am a very independent woman. I hope I won’t have to pound you on the head at some point just to remind you that I am not broken, and I can take care of myself,” she said
They walked outside and found no one waiting in line at the taxi stand. There was even a cab right there, waiting, as if just for them. They put all her baggage in the trunk and climbed in. After telling the driver what hotel to go to, she turned to him, “Now, seriously, you are messing with me, right? We are going some other place for dinner and that was a joke,” she asked half hoping they were going somewhere else. She feared she would never be dressed well enough for 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue based on what she had in her bags.
“It is no joke, on my mother’s life, who is still alive by the way, and would never believe me if I told her where we are going. But I couldn’t tell you until now for various reasons, primarily security related. So don’t tell, text, or email anyone about it until after dinner. We don’t want it out. Oh, and they probably won’t let us take pictures, and they will certainly take your cell phone at the door,” he said.
“Wow. So many rules. I am really not sure what to say. This is the last place I would have ever imagined we were going. What other surprises do you have in store for me?” she squeezed his hand as they arrived at her hotel, a nice Hyatt in Rosslyn, Virginia on Arlington Boulevard.
They checked her in and Frank, being an eternal gentleman, said, “We have about ninety minutes or so before we leave. I am going to wait in the bar while you go up and change. I need to make a call about our car and ensure they will be here on time. Please, don’t rush on account of me. I can entertain myself. Just remember we can’t be late.”
“Frank, come on. We aren’t teenagers in need of ensuring no gossip, or chaperon. Come on up, I am going to be in the bathroom anyway,” she said.
“Oh, I don’t want to be underfoot. Plus I really do have a few calls to return so I wouldn’t want to annoy you while you get ready,” he continued to excuse himself.
“Ok fine, you win, but I will not need all ninety minutes. I will, however, need a drink given the slight surprise you have sprung on me, so the bar is probably a good idea,” she said.
“It is just past the elevators. I have stayed here a few times, and the bartender does some wonderful things with rum. Please, take your time,” he said as she stepped into the elevator.
She got to her room, and despite his urging, and the upscale dinner location, she wanted to get back down as fast as she could to spend more time with him before the pressures of being at this dinner. There was a whirlwind of hair, makeup, clothes, re-checking makeup, and finally almost an hour later she sighed and had to admit this was as good as it would get. She was glad he had stayed downstairs and didn’t have to see all this. A woman had to have some secrets.
She went downstairs to meet him, and found him sitting right in the bar as he said he would be. He was chatting to the bartender about the baseball game that was on television behind the bar.
When he saw her he stood up from his bar stool, and made a poor attempt at hiding the fact that he was checking her out. She was happy about both the fact that he checked her out, and that he tried to hide it. Being checked out like that made her feel better about her own, perhaps misplaced, insecurities.
“Here, sit, have a drink we have thirty minutes before our car gets here,” he said.
She happily sat as the shoes she had on were not made for standing, ordered a Mai Tai and tried not to let her nervousness show, “Frank can we get something out of the way now?”
“What is that?” he asked.
She leaned in and gave him a kiss. It was their first, and the instant it happened she was sure it would not be their last.