in the door of the restaurant, Todd had his arm around Cassie’s shoulders. There was no mistaking the fact that they were a couple, rather than two business associates or some other more innocuous combination. An irascible-looking fellow with what appeared to be a permanent scowl sat at a table near the door. He looked up and saw them, and his scowl deepened.
“I wonder if that’s your buddy Gene,” Todd speculated.
“I’m sure there are others who share his attitude,” Cassie replied with a sigh. “If Gene and his attitude were unique, the world would be a much happier place.”
The maitre d’ seated them, saying, “Max will be your server. He’ll be with you shortly.” He handed them menus.
Cassie perused hers. “Ooooh, they have lobster Newburg!” she squealed excitedly when she saw it was one of the daily specials.
Todd didn’t even open his menu. “I know what I’m having,” he said. “But how about an appetizer? Would you like to split a plate of cherrystone clams?”
“How about the clams oreganata?”
“How about we get both and share both and make absolute pigs of ourselves?” Todd suggested happily. “I’ll order the six-clam plate of cherrystones instead of the nine-clam plate.”
When Max, the waiter, showed up at the table, he asked, “Would you care for something from the bar first?”
“No, thank you,” Todd said politely, “but we’ve got our mouths set on goodies from the kitchen.”
“What would the lady like for an appetizer?” Max looked at Cassie.
Todd spoke up. “We’re going to share two appetizers,” he said. “The cherrystones—a plate of six, please—and the clams oreganata.”
“Very good,” Max said. “And did you want to give me your main course order now?” He trained his gaze on Cassie.
“I’ll have the lobster Newburg, please,” she said, feeling her eyes glimmer expectantly. “And the potatoes au gratin, and the side salad.”
“And I’ll have the shrimp à la Morgana,” Todd piped up. “With Spanish rice, please, and curried peas.”
“Very good,” Max said again. Then, as Cassie and Todd handed him their menus, he said, “Thank you,” collected the two menus, and pivoted briskly away from the table.
“We’ll both be stuffed,” Cassie said with a giggle. “I’ll bet we each gain five pounds tonight. It’s a good thing I’m not watching my weight.”
“You don’t need to. You’re perfect as you are. Anyhow we can work it off each other when we get back home.” He winked at her.
They talked about goings-on at the station, and about the fact that one of the other engineers had heard from Jack after his first day at his new job in Topeka, where he was settling in happily to both his new job and his new apartment. By and by their appetizers came. Both Cassie and Todd dug into the clams with gusto. Cassie had four of the clams oreganata and two of the raw cherrystones. Todd had four of the cherrystones and two of the others. Both pronounced themselves satisfied so far with how the dinner was going. “I can’t wait till my lobster gets here!” Cassie said, squirming excitedly like a child.
“How is everything so far?” Max asked when he came to clear the appetizer plates.
“Fine, thank you,” Todd said.
“Yum,” Cassie said.
“Good. I’ll be back shortly,” Max said, vanishing with the used plates.
They continued their talk about happenings around the station. WAAA had a TV station too. “Would you like to work there someday?” Cassie asked.
“Sure. Why not? I like learning new things,” Todd answered.
Chalk up another point in his favor, Cassie thought.
Not too long thereafter, Max returned with their main courses. “Lobster for the lady,” he said, putting the plate down in front of her. “And shrimp for the gentleman.” He placed Todd’s dinner in front of him. “Enjoy your meal. I’ll be back to see if you need anything.”
Todd and Cassie dug in with gusto, each pronouncing the meal