The waiter approached their table and smiled cordially toward them both as he held up a pad in had and asked, "Can I get you something to drink?"
Synn said nothing as he gestured toward Melody to indicate that she could go first, as a lady should. Being the establishment was owned by her own family, she had been here often enough that she didn't need to truly look over the menu, as she was quite familiar with what it offered to guests so she said softly,
"Cherry Coke, please?"
Synn glanced down at the menu in his hand to shield the smirk from Melody's eyes as he fought back a silent chuckle. It was not lost on him that her drink of choice also happened to be the favorite of Joshua's. It was also somewhat amusing that in such a regal and refined restaurant as he now found himself, Melody had foregone the choice of a wine or simple water in favor of soda pop.
The waiter looked to Synn and asked, "And you sir?"
Synn casually glanced at the appropriate part of the menu before he answered simply, "Just a glass of Famiglia Anselma Barolo."
"Right away." The waiter said and he turned and moved away as Melody blinked at Synn. He glanced up and his eyebrows rose almost to the point of vanishing under the weight of his wild hair.
"What?"
Melody shook her head and said softly, "I couldn't even pronounce that."
Synn sniffed back a laugh and looked back down at the menu and said, "You underestimate yourself."
He then paused and looked up from the menu toward his surroundings. The restaurant had a subtle but elegant decor. Unlike many higher end establishments, this one did not overdo things in the decor just so the guests within would realize they were lucky to be inside. No, this place went the simplistic route to where one could be inside and relax yet understand they were not in some fast food place but a fine Italian restaurant with refinement and taste. The minimalist decor being designed to enhance conversation.
"I admit I'm impressed." Synn glanced down at the menu again. "Your family has done quite well for themselves. Whoever designed the decor has obvious good taste."
Melody smiled, proud that she had managed to impress Synn with her family's restaurant when the waiter returned to their table. He set the glass of Cherry Coke down to the right of Melody's place setting, and the same with Synn's glass of red wine.
"Are you ready to order?" He asked, holding his pen to the paper of his notepad. "Or do you need a few more moments?"
Synn looked up to Melody, silently questioning. She hurriedly looked back down at her menu, unsure why she even bothered as she already had decided what she wanted, long before she even arrived here.
"Just the vegetable lasagne, please?" She whispered, the urgency to eat vanishing more by the second due to nerves.
"And you sir?" The waiter asked.
"I'll have the Penne and Eggplant Parmigiana." Synn replied, and then added. "But I'd like to start off with the Artichoke and Sun-Dried Tomato Bruschetta."
"Yes sir." The waiter nodded and finished scribbling the order down on the pad before he collected the menus from them and hurried off toward the kitchen.
"You sure know your way around an Italian restaurant." Melody quietly observed.
"I am quite a bit older than you, Melody." Synn answered simply. He then paused and frowned before he said, "Well, perhaps not that old."
Melody giggled gently and sat back in her chair as a second waiter placed a wicker serving basket filled with the restaurant's special garlic bread sticks in the center of the table. She and Synn both unfolded their napkins and placed them across their laps. Melody reached for a small breadstick and went to take a bite when she noticed that Synn did not do the same. Instead of reaching for one of his own, he had leaned over in his seat to reach for something at his side and he picked up the frilly pink bag she had presented him with in her little car.
Why, she had not even noticed he had brought it into the restaurant with him!
Synn obviously had no qualms about what the rest of the clientele in this place would think to see a man such as himself with a bright pink bag or what the staff might think or say. He instead nonchalantly opened the bag and pulled the notebook from inside, the one she had filled with information about herself so he could know as much about her as possible.
"Forgive me." Synn said as he opened it up, looking over the top of its pages and toward her. "Curiosity was always a weak point for me."
She nodded and slowly set her breadstick down on her plate, almost all but forgetting it and losing what appetite she had. She tried not to stare as Synn glanced along each page before flipping to the next, as the father tried to decipher as quickly as possible, all he was able to about this young woman who had so taken an interest in his son.
Then, without a second thought, Synn reached back into the bag and extracted the "girly" pen that Melody had also included for "note taking" and he popped the cap off before turning back to one of the blank pages she had provided him for just such a time as this.
"I've seen you and Joshua enjoying his Looney Tunes DVDs together." Synn said quietly. "Who is your favorite character of the series?"
Melody blinked. Of all the questions he could have asked her, that was definitely not something she had expected him to ask her. Still, he was right. She enjoyed watching those funny cartoon shorts with Despayre. She had enjoyed them from as far back as her own childhood. The answer to her was a simple one.
"Taz."
Synn nodded and jotted down her answer on the notebook, casually mentioning, "Joshua's is Daffy Duck. A bit ironic given he doesn't like the real thing."
"He doesn't like ducks?"
Synn shook his head and silently mouthed 'No." Synn then wrote something else down before he asked, "Do you have a favorite episode?"
This time Melody had an answer at the ready. Now that Synn had asked the first question, she kind of figured he might ask one like this. Her smile brightened and she said, "I actually like the one where Taz and Daffy were together. Taz escaped from a zoo and Daffy had to lure him back to get a reward."
"I know of it." Synn said, his eyes on the pages as he wrote down her answer. "I should be. Joshua has made all of us watch it a time or two."
By a 'time or two', Melody was sure Synn meant 'repeatedly.'
Synn then added, "I believe Joshua's favorite is the one where Daffy was a detective of some sort."
"Duck Twacy!" Melody laughed. "The famous Duck-tecitive. I love that one!"
Synn glanced up at her and her smile froze, thinking perhaps that she had made herself look silly with her enthusiasm, but Synn just smiled and that soon caused her insecurity to evaporate for the time being. She watched hi as he jotted down what she had said before he asked his next question.
"What are your intentions towards Joshua?"
Melody started to answer when she froze, it just suddenly coming to her what he had just asked. She stared as he casually glanced up from the notebook and to her. He arched just the lone eyebrow, waiting...
Helllllooo butterflies!
