She sat back while the waiter arrived with their first course. As he set the bowls of French onion soup in front of them, Robin watched Tony. He was sincere, she thought. He wasn’t the type to play games. She picked up her spoon as the waiter departed, and felt excitement building. She hoped that they could work together once they were apart. All she knew right now was that she wanted to spend this time with Tony and she really wanted to manage Hanks.
“Besides,” Tony said, “I believe God brought us together for a purpose. I don’t see anger and angst involved in fulfilling God’s desires.’ He winked and held out his hand. “Shall we bless our meal?”
Robin set her spoon back down and took his hand.
CHAPTER 12
OR weeks, rain pummeled the city, a cold rain that drove people indoors and off the streets while autumn surrendered to winter. Thanksgiving passed and the rain turned into sleet, which then turned into ice and snow.
The city buildings looked even more gray, morphing to match the dirty slush lining the roads. Even though the sun hadn’t shown in weeks and the cold gray world remained perpetually wet, Robin’s spirits remained high.
She understood now, what Maxine had meant when she said that she’d simply felt happier and not happy. For the first time in her life, Robin looked forward to the next new day. She looked forward to it with a smile and a sense of anticipation.
After giving Benedicts notice, Robin took over for Hank as if the place belonged to her. The staff never felt the bump in the transition, and never once challenged her authority. She had worked as a bartender and a waitress for years. Despite the grueling aspect of maintaining two physically stressful jobs, neither one of them challenged her. Managing Hank’s challenged every part of her – intellectually, emotionally, physically – and she woke each morning anticipating what new challenges would face her that day.
Viscolli Enterprises sent in a tutor to teach her the fundamentals of accounting. She fell in love with perfect columns of numbers on a spreadsheet, with balance sheets and figures and projections. She spent hours after hours working with the accounting team to streamline the archaic records keeping of Hanks from handwritten ledgers to a state-of-the-art computer system that linked her to the Viscolli empire. As she worked, she learned. And learned. And soaked up everything that she could from the team of accountants and computer experts.
Hank’s wife had served as his assistant manager, so she had a hole to fill with both of them suddenly leaving. After learning how to read a resume, then reading what felt like an endless stream of resumes, she finally settled on the current head hostess, Kelly Addison. Robin felt like, most importantly, that she could trust Kelly and that they could work together. The thirty-seven-year-old Navy wife and mother of three teenagers had not applied for the position but readily, and tearfully, accepted the offer. Then it was back to the resumes to find a new host or hostess.
Every turn in the bed, every new hour of every single day, brought something new and exciting to her life, and she realized that she loved her job.
Her little office in the back of the restaurant gradually became “hers” and not “Hank’s”. She no longer paused at the door with a hand raised to knock, and instead went through the threshold to her own inner sanctuary. Thanks to Maxine, photographs of her sisters showed up in pretty frames around the previously Spartan room. Then, thanks to Sarah, plants filled empty spots on shelves and the small window ledge. Her contributions included tins of peppermints, books on management and accounting, scattered coffee cups. Inside the walls of the little room, she could breathe, take a moment before charging back out into the challenge that was Hanks.
Robin also discovered sleep. What a phenomenon. She slept six or even eight hours a night, now. Between two full time jobs and the nightmares, good, restful sleep had become something of a luxury. Now, she left work as the restaurant closed, slept until late morning, and returned again as the lunch hour started.
Per company policy, she took two days off a week. Managers could work as many hours as required five days a week, but Viscolli Enterprises demanded without exception that, in addition to not working Sunday, another day off be taken. She resisted. Tony threatened to fire her. She’d already quit Benedict’s. She capitulated.
She went to work early Mondays to do paperwork and place orders in the silence of the closed restaurant and worked until closing. Mondays had become her favorite day of the week. Typically, she took Wednesdays off. Wednesdays tended to be the slowest days of the week. She had always enjoyed having Sundays off, but adding an extra day of rest to her schedule threw her for a loop. She probably would have found herself climbing the walls of her apartment had it not been for Tony.
Despite the fact that he constantly worked out of town, acquiring this or merging that, Tony called her every morning. She found that she looked forward to his calls, anticipated them. She would lie in bed, relaxed, rested, half a smile on her face and wait for the phone to ring.
He almost always showed up on Wednesday to spend the day with her. He would call the office on Tuesday afternoon and confirm plans for this movie or that museum or this lunch. They started holding hands as they walked. He would put his arm around her at the movie. He would kiss her, oh how he would kiss her, hello and good-bye and times and times in between.
The more time they spent together, the more relaxed he became about touching her. He would brush her hair from her face, run a hand down her arm, rub her neck. However, despite her request that night so many weeks ago in that dirty laundry room, Tony never took anything any further than casual touching, warm hugs, or tender kisses. Robin thought that maybe, instinctively, she could feel him holding something back. It confused her to think that as warm and – loving – as he was, he wasn’t really giving her everything. Thinking that maybe his faith had something to do with it, she wondered why he agreed to her request the night of his birthday in the first place. Regardless, she didn’t feel like she could approach the subject with anything less than mortification, so she left it alone and decided to wait and see what came next.
No longer did she anticipate him using her – or her using him – and then discarding her. She began to feel very special. She felt very important to him. Treasured. She thought of him now as her “boyfriend” and smiled the first time she used that term.
Lying in bed early Monday morning after Thanksgiving, exhausted, sore, worn out from the last few weeks preparing for the holiday season, waiting for the phone to ring, she smiled. Contentment, happiness, and anticipation all waged a happy war inside of her. As she investigated these feelings, she detected a small frown mar her brow. Inside her heart, she felt like something – she didn’t know what, but something – was missing.
She pondered that for a moment. Monday mornings were typically reflective, because Sunday was the one day she didn’t get to spend with Tony or speak with Tony. Typically, church took up his entire day. If finally occurred to her that she missed him.
The more time she spent with him, the more she wanted to spend all of her free time with him. The thought of sitting next to him on a church pew, eating lunch after church with him and his friends, spending the entire day with him on the day he assigned such importance, held tremendous appeal to her. She decided that this coming Wednesday, she would go to his evening worship with him. He asked her every Wednesday and every Sunday if she wanted to go, and she always turned him down. Thinking about how much it would please him when she finally agreed to accompany him made her happy.
The phone interrupted her reverie. She snatched it up very quickly, not wanting it to wake her sisters. The caller ID confirmed Tony as the caller, so she simply said, “Good morning,” with a smile on her face.
“Good morning, cara. How did you sleep?”
“Deeply. It’s been an exhausting week.”
“I imagine. It will stay that way until after New Year’s.”
“I know. Just working with the books I could see the massive incline for December.”
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Tony paused before continuing. “I know you’re tired, and since it’s Monday you likely plan on getting to work early, but I was wondering if you could meet me for breakfast.”
Excited little butterflies started dancing in her stomach as they always did in anticipation of seeing Tony. “Sure. Where?”
“I’ve had a couple of overseas phone calls this morning, so I’m already at my office. Do you mind coming here? We could have the hotel restaurant bring something up.”
Considering the time, she made some mental calculations. “I’ll probably take the Charlie. I imagine traffic is a chore right now. Give me about an hour and I should be there.”
“Aspetto. I look forward to it. I can send a car, if you wish.”
“No. Don’t be silly. Then we’d have to battle traffic both ways.”
She could hear someone murmuring to him, but couldn’t make out anything specific. “I have to go cara. I’ll see you when you get here.”
Robin threw the covers off of the bed and dashed to the closet to dress quickly so that she could get to the train.
ONY waited for Robin with a nervous anticipation he hadn’t felt in a while. He couldn’t predict the outcome of this conversation, and he didn’t like that. His entire future stood in anticipation of how Robin would react.
As he ordered breakfast and waited for her, he thought back to the conversation he and Barry had the Wednesday before Thanksgiving…
“Did you lose track of time or something?”
Tony glanced up from his computer monitor and watched Barry saunter into the room. “Not lately.” He saved his work and leaned his chair back. “Why do you ask?”
Barry sprawled into a chair across from the desk. “It’s just odd that the high today is going to be a shivering twenty-nine, Christmas is just a month away, and no major deals that you’re working on have crossed my desk. Despite all that, your plane hasn’t left for Florida yet this year.” He examined his nails.
“Really?”
“I also keep hearing rumors that the completely social Tony Viscolli has suddenly dropped from sight, which you only do when you’re working on something major.”
Tony leaned back in his chair. “Is that so?”
“Either you’ve suddenly decided you prefer the solitary life and you don’t mind the cold so much, or you have a new lawyer and haven’t told me. If you have a new lawyer, Tony, that would – you know – hurt my feelings.”
“Well, I haven’t found a new lawyer. No one submits billable hours like you do, Bear.”
Barry laughed through his nose and half smiled. “So you decided to live a life of solitude, then?”
Tony raised an eyebrow. “There’s another possibility that might be keeping me here.”
“Nothing has ever kept you here when the temperature drops below fifty.”
He opened his top drawer and pulled out the jewelry box, and without a word, tossed it to Barry. The former NFL star caught it with one massive hand and flipped open the lid with his thumb, exposing the ring with the square cut sapphire surrounded by diamonds. He shut the lid with a little pop, then opened it again for a closer look, his eyebrows knitting.
“Tony, this looks an awful lot like an engagement ring.”
“Is that what it looks like?” Tony put his hands behind his head and leaned his chair even farther back. He felt a silly grin spread across his face.
“I don’t know what to say. I mean, I know we’ve been friends for a long time, but this is just so sudden and unexpected.” He started laughing. Without warning, he flipped the lid shut and tossed it back to Tony. “Can I have some time to think about it? And what will my wife say?”
“Ha ha. Oh, so funny.” He caught the box with one hand and tossed it on the top of his desk.
“That’s pretty serious, man. I’m assuming you’re still seeing Robin? That this ring is intended for her?”
“Esatto. Yes.”
“Let me get this straight.” He hooked his leg over his knee. “You’re going to ask a girl to marry you who you didn’t even meet until September? This past September. Barely three months ago.”
“That’s the plan.” Tony could practically see the gears shifting in Barry’s mind.
“I don’t like it.”
He smiled. “Jealousy doesn’t suit you, Bartholomew.”
Barry dropped the whole relaxed façade and leaned forward. “No, listen to me, Tony. It doesn’t make sense. How do you know she’s sincere? I mean, come on, what are you worth?”
Tony laughed. “You’d have to know Robin to know how absurd that sounds.”
“That’s the point, man. I’m your best friend and I have never interacted with her. Ever. Is she keeping you from your friends so that she can fully sink in the hooks?”
Tony’s smile faded. “No, actually, I’ve been all over the map lately, and only manage to see her one day a week. I took her by the church and we had dinner with Peter and Caroline. Other than that, I’ve been keeping her from my friends so I don’t have to share.”
Barry nodded faintly. “That just adds to it. You’ve declined every holiday party you’ve been invited to, and I am fully aware of how much business you actually manage to conduct at those parties.”
Tony sighed and rubbed his eyes. “Barry, how long have we known each other?”
Barry chuckled and fed Tony his own words from a few months ago. “Too long for you to even ask that question.”
“You ever know me to make a bad decision? Have you ever known me to go into any situation without prayer and petition?”
Barry shrugged, “Not when it comes to business. This is not business.”
Tony nodded and then pursed his lips. Diplomatically, Tony said, “I appreciate your concern as a friend, then. I honestly do.”
“Is she saved?”
Tony froze and slowly stretched his hand to the gold pen lying on the blotter. He gently started to spin it. “Why?”
“Should I take that as a no, or continue to press for the answer?”
Closing his eyes, he felt a weariness settle on his shoulders that he hadn’t felt in a couple of decades. “I pray for her every single day. Every minute of every day. It’s the one reason that ring is in that box instead of on her finger.” He opened his eyes again and stared hard at his friend.
Barry folded his hands together and laid them on the desk. “Tony…”
“There isn’t a single thing you can say to me that I don’t already know. I know that God doesn’t desire for us to be unevenly yoked. I know that my feelings for her can be a tool Satan can use against me. I know that every time I’m alone with her I face temptation that I don’t know if I can fight another day without her prayer and consideration. I know all of that.”
Tony started spinning the pen again. “But I also know that the moment that I saw her, I felt drawn to her. I know that every moment in her presence fills me with encouragement, unfathomable joy, delight. I knew – I KNEW – that I was in love with her within a matter of days. Maybe I’ve known it my whole life. And I believe, strongly, that she will love the Lord as much as I do. All I can do is stay faithful, pray for her, and just continue to be me.”
Barry sat back again. Silence hung in the air for ten seconds, then for twenty. Finally he said, “And how does she feel about you?”
Tony rubbed both of his eyes and leaned back in his chair. “I don’t know.” He smiled and the seriousness left his face. “Well, actually, I know that she’s in love with me. She just doesn’t know that she knows it yet.”
“Tony.” The word was said on a sigh, and nothing else followed.
“I know that God is in control, mi amico. I trust Him. And I know you’re afraid that I’m moving too fast, but I will not take this relationship any further as long as she is unsaved. I think there are few books I’ve read more in the last four months than the second book of Corinthians. In the sixth chapter, God is quite clear in this specific matter of the heart.”
Barry s
ighed a deep rumbling sigh. He closed his eyes, took a couple of deep breaths, then opened them again. “I’d like to pray for you right now.”
Tony coughed and cleared his throat against the emotions that flooded him. “I’d appreciate that very much.” He stood and moved around the desk so that he could sit in the chair flanking Barry’s. They turned their chairs facing each other and clasped hands and bowed their heads.
They had prayed for each other, jointly petitioning God for guidance and strength, and Tony felt his heart both lifted and burdened. The brotherly love that Barry displayed for him, the solidarity of his spiritual brother’s love for him lifted and strengthened him in a way he hadn’t realized he needed until the heaviness and imagined loneliness vanished before they said “Amen.” But the burden he felt to bring Robin to an acceptance of the truth sharpened in those whispered moments and became a near physical ache.
Tony had thought about that conversation and those shared moments of fellowship for the last few days. When he had invited Robin to attend services with him Sunday, he had prayed for God to convict her of the sincerity of the invitation. He had prayed that God could fill him with a visible light that would shine brightly through him and cover her. And he had prayed for revelation as he studied God’s holy word.
All of it had culminated in his telephone call early this Monday morning. He didn’t look forward to the conversation he knew he would need to have with Robin this morning, but he knew that he had to say what needed saying and he could not let it go unsaid even one more day.
His secretary announced Robin’s arrival and it brought Tony fully back to the present. He took a deep calming breath and smiled as the door to his office opened. He strode forward, his hands outstretched, to greet her.
After a lingering welcoming kiss, Tony led Robin to the conference table and held the chair out for her. He had the conference table in his office set beautifully. A vase full of flowers matched the linen, china plates with the gold scrolling “V” logo of Viscolli Enterprises sat perfectly centered on linen place mats, a silver pot of coffee gleamed under the lights, and a frosty carafe of orange juice sweated in the warmth of the room. A room service cart sat next to the table supporting an array of silver-dome covered dishes.