Chapter 7

"It was very kind of all of you to invite me to dinner." Janine smiled pleasantly at her boss's wife and children seated on either side of her.

Her employer watched her with a complacent grin from across the table. "The pleasure is mine, Janine. After all the fine work you do for me day in and day out, the least I can do is treat you to dinner and introduce you to my family."

Across the dining room, Vinnie sat at his table and set a small sack down in front of him. He looked around the room and pretended not to see Janine seated across the way. He turned his attention instead to the packed room full of stuffy monkey suits and million-dollar dresses. Elegantly dressed waiters moved to and fro around the tables, still smooth and graceful in the dim lighting of the room. Only three feet away from his table, a pianist sat playing a soft jazz melody. At the piano's base were a couple of low steps leading up to a wide platform where a group of suited musicians played tunes right out of Laurence Welk. He nodded, impressed. The place was certainly a far cry from Burger Baby.

A waiter approached his table with a menu. Vinnie shook his head and waved him away. He turned and looked indecisively at the stage platform. He pulled a packet of papers out of his parcel and sighed.

You don't have to do dis, you know, his conscience protested. You can turn right around and go home without anyone knowin'. Of course, if you walk outta here, dat also means you'd be walkin' out on Janine…

He turned and gazed dolefully at his ex-girlfriend. Janine. You have to. You have to do dis for her. It may be your last chance.

Bravely, he stood, straightened his tie and marched over to the musicians with his stack of papers. "Hey, guys. Come here, I wanna talk to you."

Janine was still laughing airily at the light chatter when her boss looked up and lifted his glass in the direction of the stage. "Their singer must have arrived."

Janine turned her head to see a short figure mount the stage and consult with the group. He wore a dark suit and blue tie over a plain white shirt that looked slightly long, as if it didn't quite fit. He gestured vehemently as he spoke to the musicians. Not one of the short black hairs moved on his head. In fact, his hair was so well-oiled that it looked like he'd just stepped out of the shower, but it was combed neatly to perfection. When he turned around to adjust the microphone, Janine went pale with shock. The familiar dark complexion, brown eyes, and crooked teeth smiled back at her. She knew he'd looked far too familiar. "Vinnie," she breathed in disbelief.

"You know this guy?" Her boss asked conversationally.

"He's my ex-boyfriend!" She cried in dismay. She could hardly believe what she was seeing. As soon as the initial shock wore off, however, her cheeks flushed red with anger. "What is he doing here?"

"Uh, excuse me, people." Vinnie tapped on the microphone and it made a long, drawn-out screech that arrested the chatter in the dining room. All eyes turned toward the stage. He smiled meekly. "Hey, I'm sorry to be interrupting your dinner like dis, but dis is something very special. So special dat it couldn't wait." He scanned the attentive audience and relaxed, smiling. "I bet you didn't know dat sitting among you tonight is a very important person; my girlfriend, Janine."

Janine looked down at her lap, self-consciously feeling the gazes flickering her way. Just shut up, Vinnie, she thought, just shut up and leave me alone.

"So some of you are probably wondering what da heck I'm doin' up here when I should be sittin' down with her. Some of you don't even care, but I'm gonna tell you anyway." Vinnie grinned. "Well, you see, like in most relationships, I made a mistake. And not just any mistake! It was a more like a 'jump out of an airplane without a parachute and fall flat on your face' kind of mistake. I'm talkin' huge. To make a long story short, Janine got upset, which she had every right to be. I behaved like scum. And I understand if she never wants to speak to me again, but hey, I love her. You can't blame a desperate guy for trying, right? So, um, you can all go back to eatin' or whatever. It doesn't make a difference. As far as I'm concerned, dere's only one person sitting out dere dat matters to me." He looked out at her table and met her flustered gaze. He smiled. "Janine, dis is for you."

Vinnie stepped away from the microphone and leaned against the top of the piano. "Play it, Sam."

The pianist frowned. "My name's not Sam."

"I know. I just always wanted to say dat." Vinnie grinned and took center stage once more. The pianist shrugged and began the opening bars of the song placed before him. The rest of the ensemble followed suit.

Vinnie stepped up to the microphone and clutched the stand with trembling hands. He felt like he was going to croak, but when he opened his mouth, the words still somehow came out the way they were supposed to:

"Even though it's been so long,

My love for you's still going strong.

I remember da things dat we used to do.

A kiss in da rain till da sun shined through.

I tried to deny it, but I'm still in love with you."

Sitting at her table, Janine closed her eyes. "Oh, no. He's singing our song."

"I miss you like crazy, I miss you like crazy.

Ever since you've been away, every hour of every day.

I miss you like crazy, I miss you like crazy.

No matter what I say or do, dere's just no getting over you."

Vinnie's voice pitched and fell audibly out of the correct range for the music. Even to his ears, it wasn't shower-worthy. But nobody was booing or catcalling him off the stage. In fact, when he took a quick glance around, almost everyone looked as if they were actually enjoying it. Incredible, he thought to himself, dese highbrows actually dig my singing. I mean, I know I can carry a tune, but I'm no Frank Sinatra!

He caught sight of Janine, who stared right back at him. She seemed almost in a dreamlike trance. All the traces of anger had left her countenance. Happiness surged through Vinnie's veins. It was working! The invigoration surfaced in his voice, throwing more conviction behind his words:

"I can see da love shining in your eyes

And it comes as such a sweet surprise."

Janine's boss and his wife were murmuring to each other somewhere in the distance about the show Vinnie was putting on, but she hardly heard it. As hard as she tried not to, a smile was beginning to pull at the corners of her mouth. Slowly, she stood and began making her way toward the stage.

"It seems believing it's worth da wait.

So hold me and tell me it's not too…late…"

Vinnie stumbled over the words as she approached him. He started to feel a little nervous, then noticed she was smiling. Excitedly, he picked up the song again with renewed vigor:

"I miss you like crazy.

I miss you, baby!

A love like ours will never end,

Just touch me and we'll love again!"

Janine stopped at the edge of the small platform and waited expectantly. Vinnie turned and descended the steps to meet her. When they were standing at eye level, he could hardly keep the hope out of his eyes. Their mirrored gazes met nettle-for-nettle. Vinnie shivered and groped for her hand. She let him take it and finally broke into a smile.

"Did I sweep you off your feet, Janina?" He asked softly.

She stifled a laugh. "Oh, Vincentio!" She threw her arms around him and kissed him on the mouth.

The diners erupted into appreciative applause. Oblivious, Vinnie and Janine went right on kissing. They were the crazy, passionate lovers of old who didn't care where they were, so long as they were together. Vinnie sometimes wondered why it always seemed that way. Then, when Janine melted into his arms, the rest of the universe just seemed to disappear and he didn't care. It wasn't much of an answer, but for him, at least, it was enough.

He turned his head, breathlessly murmuring in her ear, "Does dis mean we're back together again?"

Janine only smiled at him in response, tracing her finger along his smooth cheek. He looked so appealing that she had to wonder how she could ever be angry with him. He may have been a jerk at times in the past, but he was so passionate, so loving. And he was always unbelievably adorable. The way he looked at her won her heart over in an instant. She gently cupped his face in her hands and kissed him again.

There would be no more nightmares about reliving the past for Vinnie. With a little help and ingenuity, he'd skirted disaster and gotten back together with Janine. All was right with the world. For now, his present was perfect and his future was looking bright.

Vinnie hugged her close and pulled her over toward his table. Without tearing his mouth away from Janine's, he reached down and lifted the sack off of a familiar, endearing heirloom. From his pocket, he pulled out a handful of pennies and dumped them into the jar.