Chapter Fourteen
Now that it was behind her and she was feeling better, Valencia made arrangements to meet Geno for dinner so he could tell her how things worked out with her blackmailer, and to celebrate. He selected the restaurant, Del Posto, a pricy Italian restaurant on 10th Avenue, and asked Valencia to meet him there at eight.
Geno arrived at the place and was seated at seven-thirty. He had a dual purpose in getting there so early. First, he knew that Valencia made it a habit to always arrive places early, and he wanted to get there first for a change. The second reason was a bit more ambitious.
Once he was seated, Geno explained to the waitress that he was trying to impress his dinner guest by ordering their meal for them. She smiled because she thought that it was romantic, and after finding out what Valencia liked to eat, she helped Geno pronounce each of the items … as best he could. Therefore, when Valencia arrived at Del Posto at ten minutes to eight and was seated at their table, he was ready.
“Are you ready to order, sir,” asked a smiling waitress because her pupil was ready.
“Yes,” he said before Valencia could look at the menu. “The lady will have the Sformato di Carciofi con Bagna Cauda for an appetizer and the Vitello Tonnato con Tonno Crudo e Animelle,” he ordered, which was artichoke custard with anchovies, knowing her fondness for them, and Chilled Veal with Tuna Crudo.
Valencia closed her menu, placed it on the table, and folded her hands in front of her as Geno continued.
“And I’ll have the Pollo con Cotechino e Lenticchie and the Manzo con Patate e Tartufo Nero for an entrée,” he said, which was chicken with sausage, and a twenty-eight-day dry aged ribeye with potato.
“Very good, sir.” The waitress was impressed and so was Valencia. “And for dessert?”
“The lady will try the Semifreddo all’ Arancia Rossa.” Which was semi frozen mousse. “And the Torta Sottosopra for myself.” An apple and farro upside down cake with cardamaro caramel and yogurt spuma.
“I will get these in for you,” she said and took the menus. “And you did an excellent job.”
“Thank you,” he said as she walked away from the table. Valencia smiled, and Geno reached across the table to take his hand in hers.
“That was so sweet of you,” she took his hand to her lips. “And you did so well.”
“Did I?”
“Yes,” she kissed his hand again.
“It took practice, believe me,” Geno said, and they laughed together.
“So, tell me, how did things work out.”
“Have you ever heard of a man named Brayden Henderson?”
“No, I can’t say that I have.”
“In addition to bei
ng a blackmailer, he’s a private investigator,” Geno said, and filled her in on the details. He reached under the table and held up the bag with the money. “He won’t be bothering you anymore,” Geno promised, and put the bag down.
Soon, cocktails were served, and once their appetizers and entrées came out there was no more talk of Brayden Henderson or blackmail. The conversation and the energy between them felt like old times. To Geno, it seemed like no time had passed between them. For Valencia, it was as if the dark years with Gustavo never happened. And as the evening roared on, each began thinking about exploring another aspect of their prior relationship that they both thoroughly enjoyed. However, at the conclusion of their meal, Valencia began feeling uneasy in her stomach.
“What’s wrong, Vee?”
“I don’t know,” she said, holding her stomach. “I feel a little nauseous. My stomach hurts and I feel hot like … I don’t know, like—” And then it hit her. “Excuse me,” she said, covering her mouth, getting up from the table, and running to the bathroom to vomit.
“You alright?” Geno asked, when Valencia made it back to the table and sat down.
“I’m okay, I guess. I suddenly felt nauseous and I had to vomit.”
“Well, come on. Let me take you home,” Geno said; and once he paid the check, he took her home. When they got to her house, the vomiting was accompanied by diarrhea. At that point, Geno insisted that he take her to the hospital.
“Food poisoning,” the doctor said to Geno once Valencia was treated. “We performed a gastric irrigation process to clean out the contents of her stomach. We’re going to keep her overnight for observation. But she’s going to be fine.”
“Can I see her?”
“She’s resting now, so keep it to a few minutes.”