With service, with a smile

“And which,” you ask, “was I doing? Complimenting or feeling envy?” You’ve had enough practice with Angelica’s voice not to overplay your hand; her natural lilt verges on flirtatious anyway.

Monica smiles, tilting her head so the blonde locks feather on her shoulder. She taps the ash from her cigarette. “Hard to say. Or do I get to choose?”

You put a smile across Angelica’s wide, warm lips. “We always like to provide options. Not everything we offer is on the menu. Sometimes we do special requests.”

“Such as?”

You stomp on your cigarette, extinguishing it with a twist of your heel. “I’ll make sure your server talks you through our menu.”

And with that, you head back inside, allowing Angelica’s curves and figure-hugging dress to work for you. You’re not going to admit to Jessica who you are outright, and you know there’s no way she’ll drop her masquerade. So the only thing you can do is keep going with the dance until one of you can’t take it any further and breaks character.

You stop and grab a mint from Angelina’s pocket and slip it in your mouth, sucking it thoughtfully before taking the captain aside to make a few front-of-house changes. Hey, it’s good to be the boss. Every so often your attention drifts back to Monica - your number one suspect for Jessica - trying to come up with a way to trick her.

"Who is serving table 12?"

"Uh, that's one of Anna's tables."

"Hmm. Tell Anna that I'll be working table 12. Miss Walker is a friend of mine. You take over front of house."

There's an eyebrow raised, but nothing more as you head over, watching as those heavy eyelids waiting at table 12 flick up to drink in your borrowed form.

"We meet again," you joke. "My name is Angelica, and I shall be your hostess tonight. May I take your order?"

There's a thin smile across Monica's lips. "I was just going to ask about the specials." You've been preparing for this, memorizing Italian restaurant menus - not just Baggios but others - and working on your pronunciations.

"Oh, tonight we have a family recipe. zuppa di pesce, from Naples, with a white wine. For main, I recommend the cacciatore, off menu but delicious. Then, I suggest the plum semifreddo."

Monica's face tries not to give anything away, but you know Jessica hates plums. There's a pause for a moment, a hesitant disgust that tugs Walker's nose in. In a flash, however, another set of mannerisms take hold and suppress the thought. "The first two dishes, please, with paired wine. No dessert." A thoughtful click of Monica's tongue heralds her own probing attempt at flirtation. "I do like clam followed by breast."

Now you know it's Jessica; she's not even playing pretend as you brush off the statement as if you never heard it. And yet your body's impulses say you did, and you can only hope your partner in this masquerade didn't notice. "Excellent choice," you say, before taking the menu from the table and heading to the kitchen.

The night passes too slowly. Hannah Wellington looks frustrated that her date hasn't shown, and eventually storms off, providing only a modest tip. The chef swears at you when you instruct him to whip up chicken cacciatore, but you've already learned a couple of deliberate, pinched hand gestures seem to be the answer to any question in Italian. Every so often you swing by Monica's table to check on the meal, flirt, make small conversation.

And then it comes time for the check.

You're disappointed that there doesn't seem to be any conversation from Monica; no more giveaway words or phrases. Instead, she pays in cash and slips into her fur coat, that red rose tattoo vanishing from sight as she prepares to leave.

“Have a pleasant evening!” you call out as she heads to the door, flicking her hair back as she turns to address you one last time.

“Oh, I intend to. The night is still young. I might walk down toward Gibson Plaza, see what mischief I can create.”

And with that she goes - out the door, and out of Angelica’s life. You begin to question if it was actually Jessica as you clear the table..

It's then you notice the receipt, left in its wallet with bills amounting to a hefty tip. Sure enough, Monica has written a cell number on it.

Maybe the night's games are just beginning. But do you call? Or perhaps you could have some fun. You know you’ve spotted Jessica and she is expecting you to continue to play the game.

But what if you swapped skins, trading Angelica and pursuing Monica though the night? Jessica would never expect that. And you could be anyone...

(Author: Masktrix)