Dancing to the Moonlight Sonata

Julie broke the silence as they eyed one another. "Franz ... I mean... Professor Hartmann, please meet my date for tonight, Louis."

They thrust out their right hands, shaking them in a superficial way. The older man looked down at Lou, "Ah, I remember you. You are an employee in the custodial staff."

Lou answered, unashamed, "Yes, sir, I am."

Julie spoke up, "He is part time, Professor; it is his work-study job." She wondered why her explanation seemed like an apology.

"Then what are you studying, young man?"

"Accounting, sir." Lou did not like this pasty, condescending man. It was very rare that Lou could not find something to like in a person. He knew the type. He demanded the service of others, but served no one, himself. His position and power would force the yielding up of favors.

"Very interesting, Julie, an accountant."

Julie grabbed Lou's hand and pulled him, eager to get away. "Intermission's almost over. We better get back to our seats." Lou had not realized how strongly this frail girl could tug on him, until that moment.

As they sat together, Julie felt a warmness sitting next to Lou. After the exchange with the pasty professor, she was glad to be with him.

"Who is that guy?" Lou asked her.

"He's...just...a professor in the music department that I used to ... do work for when I was in my freshman year."

Lou pondered why Julie had such difficulty with the explanation. He decided not to ask her; it was none of his business.

"He was either going to tell me to empty the trash or do his tax return." Then he added, "Either way he would have wanted it done for free."

Julie elbowed him lightly in the side. "The music is starting."

As they walked back to the dorm an autumn rain was falling lightly. They walked slowly to prolong their time together. She wondered if he would try for an invitation to her room.

They came upon the door to the vestibule that separated the men's and women's section of the dorms. She waited for his advance on her bastion. She half-hoped that he would attempt it. She would refuse, but she might enjoy his display of desire.

They stopped and he spoke to her, "Julie, I'm glad that we could have this date tonight."

She nodded her assent; he went on, "I probably won't be around very much this week, so I'll ask you now. Would you like a date with me for Friday night?"

At each of their previous meetings, she had been drawn in by some device of his. Now she had to decide, yes or no, if she would see him again.

"Where are we going?" she asked and answered in one breath.

"I'll call you next week after I check on something"

There was nothing more to discuss. A long pause ensued, which he broke by gently grasping both her arms at the shoulders. He leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the cheekbone.

"Good night, Julie. I'll be thinking about you."

****************

Her phone rang on Thursday evening. It was him. It would be dinner, maybe a movie. Would that be ok?

Julie was ready when Lou knocked on the door at seven. She had put on black slacks that were neither dowdy nor suggestive. She wore a deep purple sweater of merino. It was her best one. He wore the same navy blazer with the grey slacks and striped tie. He carried the same kind of bouquet. She was touched by it. She released the same red mini rosebud and pinned it to her sweater.

Lou led Julie to his car, an old Saturn, and they started off. He drove to a part of the city where she had never been. It was not a slum, but not rich either, more of an industrial area. She wondered why they were here, since there were so many restaurants in 'College Town'.

The car stopped in front of a small restaurant with dark windows. A neon sign in blue above the door read in two lines of script: "Mr. Dominic's Italian Cuisine." We're here!" Lou announced.

Julie would never have chosen this restaurant. It was not a comfortable part of town for her. The darkened windows prevented someone on the outside from peering in. There was no way to predict what would be inside. She would have selected a place that was more transparent. It would have been an exchange of plainness for safety. That would have been fair enough. She would not have risked later regretfulness.

As they walked to the door Lou turned to her and said, "This is a very special place."

In the vestibule they were met by a short, portly, Italian man. He was in his mid-forties, balding, curly black hair. When he saw Lou he approached him with open arms. The two shared a big abrazo. They slapped each other's backs as they hugged.

"Louie," he cried, "'it's good to see you. Your table is ready, a nice one in the back of the dining room."

Lou started the introductions. "Dominic, say hello to my friend, Julie. Julie, this is Dominic, another good friend of mine."

"Julie, we're very happy to meet you and have you in our place." Dominic took her hand gently.

As they walked past the bar toward the back of the restaurant, Julie glanced around. The dining room was darkened, lit only by the single candles flickering on occupied tables. Each table was set with a red and white checkerboard tablecloth. There were about fifteen tables, about a third full with patrons.

As they arrived at the back of the dining room Lou helped Julie with her chair as Dominic lit the candle. He said, "Lou, what's with this reservation? You know you've always got a table at this place ANY time you want it."

"C'mon, Dominic," Lou answered. "You know this place will be packed in forty-five minutes."

A waiter was passing by. Dominic turned to him, "Rocco, bring up the '67 Chianti for this table." Dominic turned back to the couple, "We've got your meal all ordered. The veal is extra-special tonight."

The waiter cast his eyes to the ceiling. "Are you sure that you want the '67, boss?"

"Go!" he cried, and Rocco disappeared.

The waiter returned with the bottle of Chianti and handed it to Dominic. "Rocco, get these goblets out of here and bring over some real wine glasses." The waiter brought over three small plain glasses, such as one might drink orange juice from in the morning. Dominic filled each glass and Lou and Dominic raised their glasses. Lou gave Julie a small nod, and she raised hers as well. The two men exclaimed together, "Salud!" The glasses clinked, and they drank the first glass of wine. "Rocco," said Dominic, "Tell Assunta that Louis is here."

The wine had a dryness that Julie had not tasted before. It could have spoken of hardship and bitterness as it made her lips pucker. To Julie, though, it was a fitting wine to be drinking with Lou and this friendly Italian man. With no sugars laced into it for sweetening, the acidity spoke of realness and sincerity. To her surprise, she liked the taste of it.

As Dominic refilled the glasses, Julie's pensiveness grew. She could not understand many things. She felt herself a foreigner, but welcome. Lou should not fit in here; why did he fit so well? She should be uneasy, but she was having fun.

As the empty glasses from the second turn at the wine hit the table, Dominic's mood became serious. "You know, Julie, Louis, here saved my business a few months ago."

Lou retorted quickly, "Dominic, that's not true! It was the marinara that saved it!"

The more jovial tone returned. "All I know is that before you showed up my books were a mess. Every time I would call a supplier they would pretend that their phone was out of order. Now, I've got suppliers around all day wanting me to try out everything!"

Before Lou could answer a rotund woman appeared. By her girth and manner, anyone could guess that it was Dominic's wife. Lou saw her and stood up to greet her

"Luigi!" she cried, as she hugged him and kissed his cheek. "Why have you stayed away so long?"

"I won't stay away so long this time. Assunta, meet Julie."

The large woman reached down and embraced the smaller female. "My God, girl, don't you have enough money to buy food? You are so thin; I think you're gonna die!"

"She'll be alright, Mama," Lou assured her.

"Never mind, Luigi!" She turned back to Julie, "Giulietta, I'm gonna bring you some pasta and sauce. If you eat it every day..." and now she raised her voice much louder, "You'll grow BIG BAZOOMS, just like me," and she ended her soliloquy with her arms outstretched.

The whole room broke into laughter. Julie was confused again, because she laughed as hard as anyone. She should be mortified, looking for a place to hide. Maybe it was this strange Italian wine.

****************

As the two savored their meals Julie asked Lou many questions.

"Why do they call you Luigi?" she asked. "Well," Lou said, "It's Italian for Louis. It's a name that gets around. The original is French. There's Ludwig in German; Luis in Spanish."

Later, she asked him how he came to be involved in doing accounting for the restaurant. He explained that he signed up for a project in the Accounting School, where upper level students would be loaned out to local businesses that wanted help with their books. He just drew 'Mr. Dominic's' by chance.

"I think that you really did save their business, just as Dominic said."

Lou's expression grew more serious. He did not answer her directly, but only said, "These are two of the nicest people that I know. Any good thing that comes their way, they deserve." It was the only defensive moment that she had ever seen in him.

After that, there was a long silence at the table as they ate.

Over canolis and espresso, Lou broke the silence. "I think that Dominic and Assunta like you."

Julie blushed. She wasn't used to people talking about 'liking her'. "I think that they like me because I'm with you."

"No," Lou contradicted her firmly, then looked at her and spoke as plainly as he could, "They like you because you're a nice person!"

Julie blushed, cast her eyes down. She couldn't speak.

Lou came to the rescue to lighten the heavy moment. He whispered, so not to embarrass her, "I'll like you, too, after you grow some 'big bazooms'."

They both laughed. It was more than the humor of the joke. The shared laughter was mutual acknowledgement of their appreciation of what had transpired on this night. It was time to go. Dinner was over; it was too late for a movie.

The bottle of Chianti was empty, except for a little that they saved for Rocco. Lou handed Dominic some money.

"Your money is no good here!" Dominic tuned to Julie and took her hand.

"We hope we will see you again, Giulietta." He said softly. Then jokingly added, "That is, if you ever get this bum to take you out to a decent place again."

The three laughed and the two men shook hands and embraced.

*************************

It was raining as the two hustled into the Saturn. Lou was not talkative because the driving demanded his attention. The quiet interlude gave Julie a chance to think about what had happened to her over the past two weeks. She had more questions than answers about this mysterious accountant that emptied trash cans to pay his bills.

Julie could not say that she was in love with Lou, but she loved a lot of the things about him. How could this young man work so hard, yet always seem to have fun? Why did he have so many friends, fit in so well, yet so comfortably wear his individuality on his sleeve?

Julie had made a habit of not standing out, the better to fit in. Louis seemed to be breaking those rules and winning, while she obeyed her norms and remained a spectator. Was it her, or did her rules not make sense?

Julie asked herself why a person could do great things and then defensively ward off credit for having done them, just to preserve his friends' dignity. How would he know that he would best a lesser man just by saying nothing except whom and what he was?

These were important questions, but they were only prelude to the most important of all: what did Lou see in her; why did he think others liked her; why did he not demand more of her?

She knew that she was a 'plain-jane'. She liked it that way. It kept life sterile; easier to avoid contacts that could lead to a sickness in the heart. She had been successful at staying safe for a long time. Why did she seem to value that accomplishment less at this moment?

She thought back to that first evening in the practice room when Lou told her that he liked some things without knowing why. As the Saturn pulled into its parking space she chose to be satisfied with that answer to her most private question.

The end of the ride back to the campus meant an impending close of their date. It created a regret of the ending, and some anxiousness. Was the end of the date a finish of a chapter or the entire book?

In the rain they had to run from the parking lot to the dorm. When they reached the dividing vestibule they exchanged the usual thank you's and platitudes about the nice evening.

Without warning, even to herself, Julie said to him, "Lou, before you go there is something in my room that I want to show you."

********************* As Julie unlocked the door she whispered back, "Take your shoes off when you first come in so we don't track mud in." Lou complied and she did the same and closed the door behind them. She turned on a small lamp that cast meager, but sufficient light. They stepped deeper into the room, stood silently looking at each other for a few long seconds.

Finally Lou spoke, "Julie, before you get what you want to show me, I need to ask you something."

Julie stood silent, waiting.

"May I kiss you?"

Julie's felt her heart pumping hard, but kept her reserve, "Well, maybe." She answered. Her coyness surprised her, but she felt a small thrill at the same time.

Lou was undaunted. "Julie, I need to kiss you!" He said it louder and more insistently.

Julie stepped forward and allowed him to embrace her. The contact warmed her and she tilted her head up to him to allow him access. The kiss started slowly, but quickly gave way to deeper passion. It was probing and affectionate all at once. The kiss was neither a prelude nor a climax. It stood on its own, a means of passing wordless feelings between them.

Lou gently broke away and stepped back. "What did you want to show me?"

Julie uttered no words. She slowly removed her glasses and set them on her desk. Standing still and silent, with a forthright look into his eyes, she was neither hesitating nor waiting for Lou's response. She wanted to savor and remember this moment of emergence.

Julie grasped the bottom of her purple merino sweater and lifted it quickly over her head. She stood before Lou, nude to the waist except for her white bra. Her small breasts, matched perfectly to her slender frame, barely showed over the top of it. The delicate details of her slender shoulders and collarbone formed a perfect frame for what promised, when revealed, to be tender breasts that longed for gentle stimulation. It was a small uncovering, but the act was a vital statement. She was a spectator no longer. It felt good to be a player, even if she had compromised her safety.

She watched Lou look at her. It pleased her that he did not ogle her cleavage, mentally assessing the volume and weight. He drank in the totality of the offering. The half-light in the room cast shadows that partially hid, partially exposed, creating an inviting mystery. It was a sight that evoked a call to action, but he waited patiently for the next revelation.

Julie, without relaxing her gaze, slipped the right bra strap off her shoulder. It lay lazily on the side of her bare arm. She did the same to the left. Lou's eyes widened, but he made no move, lest he interrupt the unveiling. It was Julie's stage to perform upon. He would not take it from her, now that she had abandoned the security of her indecision.

Julie watched Lou as he savored her transformation. She had no doubt as to his desire. She would continue the performance and weighed her options on how to do so. Would she pirouette and fall into his arms? Possibly, she would continue her solo, testing how long he could endure his inaction? She might invite him onto her stage, become the director, guiding his unveiling? She decided on a different course. He would approach her from his male, bass tones until they connected to her higher, feminine treble. From there, they would explore the universe. She broke the silence.

"I thought that you might want take over now."

Lou stepped forward, embraced and kissed her before proceeding further. "You were doing so well, I didn't want to stop you."

His blazer was wet from the rain and scratchy against her bare skin. She pushed it from his shoulders and it fell to the floor. She started to struggle with the tie, but he pulled it away and it soon was gone.

Lou turned his attention back to Julie. In a second, the button and zipper of her slacks were undone. He paused a second, testing her resolve. She remained silent, embracing him, her head on his shoulder.

He went to his knees to slide the slacks to the floor. His face was inches away from her mound of Venus that pressed out against her white silk panties. He took in the faintest whiff of her aroma. Her breathing had deepened, but she otherwise changed neither her stance nor her silence. He gently eased the silken guardians to the floor. Her woman's aroma strengthened. He gazed at her treasure from close range. It was covered in fine straight dark hair that pointed downward to her second lips that he also wanted to kiss. Before standing, he leaned forward and did gently kiss them. Only then did she flinch slightly and exhale strongly, but quickly recovered.

Lou stood up. He reached around her and unclasped her bra. He gently lifted it from her. Her breasts were topped with small nipples that were already hardened to welcome him. They were small, to be expected, but perfect in their roundness. They stood firmly, but with a soft covering like felt on a stag's new antler. He raised his hands up to caress them, but she stopped him.

"No," she said, "You first."

Lou began unbuttoning his shirt and she pivoted around to turn down the bed covers. As he stumbled through the buttons of his shirt, Lou gazed at the back of her. It was as beautiful as the front. It was smooth and soft. Lou wanted to massage every delicate muscle in her back; to dig fingers in gently between every rib and down the length of her backbone. He would hold her round cheeks, not in the grasp of ownership, but cradle them as he would a priceless gift. By the time she was done, he had removed the preliminaries and stood before her in his tee shirt and briefs. He caught her eying his bulge. She stood nude before her partially clothed lover-to-be with her hands at her sides. She made no effort to conceal herself. A few hours ago she had been a timid girl, afraid of all, a spectator of life as it flew by. Now she had entered the game in full. Soon she would exalt in triumph, or weep in sorrow, but never again accept the old numbness that she had once substituted for feeling.

Lou quickly removed his tee shirt. She admired his frame briefly, but she wanted more. She stepped forward and pulled the waistband out over his erection. Lou guided the briefs to the floor.

They embraced, naked, in the middle of the room. As they kissed their hands roamed the other's body, to excite, probe, gain knowledge of sensitivities. It didn't take long. They turned toward the opened bed and eased into it. Their bodies, pressed together, made covers superfluous.

They lay alongside one another, kissing and caressing. Her excitement was growing. Her breathing increased in pace and in depth. He eased down and grasped a nipple with his lips. She cried out in pleasure. She hugged his head to her with both arms to hold him at his station. He released the first rosebud, attended to the other.