LONDON CALLING

Ruby looked at Angus and smiled " I did , simple and pratical" was what she said when they spoke of heels she shook her head " some can be good but I prefer flats, especialy while on my feet all day, though maybe a small heel would work or one pair for formal outings." she listened to Diane and nodded " thankyou so much" she said relived that some one could take her thoughts and put them into practice.

As Angus tried on hats Ruby shook he head untill the last and she smiled " that looks very charming on you" she said moving to touch the brim of it but the aviators he chose set it off and she smiled. " very hansom" she moved and kissed his cheek befoer taking his hand in hers. As he spoke of where they should eat she thought about it " well, lets eat here, in Venice then collect the boat and have supper under the stars, we could pick up some ingreidiants to take with us." she sugested.

"Come with me," he smiled. "I know just the place." It was a little bit of a walk, but he took her to a little local restaurant that didn't look like much on the outside, but inside, it was a rustic, old Italian decor that had a charm very much all its own. It had rustic tables with red table cloths, racks of wine bottles on some of the walls, some photos of old Venice and of a few of the famous people who had dined there. The aromas coming from the kitchen were mouthwatering.

Angus spoke in Italian to a waiter there, and they were shown a table near the window that looked over one of the canals.

"I have never had a bad meal here," he told her. "In Venice, obviously a lot of the meals center on seafood, and the seafood here is excellent. But they also do some great freshmade pasta, and char grilled beef that they get shipped in from some of the local farmers in other parts of Italy. Lunch is the biggest meal of the day here, so you'll find the portions are generous for this meal. Suppers are a bit lighter. And, of course, at lunch and at supper there is always wine. First question--do you speak Italian? And second question--what sort of wine do you generally like?" he asked. He didn't even know but he was happy t order for her if she needed any assistance.

Ruby followed Angus never once letting to of his hand as they entered a rather nice restaraunt. " she looked around her and smiled this place is breathtaking." it ws now she took a brath in and smelt the aromas around her. Listening she heard laughter and lots of people talking. " of course they do" she said when he asked if she spoke Italian she smiled and replied "Parlo italiano e mi piacciono i vini bianchi dolci" (I can speak italian and I like sweet white wines) She lightly bit her lip as she looked up at him.

"one good thing our father did for Jessie and I was make us learn more than one langage, mine was itallian." she told him still looking around the restaraunt. "I have a feeling we'll be coming back here a lot."

"Well, it's a good skill to have. Oh, and just so you know, the signature dish here is the veal scaloppini, but get what you like," he smiled, as the waiter returned with menus and handed one to Ruby and then one to Angus. Rather than ordering a bottle, since they preferred different kinds of wine, Angus ordered a Moscato for Ruby, and he ordered a Barolo for himself. He would drink the sweet whites if that was all that was available but he preferred a dry red.

For lunch, he ordered for himself the involtini, wanting a nice cut of beef. It was served with some freshly made pappardelle with their signature marinara, and a small crisp green salad with a house made vinaigrette and some warm ciabatta rolls fresh from the oven.

Ruby nodded " yeah being bilingual I think helped me get my job too, they couldn't understand a gentelman who had just come from here actually and well I helpped translate what they wanted. " she smiled at the waiter and looked at the menu she loved his pick of wine for himself and her when he ordered she closed her menu and spoke to him " Prendo l'Insalata Caprese con mozzarella e insalata di pomodori per favore" she said(I'll have the Insalata Caprese with mozzarella and tomato salad please) " I like your choice of wine." she said to Angus as the waiter took back her menu.

Sitting she looked out over the canal and sighed " never saw my self actually being here" she said looking across the tabel at him.

"Well, I can imagine if you're in the international department, you would need to speak the language. I was raised bilingual, but since meeting Robert, I've also needed to pick up French. We have a lot of the team that is multilingual. Brian speaks French and Italian too, as does Khaat. I've seen Robert speak up to five languages. I don't know if he speaks more than that or not, but I know he speaks English, French, Italian, Spanish, and German.

"But the ones that amaze me are Michael and Marcus. I have no idea how many they speak, but I have never gone anywhere on the planet with either of them and found them unable to speak the language. I presume it came out of necessity with their jobs. My grandfather was in the same boat. He had to learn to speak a lot of the languages on the continent, especially dialects like Bulgarian and Romanian, and those sorts of things. I however, have no real desire to spend much time in Eastern Europe. Not for work anyway. Now, you watch. Now that I've said that I don't want to go to Eastern Europe again any time soon, we'll get back, and Robert will send me on some hike out in the hinterlands of the Romanian mountains for some rare carnivorous plant or some such foolishness." He flashed her an amused smile.

The waiter arrived with their orders and refilled their wine glasses.

"It looks like it should be good weather this afternoon for our boat trip," he told her. "It isn't a long trip, just a couple of hours. The island is really small, not even enough to be a speck on most maps, but it is beautiful. I wish there were some truly lovely and romantic story about how it came to be in the family, but honestly, my grandfather won it in a high stakes poker game when he was a newlywed. The house has been there for generations, but comparatively, we're relatively new to it, just the last fifty years or so. We've used it as a holiday house, and we've gone there on all sorts of occasions. My brothers get to use it more than I do simply by virtue of the careers we've accepted. They took their honeymoons there, and for both of them, every time either of them have taken a romantic weekend there, their wives have come back pregnant, if that tells you anything.

Ruby listened to Angus talk about Michael and Marcus and how many laugages they spoke. When he said that now he'd probably end up in the hinterlands of the Romanian mountains for some rare carnivorous plant or some such foolishness she could not help but chuckle " yep jinkst it." she said smiling at him.

He spoke of the boat and the house they would be staying in and how his brothers used it more than he did and when he spoke of how every one who had taken their honey moon there had come back pregant. She looked up at him as he finished "Well as much as I would one day like kids...I feel that right now is not the time." she looked up at him Hoping he was going to ok with that. " too much going on, both in the world and well with all thats going on with Robert and Gelding." she smiled worried at him hoping he understood her thinking.

"Well, we have nothing to worry about this trip," he told her. "I learned quickly, after watching my brothers not plan their outings and continue to come back each time with one more in the nest, I decided years ago that wasn't going to happen to me and whoever I took there. So back before I met you, when I was engaged to 'her/him/it,' I went to Robert and told him I did not want us to end up with children before we were ready. And he cast a contraception spell on me at that time and told me that when we were ready, he would simply reverse it.

"Honestly, I forgot all about it until you and I got ready for this trip. I was not going to reverse it unless you and I had decided together than I should have him undo it. As I see it, accountability and responsibility should not solely be on a woman. I can, and I did, take responsibility for parenthood--or the lack of it--awhile back. I have to tell you, though, I am relieved you're not ready for it yet either. It does take a load of pressure off, and hopefully now we should be able to just relax, be ourselves and have a good time.

"Not trying to deliberately change subjects, but how is your caprese salad?" he asked.

Ruby listened then smiled relived at his words. " well, I have a potion I found that I take, but Roberts idea seems much more reliable and I agree, now we both know we're on the same page, yes my clock is ticking but I still have years ahead yet, and well if down the line you do want to, with me then we'll cross it when it happens."

she heard him ask about her salad and she chuckled " well not as good as yours, but exsquisit none the less, and the wine is superb." she raised her glass to him. " I chose it becuse all the ingrediants are fresh at this time of year, that and if Im going by boat I'd prefer something light in my stomach." she took a fork of her salad and ate smiling.

"Heres to a relaxing vacation with my sexy boyfreind with no interuptions" she said now grinning at him.

"I do much prefer Robert's idea as to the potions. Potions are easy to forget to take, but, yes, this spell should last indefinitely." He smiled when she said her salad was exquisite. "I don't think you need to worry about sea sickness, though. You''ll be in safe hands. I do have my Yachtmaster's. I'm afraid my father insisted upon it when he was trying to pressure me into taking over the family business. Still, it has come in handy. And the cabin cruisers as all large enough to be smooth, and by the looks of the weather, the water should be calm. Still, if you have trouble, there is some sea sickness potion in the holiday kit Robert packed for us. How often have you been on a boat?"

The waiter came and offered more wine. Angus passed but he ordered an espresso for himself. The waiter then offered dessert.

"Espresso?" he asked her. "I might order us a couple cannolis to take with us. Who knows, we might want a snack a little later."