Stella felt as though she was being observed and turned around to see Anton walking towards her. He looked dashing and she felt her stomach doing little flips. She noticed several women doing a double take as he walked by them, and hey, who could blame them? He knew how to move his body, did it for a living after all. He had an easy grace, a self assurance she could only envy and stare at. Working at the bar had helped, she had begun to dress better, but this man walked as though on a fashionshow runway. Stella couldn't help but smile at him as he walked towards her.<br/><br/>"My, my," she smiled up at him when he had reached her, "you do clean up rather well."<br/><br/>They were soon seated, a bread basket between them on the table, a bottle of wine and menus in their hands. Stella had to remind herself that it wasn't polite to stare, but he was just so.... well, he was handsome yes, but she had seen him in a ratty old t-shirt, and jeans with the knees worn out and he looked good even in those. No, it was more than that. It was just so nice to see him again, to spend time with him. He had filled her in on the happenings in the kitty world and she smiled at the image of the two cats hogging the window seat again.<br/><br/>The waiter came to take their orders, Stella ordered the duck confit with mushrooms and cherries, served on a bed of creamy risotto, and a side salad of mesclun greens with balsamic vinaigrette. After Anton placed his order they chatted and Stella told him about her new job.<br/><br/>"....so glad I'm done with the little brats whose mother's think they're the second coming of YoYo Ma." she said, having some water, and nibbling at a piece of rustic bread from the bread basket. "I had played at a bar in my hometown when I was in highschool," she said dipping a piece of bread in a mélange of parmesan, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar before popping it in her mouth, chased by a kalamata olive, "but left because of the harassment, but this place is nice, and there are other musicians." She wasn't going to talk about Magdalene being there, it wasn't any of her business, and she didn't even want to voice her name, didn't want to spoil her evening. It was then that she noticed that he had removed his wedding ring. The indentation and tan lines were there, but the ring wasn't. Stella swallowed hard and looked from his hand to his face. What could this possibly mean? The moment was interrupted by their waiter who came with their orders, and to refill their glasses, and for a little while they quietly ate. She was grateful for the distraction, having no idea what to make of this. Maybe he had taken it off while cleaning and forgot to put it back on again. Yes, that had to be it, absolutely.<br/><br/>"Oh my goodness," sighed Stella with pleasure after her first bite. "This is amazing!" Unselfconsciously she speared a delectable selection on her fork and held it out towards him over the table, "you've got to try this." And then she realized what she was doing and flushed deeply, suddenly very embarrassed at the familiarity of her action.