“Can I ask you a personal question?”  Well, that certainly didn’t take long, Anton thought.  Although to be fair, he hadn’t quite reached the half-way point of his<i>Americano.  </i>A slight nod from him gave her the green light.  “And not to offend, but why do you still wear your wedding band?” Magdalene inquired.<br/><br/>A lazy shrug might indicate he had answered this question many, many times before.  But that was far from the truth.  Including this instance, it would mark only his third time.  “Because I love my wife,” he replied.  Her expression at this, however, he had seen countless times before.  It was as if his inquisitor wanted to say,<i>But she’s not around anymore, nor will she ever be.  </i>Of course, no one ever said it out loud.  Anton would save her the inevitable squirming and uncomfortableness.  “I wear it in her honor and memory.  Besides, I’d feel naked without it.”  He sipped his still-hot beverage, searching her eyes for a reaction.<br/><br/>“That’s really sweet, Anton,” Magdalene softly said.  Since he was still cradling his<i>Americano</i>with his right hand, she reached out and squeezed his left.  “What, um, would you do if you had a girlfriend, or even, uh, another wife?”  Anton steadily met her gaze.  Not only did she blink and look away first (DOUBLE WIN!!!), but she was unable or unwilling to meet and hold his eyes for more than a moment.  Always considering himself to be somewhat of a nice guy, he nevertheless, on occasion, relished playing the bastard.  And now was such a time.<br/><br/>“Never thought of that, really,” he answered, holding on to his cup.  “And really, why would I, seeing there’s not exactly a long line of girlfriends right outside my door?”  Anton sipped once more from his recycled-paper chalice, the container unknowingly masking the giddy smirk on his face.  You’re up, Mags, he thought, let’s see what you got.  As she searched for an answer, he felt bad, but not too bad.  He was, after all, just teasing.<br/><br/>Following a sip (always a good stalling tactic) of her own caffeinated beverage, Magdalene said with only a hint of accusation in her voice, “Well, maybe if that ring was no longer on your finger, there’d be a bevy of beauties pounding down your door.”  Her wink was rather naughty.  Anton spluttered in amusement, unable to stifle the sound.  “That’s good, Mags,” he complimented her.  “That’s real good.  Bevy of beauties, huh?”  He was still smiling as he finished the last of his<i>Americano.</i><br/><br/>Grinning, she noticed the full tilt of his cup indicated it was probably empty, so she did likewise.  They slowly stood, more than ready to depart the now-bustling establishment.  The walk to the ice cream parlor was not far, yet it didn’t take many steps before Magdalene smoothly slipped her left hand into his right.  “Do you mind?” she quietly asked.  A motion of his head her way, and he replied just as quietly, “I don’t mind.”  Anton then felt a squeeze of his hand.<br/><br/>Royally bummed that they no longer carried his cherished Coffee-Chip ice cream, Anton instead ordered a double-scoop of Strawberry on a cone.  Now that flavor boasted some seriously sliced chunks of strawberries.  Magdalene, on the other hand, was the recipient of a double-scoop cone of Triple-Chocolate.  He amusingly thought, Triple-Chocolate, my ass.  Scoops look like a Black Hole, it was so loaded with the beloved ingredient.  Settling into a nearby booth, the pair attacked their cold and tasty treats, barely coming up for air.  As soon as both top scoops were consumed, Magdalene reached over and tagged his cone with hers.  Aghast, Anton noticed there was now a glob of her dark brown goop on what remained of his strawberry ice cream.  She giggled with delight, as he licked the intrusive flavor away.  His eyes lit up at the new taste dancing on his tongue.<br/><br/>“I say damn,” he stated.  “That’s some chocolate upon chocolate.”  Nodding knowingly, she offered her cone to him for a lick of his own.  Following a shake of his head, she said, “Go ahead, Anton.  I don’t mind, and I don’t have cooties.”  Softly laughing, he offered, “Yeah, but maybe I do.”  A tilt of her head and her eyes all but told him she wasn’t taking no for an answer.  He grasped her cone while trading his.  Anton pointed out an exposed chunk of strawberry, indicating she was to sample the fruity delicacy.  Magdalene adroitly removed it with her tongue and teeth.<i>Too </i>adroitly in his opinion, but no matter.  Handing her cone back, she instead backed slightly away while licking away more of his precious strawberry.  “Hey,” he playfully protested.  Giggling like a school girl once more, she passed his back to him.  Just prior to surrendering hers, however, he helped himself to one last sample with his tongue.  He was already feeling the buzz, thanks to an overdose of chocolate.  Anton’s last lick only added to the buzz.