Just when Elijah thought the concert was over, it was instead announced that an intermission was in progress.  He was happy and relieved to hear that, thinking it would’ve been a short set if what they’d heard was all there was.  Their waitress, Mindy they’d learned, delivered their plates of food and everything looked scrumptious.  But apparently, her meals distribution wasn’t all she had to drop off.<br/><br/>Mindy handed Elijah a wristband, explaining that it was a backstage pass.  She also told them how she’d promise not to reveal who it was from.  However, she continued that if his name wasn’t on the list, to have the bouncer check for Gwen Whitmore’s name.  Didn’t she just blow her promise by mentioning Gwen? Elijah thought.  He and Mary Beth thanked her for everything and she smiled at them before seeing to another table.<br/><br/>“Wow, backstage pass,” he stated, prior to digging into his fish and chips.<br/><br/>“Must be your lucky night, Eli,” Mary Beth replied, while her forkful of mac and cheese with bacon was suspended in mid-air.  They’d be sharing the Caesar salad.<br/><br/>“Yeah, thanks to you,” he said, choosing to respectfully leave out Gwen’s name.  He was well aware of any further reference to “the other woman” would more than likely set her off.<br/><br/>She grinned in between bites.  “You can, ahem, thank me properly later,” she said with a wink.<br/><br/>With a grin of his own, Elijah squirted a heap of ketchup onto his plate for dunking his fries, er, chips in.  He dipped a piece of fish into the container of tartar sauce and offered it to her.  “You gotta try this, M.B.  It’s bloody awesome.”  She took a bite while prepping her fork with some cheesy macaroni with bacon, nodding in approval as she did so.  With her left hand underneath in case of any spillage, she held the fork out to him.  Her treat consumed, his eyes widened.  “Wow, that’s awesome, too,” he declared.<br/><br/>Fifteen or so minutes later, both of their plates held no evidence of what was there before, except for some streaks of ketchup and melted cheese.  Dressing dotted the salad plate.  Perfect timing, too, as Toni Childs and her band returned to the stage amongst a smattering of applause.  Mary Beth made it a point to drag him toward the dance floor at every slow tune Toni performed, seemingly holding him tighter with every additional dance.  Following her second set, the artist was gracious enough to bless the audience with a pair of encores, for a total of four additional songs.  Naturally, the crowd gave her and her band a standing ovation.<br/><br/>Bill paid, Mindy returned with his and the merchant’s copies of their receipt in a small, black case.  About to sign it and tip her, Elijah frowned at the zero balance.  He removed the stapled note, and read it.  Surprise didn’t begin to describe what he felt.  The waitress must’ve read it, too, as she looked just as surprised.  Tipping her $50 anyway, he stated, “You’ve been awesome, Mindy.  Thank you.”  She smiled and thanked them profusely before heading back toward the cash register.<br/><br/>To her credit, Mary Beth didn’t yank the note out of his hand.  Instead, she humbly inquired, “Unless you don’t want me to, may I see the note?”  He handed it to her.  Passing it back to him, she said, “That was really nice of her.”  Elijah merely nodded, knowing he needed to thank someone somehow.<br/><br/><div style="text-align: center">&gt; &gt; &gt; &gt; &gt; &gt;&lt; &lt; &lt; &lt; &lt; &lt;​</div><br/>Mary Beth and Elijah mingled amongst the other lucky concert goers who’d been granted backstage access, though they mostly kept to themselves.  The spread of culinary delights was impressive, though they were both quite full to help themselves to any of it.  She enjoyed a<i>Tanqueray &amp; tonic</i>, while he nursed a<i>Sprite.</i>He’d had enough IPAs earlier and he was driving them home, after all.<br/><br/>A few fans lined up for selfies with Toni, and they followed suit.  One shot was with the three of them, while Mary Beth snapped a picture of just Toni and Elijah.  She signed his ticket, too.  Upon selfie completion, Toni asked the gathering if there were any requests.  No one said anything, perhaps too embarrassed to be the first one.  What the hell? Elijah thought, knowing that opportunities like this didn’t happen every day.  So he spoke up, surprising Mary Beth, who stood next to him.  “How about<i>Don’t Walk Away</i>?” he asked.  “A cappella, please,” he quickly added.<br/><br/>Toni dipped her head with a smile and a raised left brow.  “A cappella,” she repeated.  “I like that.”  Her band was also there, along with a pair of acoustic guitars and a stand-up bass.  And then she started singing, and Elijah immediately felt tingles race through his core.  A woman and a man provided backup vocals, just as they had done during the concert.  She seemed to be singing to him, as she circled him a few times.  The room erupted in applause when she was done, Elijah eagerly joining everyone else.  An arm’s length away, Toni smiled at him, and then said, “Good choice.  Thank you.”<br/><br/>Bowing his head in response, he smiled back, saying, “Oh no, thank you.  That was better than great.”  Toni’s smile never left her face.<br/><br/><div style="text-align: center">&gt; &gt; &gt; &gt; &gt; &gt;&lt; &lt; &lt; &lt; &lt; &lt;​</div><br/>Alas, the drive home was not to be completed in silence, semi or otherwise.<br/><br/>“How do you do that?” Mary Beth asked.<br/><br/>“Do what?” he asked, glancing her way.<br/><br/>“Oh, c’mon, Eli.  I’m not blind, y’know,” she informed him.  “She was so coming onto you.”<br/><br/>“Who was?  Toni?!”  He almost laughed at the ridiculousness of her statement.  “Get serious, M.B.  I’m a freaking nobody.  Y’know, maybe you should have your womanly intuition rebooted, cuz you’re not always right.”<br/><br/>“Yes, I am, Eli,” she challenged.  “I’m right about Toni<i>and </i>Gwen.  While singing, Toni never circled anyone else who requested a song, except you.  And Gwen?  I mean, why else do you think she passed us off to Mindy?”<br/><br/>Snorting, he responded, “Uh, didja happen to notice what she was wearing?”<br/><br/>“I’ll give you that much, but I believe she ditched us because you were there with me,” she said.  About to retort, she held up an index finger to him, indicating she wasn’t quite done yet.  “I’d bet you a million dollars that if you were there with a male friend, she’d have been all over your table.”<br/><br/>Well, he had no comeback for that, other than, “Guess we’ll never know with either of them,” he said.<br/><br/>The cutoff that led to her place was approaching, so he asked, “Am I taking you home?”<br/><br/>“Where’s Rosalie?  Is she not at home?”<br/><br/>“She’s not,” he responded, eyes straight ahead.  “She’s spending the night at the sitter’s.”<br/><br/>“Could we go to your place then, please?  I’d love to sleep with you, and, uh, other things in your bed.”  Mary Beth smiled at him in the darkness.<br/><br/>Turning toward her, he simply stated, “Okay.”  Passing headlights danced across their faces.<br/><br/>A few seconds later, Mary Beth placed her left hand on his thigh, and kept it there, motionless.  “I’m sorry, Eli.  I really am,” she confessed.  “I’m sorry for being so insecure when I know another woman is interested in you.”<br/><br/>Elijah remained silent, though he was pretty sure Mary Beth wasn’t referring to Toni Childs.