Best of ’09: Restaurant Moment #bestof

It’s Oct. 4, 2009, 3 pm-ish. Denver is cloudy and gray and just on the verge of bone-chilling, so different from the brilliant blue day before. We’ve wandered to Larimer Square, perused a wine shop, and found a seat inside the very deserted Cru. We slide into the booth side of the table, my left thigh pressing into his right, our hands entwined.

Between kisses, we order flights of red wine: me, the Big Sexy Flight, full of spicy zins and juicy merlots, and Steve the rich, loud all-cab flight. We share a salad with a delicious champagne and shallot dressing, and a five-cheese pizza that is so miraculous we can’t contain the murmurs of delight as we stuff it into our mouths. I can feel his heartbeat under my lips as I kiss his neck between bites. He smells as delicious as the food. We consider ordering a second pizza but instead order dessert. Finally, the chocolate fondue arrives. It’s just enough, not too much, with berries and pineapple and a tiny flickering flame to keep the chocolate smooth. I scrape it from the sides of the dark pot with my finger, offer it to him. He takes my finger into his warm mouth and looks into my eyes. The chocolate isn’t the only thing at the table that’s melting. It seems appropriate that this, our first meal as husband and wife, is eaten partially with our hands.

Another couple enters the bar. We do not temper our behavior. Our peripheral vision relays the Broncos game. They score, and the waiter, who is a Buffalo Bills fan, scowls at the TV and offers to take our picture. It comes out blurry. We leave with congratulations from the staff and other patrons hanging in the chilled air, both sated and insatiable, exactly as we hope to remain for the next decades of our life together.

Blogger Extraordinaire Gwen Bell has issued a blogging challenge for each day of December–a “Best of” for 2009. I’m joining in as I have time and as the topics interest me.