I don't feel like I am so much anymore."
He reached out and took her hand across the table. "I'd say you weren't a girl anymore at all."
She smiled. "You know, we could eat May's food at home."
He put a finger to his lips. "Shh. This is a celebration. The Fuller is the nicest place in town. Someday I'll take you to Spokane and we can eat in real splendor."
The waiter arrived to take their order and disappeared quietly. They exchanged pleasantries and chatted about her new partnership with the Colonel, but Angelina had the sense that his thoughts were elsewhere, his attention diverted. He sat opposite the door, a position that allowed him to scrutinize people as they came and went and his gaze never strayed far from it.
He acted different than usual. She felt that he studied her, looking for something, weighing his words carefully, as if he wanted to make a confession. They had finished their dinner and were being served dessert when a friend of Tonio's interrupted them.
"Isn't this a cozy setting?"
"Hello, Nokes," Tonio said.
Nokes moved around the table to look at Angelina. "So nice to see you again, Signora Allessandro."
Charley Nokes was a regular at the Fuller House. Charley frequently hung out by the kitchen, watching her work and snitching samples. She supposed he could be described as handsome in a pale way. Charley liked to flirt with her, with anyone. She enjoyed sparring with him but nothing more. He sometimes complained to her that Tonio had claimed her before he'd even had a chance with her. She'd told him that he was not her type of man, which did not seem to dampen his spirits greatly.
Uninvited, Charley pulled up a chair and sat down next to her. "I hear this dog has taken up residence with the Halls, the same home that you are staying in Signora."
"It was his home first, Mr. Nokes. It is I who intruded on his territory."
"Nokes thinks he saw you first, Angelina."
"Mr. Nokes, Tonio and I are old friends. We met in New York."
Nokes smiled. "The lady defends you."
"She has good taste."
Nokes summoned the waiter. "I think I'll join you and have dessert."
He was about to order when Angelina interrupted him. "Mr. Nokes would like coffee and sweet biscuits, the currant studded ones that I made this afternoon," she said. "They are the very best ones." She winked at Nokes. "I know they are your favorite so I saved you a few."
Nokes returned her wink. "You see how she looks out for me, Tonio? You better watch yourself or I might just steal her away yet."
They chatted for a moment until Nokes' dessert arrived.
"I hear there's going to be a big union meeting the twenty fifth," Nokes said. "They'll probably call a strike. They're asking all the union brothers to go to the Bunker in a show of support."
Angelina interrupted before Tonio could respond. "If you men are about to talk mining, I will have to insist that Tonio take me home now. I am in no mood to hear another word about mining difficulties. This is a celebration, Mr. Nokes."
Something in the distance caught Tonio's attention. Angelina turned to look but saw nothing. He rose and pulled her chair out for her.
"Come, Angelina. I think you're right. It's time to take you home." Confused, she stood up.
Tonio looked at Nokes as he rose. "You have a winning way with the ladies, Nokes." He threw some money on the table. "Angelina, wait for me at the cloakroom. I need to talk to Nokes."
Tonio joined her just minutes after she retrieved her cloak. They walked back to the Halls' in silence, taking a circuitous route that led them under every streetlight in town. Tonio seemed uneasy and on guard. Neither spoke. Finally, as they arrived at the front walk, Angelina couldn't stand the silence. "Thank you for dinner, Tonio."
"Yes, very nice. Poor old Charley, he needs to go home and marry a socialite who'll keep him in his place. He's just play mining out here." He hardly seemed aware of her as he spoke. He'd been distracted since Mr. Nokes had interrupted them.
They stopped in front of the door. As Angelina reached for the knob, Tonio grabbed her hand to stop her. "I'm not going in, Angelina."
She looked at him, puzzled. "Don't tell me you have more mysterious business to attend to at this time of night."
"No, I'm heading back to Burke."
"Now? This late in the evening? It can't wait until