"I think I'll take that as a compliment."

Melissa pokes at what's left of her food.

"Anything planned for dessert?"

"I made cannoli."He gets up and heads on over to the bench and brings back over a large plate. "I thought about making pancakes, but this is a little more impressive for a first date."

"I'm impressed."

She takes one, and her hand hovers over the plate before she pulls it back.

"Would you like to take some home? Maybe Scott would like some. Or you can hoard them for yourself."

"A lady never tells. I'll take two as long as you're offering."

"Well, I did make them for you. You can take however many you want."

He picks one out himself and takes a bite.

"How long have you been at the hospital?"

"Oh, about ten years now. I started after Raf and I settled here- for a while we had an apartment in L.A."

"I went to college in North Carolina, nothing as exciting as L.A."

"L.A. is much less exciting if you don't have any money, and we didn't. Raf was doing okay as a security guard, but then I had to drop out of med school when Scott got sick, I couldn't have him sitting at home when he should be seeing a doctor, and then Raf got fired. It was a mess."

"Sounds like it. Scott got better?"

"Yeah. He was sick a lot as a kid. Now it's just the asthma, and sometimes that goes away when they grow up. Or at least, that's what the doctors said. He can live with it, anyway."

"Kids are tough. Adapt well. I'm still working on that."

"We can figure it out together."

With dinner and dessert finished, Melissa offers to help with the dishes.

He's happy for her to help.

"Do you like dancing?"

"It's not my strong suit. Are you okay with a learning curve?"

"Helping you learn sounds fun, plus I'm sure I've forgotten everything I learned in college."

“Dancing. Friday?”

"Friday is good." He looks very pleased. "I'm sure I can give credit to my cooking skills for this next date?"

“You’re definitely something. Dancing instead of dinner, next time, or my waistline won’t forgive me.”

He laughs. "We can work out a system. Cooking for you was really enjoyable."

“I’m glad to hear it.”

She gets up, gathering her purse and some food for later.

”I’ll see you then.”

...he wants to kiss her. But. Probably they're not there yet.

"I'll call you on Thursday with the details."

“I’ll be waiting by the phone.”

She waves, and she’s off.

Meanwhile, Jackson’s bowling game has improved, but not nearly enough to make a difference.

Well, Juliet's game has gone significantly down, as well as her mood.