“Oh my god, Sonja and Rick!” It was Betty.

Betty smiled broadly as she slithered down one of the halls, a stunning purple dress barely clinging to her body. Betty's mother, a stern-looking woman with graying hair, and her father, a rather exhausted man, followed behind her.

Sonja didn’t resist as the blonde wrapped her arms around her and squeezed tightly. For a moment, she could almost smell pine cones, but it faded underneath the delicate scents of perfume.

Betty looked her over. “You look gorgeous.”

She stepped back and gave her another appraising glance.

“Rick is lucky to have you.”

Rick grunted, his hands uselessly hanging from his arms, watching with his lips slightly parted with frustration, annoyance, and impatience. His shoe, a sneaker, tapped against the hardwood floor as his eyes bounced from Betty, to Sonja, to the waiter, and back again.

Betty’s mother stepped up with a smile, giving Sonja’s a firm hug but not letting go. Sonja looked into the woman’s eyes and saw a need for power, for control, brimming in the brown depths. “You must be Elizabeth’s new project.”

Betty’s voice was warning, “Mother...”

Sonja favored both of them with a winning smile, drawing on the memories of her own mother’s manipulations. She saw both of them relax slightly, but a guarded interest was barely veiled in their gazes.

“Well, if helping a poor Midwestern girl adjust to California is a project, then yes.”

“Right, well, I’m glad you are here.” Betty’s mother gestured to the restaurant with her chin, “And I’m even happier to see that you have good tastes.”

Sonja blushed underneath the compliment, then let her eyes glance over to Rick who was very much out of place with the suits and dressed in the entry hall. He spied her looking at him and looked away, staring at the door leading outside.

Betty’s mother clicked her tongue, “Ah, the training starts early.”

She peered over to the waiter watching everything patiently. “John, why don’t you let the children in.”

“Madam, the dress code...”

“Can be ignored, put them in our private room, let them enjoy a dinner in peace. Put the bill on our account, if you will.”

“Yes, madam.”

Betty gave Sonja a squeeze before whispering in her ear, “Enjoy your night.”

Then Betty and her parents left the restaurant, leaving Sonja and Rick alone. He sighed dramatically, but followed the waiter to led them down hallways, past small dining rooms, toward some stairs. Above the stairs was a golden plaque, “Founder’s Rooms.” The stairs creaked as they went to the second floor. The waiter stopped by a door, with “Goldstone” inscribed in the wood. Inside was an impressive decorated room, filled with old dark wood and gold trim.

Rick sat down heavily on the first chair, leaving Sonja to seat herself.

She did with a sigh of her own.

The waiter handed them two menus, with no prices she noticed, and left them alone.

Rick grunted as he peered down the menu, obviously having no clue what the French words said. Sonja was impressed with the menu, but didn’t bother telling Rick what she wanted. Somehow, she didn’t think he would order for her.

The waiter came, took her order, and left, leaving them alone in the silence.

Rick stared at the table for a long time, playing with the napkins, before he grunted. “So... Sonja, what do you think of this place?”

“Very elegant, actually, it reminds me of some of the places my mother used to take me to.”

Rick stared at her, as if she grew another head, “Your mother used to take you place like this? Like Betty and her parents?”

She nodded, “Yes, but the place near us requires you to be a member, which can take years and requires you being sponsored by another member.”

“Well... I don’t think this place... is like that...” His voice was filled with uncertainty.

Sonja smiled, “Of course not, they wouldn’t have let us in if it was. Of course, I would have assumed that Betty would have told you about this place.”

“Oh...” she saw the nervousness in his eyes, “Uh... why would you think that?”

She favored him with a smile, “She seems to have directed you so far.”

He blushed and looked away, his jaw tightening, “Well... not everything.”

“Let me guess, Denny’s?”

Rick slapped his hands against the table, “She said a nice place, what’s wrong with Denny’s?”

Sonja shook her head, “I don’t know, I think for the,” she paused for a moment, “Betty's appearances and class, I don’t see her ever going to Denny’s for a date.”

“Well... yeah...”

Realizing that the conversation was going nowhere, Sonja quieted down until food came. It was excellent, as wonderful as she hoped when Betty first described it. The rest of dinner was in silence and they left barely touching each other. Outside, it was growing dark early, clouds in the sky boiling with a primal anger.

In the car, Rick managed to turned up the stereo as he got in, hurting her ears even more. The car burned rubber against the asphalt as he floored it, pulling away from the building and leaving a bruise on Sonja’s side. She winched in brief agony, then pressed her ear against the glass in hopes that it would reduce the noise of the stereo. They passed stores and restaurants. When they didn’t turn into the movie theater, she grew slightly worried. However, Sonja didn’t say anything as they continued to drive further out of town.

Twenty minutes past the theater, Rick surprised her by turning down the radio. The rumble of the car was still loud. “So... what do you want to do now?”

His hand reached out for her thigh.

Sonja balled her hands into a fist for a moment, feeling annoyed, “Why don’t you take me home?”

“Home? Why? Its only nine, I thought we were going to see a movie?” There was a frustrated and impatient tone to his voice. She watched as the speedometer needle rose up. Around her, the lights of the town quickly faded into the occasional points of light

“Well, its obvious that you weren’t planning on a movie, you passed it went you left town.”

“I figured something else might be more enjoyable.”

She felt very sick to her stomach as he spoke. “Take me home, Rick.”

“Come on!” His voice turned dark and loud in the car, “I took you to that stupid restaurant, I think we can do something I want to now.”

A faint prickling of fear dripped down her back, “Take me home, Rick, right now.”