She stood outside of the restaurant, blue letters "Teal Station". Valerie adjusted her black dress, she had driven past this place a hundred times. It was once the main rail station in Pearton before the Old Northwesteren decided to shut down the passenger line, it was bought from the railroad and turned into several different businesses now a restaurant. The huge windows were now covered with teal colored drapes. It must have cost a fortune just for the drapes. Valerie thought, and studied the old almost gothic architecture. Almost like a medieval castle, she giggled nervously. Valerie dug through her purse for the letter and the business card.
"This is the place," Valerie spoke to herself and then swallowed, "crap." Her watch said ten minutes after eight. Summoning up her courage she walked up to the red painted double doors, she braced herself to open them. They opened for her, a black haired young man wearing an old porter outfit smiled as he held it open for her.
"Good evening ma'am." She nodded, as she walked past him. The smell of tulips and wine greeted her nose. Another man almost a clone of the porter stood behind a small podium.
"Ms. Ashley?" Valerie blinked, how did he know. "Your party is waiting for you, if you wish I will take you to them." She nodded again afraid to speak, her mind trying to puzzle out how the maitre' de knew her last name. Yuri couldn't have known, she didn't even know his last name. She walked behind him. Her eyes drank in the main dining room. "Shoes, ma'am?" Valerie blinked. The maitre
De smiled almost patronizingly. "The Teal Station requires all of their guests to remove their shoes, to protect the grass." Valerie looked down; the entire floor of the dining room was covered in a field in dark green grass. She removed her black Mary Janes and holding them, followed him. Her feet padding quietly across the grass, the smell of crushed grass mixed with those of the flowers and wine. She passed some diners sitting on a blanket with an open picnic basket; he led her past several hedges grown to surround tables for those wanting a more private dining experience. The maitre' De stood outside one of the curtained private dining "rooms". He cleared his throat, loudly before drawing the curtains. He bowed and held the teal colored curtains open for her. Valerie walked through the parted curtains. Her breath caught in her throat, there he was. Yuri glanced over at her. Her throat throbbed, a delicious ache coursed through her. An incredible urge to crawl over to him filled her, a blush filled her cheeks, and she studied the grass at her feet very carefully.
"Fashionable" Yuri's voice seemed to caress and chide her at the same time. "Please sit down, My valerie." A blonde haired man held a chair out for him. She murmured a hushed thank you. She sat down across the table from Yuri, next to a dark haired man. "I think we are through here Tom, it is a shame about Stephanie and as my Oprichnka, and I want you to find out who did this." The dark haired man, Tom leaned forward, for half a second she thought she could hear a heartbeat. Then it was gone.
