“Don’t close any doors because he may be your Mr. Right!" Kate joked to lighten the mood. She could see that Lisa was trembling.
“I have my loved one…” Lisa whispered.
“Really? Who?” Kate was interested. After her heart was broke in college, Lisa never mentioned anyone else.
Lisa ignored Kate and pulled her toward the stairs, “Stop being so curious! Right now, we have more important things to do!”
Lisa and Kate walked directly to the table by the window. Lisa held out her hand and greeted the man casually. Just as Kate thought Lisa could handle the situation and did not need anyone with her, she heard Lisa say, "Hello, Mr. Hughes! I am Kate Smith, and this is Lisa Green."
The man stood up to greet them, "Hello, Ms. Smith! Hello, Ms. Green!"
After saying hello, the man focused his eyes on Kate and then said kindly, "Please sit down and feel free to call me Dave."
Lisa saw that Kate was in a daze and elbowed her to sit down. Kate never expected Lisa to play such a horrible trick; she hadn't even mentioned it.
"Ms. Green, Ms. Smith, what kind of wine would you like to drink?" After the man ordered their meals, he asked their opinion about wine.
"Wine?" Kate frowned and asked, "Why not another drink? I don’t think we should have alcohol.”
Kate originally intended to help Lisa find out if the man was worthy of her or not, but when he asked about wine, she became uncomfortable.
"Sorry, I thought…” Dave wanted to explain, but he didn't know what to say.
Lisa cleared her throat and said bluntly, "Mr. Hughes, with all due respect, you are not the type that my sister would like. She does not like a man who drinks or smokes. Most people believe that if you order alcohol before you eat your meal, you might have an alcohol addiction?"
Lisa's comment flustered the man. He looked at Kate and eagerly explained, "Ms. Smith, don't get me wrong. I only ordered alcohol out of politeness; I don't usually drink. I just asked casually; I have no other intentions."
"No other intentions?" Lisa blurted out, coldly, "I think you are trying to get us drunk so that you can do whatever you like to us!"
Dave felt embarrassed and turned bright red. Kate wondered if Lisa hadn't been so forward if he would have argued with her. After this confrontation, Kate understood why Lisa gave him different names; she could freely say how she felt.
"Ms. Green, your friend, seems to be misunderstanding my actions,” he pleaded.
Kate smiled faintly and replied, "Mr. Hughes, the reason my friend is with me is to see if you are who you say you are. Although her words may hurt you, it does not seem unreasonable."
Kate felt that Mr. Hughes had been tested, so she picked up her fork to enjoy her meal. However, before she could swallow her first bite of food, Dave took a piece of meat off of the plate in the center of the table. As he put it on Kate's as he apologized, "I am sorry that I may have said something inappropriate and caused a horrible misunderstanding. I hope that we can forget about it. I am a sincere man; I don't drink or smoke, nor do I gamble. I am a good man in others' eyes, and I am sure you will see that in the future. You can't judge a person by one sentence, that is just not fair."
It was apparent the man was eager to show Kate how much he liked her by giving her some of his food. He was unaware that the very action disgusted Kate, even if he did it out of care and kindness.
Lisa's stomach turned, and she blurted out, "Mr. Hughes, even though Lisa and I are best friends, I would never use my own utensils for her food. This is the first time you are meeting her; how can you do that? I do not think that we can sit here and have a peaceful meal."
Thankful that she found a reason to leave, Lisa pulled Kate by the arm and said, “Let’s leave!”
Mr. Hughes jumped up and explained nervously, “Ms. Smith and Ms. Green, I don't want to drive you away. I am just so anxious; I want to be with you so much!"
He watched them leave and thought about chasing after them, but he decided to stay and eat their meals when he saw the food on the table. He almost choked on his food when a man in a suit sat down across from him.
"Who are you?" Dave couldn't help feeling a little frightened when he saw the large man wearing sunglasses sit down.
"Why were you with those two women just now?"
Dave asked nervously, "Do you know them?"
The man nodded and answered, "Yes, but they don't know me."
"Then why are you asking about them?”
"I am the one asking questions. Tell me what happened just now.”
"Okay..." Dave told him the whole story.
The man in sunglasses asked Dave, "Do you know that the woman who was scolding you was actually Lisa? And the other woman..." The man stopped and smiled slyly, "She is Kate, Joseph's girlfriend."
"They lied to me!" When Dave heard the truth, his face turned red with anger. He had still been holding on to the hope that he might get to see Lisa again, but after knowing he had been cheated on, he could not hold back his frustration. He clenched his fist and snarled, "I will make the Green family pay!"
The man sneered and asked, "Taking revenge on the Green family will not solve your problems or ease your anger. Why not just cause trouble for the two women?”
Dave was puzzled, "What do you mean?"
"Here is $100,000, and I will tell you exactly what to do!”
**
After leaving the restaurant, Lisa spread her arms open wide and took a deep breath, “I rescued myself!”
Then, she put her hand on Kate’s shoulders and said, “Thank you, my dear. What happened tonight is more exciting than a movie!”