It's A date - Part Four

Continued From:

Part One - M & M

Part Two - Jealousy Makes You Evil

Part Three - Can You Keep A Secret

With the Bistro closed on a Monday, Mae always made a point of switching off altogether and making it her relax day.

She had slept in for a while but then decided to take a slow drive down the coast to have lunch at a new takeout in Victoria Bay.

Exploring the coast and sitting somewhere on a beach always felt soothing, yet exhilarating.

The new takeout had hamburgers that had to be eaten by hand. The sauces dripping down your fingers and adding a weeks calories to your diet but worth every bite. Mae smiled as she ordered a Coke. In for a penny, in for a pound. I'll get bake to normal eating my tomorrow. This was delicious.

Mae paid her bill and made her way back home. She made herself comfortable in her big easy chair overlooking the ocean and was soon deeply involved in her book. Her telephone rang and Mae scurried off to look for it. In my handbag, she remembered and answered the call as soon as she had retrieved the phone.

"Hi Mae, please listen to me and don't put the phone down." Mae heard Megan on the line. "I want to apologise for walking out on you at the bistro the other day. I don't know what has come over me lately. This is just not me. You know me Mae. We go back many years and I really wanted to restore our friendship to what it was when I came to visit you. Please Mae, are you listening?"

Yes Megan, I'm listening. I have been thinking about your trip down here after all these years and I must say I still have to figure all this out. First you appear down here, out of the blue, and then you toss the idea of us being partners again at me. All this was way too much, too quick. Megan, I have made a good life for myself down here, I'm happy and content. I don't want to change anything at the moment. I tell you what. In a few weeks time we give each other a call and see if we can start there to rekindle our friendship."

"I think that could work," Megan replied but she rolled her eyes shook her head. Ever the Good Samaritan she smirked to herself. "We'll do that. I'll give you a call soon"

"Oh, by the way,' Mae interrupted before they hung up. "When I arrived back home, after you left my place last week, I found my crystal bookend in pieces on the floor. I'm trying to figure out what happened. Did you notice anything?"

"Um-mm," Megan was playing for time,trying to think of a feasible answer. "I did notice that and at the same time I saw your cat disappear down the passage. Sorry I didn't clean up for you. I was in such a hurry to hit the long road back. Sorry about your bookend Mae, I know you really treasured it!" Megan had that evil smile again.

Mae put the phone down and a chill ran down her back. I don't have a cat.

The week drifted by and Mae soon forgot about her conversation with Megan.

It was Friday night and the usual locals came for their seafood specials but at one of the patio tables was a newcomer. He sat there the entire night and slowly ate his baked Salmon and sipped at his wine. Later he ordered the Crème Brûlée. Quite relaxed he sat staring out over the ocean.

"Penny for your thoughts!" Mae interrupted. "Hi, I'm the owner and couldn't help seeing you enjoy your dessert and not come over to claim the compliment for my work." I think I'm flirting with this gorgeous man. "Are you just passing through?"

He looked up at Mae. "That was a scrumptious meal. Is it closing time already?"

"No, please relax. I know all my customers so I thought I would come over and introduce myself. I'm Mae."

Mae showered and crawled into bed with a chuckle. That was a good conversation with an absolutely dreamy gentleman. He even has a dreamy name - Lorenzo.

I'll make Bacon and egg with a good cup of coffee this Monday morning. And I'll also stay at home today - No juicy burger tempt me and put on the kilos. Mae busied herself in her kitchen.

The phone rang. She flicked the button. "Hi, this is Mae."

"I've booked a table for two tonight. Please will you join me?" Mae heard Lorenzo ask.

Mae agreed to meet Lorenzo and after she parked her car she walked up the stairs to the restaurant. Looking stylish and elegant in her black dress and her hair pulled high on her head in a long ponytail, she confidently walked to the table where he was waiting for her.

Conversation was easy between them and Lorenzo explained to Mae that he had landed up at her Bistro quite by accident. He was a lawyer and on his way to see a client in Knysna. A wrong turn took him down the winding road to the ocean. Being very hungry he decided to stop at her Bistro, and here they were.

Mae didn't go into detail and only spoke of her life now at the coast. Her business and her new found love of the ocean and long drives along the coast.

As Mae drove back home she was a bit disappointed that their date had not turned out as she had expected. Lorenzo was the perfect gentleman but after the first course when she had asked where he was from, did he have siblings, where did his parents live, he started to be very guarded and changed the subject to anything but that. Was it my imagination, but it seemed that he didn't even want to look me in the eye when we left the restaurant. I suppose I was just not the date he had expected. Pity, I thought him rather handsome. Mae just smiled at the situation she had experience and let her ponytail down. She opened her car window and let the wind through her hair.

Back at his hotel, Lorenzo was feeling like a jerk.

Last week he had bumped into his friend Megan, she was in such a state that he took her for lunch to calm her down. She had just returned from a trip to Herolds Bay and filled him in on a friend that had let her down badly. This was the same friend that sold her business out from under her. This was the same friend that was involved with her ex husband.

"All I wanted to do was drive down there and make things right between us!" she told Lorenzo. "That was when things got even worse. She treated me awful and virtually threw me out of her house. I would love to get back at her!"

"What a coincidence is this. I have a client down that way and I have to go down there at the end of the week. You want to drive down and try again to fix this friendship that is so important to you?" He suggested.

"Not on your life!" Megan huffed and she seemed to drift off in her mind. "Well maybe you could help me." she smiled sweetly at Lorenzo.

Now, a week later, Lorenzo was filled with regret that he had agreed to Megan's plan.

Megan wanted him to befriend Mae and find out about her personal life down here at the coast. Lorenzo felt fit for a bit of fun but once he met Mae, he realized this was not the person Megan had described to him. What an idiot I am. Mae is a perfectly good person. Someone I would like to get to know and I have screwed it all up. I could feel Mae closing up as she asked more personal questions about me. How can I ever tell her how I landed up at her Bistro.

Lorenzo's phone rang and he looked at the caller ID.

It was Megan.

He looked at his watch. It was 0145.

He disconnected the call and switched his phone off.