The atmosphere was simply elegant that evening at Table For Two. Waiters walked around the dining room carrying delectable main courses, while others balanced a fancy dessert on their tray.
Lalie and Vivian were led to their table. Vivian sat facing the door, so she could see when Frankie walked in with Kevin.
Lalie picked up the menu and glanced at it, before setting it back down on the table and setting it aside. "Vivian, why don't you tell me the real reason why you invited me here?"
Vivian set down her menu and made eye contact with Lalie. "Do you always suspect a hidden agenda?"
Lalie raised her eyebrows at that question. "With you?"
"Don't answer that," Vivian quickly told her. "There is a reason why I invited you here, and you might be very surprised."
"That doesn't bring me comfort," Lalie replied, picking her menu up again.
Vivian looked over Lalie's head, and seemed shocked as to who walked in. "Well, look who's here."
Lalie turned around. "I wonder what they're doing here."
Georgia held James' hand as they walked into Table For Two. Georgia smiled as she walked up to the host, and James informed the host of his reservations.
"I just love coming to this place," Georgia remarked, as she turned to look at James. "There's always such a friendly feeling in here."
James smiled at Georgia's statement. "I knew you were going to love coming here," James replied, turning back to the host.
"Pedro will show you to your table," the host said, directing his comment toward James.
As James and Georgia were following Pedro to their "table for two", something caught Georgia's eyes.
"What is it?" James whispered to Georgia, feeling her grasp on his hand become a tad tighter.
Lalie turned back around, as Vivian watched James and Georgia walk toward them to get to their table.
"James, Georgia," Vivian called out, standing up to greet them.
"You're here with Lalie?" James asked, as he looked down at Lalie. "Hi, Lalie."
"Hi, James," Lalie returned the greeting.
"Actually, I am," Vivian replied as she, too, looked down at Lalie.
"James, Pedro is waiting," Georgia began, as she noticed Pedro standing at their table. "Why don't you go down there and I'll be there in a minute?"
James nodded to Georgia. "Have a good dinner," he said to Vivian and Lalie before heading off in the direction of his and Georgia's table.
Georgia remained standing in front of Lalie and Vivian's table. "So, what sudden twist of fate brought you two together?" Georgia wanted to know.
"We're two grown adults preparing to eat a civilized dinner in a public place," Vivian defended, sitting back down in her seat and smiling at Lalie.
"I never thought I'd see you two sharing a civilized dinner," Georgia commented. "Much less, sharing the same table."
Vivian looked back up to Georgia. "Lalie and I?" she asked. "We adore each other, don't we, dear?" Vivian turned to her attention back to Lalie.
"Of course... dear," Lalie retorted, forcing a smile, as she looked at Georgia and subtly rolled her eyes.
Vivian forced a laugh as she looked back to Georgia again. "See?"
"Very well," Georgia replied as she looked back down in the direction of her table. "Well, I wouldn't want to keep James waiting, have a peaceful dinner!"
"You, too," Lalie replied with a genuine smile, as Georgia walked off. Lalie made eye contact with Vivian. "You were just about to tell me why you really invited me here."
"Drinks?" a voice chimed in.
Both, Vivian and Lalie looked up to see the waiter standing before them with a pen and pad in his hand. "Oh, we're not ready yet," Vivian told him. "Come back in five."
Georgia sat down at her table and opened her menu.
"You were over there quite a while," James commented.
Georgia looked up. "Isn't it strange how Vivian and Lalie are having dinner together?"
James turned around to look at Vivian and Lalie, as Georgia looked over James' shoulder at the surprising duo.
Lalie watched the waiter walk away. "Before we get interrupted one more time, why am I here?"
"I want to apologize to you, Lalie," Vivian told her in a serious tone.
Lalie fell back in her seat and folded her arms. "You're apologizing? To me?"
Vivian smiled. "The way I acted that day when you came over was immensely inappropriate, I was just overly emotional because of the divorce that was impending at the time and I just took your words the wrong way."
"That's what you're apologizing for?" Lalie wanted to know. "I thought you were going to apologize for setting Frankie and Kevin up. You can't deny that you did that."
"I do maintain my innocence in that accusation," Vivian replied, trying hard not to get angry. "What I said before is not all I apologize for, though. I also apologize for how I spoke to you when you came over and accused me of setting up Frankie and Kevin."
"Now, why would you be apologizing for this?" Lalie asked.
"Because I felt bad?" Vivian asked in rhetoric. "I had no right to speak to you like that. I would be upset, too, if my fiancée had just called off the engagement. Please, accept my apologies for that."
Lalie looked down at the table and straightened out her napkin that had her silverware placed on top of it. "No," Lalie simply said.
Vivian sat quiet for a moment as she looked at Lalie. "You're dismissing my apology?"
Lalie leaned in towards the table. "Just like a teacher dismisses their class on a Friday afternoon: with pleasure!" she hissed.
Vivian let out a slight nervous laugh, and looked to the side of the restaurant.
The outside of the restaurant was just as stunning as the inside. It's lush, versatile garden seemed to color the walkway, and the echoes of the music coming from inside gave it an even more romantic feel.
"You do realize why we're here," Frankie began, as she stopped in the middle of the walkway. "Don't you?"
"I assume to have dinner?" Kevin asked. "That is what people ordinarily do at a restaurant."
"That's one way of looking at it," Frankie replied, wondering if this would harder than she thought. "I was hoping that tonight could be the start of something more."
"Frankie," Kevin said as he turned around. "I told you, I just wanted to be friends with you."
That statement privately relieved Frankie but she had to somewhat achieve what Vivian had asked her to do. 'Try and talk to him before the dinner about carrying on a relationship,' Frankie heard Vivian's voice in her head. "Kevin," Frankie began, putting her hand on his shoulder to turn him around. "We can take it slow, but can't we at least give it a try?"
"I think it's great that we can go out as friends and still have a really nice time," Kevin started. "But, that's all."
"Looks like you need a little convincing," Frankie told him in a suggestive tone. Frankie kissed him on his cheek, very quickly. "Convinced?" she asked, only to get no reply. "Let's go in, now."
Vivian thought hard as to how to reply to Lalie's dismissal of her apology. "Lalie," Vivian began, as she looked towards the entrance and saw Kevin walking in with Frankie. "Oh, no."
"What are you looking at?" Lalie followed her eyes, and turned around to face the front of the restaurant. She widened her eyes and quickly turned around to look at Vivian. "Oh, my God! I'm getting out of here!"
Before either Vivian or Lalie had a chance to do anything, Frankie and Kevin made their way to the table. "I thought that was you, Vivian," Frankie began. "And, look at that, there are two extra seats here. Mind if we sit down?"
Lalie sat in utter shock at what was going on.
Georgia's jaw dropped as she continued to watch over James' shoulder and saw Kevin and Frankie standing by Lalie and Vivian's table.
"Georgia," James said, as he waved his hand in front of her face. "Do we need to switch seats so you don't face them?"
Georgia snapped out of her shock and looked at James. "Of course not," she replied. "I'll tell you one thing, though. Table For Two seems to be the hotspot tonight," Georgia finished, subtly glancing over towards that table again.
Lalie folded her arms and looked to the side, as Vivian got up and moved to the empty seat next to Lalie to accommodate Kevin and Frankie.
"This isn't our table, Frankie," Kevin told Frankie, glancing over at Lalie.
"It is, now!" Frankie exclaimed as she looked towards the front entrance. "Look at that wait. Good thing I saw Vivian sitting here," she said, shifting her attention to Lalie. "You don't mind, do you?"
"Why should I?" Lalie wanted to know. "This was the plan all along."
"Lalie!" Vivian shouted.
"So, how much is Vivian paying you to come here tonight with Kevin?" Lalie asked Frankie in an angry tone. "I'd really like to know!"
"She's not paying me anything," Frankie began in a calm tone. "We simply decided to go out for dinner tonight. I came in and saw my friend, Vivian, sitting here, so I just came over here."
"How convenient that there just happened to be two extra seats at this table," Lalie mentioned, turning to Vivian. "I wonder how we got a table for four?"
"Surely, you don't mean, I-" Vivian began.
Lalie cut her off. "Spare me your innocent performance for at least five minutes, would you?"
"My God!" Vivian shouted. "Is it too much to ask that we all get along?"
"On a happier note," Frankie chimed in. "Kevin and I just discussed having a relationship of more than just friends."
"I think you had that discussion with yourself," Kevin retorted. "You just assumed that I was going to go along with it."
"It ends here, Frankie and Vivian," Lalie spoke up. "It ends now."
Frankie was still reeling from Kevin's statement. "You're not interested in pursuing anything with me?"
"I think you're a really nice girl," Kevin replied. "I just don't see us like… that. I'm sorry."
"It's because of my reputation from high school, isn't it?" Frankie asked him in a livid tone. "I changed so much since then. The suffering I endured from that ridicule will never end!"
Lalie looked at Frankie as she said that. "I was locked up in a basement, Frankie, I know what suffering feels like!" Lalie shouted.
"Frankie did have a tough time in high school," Kevin defended Frankie to Lalie.
Lalie looked at Kevin in shock. "Maybe so, but it doesn't change the fact that Frankie and Vivian are working together right now to keep us apart!"
"Lalie," Kevin began to explain, giving an odd glance to Vivian. "Frankie and I started talking at a dinner party, and we revived our friendship, nothing more than a friendship. This isn't like what Heather did."
Before Lalie could reply to that, the waiter came around and took their orders for drinks and main meals. The waiter told them that the drinks should be out in a few minutes.
Lalie watched as the waiter walked away before leaning into the table. "Heather isn't the topic of conversation right now, and I'm tired of everyone in your family using her name to get out of a situation!"
"Talk about an offensive comparison," Frankie chimed in, looking at Lalie. "Don't ever compare me to Heather again!"
Lalie glared at Frankie. "If you don't want to be compared to Heather, then end this ruse right now!"
Kevin looked at his mother. "I will remain impartial to the theory that you had something to do with this."
Vivian's jaw dropped as those words came out of Kevin's mouth. "You believe Lalie's accusations?"
"I do take them seriously," Kevin told Vivian in a serious tone. "Mom, I'm telling you right now, you better not have set Frankie and I up."
Frankie cut off Vivian's reply. "She didn't," Frankie replied. "I just wanted to revive an old friendship, and try for something more tonight."
"Like I said, you are a really nice person," Kevin reiterated. "But, I'm still in love with Lalie Mills."
"You are?" Lalie asked in a soft tone, as Kevin nodded to her. Vivian began to tear up at what Kevin said.
"I hope you're satisfied, Lalie," Frankie said, as she looked over at Lalie with immense anger.
"A word of advice, Frankie, dress appropriately in a place like this," Lalie advised her, looking at her plunging neckline. "I know you are so happy about your makeover, but please, don't dress in… trashy attire."
Frankie's face turned a deep shade of red, privately raging at what Lalie had just told her as the waiter came by and put their drinks on the table in front of them.
"Let's try to eat the rest of our dinner in a peaceful manner, so no one chokes to death, okay?" Kevin asked them, looking each one of them directly in the eyes.
"Fine," Lalie agreed.
"Lalie, have you found another place to work after you quit the bank?" Kevin asked her.
"No, I haven't," Lalie replied. "Things took an unexpected turn when my cousin came to town."
"Your cousin?" Kevin asked her.
Frankie nervously took her lemon off the side of her glass, she began to squeeze it's liquid into her soda, when Lalie's piercing scream struck the table like lightning.
"Lalie, what's wrong?!" Vivian asked with pure concern.
Lalie had both hands to her eyes. "It burns," Lalie shrieked, as she rubbed her eyes and slowly removed her hands. "You did that," Lalie whispered in anger, directing her attention to Frankie.
Frankie's eyes widened as she looked down at the lemon in her hand. "It was an accident," Frankie told her.
Lalie stood up and made her way around the table to Frankie. "The hell it was, Frankie," Lalie yelled.
Frankie stood up and looked Lalie right in her eyes. "And what are you going to do if it wasn't?" she asked her with a squint.
Georgia's jaw dropped as she witnessed the happenings at Lalie's table.
James had simply had enough as he turned around to see what was going on. "Looks like Lalie is talking to Frankie about something."
"Talking very loudly," Georgia corrected him, as she continued to watch.
Frankie continued to stand in front of an enraged Lalie, as she waited for her reply. "You're not going to do a thing."
"Only because I have some dignity," Lalie informed her.
"You know what," Frankie began as she grabbed her purse. "I need a break from this table. I'm going to the bathroom."
"I'll go with you," Vivian offered, as she, too, stood up and headed off into the direction of the bathrooms.
Lalie sat back down at the table, trying to calm herself down. "They're probably going to plot their next move in the bathroom."
"If they are working together, I will find out," Kevin told Lalie in a comforting tone. "And my mother won't like what will happen if I find out that she did this again."
"Did you mean what you said before?" Lalie asked him. "About still being in love with me?"
"I wholeheartedly did," Kevin replied. "Look, I'm so sorry for acting the way I did that day, and then going off on you about Phil."
"I'm actually getting help for that," Lalie informed him, looking a little embarrassed. "I don't know why that happened but I haven't seen any images of Phil lately, if that helps."
"That's good," Kevin replied. "Lalie, I know it'll take a while for us to get back to where we were, but why don't we just start again really slowly?"
"Slowly is what you wanted but I couldn't understand that," Lalie replied. "Perhaps, because, my parents have never gone through a divorce," she admitted. "I should have been more open to your feelings instead of being selfish like that."
"You weren't being selfish," Kevin assured her. "Maybe you were right when you said that I was just using Phil as an excuse to back out of the engagement."
"When I saw you sitting with Frankie at the mall that day, I thought you had moved on already," Lalie admitted.
"We were just there as friends," Kevin told her, as he took her hand. "Frankie and I are friends. You and I are more."
Frankie threw her purse down on the counter and put her hands on her head as Vivian rushed through the bathroom door.
"Frankie, I am so sorry I put you in this position," Vivian apologized, running up to Frankie.
Frankie looked at Vivian directly in the eyes. "I can see why you wanted me to do what you did. Can you believe what Lalie said to me?"
"Look, I don't think we can compete with what Lalie and Kevin feel for each other," Vivian told her in a serious tone. "It was apparent from what Kevin said tonight."
"You're giving up?" Frankie simply wanted to know.
"Let's just call this whole plan off," Vivian replied. "Look, I'll help you start your own business, regardless."
Frankie looked at hers and Vivian's reflection in the mirror. "You gave me a job to do that would pay off in the end, and I think I want to accomplish that."
"Frankie, remember who is in control of this situation," Vivian reminded her in a strict tone.
Frankie turned around and looked fed up with Vivian. "I'm the one in control of this situation," Frankie told her. "I always was!"
Vivian slowly dropped her jaw. "It's over, Frankie. Let Kevin and Lalie do what they want. He's in love with her, he truly is," she tried to make Frankie understand. "Look at what happened when my husband found out about what I did, I can't have my son leave me if he finds out what I did."
"Too bad," Frankie told her. "Now, you're following by my rules and don't you forget it."
"Frankie!" Vivian shouted, as Frankie pushed the bathroom door slightly open and saw Lalie and Kevin holding hands at the table. "Let it go. It's not worth it! You can't compete with what Lalie and Kevin feel for each other!" Vivian urged her to understand.
"Like hell," Frankie simply said, violently pushing her way through the door.
Vivian looked up at the ceiling with tears and a look of horror on her face. "I created a monster," Vivian whimpered, as she weakly headed back to the table.
Chapter 14
Non-Nsync Fiction
I'll Never Stop {Fiction}
Email Tracia