A chance for love

Chapter 2

Lilian decided against going straight back home where her parents might likely annoy her. Today has been such an infuriating day ..first the phone call, now the strange man ,when will it end?

Looking ahead she saw an ice cream shop up ahead and decided a walk would do a great deal in calming herself down.

Reuben, still embarrassed from the previous episode, suddenly recalled that this woman who insulted him claimed she wasn't vee.

That means Vee must be somewhere here.

He frantically turned around from left to right trying to pick out people's faces without looking for long as the place was getting filled up. Within a few minutes,he picked up a woman sitting on the opposite rear end ,also fitting the description he had in mind.

Surely this must be her!!

He quickly left his seat and went to the woman's table.

“ Hello, please Are you Vee? He asked, already learning from his past mistake of assuming identities.

“ Yes I am, and ….who are you?” Vee asked.There seemed to be a hint of rudeness in her voice.

“Yes , I am Reuben..we met on the free love website..we actually planned this date a few weeks back. I am really sorry for coming real late, I had earlier mistook you for someone else” Reuben explained while grabbing an empty seat nearby.

“ This is absolute madness!!” Vee flared, subtly drawing some pocket of attention to the table where they were..

“ You mean…” she continued with her tone of rudeness increasing

“you mean you left me waiting for a stupid person like you for almost 30 minutes and you think you can waltz your way with a smile?..are you crazy?!”

At this point, Reuben’s morale simply washed away along with his previous excitement..Today was definitely not his day.

“There's no need to be so bitter and mean..I said I'm sorry. I understand that I might have ruined your plans and wasted your time but let me assure you that….”

Reuben was cut short by the stream of water which splashed across his face and clothes from the glass cup which vee threw at him. He simply looked down as the water washed down his face. The restaurant turned dumb for the moment and all eyes turned to the point of interest. Reuben couldn't look up just yet, his top shirt was soaked and he too turned mute.

“ I don't want to ever see in my life…ever again!!..I mean ever!!” She snapped. With that she grabbed her handbag and stepped out of the restaurant.

The restaurant buzz resumed, albeit slowly. Reuben still sat, dazed and motionless, thinking

“What just happened??!! “

Suddenly a hand patted his shoulder and he jotted back into reality. For the first time in a few minutes, He looked up to see the people in the restaurant had moved on with their lives. Graciously he reached for his handkerchief to wipe his face.”At least I have had the worst days” he said to himself and took his leave.

Now, Reuben realized he was too angry to drive and opted for a walk instead. There was a Ice Cream sell point nearby. Ice creams had always had a cooling effect on his countenance. With that decision,he set out to go get one.

As he walked along the side alley, he heard some rustling sounds by the corner post. He had always wondered why the police doesn't patrol those points as they always seemed like hotspot for robbers and thieves. Suddenly he heard a soft Cry and immediately his soldier instincts kicked in. Someone must be in trouble he thought as he walked to the point where the sounds were coming from.

As Reuben walked across the bend in the alley, he saw Lilian held at knife point by a man in a mask while the two other men also in masks searched through her belongings. Reuben coughed to signify his presence.

“Who are you?! Get away from here before we beat you up” said one of the masked men.

“Uhmm..I think it's best to let the lady go to avoid any disaster” Reuben negotiated.

“ Who are you to tell us what to do? Boys, get this stupid man down right now” the masked one holding Lillian yelled.

The other two masked men tried to lay hold of Reuben but with quick successive moves, both of them were left on the ground, groaning and clutching their bodies, much to the surprise of Lilian. The last masked man standing pushed Lillian to the side and rushed to attack Reuben with the knife. Picking a piece of wood from the ground, Reuben knocked out the knife from his hand and hit him hard across the face, sending him scrawling on the floor. Recovering from the pain, the other two masked men raised their leader on his feet and ran away.

Lillian, still sitting on the floor was utterly amazed by what she just saw.A wave of admiration hit her as Reuben stretched his hands towards her to raise her up.

“ Hey…ummm thanks so much for saying me” Lilian stammered, now properly on her feet

“ It's nothing..I hope you are fine” Reuben asked, surely the kicking and punching had made him feel better now.

“Yeah I am fine, thanks to you” Lillian said. Recalling their past encounter in the restaurant,she felt ashamed but didnt know how to place it.”Surely he will never forgive me for that.” She thought

“Alright, I will be on my way then” Reuben said calmly and turned to leave but was stopped by Lillian’s voice.

“ Hey..listen .I don't usually tell people this but my name is Lillian Wally, the only child and heir of the Wally industries. I don't think it will be proper to not reward you for rescuing me today..with a phone call, I can ensure you get a job in my father's company where you will be compensated for life.” Lillian said.

“ Thank you so much for such an offer but I think I will refuse it, I am an Obstetrician by profession..I work at Greenheart hospitals…it is something I love doing ... .yeah..but thanks again” Reuben replied.

“ Alright, why don't I just send you some money instead..as a token of my appreciation” Lillian insisted.

“It's fine, but I still refuse, you should get home..your folks might be getting worried..take care of yourself” Reuben replied and headed out of the alley.

“Okay!! This was something..wow..I think I should get to know him more..he is so mysterious and…perhaps a suitable marriage partner?” The buzzing phone snapped Lillian out of her trance and she reached the floor to answer it. It was secretary Kim calling.

“Good afternoon ma'am how are you?? Your dad was worried that you haven't replied to his message for an hour now and asked me to call you…how are you?”

“ I am perfectly fine..Tell dad i'm coming home…however I have an assignment for you..I need you to gather some information about someone for me…he works at Greenheart hospitals. His name is Reuben”.