Dinner, please
1060 Words
Stanley kept coming to see Martina at her shop, just to speak with her and explain things to her. Each time, Martina threw him out and refused to speak with him. But, he kept coming back.
" How many times have I told you, not to come to my shop. Why do you keep coming back here?" Martina angrily asked, when Stanley came to her shop, again.
" Martina, I just want to talk with you. Please, at least give me a little bit of your time to explain things to you", Stanley begged.
" Go away, Stanley. Don't make me do something drastic. Don't come here again. Go, Stanley", Martina shouted.
" Hear me out. Let me explain things to you. If after that, you don't want to see me again, I will never bother you ever again", Stanley said.
Martina calmed down a bit. It's been a week since she tried to get Stanley off her back, so, if he is asking this of her, then it's fair she listens to him.
" Alright then, I will listen to whatever you have to say. But, not here and not now", she said.
" How about dinner, tomorrow?" Stanley suggested.
" Excuse me? You want dinner now? Come on", Martina scoffed.
" It's just to talk. Really, nothing else. I promise", Stanley explained.
" Alright. Dinner tomorrow. You can come pick me up from here", Martina said.
" Thank you", Stanley smiled.
When Martina went home that day, she kept thinking about what had transpired between her and Stanley. She kept thinking if she had done the right thing by accepting to go to dinner with Stanley. She had not even told Fred that Stanley was back and was bothering her. She sat in front of the mirror, with a towel wrapped around her.
Fred walked into the bedroom and found Martina staring at the mirror, absentmindedly. He sat on the bed and looked at her.
" Is everything okay?" he asked.
Martina was startled. She looked back and saw Fred looking at her, intently.
" Yes, darling. I am fine", Martina replied.
" Then, why do you look this worried? Are you sure everything is okay?" Fred asked again, looking a bit worried.
" Yes, don't worry dear. I am fine. And before I forget, I might not be home early tomorrow", Martina said.
" Is there a special occasion?" Fred asked.
" Erm, it's just that I will be hosting some friends for dinner. They just returned from abroad and wanted to hang out a bit", Martina said.
" Okay. I hope you don't stay out too late. You know how I feel about you coming home late at night", Fred said, getting into his side of the bed.
" Thank you, baby. And I won't stay out for too long, I promise", Martina smiled.
She did not like lying to Fred, but she did not want him to find out about Stanley. She wanted to handle Stanley herself. Linda, would never have liked the idea of she having dinner with Stanley. She needed to get this over and done with. She would tell Fred everything after everything was over.
The next evening, Stanley and Martina met at a very beautiful restaurant. Stanley had wanted to pick Martina up from the supermarket, but Martina decided against it. She rather asked him to send her the address and met up later with him there.
After they ordered their food, Martina went straight to the point.
" I am here now, just like you wanted. So what did you want to talk about?"
" Wow, straight to the point. Can we at least enjoy our food, first?" Stanley joked.
Martina glared at him, making him to stop laughing.
" Okay. I know I really hurt you after I travelled. And, I am very sorry. I have no excuse, or whatsoever that can change what I did. I just wanted you to know that I am very sorry about everything and I really regret it all".
" So, how is your wife? I hope by now you have children with her?" Martina asked, sarcastically.
" She died. Two years, after we got married. She was involved in a plane crash", Stanley said sadly.
" I-I am sorry to hear that", Martina managed to say.
The waitress brought their food right after and served them. There was silence between them till the waitress left their table. After another minutes of silence, Stanley spoke up.
" I missed you".
" Oh no, Stanley. Please don't start with that", Martina shook her head, while wiping her mouth with the napkin.
" Why? I never forgot about you, Martina. I was always thinking about you. When I married Grace, I thought I was in love with her. But, I realised later on that, you are the one I really loved. I could not forget about you, no matter how hard I tried", Stanley confessed.
"Why are you suddenly telling me this? Do you think this will change anything? You really hurt me, Stanley. I don't think anything can happen between us, anyway", Martina shrugged.
" Why do you say that?" Stanley asked.
" Because I am married, Stanley. It's been eleven years since you left. So, I followed your advice and got married to the most wonderful man. And we have a son together", Martina said.
" Wow. He is very fortunate to have you. You must love... him a lot", Stanley's voice broke, as he said this.
" Yes I do. I love him a lot", Martina said.
They continued eating in silence. After they were done, Stanley paid for their food and they left. Stanley offered to walk Martina to her car.
" I really enjoyed spending time with you, Martina", Stanley said.
Martina just smiled.
" So, you did not tell me if you have forgiven me, or not", Stanley said again.
" Hmm. I forgive you, Stanley. But, just as I said, this does not mean I want anything romantic between us", Martina clarified.
" So, does that mean, we can at least be friends?" Stanley asked.
" Don't push it", Martina warned.
" Oh come on. I am not asking for much, right?"
Martina looked at Stanley for a while before answering him.
" Okay, we can be friends".
- Writer
