The Dating Chronicles – The Ploy

The Dating Chronicles

The Ploy

 When they entered the crowded restaurant Dee’s stomach tumbled over when she spotted Greg the manager, whose good looks were the motivation for her being there.  She had noticed him before when she visited the popular restaurant and inquired about him.  She knew he was single and she was determined to meet him.  She had brought her friend Kim along but hadn’t mentioned her purpose.

Dee had already figured out how to meet him and had carefully chosen who to bring along.  Though Kim had a pretty face, Dee viewed her plus size as a distraction that kept the men away, and she didn’t want any competition on this mission.  After they were seated, and Kim began reading the menu, Dee carefully unwrapped a linen napkin she’d brought from home, which had a heavy red lipstick print, and pressed it against the rim of the water glass.  She then reached for the glass, pretending to drink from it, and gasped loudly in disgust.

“Where is the manager?” she demanded in rehearsed outrage, as she beckoned for a nearby waiter.  “This glass is filthy!  I want to see the manager.”  The waiter apologized profusely, as he scurried off to find the manager.

While they waited, Kim joined in the “dismay” over the soiled glass, while Dee checked and rechecked her lipstick in her compact mirror.  However, when Greg the manager arrived, he apologized and offered to pay for their dinner, and then sat down next to Kim in shock with a big smile on his face. 

 It turned out that he had gone to high school with her and confessed to having had a secret crush on her. He teased her about never having looked his way because he was known as “the fat boy.” As they sat talking, he noticed that he was now slim and she was the hefty one.

 At first, Kim smiled embarrassingly, as she too noticed the difference ten years had made. However, Greg’s mind was on another page.  For him, it was the beginning of a new pursuit, for the flame still burned in his heart for a woman he had never forgotten. 

Meanwhile, Dee sat in silence and shocked dismay.  As she watched them chat animatedly and make a date for later, she decided to start doing things alone from that day forth.