Coastal-inn

Rosie walked into the Coastal-inn and found herself swallowing hard. The space was too beautiful and she suspected instantly that she might not be able to afford a meal there.

"Good afternoon Ma'am, welcome to Coastal-Inn. This way please." The Waiter at the restaurant saw Rosie in and directed her to a seat.

"Good afternoon, thank you so much." She said walking to an empty table.

"I'll be back to take your order ma'am" The Waiter announced before leaving.

Rosie nodded and picked up her phone, placing a call to Owen.

"Babe, are you almost here, I'm at the Coastal-Inn already." She said.

"Oh, that's great. I'm headed to the Coastal-Inn. Just left Festers. I should be there, say give or take in the next 45 minutes or less." Owen replied.

"You're still so far away. Gosh, Owen! You should have told me you'll be running late. That way I can come much later. Why make me come this early?" She complained.

"Not now, Rosie, not now. What's your problem? I'm being held up here and I'm stressed out. Just order anything and eat. I'll be there shortly." Owen said.

"Owen, I can't afford to pay for anything in this place. This place looks extremely expensive and sophisticated. I can't afford anything here please." She said to have him burst into laughter.

"And I'm sure you're dressed up so pretty and cute, yet you can't afford your meal. Not even a glass of wine?"

"You can laugh some more." She snorted when he stopped laughing.

"I'm sorry. But that was funny. Just eat, I'll pay when I get there." He finally said.

Rosie sighed in frustration. She was getting fed up with his behavior and she was certain that if he continued that way, they might just break up soon.

She signaled the Waiter and within seconds, the young man appeared at her table.

"Yes ma'am."

"I'd like to see your menu please.""

He pulled out the menu that was tucked in a menu crate beside the table and handed it over to her.

"Kindly let me know when you're ready to order ma." He said.

Rosie opened the menu and true to her thoughts. Every single dish on it was extremely pricey. She could only afford water which was expensive as well.

Deciding to settle for a glass of water, because any extra expense would definitely render her stranded, if her unstable boyfriend decides to ghost her.

"Are you ready to order now ma'am?" The waiter returned, flashing that charming business smile.

"Oh, not really. I'm actually waiting for someone. So, in the meantime, I'll just have a glass of water. We'll order when he arrive." She replied, gingerly.

"Alright ma'am," he bowed and left to get her order.

Rosie's cheeks lit up with embarrassment. She picked up her phone again and called Owen.

"Where exactly are you?" She almost screamed into the phone.

He sighed so loud before proceeding to talk. "I'm on the way. Stop bugging me with calls. These incessant calls won't make me appear suddenly. You couldn't even ask why I'm held up or do you think I'm playing here?" He flared up.

"How am I supposed to know if you're playing? What sort of embarrassment is this? If today wasn't such a good day for us, why couldn't you just tell me than bring me out here to embarrass me. You didn't even tell me about your change in plans until I called you. That does not in any way show inclusivity. It's annoying, really." She said almost in tears, then hung up immediately, scared to say one more word and refusing to give in to her tears.

The sound of the Waiter's voice welcoming someone at the door echoed softly. Gregory Johnson nodded to his greetings and looked around the space, searching for Beatrice, her daughter's friend that he was meant to meet at the restaurant.

"Welcome Sir," The waiter said again.

"Thank you. Is someone waiting for me?" He asked.

"No, not at all sir."

He nodded and was about moving to his usual spot when he spotted Rosie. Black dress, fair, short hair, beautiful, but she was young, too young.

"Oh my God!" He murmured, stunned by the beauty. "What the hell did my daughter do?" He whispered. "That must be Beatrice."

He said while his feet moved him to her direction. As he approached Rosie's table, he shook his head at the most charming girl he'd ever come across.

She was seated calmly, obviously waiting for him or so he thought. At that moment, he felt like thanking his daughter for setting him up with such beauty and questioning her about what she was probably thinking, since Rosie appeared way younger than him.

"Hello." He smiled nervously. "I'm Gregory, you came rather too early" He said, "It's really nice meeting you."

Noticing that she had just a glass of water, he asked, "Do you want something else? Like wine, real food?" As he was talking, he settled opposite her, his smile never faltering.

Looking at the Man seated in front of her, Rosie felt even more angry. This was all Owen's fault. If not, why would a man old enough to be her father make a bold pass at her.

She looked down at her glass of water and the embarrassment washed over her again. Still, she was pissed.

"Excuse me sir? That seat was reserved for someone else. And In a couple of minutes he will be here. So ummm, I'll just stand up now and walk over to the restroom. That way, you can stand up and leave too. So that you won't feel embarrassed." She said, forcing herself to muster plenty of calmness within.

Then she stood, and left for the restroom.

"Wow!" Gregory exclaimed subtly.

He turned and signaled the Waiter to come over. "Get her whatever she wants to eat, I'll foot the bill. For the meantime, get me my usual. I'll be seated at my spot." He stood up and left for his usual reserved spot in the restaurant.

As he stepped away, he kept replaying the softness and calmness in her voice while she spoke to him. Even though he mistook her for someone else, she maintained adequate decorum. No insults, no sly talks, just class and calm.

He took a seat at his usual table, shielded from others by the decorated flower vases, which managed to provide him with adequate space to see everything happening in the restaurant.

When Rosie got to the restroom, she was at a loss of what to do next if Owen doesn't show up before she leaves the restroom. That would mean she might have to go home because it would be more embarrassing if she went back to her empty table again.

She stared at the mirror and couldn't help but let out a sad smile when she saw a beautiful reflection in the mirror.

"Gosh, Rosie, you're beautiful." She whispered to herself, twirling slightly.

Still, she was certain that Owen would obviously not notice the effort she had to put into looking this great and the thought made her sad.

"Where the hell is Owen! Who keeps a fellow human waiting for this long?" She thought out loud.

Grabbing her phone for the third time since she entered the Coastal-Inn, and ignoring Owen's last words, she tried placing another call to him but he beat her to it by calling first.

"Owen, where are you? How long am I going to wait? I've been here for more than an hour." She hurriedly picked up.

"Stop whining for once in your life. Someone can't just call and speak to you without several complaints and noise. You don't know what I went through to get here and you don't even care! Please, I'm at the entrance to the restaurant. Come meet me here if you wish". He sighed and hung up immediately.

Rosie's mouth remained open for a while from the shock. "Is this Guy joking?"

She asked nobody in particular. Picking up her purse from the sink, she left the restroom to the entrance of the restaurant.

"You look Amazing". Owen complimented on catching sight of her.

"Thank you." She replied, trying not to let her anger get the better part of her.

"I'll need you to accompany me to go see my client. He's the client I told you about, on the phone. You remember."

"No, I don't." She replied, still angry.

"I don't expect you to remember." He smiled, patting her back gently which suddenly felt irritating to Rosie. "Why are you boiling, I'm here now, aren't I? Let's just go over to my client's table to get this done with. I'm going to introduce you as my colleague. It's a good thing that you're all so dressed. I really don't know if he's attracted to younger girls. But if he is, the fact that you're here is a huge advantage for me. At least we..."

"Owen, if you don't shut up this moment, I swear to God, I'll slap you!”