Never Let Them Define You

SENSE OUT OF CHAOS

"Feels so weird being here, I never have nice dinners, and I was imagining something a little more, uh, how do I say this? Low class?"

"Gotta break old habits, make new memories; no better way to do it than going for it."

She stares at bright red lobsters crawling over each other in a tank, then watches as a petite man with a two-piece suit reaches in with tongs and yanks one from its cage. "Maybe we could go for it a little less?"

"Nonsense!"

A blonde waitress with an inviting smile approaches them and bows. "A table for you and the lady?"

"Yes, please, and can we get a seat by the window?"

"I'll check if there's any available." She walks off and makes her way into another room.

He smiles and puts his arm around her shoulder, then she stammers, "She bowed! Did you see that? And she went into another room! How big is this place? This is just not-"

"Calm down, okay, relax, seriously, you're stressing me out, look, it's just a bunch of self-conscious people; you'll fit right in."

"Ha. Ha."

"I found the perfect table for you two!" states the waitress, who escorts them towards the back of the main room, and seats them at a table right in the corner with two elegant wooden chairs on both sides. The panoramic window on the pine green wall allows them to see the Detroit River as it stretches out towards Lake Michigan.

"Not bad," says Cassandra.

They both sit down and the waitress places their menus and silverware delicately on the table. "Anything I can get for you to start things off?"

"Can you bring me a lobster so I won't get lonely?"

"What?"

"Sorry, I meant to say, 'can you bring me a glass of water?'"

"Um, yes, uh, right away; and you sir?"

"I'll take a glass of chardonnay."

"Excellent choice!" She walks off.

"Why did you say that about the lobster?"

"She seemed like she needed a laugh."

"But she didn't even laugh."

"Trust me, she will; I work in mysterious ways." She looks around the room at all the niceties and fanciful decor, then shakes her arms about, and sways her hair. "So, you tracked me down just to pay me a visit?"

"Well, I...I couldn't stop thinking about you; no one's ever been that honest or open with me before. Felt stupid coming here, though, I thought it was gonna be for nothing." He laughs and smiles. "Funny how life works out."

"Guess I should tell you what happened with that man about now. So, we'd been dating for a while, a couple years, and he always seemed very interested in my career and me as a performer. It felt nice at the time, you know, I thought I should be with someone who sees my vision, but I don't think he did. I think he just saw the effect I had on people, because I had it on him, and he couldn't resist it. I don't know, you never know what people are thinking, but the reason I'm saying all this is because his story just...I had it all wrong-"

"Have you decided what drink you might like?" asks the waitress.

"Sorry, what? Do you mean alcohol?"

"Um, yes, I mean alcohol."

"No, I'm not interested, I drink too much already, just give me one sober night."