Donna

Chapter 3: Stormclouds Over Chiswick

Donna spent half of her first paycheck on dinner with her mates, lobster and red wine, that sort of thing, at a fancy place called Michaels's. Or Matt's, or Martina's, or something. It didn't matter, did it? What mattered was the two weeks of pay she was paying for this white tablecloth and Cabernet.
The three of them were seated by the window, pressed up against thick black velvet curtains.
Donna listened to their chatter half-heartedly. Normally she was big on this sort of thing. Hanging out with your friends. But the price tag had her down.
"Donna, Donna," said Veena. "You're so out of it today! C'mon, woman! Tell us about the new job!"
"Oh, the job," said Donna. "Oh, it's fine. Taking down phone calls, that sort of thing." It seemed weak, leaving it there. She continued, grinning. "Hello, this is Donna from Watson Deck Furniture. How can I help you?"
Susie roared with laughter, setting down her fork to reach across and squeeze Donna's shoulder. She took a giant swig of her drink and then laughed again, running a hand through her thick brown hair.
They were interrupted by their bow-tied waiter bringing them their food. Donna perked up at the sight of her large plate of mushroom rotini. The waiter placed it in front of her and she could hardly wait for her friends' plates to arrive to start in on her food.
"Oh, goodness, this is dee-lish," said Veena, practically inhaling her pesto. Susie was ravenously consuming her lobster.
They were almost done by the time anybody spoke again.
"Donna, look at that guy," said Susie suddenly, pointing out to the street. Donna looked, but didn't see anything. The sidewalk was empty and the night was dark.
"What guy?" said Donna, practically falling out of her seat, looking for the guy.
"That guy -oh, he's gone," said Susie. "He was looking right at you. Like, right at you."
"What did he look like?" said Donna, curiously.
"Weird. Crazy hair, no eyebrows, and a bow tie." Susie shrugged and then dipped a piece of her lobster in butter.
"Don't know him," said Donna, sipping her wine.
They all shared a big piece of Italian cake with chocolate mousse and then paid the (enormous) bill and headed out, coats on, into the night. They walked to their cars.
"Bye, Donna," said Veena. "Love you. Good luck with the job!" Veena got into her car.
"See ya later, love," said Susie. "This was great. Thanks so much. Good food, this place. We'll have to come back, right? Alright, see you around." They drove off into the night. Donna got into her car.
She started it, still smiling. She didn't notice the man in the bow tie. She was too busy driving home.