Dave and Sam were sitting at a table inside The Thatch, when Betty and Rick reached there hand-in-hand. Sensing her nervousness, Rick squeezed Betty’s hands and she smiled up at him. He raised their joined hands and placed a kiss on Betty’s hand. Her baby blue eyes widened and Rick smiled some more, pulling her into the restaurant. Dave was watching all this like a hawk as if expecting it all to be a lie, which it was but Rick so much wanted it to be real. Rick could not decipher his feelings and shrugged them off as they reached the table where Dave and Sam were seated.
“Hi there. I hope we did not keep you waiting long,” said Rick with a smile as he again looked down into Betty’s face.
“Not at all. We just came here. Right, sugar buns?” said Sam drawing closer to Dave, as if she was afraid Betty would try to steal him away from her.
As if! Thought Betty with a roll of her eyes.
“Of course, honey,” replied Dave with a grin and continued on, “Have a seat Betty and…” he leaned towards Rick and said, “What was your name, again?”
Rick was getting irritated with the couple’s attitude but he tolerated it for Betty’s sake.
“Rick” he replied tersely and pulled back a chair for Betty to seat her and then joined her on the chair next to her.
“Oh yeah, Rick. Pardon my memory,” said Dave with another of his false smiles.
Rick just gave him a tight smile in response. He very well knew that Dave had not forgotten his name so easily.
“So Betsy-girl, what would you like to have for lunch?” smirked Dave.
Rick fisted his hands as he heard that endearment from Dave. He knew now that he didn’t mean anything to Betty anymore but that didn’t mean Dave had a right to call Betty by any nickname. If anybody had a right to call her by anything it was him. Now where had that thought come from?
“Umm… Just a salad,” replied Betty hesitatingly as she looked on at Rick. She thought Rick was gritting his teeth and looking so angry because Dave did not show him the courtesy of remembering his name or asking his choice for lunch. She felt sorry for Rick as he was here only to help her and then being subject to such treatment from a low-life like Dave.
“Rick,” she said softly. But Rick was lost in his own thoughts.
“Rick,” she repeated.
Rick heard Betty calling out his name and looked at her. “Yes love?” asked Rick.
“Lunch?” asked Betty blushing slightly on hearing the endearment from Rick.
Rick saw that she was trying to cover up for Dave’s insolence, not that it mattered to him if Dave asked him for lunch or not. He also saw her blushing and understood it for what it was and it made him unaccountably happy.
“Hmm... Yea, whatever you like, order same for me,” replied Rick absently still trying to understand these strange feelings he felt for Betty.
“A salad?” asked Dave incredulously, “Just a salad? Are you two not going to eat anything more? Still trying to control that weight problem Betty?” smirked Dave.
“Oh. Umm. We…” fumbled Betty with words as she looked at Rick again.
Rick gave a smirk of his own to Dave and replied, “I think Betty has the right curves at the right places. No weight issues here.” Betty blushed profusely at this and Rick continued, “And yes, just a salad for us. We had a late breakfast.” Rick smiled some more and took Betty’s hand in his, brought it up and kissed it saying with a mischievous look, “We could not wake up early to have breakfast in time.”
Betty gasped at that and Sam spurted out the drink she was sipping. On the other hand it did wipe out the smile off Dave’s face.
Serves him right. Thought Rick with another smile as he brought down his and Betty’s joined hands but did not let her hand go.
“Alright. Whatever you two want” said Dave and signaled for the waiter to come and get two salads for Rick and Betty.
“So,” said Dave, “tell me about how you guys met.” Sam looked from Dave’s face to Rick’s.
“Oh through mutual friends” lied Rick under his teeth.
“Which friends?” persisted Dave leaning forward. Sam squirmed in her seat.
“The ones you know nothing of” responded Rick leaning closer to Dave. Betty was getting worried now. Seeing them at loggerheads, she jumped in the conversation.
“They are my work colleagues. You do not know them, Dave,” said Betty in a conciliatory tone.
“Ah” said Dave turning to look at Betty. He continued flicking a thumb at Rick, “So he works with you? You are still at that small time daily, right?” Dave’s smirk made Rick want to hit him over the head.
“Not exactly. She works for Élan. It is a nationally reputed magazine,” said Rick with a smirk of his own directed at Dave who was looking with wonder at Betty. He went on with a playful smile, “I work for a coffee house chain and she met me when she was doing a feature article on Effects of Coffee as a Night Cap.”
Betty looked up at Rick and seeing his smile, blushed again. She seemed to do quite a lot of that since she met Rick.
Dave who was unaware of these undercurrents between the two came up with another question, “Which coffee chain do you work for?”
“Qahwah” replied Rick.
“As?” persisted Dave.
“One of the employees,” answered Rick non-committing. Dave smirked again and Rick once again felt like wiping off that smirk off his face.
“The front store? Or the back?” insisted Dave for an answer, “The store manager?”
Rick was getting really annoyed with his questioning.
“Yea. Manager of sorts” said Rick with a tight smile.
Sensing the tension in the atmosphere, Betty tried to divert the topic, “What about you Dave? Still working for the daily – Ashford News?”
Sam interrupted this time and giving a triumphant smile to Betty, said saccharinely, “Dave works for a big national daily now – The Enquirer”
“Figures” mumbled Rick beneath his breath.
Betty who was the only person privy to Rick’s mumblings coughed to cover up her laughter. Dave looked at her suspiciously, but just then the waiter arrived with their meals preventing further conversation.
The talk turned to weather and the carnival during lunch and Betty breathed a sigh of relief. Rick looked at her askance to see if she thought he had worsened the matters or lightened them.
As soon as lunch was over, Rick signaled the waiter for the bill and said, “I guess we should take leave now. Betty wanted to see the fair being held down the beach. And I had promised her to take her there.”
Dave looked a little disappointed, “Oh. I was hoping we could spend some more time together for old times sake.”
“Some other time maybe,” replied Rick distractedly as he signed off the bill.
Betty tried to cover up for Rick’s terseness saying, “I wanted to buy some knick knacks for friends back home – just a small souvenir from Rio.”
She gave a small tentative smile to Sam and Dave.
“Ah,” said Dave, “well then who am I to stop you? I hope while you are at it, Rick can get you that ring you so want on your finger”.
Dave was giving one more of his irritating smiles and Betty felt sorry for trying to care for his feelings.
Rick on the other hand said, “You do not need to instruct me to buy something for my girlfriend. I am more than capable of thinking of and buying something for her.” Everyone grew quiet at that raised tone from Rick.
After a few moments, Rick said, “Well then, we should be on our way. Good day.”
Without waiting for a reply, Rick got up from the chair and pulled Betty along with him after that and walked away briskly along the beach.
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