"Just what do you mean by that?" I asked.
He smirked. "Am I wrong?" He then looked me from top to bottom. "Not bad. To tell you honestly, when you ran away that day I thought I wronged you and I felt a little but guilty. But seeing you now, I came to understand that I'm not enough for you. You want old and rich man that you can easily manipulate."
"How dare you s..."
"I have a proposition. Why not leave your old man now and be with me. I can satisfy your needs better and although I may not be as rich as him, I can still give you more than enough once we're through."
Confusion, disbelief, anger, disgust. Those emotions came to me one after another upon hearing those words. Is this guy crazy? What a despicable and conceited man! But I have to keep my cool. I am accompanying grandfather tonight and whatever I do might implicate him. I don't want that to happen. Just then I saw grandfather coming out of a room. I closed my eyes and counted to five to calm my nerves.
"Well mister, just like what you said, you are not enough for me. Pardon me for being impolite but I think my escort is calling for me. I can't let him wait, can I? He is a well respected and dignified gentleman and I would never replace him with some ill-mannered and conceited jerk. Nice meeting you here."
I left him right after saying those words. Whether he has something to say or not, I really don't care. Soon grandfather noticed me and motioned me to come close. I sneak a glance at the man on my back and he's already gone.
"Did I make you wait, little one?"
"No, not at all. I'm pretty much entertained by the different things I can see around here."
"That's good to here. Now, why don't you show me the piece that most interest you?"
"Sure grandfather. Let's go."
The night went smoothly after that. We went to look and discuss the different art pieces on display. Well, basically the discussion part is on grandfather, I acted more as a listener. To say that I learned a lot in tonight's event is an understatement, because I felt that I gained a new perspective when in comes to appreciation of the arts.
After the tour we had our complimentary dinner and then went home. And before going to sleep I talked to mother about the different things I've learned on the exhibit.
"Grandfather is really nice. I really like to introduce him to you sometime. I'm sure you'll like him too. Good night mom."
***
Life goes on. And it moves in ways that we never expect.
Just like today.
I went to school in the morning and went to work. It's nearly the end of my shift when a customer entered our shop. The man is wearing a crisp gray suit which did not hide his well-toned physique. He looks aloof and respectable. Needless to say, he is very out of place in their small diner. He is like a prince visiting the slums of his kingdom and all the people inside the small diner felt intimidated by his presence.
But she knew better. Despite the princely presence of this man, he is a jerk through and through.
I raised a brow at the man who is walking towards my position. Just what is he doing here?
"Hello, my dear mademoiselle." His voice was deep and inviting and just loud enough for me to hear. "It's a surprise to see you here."
Can such a coincidence really happen? She has a feeling that his being here has something to do with her. But at the same time that will be too absurd and too conceited of her to think that he will waste his time just to look for her. For what reason? She knew he hates her for some reason, but still its not enough to look for her right? Such conflicting reasons were running in her mind when she felt someone slightly poked her forehead. When she looked, it was that jerk who poked her.
"Why did you do that?"
"Well, you looked dazed staring at me. I know I'm handsome and all but you can do the staring later when we are alone." He said smugly.
I felt blood rushing up to my head. I was so focused on my thoughts that I did not realize that I am staring at him.
Too embarassed to look at him, I pointed the way to the cashier. "You can make your order there. This is a self-service diner, go there now."
He chuckled. "All right then."
When he started walking away, I felt relieved and went back to wiping the tables. Once in a while, I will look in his direction. I want to make sure that I will not get close to where he is. Yes, that's the reason why I am looking at his table. Nothing else.
He just ordered coffee and there are even times when I caught him staring at me. But instead of looking away he would wave his hand or raise his cup to my direction. I would be the one looking away then, because it means he also saw me looking right? At that thought, blood once again rushed to my head.
After my shift, I quickly went to the employees' lounge and prepared to leave. He was still in his table finishing his coffee and I want to get out fast. I can't understand myself, obviously I did nothing wrong to the man, but I can't stop myself from getting all jittery with him around.
Looks like he really went here just to have coffee. It's a good thing I did not let myself be delusional earlier or it will be really shameful.
I went out after closing my locker. And just like any other day, Frank is waiting outside.