“I thought you said we were going somewhere fancy?” she asked.

“This is fancy!”

Melanie glanced around at the diner she was standing in. Even from a distance, she could tell the tables were dirty. She was expecting fine dining at a high end restaurant, but this wasn’t that.

“Take a seat anywhere you like!” A waitress told us.

John started walking towards a booth in the back, leaving Melanie no choice but to follow. She slid into the seat across from his, feeling overdressed in the black cocktail dress she was wearing. A few minutes later, the waitress came over with some menus for us.

“Can I start you guys out with some drinks?” she asked.

Melanie was about to speak when John cut her off.

“We’ll both have water.”

The waitress nodded and walked off to get their drinks. Melanie stared at John.

“I was going to order iced tea.” She told him.

“Yeah but water’s cheaper.”

Cheaper?

“Aren’t you an office manager for a big tech firm? Surely you can afford iced tea!”

He just shrugged his shoulders.

“I’m not big on spending.”

The waitress came back with our waters.

“You two ready to order?”

We both nodded.

“We’ll take the Reuben sandwich.” John told her.

“Actually, I’ll take the chicken fried steak.” I interjected.

“That’s five dollars more!”

John looked furious but Melanie ignored him.

“So the Reuben sandwich and a chicken fried steak?” The waitress asked glancing between the two of them.

“Yes!” Melanie answered.

As they waited for their food, Melanie absently rubbed her arms from the cold.

“Could you quit bouncing your leg? You’re making the table shake!” John asked.

“I can’t help it! It’s freezing in here!”

“Well no one told you to dress like that!” He gestured at her dress.

“I thought we were going to a fancy restaurant! I wanted to dress appropriately. If I had known we were coming here, I would’ve dressed more casually.”

Just then, two men were passing each other. One knocked the other into John, causing him to spill water on himself while he was drinking.

“What the fuck are you doing?” John yelled at the man.

The man looked embarrassed and quickly tried to apologize, but John wouldn’t let him get a word in.

“Do you know how much this suit costs? No? Well I’ll tell you! More than you make in an entire year!”

Melanie reached out to grab John’s hand.

“Calm down John. It was just an accident!”

John pulls his hand away. He stares the man down, who scurries off back to his seat. The waitress comes over with their food, which Melanie is grateful. It means this hellish date is almost over.