I usually like to sit on a bench in my favorite park to look at the river and the sun and watch the sea gulls. One day this man sat beside me.
“Hello,” my name is Leonard,” said the man. “How are you today?”
“Oh, I’m fine,” I replied. “My name is Joan.”
“Do you come out here often?” asked Leonard.
“Yes, as a matter of fact,” I said. “I come out here often. It is a nice place to experience nature with the river, sun and the sea gulls.”
“I see that you brought a loaf of bread,” said Leonard.
“Yes, I’m going to feed the sea gulls,” I said.
“Oh, that’s nice,” said Leonard. “Do you live around here?”
“Yes, I live in this city,” I said.
“You’ve got pretty eyes,” said Leonard.
“Thank you,” I said.
“You’ve got on a pretty dress,” said Leonard.
“Hmm,” I said. I was wondering where this conversation was going.
“Do you want to go to the Madison Hotel with me?” said Leonard.
“You’re not from around here?” I asked.
“No, I’m from Ohio on a business trip,” said Leonard.
“Oh, a business trip,” I said. He’s on the prowl more easily now that he’s on a business trip probably far away from his wife.
“Are you married?” asked Leonard.
“No, I’m not married,” I said and being honest. I’m an honest person and find it difficult to lie. Besides that, I have no wedding ring on my finger that would have been noticeable. “Are you married?”
“Yes, I’m married,” said Leonard.
“Well, where’s your wife?” I asked.
“She’s in Ohio,” said Leonard.
“Well, that’s convenient,” I said.
“Well, at the hotel they have a restaurant and bar,” said Leonard. “I can treat you to dinner.”
Hmm, I thought. Why not take him up on this offer of a free dinner. “Okay,” I said.
Leonard and I began to walk to the hotel. This is crazy, I thought. But I guess everything will be okay if I limit this little escapade to dinner only.
Leonard and I walked from the river up to the hotel. We entered the gate where the restaurant was located. It was an addition to the hotel. We were seated and looked at the menus. The waitress came by later.
“I think I’ll have a steak,” I said.
“I’ll have a steak too,” said Leonard.
“Do you want any drinks?” asked the waitress.
“I’ll take a tequila,” said Leonard. “What do you want to drink, Joan?”
“I’ll take a tequila too,” I said.
“That will be two tequilas,” said Leonard to the waitress.
The waitress brought our drinks and later our meals. Together Leonard and I munched on our food.
“I’ve got satellite TV and the internet in my hotel room” said Leonard.
“Oh, really?” I said. “How exciting! I guess you can see TV programs world-wide with the satellite TV.”
“Yes, it’s pretty cool,” said Leonard. “You can also learn languages by watching foreign TV.”
“How exciting!” I said.
“Would you like to go upstairs with me to see it?” said Leonard.
“Oh, sure. It sounds exciting,” I said.
We both finished up our dinner. Leonard paid for the meal and left a tip. Then we both walked out into the hotel lobby. Next, the strangest thing happened.
Leonard’s wife Sally came through the glass hotel doors into the lobby.
“Sally, what are you doing here? How did you find me?” asked Leonard.
“I caught you,” said Sally. “I just knew it. Where are you going with that woman?”
Cool!