LIZZIE'S WORLD: A night for confrontation

Chris and I are enjoying our dinner when I happen to look up from my meal and – none other than Bertha, my former boss, is approaching our table with a man in tow with whom I am not familiar.

“Uh-oh,” I say to Chris, “I can’t believe that of all the people on the planet that I could bump into, Bertha would be it.”

“What? Where?” he asks. But as soon as he starts to turn his head to look, I urge him not to.

“I don’t want to give her the opportunity to talk to us,” I say, looking quickly back at my plate as I see her eyes scan the room. The maître d’ steps ahead of her and her friend and starts to lead them our way, and I panic and break into a cold sweat at the thought of interacting with her.

Memories of our last meeting are still fresh in my mind – how she orchestrated the take-down of me and my friends in her twisted schemes. I might have forgiven her for those transgressions seeing as my life has moved on just plum since then, but I will never forget how dangerous she can be.

And then-, “Oh, LIZ!” she yells as she makes a stop at our tables, yelling my name as if we are the best of friends. “It’s SO good to see you!” she smiles widely, but the smile only shows her teeth; it doesn’t reach her cold, empty eyes.

Then she turns to take note of Chris. “Oh, it’s you,” she says, her smile tightening. “Isn’t it a little late in the evening to be fraternizing with your staff?” she raises a sarcastic eyebrow.

Just as Chris opens his mouth to speak, I butt in. “Look, we’re not here for trouble, Bertha. Why don’t you go to your table and enjoy your meal and leave us in peace?”

“You didn’t leave me in peace when I needed it,” she snaps. I glance at the gentleman she walked in with, wondering if he knows exactly who he is dealing with, and hoping that he is taking note of this exchange for future reference.

LOST MY APPETITE

“Well, I-,” I start, but then Chris is the one who cuts me off this time.

“Madam, please act with some decorum. You’re speaking to the woman who has taken your place at the helm of the company you used to run.”

I see the fire die out of Bertha’s eyes; I guess professional jealousy is still a thing. “You?!” she sneers. “They put you in charge? Of all the people!”

“I dare say she will do a much better job than you ever did,” Chris cuts her off. Bertha says nothing; instead she rolls her eyes and stomps off, the perturbed maître d’ and her company following behind her. I shake my head as she walks away.

“That woman is nothing but trouble,” I say.

“Don’t worry about that,” Chris says. “There’s nothing she can do to touch you now.” I sigh a sigh of relief – not knowing that a few months from now, Bertha will change the course of my career completely.

But for now, I have lost my appetite, and I let Chris know as much. It doesn’t take too long for our waiter to have our food packed and our bill paid, and soon enough Chris and I are on our way to my house where he will drop me off.

“So what are you going to do now after your handover is complete?” I ask him in the car as we navigate the light evening traffic.

“I already told you – I will be a house husband.”

“I told you the thought of that fills me with panic,” I tell him.

“You don’t want a supportive man who will take care of the children while you go out and bring home the bacon?”

I frown. “Look, you’re not seriously going to be jobless and unoccupied, are you?”

Chris takes his eyes off the road momentarily to frown at me. “Are you serious, Liz?” he asks. And that’s how the fight starts.