"First," Francisco began, "I would like to apologize for deceiving you."
"For lying to me," Terri clarified.
"Yes," Francisco admitted, "I did lie to you. I realize that it is not a pleasant feeling to be treated in this way, but it was necessary."
"Necessary for what?"
"Necessary because you are a good and loyal friend," Francisco said. It wasn't exactly what Terri was expecting.
"To Louise," Francisco continued. "You are her BEST friend. You protect her like a sister."
"What does that have to do with lying to me about opera tickets, Frank?"
"Everything," he said. "Loyalty means a great deal to you, as it does to me."
Terri stared back but gave no response.
"It tells me that you are a person of principle," Francisco continued. "I respect and admire that. I told you that people underestimate you, and I think that I am right. Not just the men; the women. They see your beauty and they get one idea. But you are more than your beauty - much more."
"Are you going somewhere with this?" she asked impatiently.
"By chance," he explained, "I met Louise, not you. If I had asked you directly, on the day that you came to the farm, to accompany me to the ballet, you would have refused out of loyalty to your friend."
"You have no idea what I would have said," she responded. "You didn't give me the chance."
"If I had asked you to accompany me, WOULD you have accepted?"
"Probably not."
"¡Bueno! Entonces," he continued, "I needed to find some way to meet you, to have at least a few minutes to speak with you."
"By lying to me."
"I admit that it was not the best plan," he said, "but I had only a few moments to come up with something."
"And Riccardo?"
"He is an old friend. He agreed to help."
"I see," she said. He anger was intensifying. "That's your style, isn't it? Manipulating people to get what you want? Like when you sent Walter off in your Ferrari to get Louise alone. And then you proceeded to humiliate her."
"Is that what you think? How exactly did I humiliate Louise?"
"You invited her to your fancy farm, and then you proceeded to give her the brush off."
"By refusing to get between her and her boyfriend?" he clarified. "Look, I invited her to the farm to apologize for acting crudely when we first met. When she called, she was very clear about her involvement with Walter. I did not believe there to be any misunderstanding between us."
"You still hurt her feelings."
"Ah feelings!" Francisco paused for a moment to collect his thoughts.
"She is a bright and beautiful woman, your friend," Francisco continued. "I particularly enjoy her sense of humor - I can see why the two of you get along. You have strong personalities. But as for feelings, where do we begin?
"There is this man who came into her life and then left her suddenly. There is the unfaithful boyfriend to whom she had never quite given all of her heart - probably a good decision, given the way that things worked out. There's the friend who turned out not to be particularly trustworthy. Do you really believe that I am the one who has hurt her feelings?"
"She believes it," Terri said. "I think that you are very good at taking advantage of situations."
"The other night," he said, "she called me. Did she call you? No?"
"No."
"She was upset. Very upset. I gave her some time to calm down. When she told me what had happened, it was heartbreaking. She seemed to be looking for an escape, for a way to forget the past and everyone in it."
"Don't..."
"I am not finished," he said. "I listened. I took her to dinner, because she looked as though she needed to eat. I gave her some encouragement. And then I dropped her off in front of her house. Now, if I were really the kind of man that you say, one who manipulates people and takes advantage of situations, well, I'll let you draw your own conclusions as to what someone like that might have done to Louise."
Terri sat silently.
"I speculated that people underestimate you," Francisco continued. "Well, sometimes they underestimate me, as well."
Terri thought for a minute while staring at the nearly empty wine glass on the table in front of her. "Okay," she said. "I'm here. What was it that you wanted to say to me?"
"I wanted to say," Frank began, "that I would very much like to get to know you. That I see in you someone that I respect and admire, someone with whom I would enjoy spending some time. I hope that you see some of those qualities in me.
"I wanted to say that despite the deception, I hope that you enjoyed going to the ballet with me. And I hope that sometime we might be able to do something like that again, something cultural, something fun."
Terri listened without responding.
"Look, I'm sorry about Louise," Francisco said. "But I'm not looking for drama. I'm looking for strength and confidence and clarity. I'm looking for something meaningful, something that can grow and last. I see all of those qualities in you. I have from the day that we met.
"That's why I did this. That's why I tricked you. I am VERY sorry if I hurt you in the process, but I really, really wanted to get to know you, and I am very happy that we were able to talk regardless of the circumstances."
Francisco motioned toward the Maître de Table, who came at once. "Your car is ready, Madame."
"Wait a minute!" Terri exclaimed. "What car?"
"You have finished your drink," Francisco noted. "I told you that I would not take any more of your time."
"What are you talking about?"
"I have arranged for a limousine to take you back to your building."
Terri shot back a look of disbelief. "A limo?"
"I hope that you'll find it comfortable."
"Okay, so we're done?"
"One drink," Francisco confirmed, motioning toward her empty glass.
"And what are YOU going to do?" she asked.
"Ah, well... I am going to finish my wine... perhaps enjoy some desert. And then I am going to have my car pulled around to the front of the restaurant, so I can work off some of the intense sexual energy that I am feeling right now by driving very, very fast."
"Unbelievable!" Terri exclaimed. "Listen, Frank, or whatever you like to call yourself - You crossed a line here. You've crossed a whole bunch of lines."
"I understand."
"No, I don't think you DO understand. You lied to me. You manipulated me - even though you claim that, heaven forbid, you're not a manipulator, that you're not the kind of person who takes advantage of people."
Francisco sat motionless, listening intently, watching Terri's eyes.
"And on top of that you have put me into a very difficult position with my best friend."
"I understand."
"Stop saying that!" Terri protested. "You do NOT understand."
People at the surrounding tables were now looking in Terri's direction.
"How am I supposed to explain this to her? What is she going to think of me?" Terri asked. "And now you're trying to pull this limo stunt, to send me off like a school girl."
"I'm sorry."
"Shut up! I am NOT Louise, Frank, and I am not one of your goddamned horses. You do not pull these stunts on me."
"I understand."
"You do not understand!"
"I'm sorry."
"No one asked you to be sorry!"
"I... What you do want me to say?"
"You fucking men! You fucking idiot men - always trying to fix a problem that doesn't need to be fixed!"
"What do you want me to say, Terri?" he asked again. "What do you want me to do? Anything!"
"Cancel the limo, Frank!" Terri commanded adamantly. "I need a ride in that goddamned Ferrari."
'The Horse Farm'
Copyright © 2013 Daniel R. South
All Rights Reserved
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