Automatic Girlfriend - Automatic Girlfriend - Chapter 42

I scratched my cheek awkwardly. I was standing in front of the maître de at Oleanders. After rushing us out of the arcade, I managed to get Danny to accept I had my car. She practically chased us out of the parking lot. I could only watch as she and stayed behind with her clueless boyfriend while we headed off. About twenty minutes later, we stumbled into the place, or rather I pushed Amy who was in her wheelchair. I wasn’t particularly hopeful though because we were an hour late for the reservation. I told them to look up our name, but I wasn’t hopeful.

“It’s fine… even if we don’t get dinner,” Amy reassured me as I shifted my feet impatiently. “This has already been the best date I ever had.”

“This is the only date you ever had,” I responded awkwardly.

“But, it will always be the best… because it’s with you.” She responded.

I felt a bit of warmth in my heart, but surprisingly she inflamed my desire inside to end the date by going to this nice restaurant. I didn’t want to let her down. The maître de came back a few moments later. As she approached us, a man suddenly stepped in front of her. He wore a cheap-looking suit and sunglasses while he had a girl in his arms who wore a dress that was a bit too short to be called decent.

“Hey, are you going to seat us yet?” He demanded, his mouth smacking as he chewed gum.

“Sir, you came without a reservation.” She spoke politely, although her eyes were a bit tense. “I told you we’d work on getting you a spot if anything came up.”

“Yeah, that was nearly an hour ago! You don’t even look that busy. I see lots of tables available.”

“Sir, people are sat based on the availability of staff as well as tables. The chef maintains a certain standard of quality. This is why we typically ask people to make reservations.”

“Bobby, you said you’d get us in this place.” The girl looked up at him with a pout.

“I will, baby. This lady is just confused.” He let go of his girl and then moved uncomfortably close to the maître de, who frowned slightly. “Look, do you have any idea who I am? I’m a big deal in the business world. The only reason I don’t have a reservation is because I didn’t even know I was going to fly to this city until last night. However, I’ve had a long day, and I want to have a great night, so do you mind helping me a bit.”

As he spoke, he slid what looked to be some folded-up money into her cleavage. Her face turned red, and a look of anger flashed on her face, but he didn’t notice because he turned away and went back to his girlfriend.

“We’ll see…” She spoke through gritted teeth, but by the time she stepped up to me, she was all smiles again. “I’m sorry for the wait. We will be able to seat you now.”

“Really?” I was a bit surprised, especially after what happened with the other guy.

Although he was holding his girl, he also seemed to be watching the maître de, his head turned toward us.

She gave a friendly smile. “We just got a call in for a cancellation a short time ago. It won’t be a problem, sir.”

I grabbed Amy’s wheelchair as she marked the computer, but we couldn’t take more than a few steps before the guy appeared again.

“Hey, wait, wait wait… these assholes have only been here for less than fifteen minutes. You got a cancellation, right? That cancellation belongs to us!” He declared angrily, his girlfriend behind him nodding.

“Sir, they already made a reservation. They were a little late, but unlike you, they did call ahead. They were higher on the list than you, and thus we’re giving them priority.”

“A little late?”

“An hour.” I coughed.

“An hour! So you’re saying you didn’t show up. If you go to a job an hour late, you lose the job. They don’t have any more of a reservation than I do! This is a bunch of bullshit!”

“Sir, our policy is to seat reserved guests first.” She looked rather unhappy.

“Well, what about the time they reserved? Did someone else end up eating during their slot?”

“I don’t know, sir…”

“Either way, it’s not their spot! They had their chance, they blew it! I was here before them. I get the spot!”

I felt a bit embarrassed. A lot of people were looking at us arguing. This was a nice restaurant, so such displays could spoil things for a lot of people. I looked down at Amy. She returned a look a gentle smile on her face.

“It’s okay, Honey. You know my situation, so we can just give it to them.”

By her situation, she meant that she couldn’t taste food. There was never any point in taking her to a nice restaurant. Then again, people didn’t just go to restaurants to eat. There was the ambiance and the ability to be together.

In the past, I always would have folded. Even if I was on a date with another girl, I might have just looked the other way. However, because it was Amy, because of how kind and understanding she was, I no longer wanted to be.

I smiled at her too, and when I turned back to the man, he was grinning as if he had already won. “No. We’ll take it.”

“Exactly!” The guy snapped his fingers. “So, go ahead and take us… huh, what?”

“That spot is ours. The maître de  already said so. I might be a little late, but I made a reservation an hour ago, and since there is a spot available, I’m going to take my girlfriend and we’re going to enjoy a nice dinner. Do you understand?”

The girl’s eyes widened and her mouth fell open. The guy stared at me like I had sprouted horns.

“Y-you…”

“Lead the way,” I ordered the maître de.

She seemed to snap out of her shock and then smiled at me. “This way.”

I started to push Amy, passing by the stunned man. He quickly snapped out of his shock though, and then he reached out a grabbed my arm.

“Hey! This isn’t over!”

“You have a problem?” I turned around and glared at him.

“Kid, you don’t want to do this.” He glared back.

“Aaron? Is that you?” A voice suddenly sounded out.

I blinked and then turned to see a robust man walking toward me. “Oh, Mr. Oleander?”

“Haha, I never thought you’d finally come. I still want to thank you for the repairs you did. It’s my son, you know… these kids download all kinds of viruses with their mp3s and video games.”

“It’s fine.” I chuckled, seeming to remember that the problem had been fewer songs and more of the 10-20 taskbars he had installed on his browser.

Whenever he needed something done, rather than just getting the browser to do it, he’d download a new taskbar. It bogged the whole system down and eventually caused it to crash.

“So, what is going on here?” He glanced between the other guy and me before looking at his staff.

“I-I was just seating him!” She spoke in a slightly elevated voice.

“Seat…” He glanced at Amy. “A date?”

“Yeah, it’s our first date. This is my girlfriend, Amy.”

“Amy! Hello!” he held out his hands and then gave her a big wet kiss on each cheek.

She took it quite gracefully, even giggling. I was just glad he hadn’t greeted me the same way. While we were talking with the owner, the guy who had made the fuss seemed to be shrinking back. Realizing that I had a relationship with the owner, he looked a bit less brave. I glanced at him, and then back at Oleander.

“About the table…” I began.

“That table? It’s a trash table! You’re a VIP!” He declared happily. “This is my boy’s first date, give him the private room. Don’t worry, your meal is on me!”

He slapped my back and then led us further into the restaurant, the maître de only able to helplessly follow. We ended up in a private dining room. The walls were lined with greenery and there was even an indoor fountain waterfall. Gentle piano music played over the surround speakers. It was incredibly stylish.

As we got settled in, I noticed the maître de did give the other guys our table, but he looked very awkward, even throwing a few glances toward the private dining room. The owner stayed and chatted with me for a little bit, but he got up when the appetizers arrived.

“We didn’t even order anything,” I admitted.

“Today, let me treat you. Chef’s pick. The best we got. I’ll send you a wine too. Well, I won’t invade on your date anymore. Enjoy!”

He headed off, and then it was just me and Amy.