Fenny arrived at the out-of-the-way diner where she’d arranged to meet Gina. It was small, quiet and, to Fenny’s amusement, had tacky wooden tables with red and white checked tablecloths. She took a seat at a table close to a window and grabbed the menu. Fenny hoped Gina showed up soon, for she was starving.

“Fen.”

Fenny looked up from the menu and tried to avoid looking shocked. “Brad.”

“What are you doing here?” Brad asked, bewildered. “I was supposed to be having lunch with Gina.”

“So was I,” Fenny frowned.

“She was gonna interview me,” Brad huffed.

“I think we’ve been set up,” Fenny said, unsure if she should be amused or righteously pissed as Brad sat down.

“Set up? Am I missing something?” Brad asked.

“Well I didn’t plan it,” Fenny replied, looking back at the menu.

Brad cleared his throat. “Would you mind if I stayed?” he asked.

“Ritza not tugging at your leash?” she asked bluntly.

“She does not have me on a leash,” he scorned.

“No, of course not…you just run after her like a new puppy because you like to.”

“Are you ready to order?” asked a waitress who appeared at the table.

“Sure, I’ll just have the chicken salad sandwich and a Pepsi,” Fenny replied.

“Ah…burger and fries,” Brad mumbled.

“Would you like a drink with that, sir?” droned the waitress.

“Yeah, I’ll have a Pepsi too,” Brad nodded.

“Will you be paying that together?” the waitress continued as she looked out of the window.

“Yes,” Brad replied.

“No,” Fenny spat. “I can pay for myself, thank you,” she hissed at Brad.

“Whatever,” the waitress shrugged and dawdled off.

“I was just trying to be nice,” Brad huffed.

“Makes for an unexpected change,” Fenny retorted.

Brad looked taken aback. “What’s wrong, Fen. What have I done?”

“You led me on,” Fenny spat in disbelief. He didn’t know what he had done? “You said you loved me, and I almost believed you.”

“Almost?” Brad breathed.

“Yesterday, at the taping. When she insulted me and made me look like an idiot, you ran after her,” Fenny said through clenched teeth. “If Gina and Greg hadn’t been so…” her voice trailed off.

“Greg, huh? Sounds like you didn’t need me anyway,” Brad hissed

“Chicken sandwich,” the waitress rasped as she returned and dumped a chipped plate in front of Fenny. “Burger and fries,” she added and put Brad’s down just as roughly. The waitress shoved the sodas onto the table, making them spill, smacked the bill on the table and marched off.

Fenny reached for her Pepsi at the same time that Brad reached for his. Despite what he’d said, she couldn’t see a hint of aggression in his eyes. “I’ll be right back,” she mumbled, and headed towards the restrooms.

Gina looked uneasily around the restaurant. Her idea of eating out was the McDonalds Drive Thru, but this was the only other place close to her work and she didn’t want to run into Fenny (who was likely to kill her at this point in time).

Gina grabbed the menu and looked at all the posh dishes. She never realized you could do so many things with avocado. Leave it to the Californians.

“Why Fenny, you’ve changed,” a familiar voice chirped.

“Greg,” Gina gasped, dropping the menu in shock.

“I just got a phone call from Fenny telling me to meet her for lunch here,” Greg said, confused.

“Oh no,” Gina smiled, “she worked it out.”

“Worked what out?” Greg asked, taking a seat.

“I set her and Brad up,” Gina giggled. “She must have guessed this was the only other place I could have gone for lunch.”

“I’m still totally lost,” Greg mused, shaking his head.

“She’s getting revenge on me,” Gina sighed.

“Oh, so having lunch with me is revenge?”

“Actually, I’m surprised you’re talking to me.”

“Well, I wasn’t going to. Seeing as my friends now think I’m some sort of adulterous nymphomaniac,” he grimaced.

“Oh,” she breathed.

“Fortunately, they told Dan that Ritza and Fenny were try-hard actors and their fight was just their way of trying to showcase their talents,” Greg sighed.

“I can’t wait to tell Fen that one,” Gina laughed.

“I still find it unnerving that you two are friends.”

“I wouldn’t worry, she gave your horizontal dancing four and a half stars,” she said coyly.

He started to laugh. “Sometimes you’re so Australian it’s scary.”

“You just wait until I start singing Rolf Harris songs,” she jeered.

They fell into fits of laughter, which as usual caused a stir with the restaurant’s posh clientele.

“So what are we having for lunch?” Greg eventually asked as he took off his glasses to wipe the tears from his eyes.

“It depends…how do you like your avocado?” Gina asked.

“You wanna go to get burgers or something?” Greg smiled.

“Are you paying?” Gina queried, raising her eyebrow.

“If it means getting some mass-produced, deep fired, artery clogging cow by-product, then yes,” Greg mused.

“You make it sound so tempting,” Gina laughed and grabbed her bag.

Fenny finished the last of her Pepsi before she grabbed her purse and placed the money for her meal on the table.

“You can pay the check when you’re finished,” she breathed, the first words that had been spoken for ten minutes. She grabbed her purse and headed out of the diner.

Fenny decided to head to a small art shop she knew of. She was about to cross the road a short way down the street from the diner when Brad called out to her. She sighed and waited for him to catch up.

“You paid the bill right?” Fenny muttered.

“Of course,” Brad nodded. “Fen, we really need to talk, properly, no arguing, no accusations, and no mention of Ritza.”

“Why? Is there really anything left to discuss?” Fenny hissed as she moved into a quiet side street to get out of the way.

“Yes, there’s plenty to discuss,” he stated.

“It’s all old ground, Brad. There is nothing you can possibly do to convince me that we need to discuss things further,” she spat.

“Really?” he rasped.

“Yes, Brad, really,” she retorted and crossed her arms.

Brad narrowed his eyes and moved forward. Fenny was forced to back into the wall behind her, and she hoped no one had used it as a urinal recently. Brad smiled wryly, slipped his hand around the back of her head and brought his lips to hers. Sure it wasn’t a romantic setting, but Ritza’s words still echoed in Fenny’s mind. She uncrossed her arms and wrapped them around Brad as she kissed him back. Checkmate.