Applebee's as Casey and Will, eighteen-year-old high school students.”
“Uh, we won’t?” William asked, confused.
“No. We will be adults. When we get there, we will be celebrating our third
anniversary of being married.”
“Okay, we are married?” William said, trying to keep up with her game.
“Yes, married. We also have a newborn baby. We both work way too much, and this is
our first night out since having the baby,” she explained. “The whole time we are
in the restaurant, we will need to be those characters. I am a new mother juggling
a newborn and a career, and you are a working man who gets lots of overtime. It
stresses me out since I have to handle taking care of the baby by myself.”
William blinked. “Okay...”
“Just imagine it, Will. You and I, married. We have a small child, and we are
responsible adults. Can you do that?” she asked.
“I can try,” he said. He’d never dealt with a baby or worked more than twelve hours
in a week, but he’d play along.
They arrived to find a twenty-five-minute wait. Sitting by the hostess stand, Casey
nudged him.
“So far, we are failing the responsible adult part. We should have made
reservations.”
“If I wouldn't have had to work today, I would have, honey,” William said. Casey
smiled and rested her head on his shoulder. He put his arm around her and kissed
the top of her head.
Once seated, they waited a few minutes for the waitress.
“Welcome to Applebee's,” the waitress said. “My name is Sara. Can I start you two
off with a drink? We have a special on draft pints.”