Chapters - Episode 11 (The One Where Meg Feels Ridiculous)

Albie had extended the invitation to attend the cocktail party that weekend to Meg, Tom and Emma.  He'd said nothing about Denise going but Meg steeled herself for a run-in with the crazy girl just in case. 

Meg and Albie didn't speak about Denise or what had happened at Chapters ever again that week.  They'd had two conversations - one text and one phone - and both were relatively short.  Albie hadn't mentioned Denise so Meg was careful not to mention her either.  Deep down though, Meg knew Albie had dismissed her accusations about his new girlfriend.  He either didn't want to deal with a potentially uncomfortable situation or he really hadn't believed what Meg had told him about her unpleasant and unprovoked encounter with Denise.  Either way, Meg felt a pointed sense of betrayal.

Meg waited to hear from Albie as Saturday rolled around but he never called or texted.  Instead, she'd spoken briefly with Tom who informed her that he was going to pick up Emma for the party and offered to pick her up as well.  Usually Meg would have appreciated such an offer (and the option to have a couple extra glasses of champagne without worrying about driving) but she politely declined.  Not knowing what to expect at the party, she decided it would be best if she drove alone and in her own car.

Meg wanted to make sure Tom and Emma would already be at the party when she arrived.  The last thing she wanted to do was to get there and have to make small talk with Albie and Denise by herself.  In fact, she wasn't exactly sure what to expect at the party.  Albie never actually mentioned if Denise was going or not but somehow, Meg had felt certain that she would be there.

As she walked through the doors of Dantonio's, a popular but fancy restaurant and bar, she instantly spotted Albie's back as he spoke with two other men in expensive-looking dark suits.  Just as she'd expected, Denise stood at Albie's side wearing a very tight, form-fitting red dress.  Her long hair cascaded in shiny waves at her shoulders.  Even though she could only see Albie's back, Meg knew what an attractive couple they made.

She quickly surveyed the rest of the crowd immediately inside the doors and didn't see Tom or Emma anywhere.  For all she knew, they could already be positioned inside at the bar or they might still be stuck in Saturday evening traffic.  Either way, she wasn't going to venture inside without them.  Typically, Meg was confident but the scene with Denise had effectively unnerved her and she didn't like the feeling one bit.

Not wanting to be spotted standing at the door like a complete fool, Meg ducked into the ladies room.  Once inside, she sat down on one of the plush velvet sofas that made up the 'pre-ladies-room lounge' and pulled out her cell phone.  She sent Emma a quick text asking her if she was already at Dantonio's or if she and Tom were still on there way.  Instead of texting back, Emma called.

"Hey," Meg answered, "tell me you guys are here already."  But Meg could hear traffic in the background which caused her to wince.

"I wish," Emma sighed.  You're not going to believe this but genius over here," she said referring to Tom sarcastically, "forgot to put gas in the car and we are literally stuck on the side of the road waiting for roadside assistance."

"You've got to be kidding me," Meg replied.

"I wish I was," Emma said.  In the background, Meg could hear Tom's sad attempts at defending himself, citing a long day, a long week, he hadn't even had time for dinner, etc.

"How long until they get there?" Meg asked, referring to the roadside assistance company.

"Forty-five minutes to an hour," Emma said, dejectedly.

"Do you want me to come and pick you up?" Meg asked, already knowing the answer.  Emma would never leave Tom stranded, even if he was just waiting for a gas-rescue.  Meg wouldn't have, either.

"No," Emma said, just as Meg predicted.  "We're fine.  Hungry, but fine."

"Hey!" Tom exclaimed in the background.  "There's a Kit Kat in the glove compartment!"

Meg laughed, despite her situation.

"You know what?" she said, "I think I'm just going to go home."

"Why?" Emma asked.  "Isn't Albie there?  Can't you wait for us?"

Meg closed and opened her eyes forcefully, hoping that once she opened them again, she'd magically find herself back at home in her pajamas in front of the TV.

No such luck.

"I think he must be here somewhere," Meg answered, not wanting to get into the whole 'avoiding-Denise' thing again with Emma.  She didn't want to subject herself to another lecture from Emma on how she was overreacting and that either way, Meg was Albie's best friend and if anyone should be avoiding someone, it should be Denise avoiding Meg out of embarrassment...not the other way around.

Just at that moment, the door to the ladies room swung open and as soon as Meg spotted the blur of red dress, she put her head down and faced the other direction.  Thankfully, it was crowded in the lounge area and Meg had gone unnoticed by Denise.  Denise walked right by her without a hint of recognition and passed the next set of doors into the ladies room.

"Hey," Meg said quickly, "I gotta go.  I'll talk to you later," and with that, she hung up the phone.  She wanted to take the opportunity to escape the ladies room, find Albie and make an excuse for leaving early.

Once back inside the restaurant, she did a quick surveillance of the crowd and spotted Albie standing at the bar, alone.

She quickly hightailed it across the room to reach him before Denise reappeared.

"Hi," she said, smiling at him.  Albie looked very fresh, clean-shaven and sparkly-eyed.  It was as if he'd literally just stepped out from a warm shower.  "Don't you look handsome," she said, leaning in for a hug.

"And you look gorgeous, as usual.  Where have you been?" he asked, mock-checking his watch.  "I thought you'd be here like an hour ago."

Meg rolled her eyes.  "I've been here for a little while.  I got caught up talking to..." she trailed off, uncomfortably.

"Talking to who?" Albie asked.

"Umm, Jake...do you know him?" Meg stammered through a lie.

"Jake?  Jake who?" Albie asked.

"Jake, umm, something-or-other.  Anyway, how should I know - this is your work party," she laughed nervously.

"Huh," Albie said, thoughtfully, as he took two glasses of wine from the bar tender.  "Would you like one?" he asked.

Meg shook her head.  "No, no, I'm fine.  Actually, I really need to get going."


"What, are you joking?" Albie asked, taking a sip from one of the glasses.  "You just got here."


"No," Meg said, "like I said, I've been here for a little while already but I have to stop at the store real quick," she lied, referring to Chapters.  "I think I left the back door unlocked and well, you know...with the psychopath next door, it wouldn't be smart to leave it unchecked."


"You can't go back there by yourself at this hour," Albie said.  "It's pitch black out and the plaza will be deserted.  If you really think you need to go, I'll go with you."


"Go where?" Denise asked, suddenly sidling up behind them.

Meg nearly jumped out of her skin, she'd been so surprised by the sound of Denise's voice.  Denise pushed past Meg and took her place directly next to Albie.

"How are you?" Meg asked, as sincerely as she could muster.

This is getting ridiculous, she thought to herself.  There was no logical explanation for the way she was allowing Denise to make her feel inferior.

"Fine, thanks," Denise replied cooly.  She turned to Albie.  "Did I hear you say you were going somewhere?"

Albie nodded as he handed Denise her glass of wine and set down his own on the bar.  "Meg thinks she left the back door to the bookstore unlocked.  I don't want her going back there alone so I'm gonna go with her."

"No, no, really," Meg protested.  "I don't need anyone to come with me."

Denise glared at her and Meg forced herself to turn away.

"Bullshit," Albie said, cheerfully.  "You're not going alone.  It will take twenty minutes, tops and we'll be back here in time for the real food to be set out."

Meg looked around at the appetizers and canapes that must have cost a fortune to provide to such a crowd.  If this wasn't the 'real food', they were surely in for something amazing, that much was sure.  Too bad she was going to miss it.

"Where's Tom?" Albie asked.  "And Emma?  Are they around here somewhere?"

Meg shook her head.  "They're waiting on the side of the freeway for roadside assistance to bring Tom a few gallons of gas.  They ran out on the way here."

Albie laughed heartily.  "Leave it to Tom!"

"Honestly," Meg said, bringing the conversation back around to her potential escape once again, "I'm going to get going.  Thank you but I don't need you to come with me.  I may not be coming back here afterward."

"Why not?" Albie asked, looking genuinely disappointed.  "It's early.  Things haven't even started yet."

Meg nodded.  "I know and that's why I'm so disappointed.  But I'm not feeling that great."

"That's a shame," Denise said, her tone dripping with faux-sincerity, for Albie's sake.  "Maybe it would be best to let her go, Albs."

Albs? Meg repeated in her head.  No one called Albie 'Albs' but her.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Albie asked Meg, looking at her seriously.  "We'll be back in a minute," he told Denise firmly.  He walked away with Meg in tow before Denise had the chance to object.

Once they were by the unused coat-check closet, he turned to her.  "What's going on?  Are you really sick?"

Meg opened her mouth to assure him she was but before she could get a word out, he silenced her.

"And before you answer that, you should realize that I can always tell when you're lying.  Which brings me to my second question.  Did you really leave the back door to the store unlocked?"

Meg started to object and continue with her story but she closed her mouth and shook her head.  "No.  To both.  Okay?  Happy?"

Albie sighed and put his hand on Meg's arm in a comforting gesture.  "Happy?  Why would you think that I'm happy to hear you make up lies to leave?  Is it me?  Have I done something wrong?"

Surprisingly, Meg felt the beginnings of tears sting her eyes and she had no idea what was prompting such a reaction inside of her.  Maybe it was the fact that Denise was there and she felt like a total outsider or maybe it was because Albie was speaking to her in such soft, comforting tones.  She didn't know so she quickly looked away and shook her head once again.

"You haven't done anything wrong.  I just don't feel like being out tonight."

Albie looked at her and mercifully, said nothing about the tears he surely noticed.  "Meg, tell me what's wrong."

Albie's insistence, coupled with his genuine concern, made her feel utterly ridiculous.  She was utterly ridiculous. 

"I don't know," she said.  "If you want to know the truth, it's just the whole thing with Denise.  As soon as I told you what happened with her at the store, you dismissed it like I'd made the whole thing up.  I wouldn't do that, Albie.  Think about it - why would I make something like that up?"

It was at that moment that Denise chose to approach them, despite Albie asking for a minute of privacy.

"Everything okay?" Denise asked.  "You look upset, Meg.  Are you alright?"

Meg took a deep breath and shot her a narrow glance.  "Everything's fine," she replied.  "I was just leaving."

Meg waited for Albie to say something, something to stop her, but he didn't.  Meg took that as her cue to walk away.

"Tell Emma and Tom I went home," she said to him softly, almost inaudibly.  "Have a good night," she said, as she walked away, knowing full-well, he couldn't hear her.