Gleaming Differences

by Quincy K

SCENE ONE: RICKY COSTELLO is walking into his first date with LILIAN GOMEZ at a small Italian restaurant, Locanda Portofino, in San Francisco. He is wearing a shirt that is slightly unbuttoned towards the top and a strong cologne smelling of sandalwood and cedar. He nervously wipes his upper lip, sweat dripping down his scar. LILIAN is waiting inside with a mocktail, dressed in a crisply-ironed blue dress, and hair freshly curled, crispy with hairspray. RICKY looks around the area and sees a fresh coat of paint on every surface.  He quickly finds their table.

RICKY. (Talking to the host) Hi. I’m here for a date with a woman with blonde hair, and I think she's wearing a blue dress.  Pauses. Oh wait, never mind, I see her in the back.
LILIAN. Ricky! It’s so nice to finally meet you. You look so… comfortable!

RICKY. (Stumbles over his chair) Shoot, sorry. Hey Lilian. You look great tonight. 

LILIAN. Thanks, this is a new Armani dress I love it. 

RICKY. So, um, how has your day been?

LILIAN. Stressful, to be honest with you. I had to hop on a Zoom call at 9:00 in the morning! I am just exhausted. I never start work that early. It's so crazy that my boss expects me to get up that early. Just ridiculous. I’m sure your day was better than mine.

RICKY. It was the usual. A couple of cars came in, but they were mostly just oil changes, so it was not bad at all. 

The waiter comes, and Lilian orders two glasses of expensive wine. Then continue the conversation. 

RICKY. (Sipping his drink): It’s so nice to meet you in person. It's always a gamble using dating apps! I’m surprised I found…
LILIAN. Right! I’m not used to getting out of my comfort zone like this. I feel like most people on these apps never want a real relationship and always just want to go to bars or clubs. They’re always so loud, and people just act like animals in there. Like, have they no self-respect? I could never. Sorry, I’m droning on. 

RICKY. I mean, it’s always fun to do that, too, but I’m glad we are at a restaurant that you like. What’s your favorite dish here?

LILIAN. I really like the lobster pasta. It comes with a creamy red sauce that is to die for.

RICKY. (He looks at the menu and sees the price) Yeah, that looks amazing. I think I might get the Cobb salad, I’m not too hungry. 

LILIAN. Oh, are you sure? I get the pasta every time I’m here. Are you sure you don’t wanna get it?

RICKY. (Awkwardly) Yeah, no, it's okay. So, what do you do for a living?

LILIAN. I work over at Crosby Accounting. It’s right across the street from the Four Seasons. Yeah, I know. (Snobbily whispers) Nice area, right?

RICKY. (Checking his phone under the table) Oh, cool. What’s your position there?
LILIAN. (Guzzling down her drink) I’m a senior accountant. I just got a promotion last month. I splurged a little bit. Shows RICKY a gold bracelet draped elegantly over her pale wrists. 

RICKY. Wow. It’s beautiful. 

LILIAN. Right! It’s Cartier. Figured that someone in my position should dress like it. Haha!

RICKY. Where did you get it? My mom’s birthday is coming up, and I would love to get her a nice gift. She hasn’t gotten a nice present since my dad left. 

LILIAN.  (Dismissively) Well, I don’t know how much these bracelets are.  I think it was around $10,000.

RICKY. (Nervously laughing)  Holy cow.  Maybe I’ll get a promotion soon, too?  

The waiter arrives.

LILIAN. I will have the lobster pasta. No garlic, light butter, and please don’t bring any bread.  I’m eating Keto.  

RICKY. Could I please get the Cobb salad? Thank you so much. 

The food comes, and they continue chatting. The waiter arrives with the check.

LILIAN. Oh, I’m so sorry, I forgot my wallet. You got this right?

RICKY. (Frustrated, but able to keep up his calm demeanor) Yeah, um, sure. Let me grab my credit card. 

LILIAN. Aw, thank you so much. I had such a good time tonight.

RICKY. (Sarcastically) Yeah, it was great to meet you.

Dinner ends, and they part ways.  

SCENE TWO: The next morning, RICKY gets a call from his employer that a woman called about him stealing her bracelet and that he wouldn’t allow a thief to work at his store. They argue, and RICKY gets fired. Shortly after, RICKY calls LILIAN on the phone. 

LILIAN. Hello?

RICKY. How dare you accuse me of stealing your stupid bracelet. From the start, I could tell that you didn’t trust me. I was kind the entire time last night, regardless of your rude comments to both me and the waiter. You have no sense of reality and how other people live. It is just absolutely ridiculous to think that just because of my lifestyle, I couldn’t get my mom a nice gift. And you know what, it would be fine if I couldn’t. Just to let you know, now I especially can’t. Due to your call to my office, I was fired. At an auto shop, they don’t offer much leniency, but I doubt you know that working at your bougie investment office. I guess you didn’t feel the need to ask about that last night, nor did you ask about anything. 

LILIAN. I get what you’re saying, but what else was I supposed to think?  We were talking about my bracelet, and suddenly it went missing right after dinner.  You know, I just met you, and based on our night, well, what was I supposed to think?  

RICKY. Maybe, I’m not a thief? 
LILIAN. Well, I don’t know what to tell you.  I…hold on, I’m getting another call.  

(Lilian clicks to the other line).  Hello?...Yes, this is she.  I’m so excited to have my bracelet back. It was an heirloom….Where was it found?... Oh, well, please tell the waiter thank you…Um, ok….Yes, thank you.  I’ll come down and pick it up this afternoon.  Thank you for calling.  

LILIAN clicks back to RICKY.  

LILIAN.  The restaurant just called, and our waiter turned in my bracelet.  I don’t even know what to say. It was my mom's bracelet, and I really didn’t know how to tell her I lost it. She was letting me borrow it for an internship interview. (Stilted) I'm sorry.

RICKY. (Uninterested).  I’m glad you got your bracelet back.  Turns out it may have cost your mom a lot of money, but it’s costing me a whole lot more.  (Extended pause).
LILIAN. What can I do?  I just jumped to a conclusion.

RICKY. Well, I don’t think we’re going to make it a second date.  Good luck, Lilian.
END SCENE