Loni took a seat and moved closer to the table. There was an uncomfortable silence as Brad's parents surveyed the way she had dressed and the amount of makeup she wore.

"My, that's an interesting ensemble. Is it new?" his Mom finally stated in carefully chosen words.

"No. It's been hanging in back of my closet for too long and I decided to wear it," she answered.

The waiter almost dropped his tray of water glasses and hot coffee as he was busy staring at her long and slender legs encased in black pantyhose. He somehow managed to compose himself and take their breakfast orders in between staring.

She fixed her coffee to her liking and then fished a pack of cigarettes out of her purse.

"This is the non-smoking section," Brad informed her in an irritated voice.

Now normally she would apologized and put the pack away, but she was done with apologizing for being herself.

"Then if you will excuse me I will go outside," she announced standing and grabbing her cup of coffee and heading to the front door.

Once again every set of male eyes followed the movement of her butt under her tight skirt as she headed outside. She had just lit her smoke when Brad appeared and he did not look happy.

"What is wrong with you today? You look like a streetwalker in that outfit with all that makeup piled on your face. That poor waiter almost dropped his tray staring at you," he told her with a look of anger on his face.

"That is his and your problem. This is how I use to look when we met," she responded.

"I thought you had matured and decided to look like an adult. You need to go home and change and we will get together later."

"I guess you thought wrong. The only reason I stopped dressing and wearing makeup was in order to prevent another whining outbreak from you. As far as my leaving and changing, that's not going to happen," she responded as she took another hit from her cigarette.

Then without warning Brad snatched the cigarette from her mouth and crushed it under his heel.

"That is a disgusting habit. You told me that you were going to stop smoking," he informed her.

Loni calmly produced another cigarette and lit it. Brad's face displayed outrage as he was used to being obeyed.

"Do that again and you will regret it. I told you that I would cut down or quit after we were married," she calmly told him.

"You need to examine your actions and remember that we are engaged to be married. I will not have a disobedient wife that dresses and smokes like a street whore," he informed her while struggling not to yell.

"Maybe I have already examined my actions," she informed him.

Loni placed her coffee cup on the small bench and removed her engagement ring. She grabbed Brad's hand and placed the ring in his palm and folded his fingers back.

"You may insert this into the orifice of your choosing," she calmly informed him.

A look of anger crossed his face as his hands tightened into fists, this was not lost on Loni.

"May I remind you that my upbringing included a set of street fighting skills that have been tested and proven effective."

"Meaning what?" he struggled to control his temper.

"If you are entertaining the notion of attempting to punch or slap me in order to reaffirm your manhood and dominance, I must advise you against such action."

"Why is that?" he asked.

"Well to put it in the vernacular of the streets. If you do, I will stomp the shit out of you in front of all those inside pretending that they are not watching our interaction.

"Fine. Remember without the financial assistance of my parents you will incur student loans to obtain your Doctorate on top of what you already owe. You will be paying them off for years," he said still struggling to control his anger.

"Whatever. At least I will be myself and not someone I'm not. Now go rejoin your family and tell them the bad news."

Loni stepped backwards as she walked away from him. She did not turn her back on him until she was ready to step off the curb. Any man that even entertained the thought of striking a woman in public would not be above an attack from behind.

As she drove home Loni felt that a very heavy weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Maybe she was not the marrying type after all.

Dan Logan was at the mall an hour before the show as was his habit. He was asked numerous times if his girlfriend was going to make an appearance, he simply responded that he was unsure as she had a prior commitment.

As he waited for show-time his mind recalled the events of the past forty eight hours. He met an old flame and renewed their friendship. They then spent a night of unbridled passion at his place and he wished that they had never parted company so many years ago.

1:00 PM arrived and once again he took to the stage. He had discarded the 3x5 cards he had carried as he had memorized the models names and description of the outfits and where they could be purchased.

The audience responses, while enthusiastic, were a little more muted than they were on Saturday and he blamed the spectacle on Monday lurking in their minds for the reason. He returned backstage after the show ended and was lost in his thoughts until the clicking of high heels caused his head to swivel.

He saw Loni approaching him in a black business suit. The suit's slacks seemed to accentuate her long legs and narrow waist and the jacket fit her like a glove. She took a seat next to him and leaned in and gave him a long passionate kiss.

The models that witnessed it responded with clapping and shouts of approval. Loni blushed at the attention and she swore Dan did as well.

"When does the show end?" she asked.

"At five. Why?"

"We need to talk. I mean seriously talk."