Alison, Ann, and Sally were seated in the corner booth of the restaurant laughing hysterically. Wiping the tears from her eyes, Alison said, "I've got a feeling that Dan is going to propose when he gets here."
"You think?" Sally asked looking around. There were no birds although there was a mechanical parrot on the wall near their table.
It wasn't exactly a garden filled with flowers, although the artificial plants did look rather realistic. Shaking her head, Ann said, "This is not what I had in mind."
"I kind of like it," Alison said trying unsuccessfully not to laugh. She looked down at the menu on the table in front of her. The food didn't constitute a gourmet meal. The music in the background wasn't exactly an orchestra.
The mechanical parrot squawked. Sally nearly fell out of her chair laughing. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she said, "I had to ask for singing birds."
"I'm not going to be able to keep a straight face if he shows up wearing a tuxedo," Alison said.
Dan entered the restaurant running ten minutes late. He looked around at the jungle themed restaurant and muttered, "I'm sure this isn't what they wanted, but it is as close as I can get."
The hostess asked, "One?"
"I'm with the Parker party," Dan answered thinking this was a stupid idea.
"Oh," the hostess replied, "They are in the corner booth. I must say that they are having a very good time."
"They are?" Dan asked.
"They've been laughing ever since they got here," the hostess said with a smile.
Shaking his head, Dan realized that he could hear their laughter from where he stood. He said, "I was afraid of that."
"Excuse me?" the hostess asked.
"Nothing. Lead the way," Dan said thinking this whole idea was a disaster.
Alison, Ann, and Sally took one look at Dan wearing the tuxedo and cracked up. It wasn't just a regular tuxedo, but one with tails and top hat. When Dan got close enough, Sally raised a hand and, struggling not to laugh, said, "Don't say a word."
"I'm going to wet myself if I laugh any harder," Ann said. She covered her eyes so that she wasn't looking at him.
"We'll marry you, just don't get down on your knee," Alison said thinking that the sight would be too much for her to handle.
"I'm sorry," Dan said. A group of waiters started singing happy birthday to one of the kids at a table near theirs. Looking in dismay at the waiters, Dan said, "This was supposed to be romantic."
At that, all three women fled the table heading for the bathroom. They stumbled on their way. It was too hard to laugh and run at the same time. Confused, the hostess turned to Dan and asked, "What just happened?"
"I think we got engaged to be married," Dan answered scratching his cheek.
The hostess said, "That's so romantic. Which one of them?"
"All three," Dan answered.
"Oh."
Sue and Ann were talking over coffee. Sue was laughing as Ann relayed the story of Dan's grand proposal. When Ann finished her story, Sue said, "You've got to love him."
"God help me, I do," Ann said chuckling.
Sue asked, "As one artist to another, which one of us gets to immortalize this moment in history?"
"I don't know," Ann answered looking at her friend with a smile.
"I think it should be life size," Sue said.
Shaking her head, Ann said, "I think that you'll be able to capture the true spirit of it better."
Sue sat back in her chair. She said, "It was kind of a noble gesture."
"I know," Ann said, "We gave him an impossible set of conditions to meet and he basically met them all. It would have been romantic if we hadn't built up our expectations too much."
"Let me see your ring," Sue said leaning towards Ann.
Ann held out her hand so that Sue could see her engagement ring. Eyes glistening, Ann said, "It is a beautiful ring."
Sue examined the ring with the eye of an artist. There were three diamonds surrounding a single small emerald. The emerald was smaller than the diamonds. She looked up and said, "This is gorgeous. It must have cost him a fortune."
"He bought three of them. They were all identical," Ann said looking down at the ring with a satisfied smile.
"It has three diamonds. One for each of you," Sue said appreciating the symbolism.
"Yes. We went from laughing to crying in one second," Ann said looking at her ring.
"I'll paint the great proposal," Sue said. She winked at Ann and asked, "Any chance of getting the three of you to pose nude?"
"No," Ann said shaking her head. Sue had been trying to get her to pose nude ever since they had met.
"I didn't think so, but I had to try," Sue said with a laugh.
"I know," Ann said with a laugh.
Sue said, "It will make a nice wedding present. When are you getting married?"
"In March," Ann answered.
"Why so soon?"
Ann answered, "Alison doesn't want her pregnancy showing."
"Ah," Sue said nodding her head. She asked, "I've never figured out where she fits in that relationship of yours."
"She's our nurturer," Ann answered.
"What?"
Ann said, "She's the one that takes care of us. When we've had a hard day, she's the one that hugs us and tells us that it will be all right."
"Interesting," Sue said.
"All three of us love Dan, but he doesn't hold the family together. When we have a problem, he's the one we run to. Dan is our protector. Alison is the glue that holds the entire family together," Ann said.
"Very interesting," Sue said. She had a perfect image for the painting of Dan's proposal in mind. With a cornucopia at his feet and sword in hand, Dan would be the protector and provider surrounded by his beautiful women. Alison, in translucent green robes that blended into the earth below, would serve as an earth mother image. Ann rising from stone with a chisel in hand would be portrayed as both art and artist. Sally would be the healer in ancient Greek robes with the staff of Asclepius held up to the sky.
The second meeting between Terry and Ellen concerning the affiliation was about to begin. The two women faced each other across a table in the middle of an upscale restaurant like warriors in a coliseum. Ellen asked, "How's Tom?"
"He's fine. He sends his regards," Terry answered smiling at Ellen.
"That's nice," Ellen said.
Tom still talked about Ellen in a very respectful manner. It wasn't that he loved her, but he retained a fondness for her that spoke of a great friendship. Terry said, "He talks about you a lot."
"I hope that doesn't bother you," Ellen said.
"It doesn't bother us," Terry replied. At first she had hoped that Tom would run back to Ellen and leave Amanda alone. With time she had come to love Tom and was thankful that he had stayed around. She smiled and said, "Actually the fact that you dumped him worked out to our advantage. He never would have asked Amanda out if he was still seeing you."
"I didn't dump him. We parted friends," Ellen said feeling a little defensive about her past relationship with Tom. He had been so young at the time.
"Have it your way," Terry said finding that she was surprised at how protective of Tom's feelings she was.
Thinking that this meeting was getting off to a bad start, Ellen frowned and said, "We're here to discuss the potential for making Parker's Perfect Pizza an affiliate of Derkins Restaurants."
"Okay," Terry said opening her notebook.
"The information that I have is that Dan started Parker's Perfect Pizza with a hundred thousand shares of stock," Ellen said referring to her notes.
"That's correct. He has sold seven thousand shares to Eric and has given our management team a thousand shares each. There are four of us on the management team," Terry said.
"So Dan still owns eighty-nine percent of the corporation," Ellen said making a minor notation to her notepad.
"That is correct," Terry said.
"What is the current value of a share?" Ellen asked.
Terry said, "We have estimated the current value of a pizzeria at a little less than two hundred thousand dollars. He has fifteen pizzerias in operation and another three that will be opened in a few weeks. Based on that, we value the company at three and a half million dollars."
"That would be thirty-five dollars a share," Ellen said.
"That is correct," Terry said.
Knowing that it was very difficult to establish the true value of a business, Ellen asked, "How did you estimate the value of an individual pizzeria?"
"We used the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization to establish a baseline value. We multiplied that baseline value times six, although common practice is to use a value anywhere between five and eight inclusive," Terry answered. She said, "That was seen to be the fairest method of establishing the value of the company."
Ellen nodded her head and asked, "What would be the value of the company if we were to just auction off the equipment?"
"Considerably less than that," Terry answered. It would be a shame for the pizzerias to come to that end. She added, "Of course, the cost of establishing each pizzeria would be nearly the same value that we estimated for the pizzerias. If you look at it in terms of return on investment, you're approaching twenty percent. Based on that, I'd say that Dan is undervaluing his company."
Ellen added some notes to her pad thinking that she agreed with Terry that Dan was undervaluing his company. Of course, from his perspective he was trying to be accurate in how much he could get for each location. There was an intangible value to being a chain. Looking up at Terry, she said, "I'm impressed."
"Thank you," Terry said.
Ellen made some calculations. If Derkins Restaurant was to buy thirty percent of the company at thirty-five a share, then that would give Dan over a million dollars. She said, "We'll want to buy thirty percent of the company at thirty-five a share."
"No," Terry said knowing that Dan wouldn't go for that deal. As far as she was concerned, that would be the same as stealing the company from Dan.
"No?" Ellen asked looking at Terry surprised by the immediate rejection of her offer.
"That's correct," Terry answered.
"Why?"
"Dan said that he'd sell Derkins five percent per year at the share value at the time of sale," Terry answered.
Ellen sat back in her chair looking at Terry. She knew that Dan or Terry had done their homework and had done it well. She expected that next year the value of the stock would have risen by at least another twenty percent. She asked, "What are his expectations?"
"He expects to have fifty pizzerias before you gain a thirty percent share of the company. He wants to grow it to over five hundred before selling the rest of it to you. He'd like to retain five percent ownership," Terry answered.
"Oh," Ellen replied with a frown. She had hoped to purchase it outright when they had reached a hundred pizzerias.
Terry smiled and asked, "How many Derkins restaurants are there?"
Ellen answered, "One thousand two hundred. We're still adding about thirty stores a year."
"You'll be able to expand Parker's Perfect Pizza by another thousand pizzerias once you take over full ownership. That should represent a significant growth for Derkins," Terry said.
"You're right," Ellen said.
Terry said, "Of course, I happen to think that the market can support a lot more Parker's Perfect Pizza pizzerias than Derkins Restaurants. I wouldn't be surprised if you couldn't expand it to two thousand pizzerias."
Privately, Ellen agreed with that assessment. She wrote a few notes on a sheet of paper and said, "I'd like to think about this."
"I expected that," Terry said.
"Are you ready to order lunch?" Ellen asked tapping her pen on the notes she had taken.
"Sure," Terry answered picking up the menu. She looked up and asked, "Did you know that Dan's getting married?"
"No," Ellen answered.
"Let me tell you about Dan's proposal," Terry said with a smile.
Alison sat down at the table in Sally's apartment. She couldn't believe how messy the entire apartment was. She said, "I know that you're busy in school, but this is ridiculous."
Ann grinned at Sally and said, "Mommy Alison is going to go into cleaning mode any minute now."
"It is not that bad," Sally said a little defensively.
"Yes, it is," Alison said. She looked at the furniture and said, "I bet it has been a week since you dusted in here."
"We're here to discuss the wedding plans," Sally said rolling her eyes. She wanted to avoid all discussion of her housecleaning skills.
Alison said, "I've always dreamed of a nice wedding in a church, but that is impossible with it being the three of us marrying Dan."
"You can say that again," Ann said. She had abandoned all hope of a traditional wedding after meeting Sally. Churches didn't marry women to women.
"So what are we supposed to do," Sally asked.
Ann shrugged her shoulders and said, "I guess we could do some sort of pagan ceremony. You know, we all face the rising sun and pledge our love to each other."
"That's too cliché," Alison said, "Besides, I'm not a pagan."
Sally said, "Maybe Dan had the right idea with just signing the papers."
"Oh, it has to be more romantic than that," Alison said.
"So what do you suggest?" Ann asked looking at Alison.
Alison said, "Maybe it needs to be more than one ceremony. You know, the two of you pledge yourselves to Dan one day, I pledge myself to Dan the next day, and then the two of you pledge yourselves to each other the third day."
"That won't do," Sally said shaking her head.
"Definitely not," Ann said looking over at Sally.
"Why?" Alison asked.
"When do we pledge ourselves to you?" Ann asked.
"Right," Sally said in agreement.
"Oh," Alison said not realizing that they would want to include her in that way. She gave them a weak smile and said, "I didn't think you'd want to do that."
"Alison, we're together. It doesn't matter if we sleep together or not, we're a family," Sally said.
"Thank you," Alison said.
Sally thought about it for a minute and then said, "You know, Alison might have had the right idea."
"What's that?" Ann asked.
"We each take a moment to pledge ourselves to each other. We each make a promise as to how we will treat the other. Then we make a common vow for the family as a whole," Sally answered.
"Oh, I like that," Alison said.
Ann said, "I do too."
Alison said, "I'd like the individual vows to be private. We can do the common vow in front of our friends and families."
"That's a good idea," Ann said.
"Let's hope that the wedding works out better than the proposal," Alison said. All three of them burst into laughter.
For the next few hours, they worked out the details of the wedding. It wasn't to be the wedding of the century; just a simple affair. They would go off in pairs to pledge their love and lives to each other. Once they had each exchanged their private vows, they would return to exchange public vows as a family. The vows would be followed by a party filled with music and food. There would be dancing, toasts, and speeches. People would have fun. Most importantly, they would start their marriage happy.
Diana sat down at her assigned seat at the wedding reception watching as everyone helped Dan celebrate his marriage. With a slight frown on her face, she watched people laughing and joking. Curious as to why Diana was so distant, Coder sat down beside her and asked, "What are you thinking?"
"I was thinking about something that Dan said to me about people," Diana answered.
"What did he say?" Coder asked watching Dan and his three ladies posing for a photograph. The young man really looked handsome. The women looked stunning. In his somewhat biased opinion, they were almost as pretty as Diana.
"Well, we were talking one day about the nature of humans. He explained how the expectations that we place upon others are a great source of misery. I was sitting here watching everyone in this room thinking about the expectations that have been placed on them. I was wondering what was really going on in their heads," Diana answered.
"I've never really understood people," Coder said.
Diana nodded her head and pointed to a person who was looking out the window while seated at one of the tables. She said, "Wouldn't you like to know what really motivates that person to do the things they do? It is more than just understanding what he's doing, but why he is doing it, what he is really thinking while he is doing it, and what he'd rather be doing. He's sitting there wearing a suit because it is expected of him, but would he rather be wearing blue jeans? Maybe he'd like to be naked."
"You could ask him," Coder said with a frown. He didn't like her thinking about other men wanting to be naked.
"And he'd give you an answer. The problem is that it might not be the real answer, but an answer he believes that you would accept or an answer that he believes is mandated by his position. No one in here would tell you they'd rather be fishing, but I suspect that one or two people might prefer to be out on a boat right this minute. You can't accept their answers," Diana said.
"I suppose so," Code said. He really preferred dealing with computers. He frowned and asked, "Why is this so important to you that you'd rather wonder about it than enjoy the party?"
"That guy over there is a manager of one of the pizzerias. He works for Dan, but he doesn't really know Dan. He's here because it is expected that he'll be here. He's behaving like a perfect guest, but you can tell that he would rather be someplace else. So why is he here?" Diana asked.
"It is expected of him," Coder said with a shrug of his shoulders. Although he liked Dan, he was there to be with Diana rather than celebrate Dan's marriage.
"Exactly," Diana said.
"I don't understand what point you're trying to make," Coder said.
"Look, all of the managers who work for Dan expected him to invite them to the wedding. By extending the invitation, the expectation is that they will attend. The key point is that some of the managers probably didn't want to attend and Dan probably didn't want to invite all of the managers," Diana said. She looked over at Coder and said, "The result is a situation that no one wants, but everyone participates in. Why? It is because of the expectations that everyone holds."
"Right," Coder said.
"So who benefits from this situation?" Diana asked.
"I guess no one," Coder answered.
"That's what I was thinking. Would understanding the true nature of people identify these situations and allow us to frame them in a way that we can avoid them?" Diana said. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that Dan was right. A forth article was needed. She didn't feel wise enough to be the one to author it.
"Probably not, but it might allow us to make the best of a no-win situation," Coder said. He said, "My reasons for being here aren't the same as yours, but I'm having a good time. There is nothing wrong with that."
"You're right, there is nothing wrong with that," Diana said as she grinned over at him, "so long as the reason you're having a good time is the right reason."
Grinning Coder asked, "And what reason is the right reason?"
"To be here with me," Diana said looking at him with an expression that dared him to come up with a different reason.
"I'm here to be with you," Coder said.
Over on the dance floor, Dan and Alison started dancing. Ann and Sally were already on the dance floor enjoying the slow dance. Diana grinned at Coder and asked, "Are you telling me that because it is the truth or because you think that is the answer you think I'll like?"
"I'm doomed," Coder said with a fake groan while looking up at the ceiling as if begging for divine intervention.
Diana laughed at the expression on Coder's face and said, "Cheer up. Dan is happy."
Lazlo Zalezac