"I need to decompress. I honestly don't even know what to say about the last few days," Fiona said, rubbing her temples. "Let's go to a bar tonight. I need to forget about all this for a while."
Veronica was fine with that. "Sounds good."
The two made plans.
In the blink of an eye, it was evening.
School was out.
Debbie and Carl went home.
Ian headed straight to the convenience store for his job.
Lip, convinced by Karen's words (and body), got into her car and went over to her house.
Karen's mom, Sheila, was very welcoming to Lip, quickly bringing him a plate of snacks the moment she saw him.
Lip thanked her, exchanged a few casual words with Sheila, and then slipped into Karen's room with her.
Naturally, the two immediately got down to business.
Fiona slept at home until dinner time, then got up to make dinner for Carl and the others. After settling them down, she went into the bathroom to shower.
After her shower, she changed into a flattering long dress and did her makeup. She told Debbie to look after Liam, then headed out, picked up Veronica, and they took the L train toward a fancy bar downtown.
At the same time, Frank, who had been cooped up at home for days, convinced Carl by promising he wouldn't repeat last time's mistake and would be back by 11 PM at the latest. He had Carl push his wheelchair toward the Alibi Room.
At the Alibi Room, Dexter was sitting at the bar, relaxing after running errands all afternoon and buying everything he needed.
Kevin hadn't seen Dexter since they parted ways last night and immediately had questions. "Any outcome on that thing last night? Did Fiona come looking for you?"
Dexter smiled. "She came by this morning, but no outcome... The situation with her and her family is honestly a whole mess."
Kevin nodded in agreement. "It really is. A lot of the time, I can't stand it... They're poor, and life is hard for them, but I just feel like poverty isn't the only reason for the way they are."
See?
Kevin might be uneducated and a little ditzy, but he wasn't stupid.
"Poverty is only part of it, but they probably don't see it that way," Dexter replied. "I've met lots of poor people, some even poorer than them, who don't act like that... Anyway, let's not talk about her family. It's not right to talk behind their backs."
Kevin smiled awkwardly, then hesitated. "Just one more thing, what are you going to do? I mean about the restaurant job—are you still going to let Fiona have it?"
"Fiona quit her other jobs yesterday..."
"I gave her a choice. The ball is in her court, and whether it works out or not is up to her," Dexter said with a smile. "After all, I have a few hundred other pretty women waiting for this job."
Kevin heard that and smiled helplessly again. "Fair enough."
Having said his piece, Kevin stuck to his word and didn't mention Fiona again. Instead, he asked, "When's your restaurant opening? We'll all come and support you."
"Everything's basically ready. I'm just waiting for the permits to come through," Dexter replied. "I called earlier, and the guy said it should be ready by the day after tomorrow. So, if all goes well, we'll open the day after that."
"Awesome, I can't wait to try your cooking," Kevin said happily.
Just as he finished, Carl wheeled Frank into the Alibi Room.
The moment he entered, Frank immediately bellowed, "Hey, old friends, you miss me, right?! I'm here!!"
Tommy, Kermit, and the other regulars burst into laughter in unison.
"Frank, I hadn't seen you in days. I thought you died," Tommy joked.
Kermit quickly added, "Me too."
"Fk off! I'm tough as nails. It's not that easy to kill me," Frank grumbled in annoyance. "I guarantee I'll be doing just fine when all of you are dead."
Tommy and Kermit knew Frank too well. They didn't take what he said seriously or get angry. They just traded the usual insults with him and went back to drinking.
Frank was annoyed by the jabs, muttered some curses to himself, and then motioned for Carl to push him straight toward Dexter.
Once he was next to Dexter, Frank immediately put on a sincere face and apologized. "Dexter, I am so sorry. Lip, that deadbeat, actually did that to you..."
Dexter listened quietly with a smile, not saying a word, letting Frank ramble.
After finishing his apology, Frank didn't waste a second, immediately changing the subject to the main point. "I promise that Lip won't be foolish enough to do anything to you again. I hope you won't take out what Lip did on Fiona."
"Fiona really needs that job you're offering."
"Please let her work for you."
"My daughter has had a really hard life and struggles a lot..."
Frank spoke nonstop, rattling off a long speech in one breath.
His eloquence was genuinely impressive.
Dexter listened quietly, watched Frank's performance, and grinned. "Frank, with that smooth talking of yours, you could easily make a fortune if you went to my hometown."
Hearing "make a fortune," Frank perked up. "Oh? Is there something I could do in your hometown?"
"Yes, it would be a perfect fit," Dexter nodded. "Have you ever heard of 'chuanxiao'?" (Pyramid schemes/Multi-level marketing)
Frank had actually heard of it back in college, but only in passing, without any real understanding. He was curious. "What's that all about?"
Dexter had nothing else to do, so he gave Frank a simple rundown, purely to mess with Frank, without any other real intention.
However, the speaker didn't intend it, but the listener certainly did...
After hearing it, Frank immediately had an idea. Then, he exchanged a few casual words with Dexter and had Carl push him off to the side.
Frank wanted to seriously chew over the feasibility of this idea.
Chuanxiao...
He could totally pull that off here too!
Frank thought about it excitedly!
Carl didn't know what Frank was thinking. He let go of the wheelchair and went back to Dexter to hang out.
Dexter ordered Carl a glass of milk, just like before.
The two started chatting.
After talking for a short while, Dexter was a little curious. "I thought after what happened last time, Fiona wouldn't let you push Frank here again."
"She went to a bar downtown, so she's not home," Carl replied casually.
Downtown bar?
Dexter immediately thought of Jimmy again.
Would Fiona run into Jimmy?
---
Downtown, in a huge, luxurious bar.
Fiona was on the dance floor, moving without a care in the world.
On the second floor, Jimmy was leaning against the railing, his gaze fixed on Fiona, a wide smile on his face.
After watching for a good while, Jimmy moved, heading toward Fiona.
Standing in front of her, Jimmy introduced himself. "Hi. Can I buy you a drink?"
Fiona looked him up and down, thought for a moment, and smiled. "You're pretty cute. Sure."
Over an hour later.
In the stall of the men's restroom at the bar.
Fiona and Jimmy were locked in an embrace.
And with that.
Fiona was one step closer to her goal of "The 100-Man Club" achievement.