I'll Teach You, Marianne.

In the car, Anne didn't say much. She was just silent while occasionally playing with her cell phone to reply to Linda's messages. Meanwhile, Aaron, who had been talking, seemed to be ignored by Anne. The driver who brought them both could only remain silent and stayed focus on the road ahead. After driving for nearly twenty-five minutes, the car carrying Aaron and Anne finally arrived at Alexander The Great, a restaurant that was quite famous and not too expensive. The restaurant at 8 Plender Street Bayham Street, London was quite famous for serving a large selection of food for vegetarians. 

"Come on down," said Anne quietly as she put on the bag that was previously on her lap.

"Are you mad at me, Anne?" asked Aaron quickly as he took Anne's hand.

"Let's talk later. The important thing is you eat first," replied Anne quickly as she stepped out of the car.

Because Anne had gotten out of the car, Aaron hurried down after her. The two of them soon entered the restaurant, which was still quite busy. Because there were no empty tables on the first floor, Anne then decided to go up to the second floor and her choice was right because on the second floor there were still many empty tables and she was free to choose where to sit.

Seeing Anne choosing a place close to a large window made Aaron smile. He knew that Anne liked a place with good air circulation. When Aaron and Anne sat down, a waiter approached them with the menu book. Because she had eaten at this restaurant before with Linda, she had no trouble choosing the food. Anne selected several kinds of healthy foods that were highly recommended by the restaurant. 

"One beer and …"

"Two mineral water and two watermelon juices without milk." Anne interrupted Aaron's words quickly.

The waiter who was preparing to take Aaron's order before seemed to smile. He then took Anne's order well. After Anne finished, he then recounted the order Anne asked quickly, including the two types of drinks that Anne wanted.

"The food will be ready in ten to fifteen minutes, please wait. Excuse me, Miss, Sir," The waiter spoke softly then left Anne and Aaron's table. 

"Are you mad at me, Anne?" Aaron asked quietly.

"Of course, I don't like the way you do it. You're not a kid anymore, Aaron. How long do you want to be like this?" asked Anne curtly.

"Like this, I don't understand what you're talking about, Anne," Aaron replied confusedly.

"Didn't you say that you haven't had lunch before? Right now, it's almost half past three in the afternoon. You have ulcer, and an ulcer is not a disease to be taken lightly, Aaron, especially since you've been hospitalized when your ulcer recurred. If you don't love yourself like this, then how do you love others?" Anne spoke at length with a raised voice. This was the first time she spoke in a high tone to Aaron.

Aaron immediately closed his mouth when he understood what Anne was trying to tell him. He chose to remain silent right now, because he didn't want to make Anne even more angry. 

"There are too many jobs in the office that I can't leave, Anne, especially when I'm in a bad mood because of Jack," Aaron said softly trying to defend himself.

"Jack?"

"Yes, Jackson Patrick Muller. This morning I saw you guys come out of your apartment together, that's why I was so upset all day at the office, I even lost my appetite," said Aaron honestly, glaring at Anne's eyes.

"Do you know Jack?" asked Anne softly without guilt.

"Of course, who does not know that man of Swiss blood? I was annoyed to see him come out of your apartment, especially this morning you two were holding hands," Aaron replied curtly.

"Actually what happened is ..."

Anne did not finish her words because she saw a waitress came to bring the food that had been ordered by Anne before. He placed it slowly on the table and arranged it neatly. The two glasses of watermelon juice that Anne previously ordered were gorgeous and seductive, the red color of the watermelon looked great when paired with the mint leaves and a slice of lemon attached to the rim of the glass.

"All orders are ready, do you need anything else, Miss, Sir?" asked the friendly waiter.

"No, Miss, that's enough for now. Thank you," Aaron replied quickly.

"Okay, then excuse me, please enjoy. If you need something do not hesitate to call me," said the waitress again in a friendly manner.

"Yes, Miss, you're welcome," answered Anne softly with a smile.

After saying that, the waitress then left Aaron and Anne alone with the table already filled with many healthy foods that had been ordered by Anne beforehand. 

"You haven't finished what you said earlier, Anne," Aaron said quietly trying to remind Anne about his last words.

"Eat first, then talk. I don't want you to be hospitalized again," said Anne briefly as she reached for the glass filled with watermelon juice that had been attracting her attention.

Aaron finally gave in. He began to enjoy the food that was chosen by Anne. Actually, Aaron was not a vegetarian but when he ate the special vegetarian food in front of him. He liked it because it tasted good and didn't feel like he was eating raw vegetables. Seeing Aaron's changing face made Anne smile. She finally grabbed a fork to take the lemon slice that was on top of the butter prawns, Anne calmly took a bite of the lemon slice. Aaron, who saw Anne did that, seemed to grimace in pain, even though he was not the one who ate the lemon slice, but he could taste the sourness of the lemon.

"My life is much more acidic than this lemon, so it's nothing for me," said Anne quietly as she put the lemon slice that she had eaten on the small plate that had been provided by the previous waiter.

"Are there still many things that I don't know about you, Anne?" asked Aaron suddenly.

Anne, who was eating the buttered prawns, smiled at Aaron's question. She slowly lifted her face and looked at Aaron with a sweet smile. 

"What does the expression on your face mean, Anne?" Aaron asked Anne back quickly.

"Maybe it's time I tell this to you, Aaron …"

"Tell me what? Are you hiding a big secret from me, Anne?" Aaron asked, quickly interrupting Anne's words.

Anne put her fork on the plate carefully. She then grabbed the napkin that had been prepared on the table. Slowly, she wiped her lips which were actually not dirty.

"I am a widow, Aaron. I was married three years ago."

Crash!

The fork and knife that Aaron was holding fell on the plate and made a very deafening sound.

"Are you kidding me? It's not funny, Anne!" 

"I'm serious, Aaron, I'm a widow," answered Anne softly in response to Aaron's words. 

  To be Continued