TWO DAYS LATER

Mac arrived at Foster's at 3 like he always did, only to be greeted by the sight of Frankie dancing around the foyer as soon as he walked in the door. Queen's "We Are The Champions" was blaring in the background as Frankie glided around the room screaming, "YES! I HAVE A DATE TONIGHT! YES!!" She continued to do this for about a minute longer until she noticed Mac standing in the doorway, at which point she became flush with embarrassment.

"Nice moves, Frankie," Bloo said. She whirled around to find the blue blob standing behind her on the stairs drinking a juice box and applauding her performance. She blushed even redder and sharply said, "Thanks, Bloo."

"No problem," he answered, taking a long sip.

"So you have a date tonight, Frankie?" Mac asked.

"Yeah, isn't it great?" she replied. "I found out about him through this ad in the paper." She brought out her wallet and showed Mac a personal ad from a John Stiles of Boston that stated the usual: 24-year old male looking for love, need someone to talk (and listen) to, etc., etc.

"Well...he sounds okay...but...how do you know he won't be like Dylan?" Mac inquired.

"The line at the end of the ad is what sold me on him," Frankie answered. "I just thought it was so sweet."

Mac read the final line of the ad aloud: "'My parents always told me every woman deserves respect, and that's what I'm going to give.' Yeah, that's sweet, all right."

"I think my teeth are rotting out of my head as we speak," Bloo added as he descended the stairs, making gagging and retching noises to accentuate his opinion.

"Knock it off, you two! You don't even know him!"

"Neither do you, Frankie. For all you know this guy could be just like Dylan, or even worse. What if that last bit was just sappy schmaltz to get you to sleep with him?"

"I talked with him on the phone, and he sounded like an okay guy. How much more proof do you two need?"

"We'll know for sure after dinner tonight, won't we, Mac?" Bloo slyly asked. Mac, exasperated, slapped his forehead; Frankie immediately knew where Bloo was going and said, "NO WAY! You are NOT bringing back Orlando Bloo tonight!"

"But Frankie, we just want to see if he'll be a jerk too!" Upon hearing this, Mac cringed and slowly backed away from him.

"So that's what you really think? You don't think he'll be a good match for me?"

"I didn't say that, Frankie! I didn't have any plans to do Orlando Bloo tonight! You've gotta believe me!" Mac pleaded.

"Oh, I believe you, Mac," she said, "but I don't trust Bloo as far as I can throw him. Now, John's coming over at 7, so I want you guys to be on your best behavior for him, and for God's sakes, stay out of trouble."

"Man, you sound like Mac's mom!" Bloo protested.

"Just making sure you don't sabotage anything, Bloo." She leaned in close to him, smiled broadly, and said, "One. Step. Ahead."

"That's my line, and you know it!"

Frankie went upstairs to her room to get ready as Mac and Bloo went about their day. When 6:45 rolled around, the two waited in the foyer for Frankie to make her grand entrance. When she did, they were staring at a goddess for the second time in as many days. That same black dress she'd worn two nights before, the hoop earrings and bracelets--all were out in full force once again tonight. Mac and Bloo stared in awe at her before simultaneously saying, "Wow."

"I know you guys liked this outfit...I can only hope John will too."

"John, John, John...if you like him so much, why don't you marry him?" Bloo said.

"Shut up," Mac hissed. No sooner did those words leave his lips than the doorbell rang.

"Oh, that must be him!" Frankie giddily said as she went to open the door. As she turned the knob and opened it, before she had time to react, an arm thrust its way into Foster's lobby, and a male voice said:

"Hi there. How you doing?"