“Where are we going to eat?” asked Ivy.

“Longhorn Steakhouse,” said Fred.

“What! You know that I'm a vegetarian!”

“We already made plans, Ivy.” As Fred and Ivy walked into Longhorn, they noticed a waiter carrying two plates of steak. Fred licked his lips. Ivy squirmed with disgust.

“Animals are friends, not food,” protested Ivy.

“Well I'm hungry, and I'm eating a hunk of steak whether you like it or not.” Ivy groaned. They took a seat at a booth. The waiter approached.

“Hi, my name is Jeremy and I'll be your server this evening. Can I get you some beverages?”

“I'll have a Diet Pepsi,” said Fred.

“I'll just have water,” Ivy said, still nauseous from seeing all the juicy meat surrounding her. Jeremy walked away to get the beverages.

“There's so much bad energy in this place, Fred!” Ivy commented.

“Get a hold of yourself. Maybe you should try the filet mignon, then you'll never want to be a vegetarian again!”

“No way! A cow gave its life so you could satisfy your hunger!” Ivy replied loudly. They sat quietly until the waiter came back with their drinks.

“Are you ready to order?” asked Jeremy.

“Yes, I'll have the Prime Rib,” said Fred. Ivy had been so busy worrying about the meat, she hadn't even taken the time to look at the menu.

“Umm… do you have a salad?” asked Ivy.

“Yup, chicken salad. Want that?” replied Jeremy.

“Anything without meat?” questioned Ivy.

“It's a steak house.”

“Well, I guess I'll have the salad, hold the chicken.”

“It's pre-made with the chicken in it.”

Ivy rolled her eyes. “Are you sure that there's not a plain salad without any meat?”

“Lady, I can't help you. Longhorn is all steak, all the time.”

“Well! Can I please speak to the manager?”

“Yes ma'am,” said the waiter. He shuffled away and brought back with him the manager of the restaurant.

“I'm a vegetarian---”

The manager interrupted her in mid sentence. “If you're a veggie, why are you at this restaurant? Today's Meat Lover's Monday. I hope you're not staging a protest.”

“No, my friend Fred made me come eat here. I was just wondering if there was anything to eat that doesn't have meat or meat-like substances in it.”

“Not on Meat-Lover's Monday there isn't.”

“Can't you take the chicken out of the salad?”

“Nope, it's a pre-made salad and our chefs are working extra hard tonight. It's a full house here.”

“Well, I'll just have the chicken salad then.”

“Okie-dokie. No problem.” Ivy groaned.

“Sure, does take you a long time to make a decision,” stated Fred. Fifteen minutes later, Jeremy came back with a heaping plate of chicken salad. Ivy looked at the bits of chicken scrambled in the salad. She gagged with disgust. Using her bare fingers, she picked the slices of chicken out of the salad. She picked up her fork and dug into her salad. After taking her first bite, she cringed. The taste of chicken was left on the lettuce leaves. Ten minutes later, she finished the salad. The leftover chicken sat on her plate.

“Have one bite,” said Fred. Avoiding the argument, she picked up the chicken and placed it into her mouth.

“Wow,” was all she said, and she shoved the rest in her mouth.