The Rendezvous (Maupassant)
A woman named Madame Haggar was preparing to meet her lover, Viscount de Martelet, while her husband was away at work.
She was hesitant about going to the rendezvous, but eventually decided to go. As she walked through the streets of Paris, she enjoyed the spring weather and took her time, knowing that her lover would be waiting for her. She even stopped at a park to sit and watch the time pass, delighting in the fact that she was making him wait. Madame Haggar thinks this as she deliberately delays her rendezvous with Viscount de Martelet, enjoying the idea of him waiting impatiently for her.
He is waiting for me, he will be getting angry.
As she continued on her way, she ran into a man named Baron de Grimbal, who invited her to come see his Japanese collection at his home.
At first, she refused, but eventually agreed to go with him. On the way, she remembered that she had promised her husband to invite Martelet to dinner the next day, so she stopped at a post office to send him a telegram. In the message, she lied about being ill and unable to meet him that day, asking him to come to dinner instead.
Madame Haggar then continued on her way with Baron de Grimbal, feeling relieved that she had managed to avoid the rendezvous with her lover. Madame Haggar feels a sense of accomplishment and relief as she realizes she has successfully delayed her meeting with her lover by an hour.