It must be very difficult to be called 'Fred'. He hadn't thought that people would msread her name, but she acted as if she were used to people calling her 'Fern' all the time. 'Fred,' in Christian's estimation, was far better than 'Fern' anyway.
Once she'd collected her order and turned back around, Christian pulled out the chair a little further and swept his arm over it in an inviting gesture. He coupled the gesture with a great smile. It was good to see someone familiar.
"How are you, Fred?" he asked as he pushed her chair in and circled back around his table. "You look well."
She looked a little tired, if he were being honest -- but a gentleman always forgot the things a lady might be embarrassed about. If she looked tired to him in one minute, he forgot about it the next.