The Boy

Twenty One

Boy

When we arrived at the diner, it was a normal everyday place. Nothing fancy. There was a small crowd for a Saturday night. The floors were tiled black and white, and the booth seats were covered in red leather. White top tables were scattered around with red leather covered chairs. In the corner there was even a vintage jukebox that was lit up with neon lights and playing a Johnny Cash song.

"I'll be with you in a minute Clyde. Go ahead and have a seat." A lady about Uncle Clyde's age passed us while holding a full tray of drinks. She smiled at us with straight white teeth. Her hair was blonde and pulled up in a ponytail. She was thin and pretty for her age.

I followed behind to a booth right in the middle of a crowd against the wall. I glanced around at all the people while we waited. My eyes zeroed in on a small family across the diner. A man and woman with a young son about eight years old. The father jokingly stole a fry off the boy's plate, and he tried to snatch it back. But his dad popped it quickly into his mouth. The boy's mother smiled lovingly at the two of them and an ache formed in my chest. I missed my mother so much. I'd give anything to see her again. To have her look at me that way again.

The blonde-haired woman who spoke to us when we entered came to stand in front of us, blocking my view of the loving family. "Who's this handsome fella?" I looked up at her to see her set a beer bottle in front of Uncle Clyde.

"I'm actually gonna take a coke tonight, Lindsey," he said, handing the bottle back to her.

"Oh, that's a first," she replied with a look of shock on her face.

Uncle Clyde shrugged it off and pointed at me. "This is my nephew, Jacob."

She smiled brightly at me and held out her free hand. "It's nice to meet you, Jacob." I politely returned the pleasantry and shook her hand. She turned to Uncle Clyde. "I didn't know you had a nephew."

His eyes met mine. "We were out of touch for several years. His father passed and he'd been taken before I could do anything. But it seems fate brought us back together again."

I didn't like the glint in his eye. I quickly looked away and down at the menu in front of me.

"Jacob, this is Lindsey, the lady I was talking about on the way here."

She playfully swatted his shoulder. "Hope it was all good things."

I smiled at her. "Yes."

"Good. What would you like to drink, sweetheart," Lindsey asked me.

I saw sweet tea on the drink menu and asked for a glass. It'd been a while since I'd had some tea.

"Alright. I'll give you a minute to look over the menu. Clyde, you want the Saturday special?"

"Yes ma'am." She swayed away in her light blue waitress dress uniform. "What do you think about Lindsey?"

I look up from the menu to his piercing blue eyes. "She seems really nice."

"She is. We've gone out a few times. Thinking about asking her to make it a little more serious. Become exclusive."

I just nod. Not sure why he's telling me this.

I ended up ordering the same thing as him. Ribeye steak, baked potato, corn on the cob and a basket of rolls. I was completely stuffed. It was so delicious. As usual, Uncle Clyde did most of the talking with my one- or two-word replies. When he got up to pay Lindsey over at the counter, I glanced around at the crowd again. My eyes fell on a large table full of teenagers. One particular girl was staring straight at me. She was beautiful. Her hair was long, shiny, and chocolate brown. Her eyes were a sparkling emerald, and she had a knockout smile. She waggled her fingers at me. I grinned and timidly waved at her. I tore my eyes away. Looking at her made me think of Katy. The dark headed girl wasn't nearly as beautiful as my blue-eyed princess.