The Nightmare Before Him

In This Town We Call Home

"Hello sir! I'm Sally and I'll be your waitress for today. Can I get you started off with something to drink?" I ask the dark haired boy with a streak of white running through it. He was the only one in the small diner I worked at. Business was unseasonably slow today.

"A water is fine," He says smiling up at me. He had a nice smile, it just seemed so... genuine.

"Is it just you or are you waiting on someone else?" I say before I take the other menu off the table.

"Nope, just me," He says with same goofy smile. So he's single.

'Stop it Sally' I think to myself, mentally slapping myself in the face.

"Okay, I'll be right back with that water," I say grabbing the extra menu. As promised, I was soon back with the water. "Do you need a few more minutes?" I ask.

"Yes, please," he nods still looking at menu. I find myself wishing he would smile at me again. He has a nice smile. Ugh. I need to stop. I am just obsessing over him because my grandmother has been telling me that I'm '26 and not a teenager', and that I 'need to begin to think about settling down'. I hang out near the kitchen and make small talk with the cook. It was only two cooks and me right now considering business has been slow lately. I go back to check on the lone costumer.

"Do you need some more time?" I ask pulling out my notepad from my apron that was tied around my waist.

"Actually, I can't decide between the club sandwich or the grilled cheese," he says reading off the menu before looking up at me.

"Well, I personally love club sandwiches and the ones here are super good," I say smiling.

"Well then a club sandwich it is," he replies as he smiles again.

"And would you like fries or chips with that?"

"Fries," he says handing me the menu.

"Good choice," I comment taking the menu out of his hands. I give the order to the cooks and wait. I notice that the dark haired man was running low on water so I go and fill it up. He seems very consumed by his phone because I don't think he noticed me pour more water into his cup. After waiting for the food for about two minutes, I see one of my coworkers, Nick, arrive for his shift.

"Hey, Sally. How's it going?" Nick asks as he grabs his apron.

"Pretty good," I say standing in the doorway of the employee lounge as I pull my long red hair into a messy ponytail.

"Business seems slow today again," Nick comments.

"Pretty much, there was a couple that came in a little earlier, and now this guy," I say as we walk back towards the front of the store. We stop near the little podium near the entrance.

"What time is it?" Nick asks.

"It's," I begin as I look at my watch, "11:42." I see that my only customer's food is ready so I grab it and head towards him. "Here is your club sandwich with fries," I say placing the food down on his table. "Enjoy."

Eventually, I go back to check on him to make sure the food is alright and freshen up his water. Everything was fine so I return to the front of the diner to seat the new set of customers. It was just and older couple and then two girls came in right after.

I notice that he has finally finished his meal after gathering a few orders from the new customers. "Is that going to be it for you, sir?" I ask.

"I think that'll be it for me today," He says with a smile.

"Alright well here is your check," I say placing the small leather folder in front of him as I take away his empty plate.

I retrieve his card and swipe it on the register, but I can feel his eyes watching me as I work. I wonder why he was so interested in what I was doing. Jack Barakat is the name that is on his card. He looks like a Jack. I return to his table with his card and receipt. "Have a great day," I say.

"Thanks, you too," he says as he opens up the leather folder. I tend to a few other tables before retrieving his check. 'Wow, a twenty percent tip,' I think, 'how generous. Thanks Jack.'