GODS AND MONSTERS ↝ P. LAHOTE

[7]

Lark pulled up outside the diner and turned off the car, moving the rearview mirror so she could see her own reflection one last time as she fixed her lip gloss and made sure her mascara hadn't smudged during the drive from across town. While it was considered the best restaurant in Forks, the restaurant was also the only one in Forks, and the girl wasn't quite sure what to expect.

Leonora and Alicia had been thrilled to hear that Paul had finally asked Lark to dinner, and were more than happy to help the girl prepare. Which included, but was not limited to warning her about the boy's huge appetite, and his tendency for lame jokes. Alicia wanted to know every detail about their exchange at the beach, while Leo rummaged through Lark's closet to find something for the girl to wear that evening, finally settling a pair of jeans and a plain black shirt, along with a gray cardigan and her black Vans.

Although she was a few minutes early, Lark looked around for Paul's truck, but was unable to find it in the parking lot. She entered the diner, the bell jangling overhead to announce her arrival, and the waitress, who didn't look much older than Lark, showed her to a table for two.

"Would you like to order now or give it a couple minutes for the rest of your party to arrive?" the girl asked.

"I'm sure he's just running late," Lark assured the waitress, "I'll give it a few minutes."

Lark scanned through the menu, glancing up every few seconds to look out the window. She kept picturing Paul pulling up in his black truck and waltzing into the diner fashionably late, but the moment didn't come. Instead, Lark sat alone in the booth, just watching and waiting.

The waitress set down two glasses of water, and Lark thanked her quickly before turning back to the menu, triple checking to make sure it was, in fact, the cheeseburger she wanted to order that evening. She finally pulled out her phone, dialing Paul's number to make sure everything was okay, but his phone went straight to voicemail after the first ring.

Lark flipped her phone shut with a small sigh, setting it back down as the waitress came over one last time.

"Still waiting?" the waitress asked her, giving her a sympathetic smile, and Lark looked up at the clock on the wall, seeing that it was now half an hour past their scheduled date time.

"No," Lark said, shaking her head. "no, I'll just go ahead. I'll just have a cheeseburger and fries?"

"You got it," the girl said, jotting the order down on her notepad before disappearing back into the kitchen.

Lark sighed, pulling her book out of her bag and beginning to read in an attempt to pass the time. Lark didn't have much experience with going on dates, but she was fairly certain that showing up was the correct way that it was done. Usually the one to look for the best in people, Lark didn't want to believe that Paul had outright stood her up, but she also hoped something wasn't wrong with the boys.

But, if Paul didn't want to go out with her, why did he ask her out in the first place?

The waitress brought out the cheeseburger, and Paul still hadn't shown. Lark thanked the girl, who shot her yet another sympathetic smile, and began to eat slowly to give him another chance to catch up to her, reading in-between bites of burger and fries. The waitress came to check on her a few times, taking Paul's untouched menu the second time around. Each time, Lark assured the girl that she was doing just fine. By the time Lark finished her glass of water, she reached for the one that was left out for him, coming to the conclusion that he wouldn't be drinking it that evening.

When the waitress finally came back to clear out Lark's plates, she set down a plate holding a piece of blueberry pie in its place.

"Here," she said, "on the house."

"Thank you," Lark said, giving the girl a grateful smile.

"I know it's none of my business," she said, "but, whoever he was, he isn't good enough for you."

Lark glanced back out the window one last time, hoping that Paul might finally show up, that maybe the boys just had some complications coming home from their camping trip and he had simply gotten held up, but that everything was just fine, but the black truck was still missing from the diner's parking lot.

"Yeah," Lark said, looking back up at her. "you're right. Thank you."

Lark finished the piece of pie and paid the bill, thanking the waitress one last time and exiting the diner, the bell clanging behind her one last time as she walked out the door. She got into her Jeep, fighting the tears that threatened to spill after the events of the evening. She'd been so nervous about how she and Paul were going to get along one on one that she hadn't even stopped to consider that he might not even show up in the first place.

Wiping her eyes quickly and deciding that she wasn't going to cry, Lark put the car in reverse, backing out of the parking lot and turning onto the main road. She drove in silence with the radio down, vaguely hearing the sounds of the Washington wolves in the night.

And hoping that, wherever Paul was, he was happy.