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“Did you call?” I asked.
Sonia grinned. “No, you silly bitch…I am going to let you do the honors.”
“Me? I don’t want to call him! You do it…please?” I begged. I was so nervous. I couldn’t imagine what I would do or say if he picked up.
“Nope…no way. Come on…this is your chance to talk to him and then when he comes in, it’ll make it easier to strike up a conversation because you will have already spoken.”
“Sonia, we don’t know anything about this guy. You are assuming he is not married and that he is heterosexual. I am not getting my hopes up and I really don’t want to call him, nor do I expect that he would be thinking about anything more than getting his credit card back.” That was a lie. My hopes were totally up. I didn’t see a wedding ring that first time, so I was pretty sure married was out. Gay, though, that was certainly a possibility.
“He is not bloody gay.” Sonia laughed. “You said he was staring at you. Any normal hetero single guy would be checking you out. Come on, make the call…now! Just do it and get it over with.”
She handed me the cordless diner phone and I reluctantly grabbed the slip of paper from her hand that had his name and number written in pen. Without thinking it over, I grabbed the phone and dialed the number…6-1-7…5-8-9…9-6-5-8.
Riiing...Riiing...(My heart is thumping hard.) Riiing…Riiing…Riiing… Hello you have reached the voicemail of Ced
ric Callahan. Please leave your name, number and the time you called and I will get back to you as soon as I can. BEEP. (Heart Thumping)
I don’t remember exactly what I said, because I was so nervous. But I don’t think I sounded like an idiot. The gist was that he left his card, that he could come get it until closing and that he should ask for me. Done. That was over with. Phew. Ok. Now, the wait begins. How am I going to get through this shift?
Sonia was smiling at me. “See…that wasn’t so bad! Good luck, bitch…I am heading out. Sonia kissed me on the cheek, grabbed her purse and headed toward the door. I knew she was eager go shopping for a new outfit for her date with Tom tonight, before heading to the apartment to get ready.
“I can’t believe you are leaving me. Have fun,” I said smiling.
“You too…call me if you snog him later…cheerio!” Sonia winked and left.
***
The slower late afternoon turned into an unusually busy evening at the diner. All of the booths and tables were full and the orders were non-stop during the dinner hours. I was so busy; I shouldn’t have had time to notice who wasn’t here. But of course it was all I could think about. Every time I would hear the bells chime at the door, my heart would stop for a second.
Maybe it wasn’t the right phone number.
Maybe he had no idea he left his card here and would not be coming in tonight after all.
At about 7:30, I took my dinner break. That was the good thing about working at a diner: I could have my choice of anything I wanted for dinner. (That might be a bad thing depending on how you look at it.) I usually try for a salad with grilled chicken, but tonight…tonight I was going to eat my nerves away. I opted for a Reuben sandwich smothered in Thousand Island dressing, banana milkshake and chocolate cream pie for dessert. I was going to throw down.
I sat down next to one of the regulars, Mr. Short, who was ironically, ridiculously tall, at about six foot seven. The other patrons call him Big Bird behind his back. Mr. Short is such a nice guy though and would probably find that funny.
“Hi, Mr. Short…mind if I join you?” I sighed and sat down before he could respond, because we sit together like this many times when he’d come in for lunch during my normal shift.
Mr. Short is a Vietnam veteran and widower. Since his kids all live in different states, the diner is like home to him and he has breakfast, lunch and dinner here. I enjoy keeping him company when I’m on duty.
“How ya doing tonight, Allison? It’s nice to see you here during the dinner hour.” Mr. Short looked at my tray full of food and lifted his brow.
“I know…a different variety for me, right?” I laughed.
“Yes…I should say!” he laughed.
“I am a little preoccupied with something tonight, so I am thinking food might help me calm my nerves.” I took a huge bite out of the sandwich and again, glanced at the door. This would not be the right time for Blue Eyes to walk in.
“Anything I can help you with?” he asked.
“No, no…I am fine, really,” I said taking a big gulp of my shake.
He opened the newspaper. “Ready for your horoscope?”
Mr. Short and I often checked our horoscopes during lunches together and he would always read mine to me.
“Yup…shoot,” I said.
