Whistling a familiar tune, a happy go lucky
Chris Roberts walked down the familiar street,
careful not to step on anycracks. A small
Dalmatian puppy seemingly walked him with a tight
leash. The lady in the store window looked out at
him and waved. "Hi Puppy!" she called enthusiastic-
-ally. She was a nice lady, and Chris frequented
the place often. Puppy is what they called him
because everywhere he went he would bring his
Dalmatian, Tafari. People were so used to seeing
them together that the nickname stuck. Many even
knew their real names. He smiled and walked past
the store. "Nice day we're having today." He
politely stated. He looked ahead and saw the
diner.
'Judy's Diner' the sign said. It was about
10:30 in the morning now. Time for his breakfast.
Puppy had started coming here about two weeks ago.
He had just moved to Centreville about four months
or so ago. There was a restaurant about a block
from his house, but he walked here every day for
the last fifteen mornings. It was about a mile or
so of a walk, but he rationales it by thinking that
Tafari needed the excercise. The truth was right
there in the window with her back to him.
She was the prettiest girl he had ever seen.
Maybe that wasn't right, but she was something.
Something else. She maybe reminded him of someone,
he couldn't put his finger on it, he just knew he
couldn't ever take his eyes off of her. As she
turned from the table she was waiting on, she
glanced out the window and met eyes with him. Shyly,
or maybe just busy she glanced away, and Puppy
turned completely around, possibly out of shame.
He knew himself that he found himself staring at her.
He bent down and tied Tafari to the bike rack. "Be
good and wait, and I'll bring ya something." He said
softly. He smiled at his canine friend, took a deep
breath and turned, opening the door to the diner.
The door opened with a familiar chime. A mass
of bells on fishing wire smashing against the glass
of the door. He thought it must drive them crazy to
hear that sound all day. Maybe they get used to it.
Maybe the trains drowned it out. "I should have my
head examined for buying a diner in a railroad station!"
He had once heard Judy, the owner, comment, "Customers
twenty-four hours, charge what you want, yeah sounds
good on paper, but the trains...They'll drive ya
insane!"
It was the trains that brought him to this very
spot, weeks ago. Something about the ambiance of the
railroad station felt good to his soul. Once he found
it was walking distance from his house, he came and
visited and ended up spending the whole day just
sitting watching the people and the trains. There
was something nice about the reunions that took place
here every hour. People would stand in anticipation
until the metal cylinders would arrive and empty its
treasures. At which time mothers and sons, sisters
and brothers, best friends, and of course lovers would
all squeal with glee and love.
Even though he knew none of them were for him, an
emotion that some may find depressing, he fed off
everyone else's happiness. To Puppy the station was
a magical, happy place where love flowed freely. He
thought to himself after lunch he'd hang out for a
while, it was Thursday. Alot of travellers on Thursday,
and he'd go talk to Samuel the interesting Box Office
man, that would pass the day away telling his stories.
With these thoughts, he headed to the counter.
Second stool from the end nearest the window. He was
glad it was unoccupied. It wasn't like he had a
disorder or anything, he just really liked the way
things were. Every day the same time, same walk, and
same seat. He supposed he was quite ritualistic. It
all a rationale to him though. He had to sit there
so he could keep his eye on Tafari, and well..yeah..
the waitress.
He glanced outside. Tafari was looking around at
all the sights and sounds, panting. He then looked
around the diner. He saw the waitress, and hoped he
wasn't panting himself! If he had enough balls he
would someday sit in her section but there was something
scary about that. He would actually have to interact
with her. She was to special to ever talk to; he could
never order breakfast from her. Anyway, she might catch
him staring. From the counter he could watch her walk,
watch her interact with the customers, and even be there
in his sight when she would sometimes sigh, and brush that
annoying piece of hair that just won't stay behind her ear,
no matter how times she tried. He couldn't give that up
to be the stuttering loser that he knew he would be.
This was the perfect arrangement.
Yesterday, he had a startling discovery. He was a
little groggy and ordered coffee with his breakfast.
Little did he know that created a bridge between he and her.
She had come over to his table after he finished his meal,
and asked him if he would like a refill. It was the first
time he had heard her voice. It kept him up all night.
He glanced outside again at his dog. She was OK. He
opened the menu. He had no idea what he wanted today. He
heard the chimes at the door, but didn't look up. A man
came and sat down next to him with a grunt, and lit up a
cigarette. "Damn, you're here a little early today, James!"
he heard a voice behind the counter say. "Ah, ya know it's
'cause I just can't get enough of you, Helena!" the man
happily retorted. "Nice try, James, It ain't me you can't
get enough of. Ha Ha." The suddenly familiar voice
laughingly said. "Yeah, Yeah, so set me up."
Puppy looked up from his menu sideways at the man,
to put a face to the voice. A normal enough looking man in
his thirties. Looked a little rugged though, He noticed the
bags under his eyes. Clink Clink. His attention drifted to
the countertop. The puzzle started to make sense. It was
morning and he just ordered a shot and a beer. That's tough
he thought. He wondered what would make a man that unhappy,
what his deep, personal secret was. His attention was broken
by the voice again.
"I know start a tab...What can I get you?" It was
his waitress. A feeling of cold shock, fear and confusion
spread over him. She was talking to him! "Um..I'll have an
omelet, and some..uh...milk." He stammered out. "What kind
woulda like?" She queried.
"Um.. Two percent?" He meekly said. "Ha, Ha! Naw, buddy,
your omelet!" She said with a smile. "Oh.." He thought, it
started, I'm sounding stupid, "western." He looked up at her.
She smiling, but a real smile, like she was happy, not like
she thought he was stupid.
She had a beautiful smile, he noticed, soft lips and a
toothy grin, like that of a supermodel. He dreamed of waking
up next to that smile. It was a mouth that could lighten a
whole room.
"Ha! Ha! I like this kid!" the man said out loud "Get
this man a beer, on me!" The waitress glanced at Puppy.
"Sure." He nodded towards her. "What's up, Pal, the name's
James." The man greeted Puppy. "Um, Chris." He said, shaking
his hand. "I always see you in the station with your dog.
You work there?" James asked. "No...I..uh.." He was
interrupted by a clank. He looked up, knowing what he
would see. There she was in all her glory. "I got you
a Bud, didn't want to confuse ya with too many decisions
today." She smiled. He started to feel dumb again. She
continued, "It's too nice a day to think. I wish I could
just lay out on the beach and vegetate on days like this.
Anyways, if you sit next to James here too long, you may
never be able to think again!" Maybe she didn't think
he was dumb. "You think you're funny don't you, Helena.
There goes your tip!" James laughed along with her.
"Oh, gotta go!" she said hurriedly and left.
Then it hit him. Helena! That was her name. He
felt empowered with the knowledge of it. With this
realization came another. "So, you come here a lot?"
Puppy asked James, while lifting his bottle to his mouth.
"Yup, It's my hideout from work in the day, and the ball
and chain at night! Ha Ha!" He replied "you got a woman?"
"Nope." Puppy replied, hoping Helena might
overhear. "You're a lucky, lucky man!" James grinned and
lifted his shot glass in a mock toast. Puppy glanced at
the label on his beer and thought. No he wasn't. He
would like a girl. Someone to share his life, his
thoughts, his days with. It was actually depressing. It
was something he tried to never think about. It was
something for other people, not him. He sighed and took
another gulp of the beer he had been zoning out on. He
turned and glanced out the window. Tafari was sitting
down and looking at all the people walking by. He turned
back to the counter and looked directly at the most perfect
pair of breasts he had ever seen.
"Here ya go. Hey, what's your name anyway?" She
calmly purred as she sat down a plate of food. "Chris is
my real name. Most people call me Puppy, though." He said.
"Aw, Puppy...that's cute!" she smiled "What's your doggie's
name?" "Um, Tafari." He replied "She was a gift, she's
named after Rastafari." "That's cool," she said still
smiling that wondrous smile "I'm Helena. Damn, gotta go!
Always running!"
"She's a cute one, that Helena." James said to
Puppy " If I was just ten years younger...a man Your age...."
"Hmm." He thought "and picked up his fork. James lit up
a cigarette, and Puppy continued to eat. He was so in awe
of the day's events, he could hardly eat his entire omelet.
He finished, put his napkin on his plate, and looked back
at James. "It is a nice day." He noted. Helena came back to their corner of the counter. "You all finished?" she asked, while placing a new beer on the counter in front of James. "Yup" Puppy replied, starting to feel more comfortable with their interaction. She placed the check in front of him where the plate had been. He picked it up and looked at it. First his eyes went to the figure in the circle, instinctively. Then it found something much more important. At the bottom, was the phrase "See you soon!" written hastily in a red pen above her name. Helena. Written in a weird cursive, like bubbles making it look like a combination of circles, upon further inspection it was obvious that it was 'elena' He had seen this feminine writing before, but this just seemed majestic. The way the H was scribbled....
He looked out the window. Tafari was there. He
looked back down, as if the message would be gone. Some
kind of invisible ink. It was still there. He reached
and grasped his almost empty beer, and stood. "Here's to
your day, James!" he proposed a toast. Clank! "Here's to
freedom!" They both proceeded to finish their beers in the
one gulp. "Helena, another!" James yelled at Helena across
the room, where she was busy talking to another customer, or
taking an order. She glanced their direction, as to see
what they wanted. She pointed two fingers up, questionably.
Puppy looked over at her and shook his head, to communicate
only one for James. Helena then turned her two fingers into
a hand, and waved a nice goodbye his way. This caught him
off guard, and he waved back, hesitantly, and made his way
to the cash register.
***END OF PART ONE***
Continue to part two
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