Cerise Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 Café Gospel The door of the café swung open and the girl stepped forward, the clattering of the bell above her announcing her presence. Overhead, the ceiling fan rotated lazily, the dangling light switch tapping against the glass as it turned. The boy sat in the booth farthest from the kitchen, baseball cap pulled down over his eyes. The girl walked over to the booth and sat down across from the boy. “Hey,” she said. “Hey.” The boy examined the table top. “Did you order?” “Not yet.” The girl looked around the room and spotted the waitress at the counter. Their eyes met. The waitress moved towards the booth, taking a pencil and notepad out of her apron pocket while she walked. “Can I get you guys something?” she asked them. “You need menus?” The girl smiled politely at the waitress. “No thanks. I’ll have a cheeseburger.” “With fries?” “Yes, please.” The waitress wrote the order down. “Anything else?” “A diet coke please,” the girl said and smiled at the boy. The boy did not smile back. The waitress turned to him, pencil at the ready. “And for you, sir?” “Diet coke. That’s all.” The waitress glided away to the kitchens. The girl leaned forward in her seat. “I think the waitress was checking you out,” she said, grinning. “Cut the crap, Jess. I’m not in the mood.” “Sorry.” “I take it the news is good?” “Check it out,” she drew a wide, flat envelope out of her purse and tossed it to the boy. “I’m 100% clean.” The boy fished the paper out of the envelope and read it. He closed his eyes. “Thank God.” “Yeah,” the girl said quietly. “I think I said the exact same thing when I saw it.” The boy looked back down at the table top, hands idly caressing the envelope. “Look Jess…I’m really sorry about—” “Never mind,” she said. “It wasn’t your fault. We were drunk. We were stupid. End of story.” The ceiling fan tapped and buzzed quietly. The girl placed tanned fingers over the boy’s pale arm. “How are you doing?” The boy made a sound that was halfway between a laugh and a cough. He moved his arm away. “I’m great,” he said. “You’re okay and that’s all I cared about anyway. This is great news and I…we should celebrate. Let’s go out tonight.” “I can’t,” the girl said. “I’ve got practice.” “That’s right,” the boy said. “Sorry, I forgot. Not tonight then. Some other night. I’ve got lots of time. That’s what they say, anyway. Lots of time before I—” “Matthew!” “Sorry.” The boy leaned back and looked at the ceiling. “Sorry.” The waitress appeared with her tray and set the food and drinks down in front of them. “Enjoy,” she said. The girl thanked her and picked at her fries, the greasy residue making her fingertips shiny. The boy watched her eat and his face grew ashen. He began taking slow sips from his drink. “Jess,” he said. “I’m glad you’re okay. Really.” “Yeah,” she said. “I know. I’m glad too, I just wish…” “I’m fine Jess.” The boy smiled thinly. “I’ve got lots of time.” End. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlinfmct87 Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 Subtly told... very captivating. Read it three times over to draw out all the backstory I could. Not exactly a *happy* tale, but skillfully woven. Congrats, Cerise. Merlin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fweethawt Posted October 25, 2005 Share Posted October 25, 2005 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mythra Posted October 27, 2005 Share Posted October 27, 2005 You have a real talent for writing, Cerise. That was very good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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