Short Story ~ Bitter Coffee and Sandwiches

Foreword

This short story was written as the required assignment work for the course Creative Writing. From the given topics, I have chosen the prompt about a character in my short story falling in love with the waiter/waitress while on a diner date. This scenario does hold some truth in my own life, where often I am out there meeting people and feeling attracted to them in many ways. It may be that I love the way they speak, their posture with people, the warmness in their interaction, and just the little things that make us human. It’s in the small details. For me, this infatuation does come and go like the wind, just as my thoughts while writing this short story. I rewrote the whole story from the start after writing more than half the story, not in a new way, but building upon the world that I had prepared with a different perspective. 

This story is dedicated to my friend Jessie and her cute dog Jack.

Chapter 1

“For the second time, I am not interested in going on a blind date!” Nathan held his hands up in exasperation.

“Mum already set up the date Nat.” Dad chimed in. He seemed pretty content with how things were going. 

“Just call to unbook it. Jesus.” 

“No unbooking. You go.” Mum walked in carrying a pot of curry. 

“Listen to you mum Nat,” Dad took a ladle of curry, pouring it on his plate. “It’s not like you’ll be busy on Saturday”

“I don’t like meeting people this way,” poking into a potato, Nathan furrowed his eyebrows. “Especially girls my age. All they care is talking about the latest drama or fashion, or god forbid, office politics.”

Looking down from his glasses, Dad looked like a stern librarian telling to hush it. Mum came around with her phone. She fiddled on the screen. “Look, such a nice looking girl. Good girl too.” Nathan took a deep breath.

This was going nowhere. 

“Mum. How do you even meet people that way?”

Chapter 2

It was a windy morning. Plenty of people in their jackets were out at the park and Emily was bringing Jack for a walk when this lady with an umbrella in one hand and a grocery bag in the other approached her. “That’s such a cute dog. Is he a husky?” Pausing in her track, Emily’s reality focused back on the lady. “Hum. He’s a beagle. And, he’s a she.”

Seven minutes and twenty eight seconds later, the lady had already gotten Emily’s phone number, email address, house address, and personal doctor’s name.

“Oh, Doctor Hu. Not bad. Emily, I think I’ll introduce you to my son” the lady shifted closer. A bit too close for Emily. The smell of the lady’s body mist reminding her of English Dawn Gardenia Fragrance Mist. “He’s a doctor. Single too.” 

Talk about tenacity.

Chapter 3

Emily took the bus back from work. She managed to find a seat by the front. At the next stop, she got up and offered a pregnant lady her seat. She got off one stop early from her home. She walked into the diner opposite the street. She had to tell Sally all about this morning. 

The diner was sparse as usual for that hour. The big signboard behind the counter announced to the world this was the best diner in town with pictures 20 years old stuck to the side. There was a memorabilia shelf in one corner and some arcade games lined up beside it. The best thing was it always smelled like freshly brewed coffee and proper, homely food.

Sally was at the counter pouring coffee for the three old regulars, Old Man Sam, Lonesome Larry, and Harold. 

“Hey Sally. Coffee please. Hey Sam. Hey Larry. Hi Dad,” Emily put her bag down on the counter and took a seat. 

“Hu-llo-Em-mi-lee,” Old Sam wheezed. His laryngitis hadn’t gone away yet.

“Hey ya little moose,” Larry chirped, putting a sugar into his coffee.

“Hi sweetie. Did you water the plants yesterday, because I didn’t? Jessie has been yelling at me about it since morning. You know how sensitive she is about her cactus.”

“Dad, the cactus died last week because you watered it too much.

“So anything to bite?” Sally put down a cup and poured freshly brewed, hot, strong coffee. Black and bitter, right and proper. Emily thought about a sandwich. Sally always made great sandwiches. Especially with potatoes and eggs. 

“I’ll skip today. Still have a piece of pie from last night in the fridge. It’s still there Dad?”

Harold looked away sheepishly.

“Harold, was the cactus the one Sally bought for Jessie?” Larry sipped at his coffee. Wondered if he should take another sugar, but the ghostly voice of the doctor ringed in the ear. 

“No not that one. Hey Sally, listen here. There’s something I need to tell you,” Emily left her coffee to cool. She looked at the rim of the cup and the steam rising from it. “I met this weird lady this morning, and she asked me out.”

Sally set a plate out and put down a muffin. “Wait, you swing that way now? Should I be worried? Harold, you sure look worried.”

“I totally forgot that happened to the cactus.”

“No! Didn’t mean it that way. Christ’s sake,” Emily looking up from her coffee cup. Sally always misunderstood things. Especially with Emily. It was part of the charm. 

“So?” Sally gave a look at Old Sam having trouble staying awake. 

“No, you see. This lady. She asked me out for dinner to meet this doctor. Her son. I don’t know. Is that a blind date?”

“Sure wish someone walked up to me with a blind date. You think you can set me up with that lady my dear Emily?” Larry’s sat back sipping coffee in his lonesomeness.

Emily drank all her coffee.

Chapter 4

“Emily, why don’t you go on the date?”

“Dad, its weird,” She flipped the channels on TV. “I was just walking Jack and she didn’t even know she’s a beagle. A husky. She asked if Jack was a husky.” It was Shark Week on National Geographic again. 

“Yo, what’s this I hear? Sis has a date? Mum! Emily has a date!” Luke walked in from the back door. He took off his jacket and left it on a chair. 

“Shut up Luke,” Emily threw a pillow at him. It hit him right on the face making his spectacles fly off. “Oh my god. Sorry.”

“What date? Speaking of dates. Harold. Have you checked the expiry date on the milk?” Mum walked in. She was wearing a shirt with “How do you think” written in bold red letters. 

“Mum! That’s my shirt!” Luke yelled. 

“Emily met a lady and she wants to set Emily on a date with her son.” Emily’s dad flipped the channel over to golf. 

“Is he good looking or rich?” Luke opened the fridge and drank the milk only to spit it out. “Blegh its sour! Dad!”

Emily picked up the pillow and went into her room. She needed to play some Korean pop music videos to shut her brain off. 

Chapter 5

The clouds had been harbouring their intentions since late morning and finally let loose after lunch. On the bus, Emily looked at her phone. Sally had texted her.

• Woah.

• Your doctor is in the house.

• Looks better than in the pic

• You here soon?

She got off the bus stop and into the rain. Emily had decided to go with the blind date, but on condition she chose the place and time, and no place better like her home ground at the diner during dinnertime. 

She walked into the diner and saw him sitting at her second least favourite table in the diner. The one beside the window where everyone walking past the diner stared in from. At least he didn’t pick the one beside the toilet. At least she would have Sally as insurance. 

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He watched her cross the road in the rain and walk in. Her sneakers were soaked but the umbrella managed to keep everything else dry. Some people glanced up at the ring of the door, and then picked up where they left their eulogy about the new boss at work.

She took a look up and walked over.

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Nathan sat feeling a bit detached from reality. He had been feeling uneasy about it, but this was not something he was expecting.

She had a voice that lingered in the air. It wasn’t the bright or cheery kind. It was dense and controlled, staying in your mind for a second longer then moving on. 

She wore some simple makeup. Probably had been put on for work. Her attire was just a simple black t-shirt and pants. The only jewellery was a necklace in the shape of a star. Her auburn hair had been tied into a tidy ponytail. 

Simply put, she looked exactly simple. Nathan liked that.

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Back home, Nathan paced around the kitchen looking for something to snack on.

“So, how was the date just now Nat?”

“Not what I was expecting. Well, not quite my type but I have to meet her again soon.

“That’s good news. I knew you’d like her. So are you two dating soon? Pass me the reading glasses on the table, darling.” 

Nathan walked over to the table and picked up the glasses. Lingering for a second, “No. Not like that. I have something else in my mind.”

“Oh? What would that be?” 

“Someone. With reddish-brown hair.”

Chapter 6

“So, the doctor asked you out on a second date yet?” Sally brought over a potato and egg sandwich. It was something she just made one day after running out of other ingredients. Apparently everyone loved it though. Emily took a bite while shaking her head in denial. Sally always enjoyed watching Emily. The girl really gave in to her appetite and she loved it. Sally left her to enjoy the meal and went to brew a new pot of coffee. 

The three regulars were at their usual seats and enjoyed their usual banter with coffee over the counter.

Sally took a seat since no one else was in the diner yet. It was the hour where no one came around yet and the crowd would pick up by five thirty. 

Sally was thinking about why women blink nearly twice as much as men when Nathan walked into the diner. Sally watched as he looked around and found Emily in between the last bite of her sandwich. Emily looked like she was not expecting this sudden guest either. Neither was Larry. He certainly did not want to see Doctor Nathan while having biscuits and coffee. Surprise. Nathan told her something and for a moment, Emily just stared. She got up, took her bag and followed Nathan out the door. At that point, Larry remembered to take a breath.

Seems like things were going pretty well now between Emily and the doctor, Sally thought, feeling prickly. Like she was going to give everyone extra ice cream that night, and she did. 

Chapter 7

The café door opened and Emily walked out into the early evening sunshine. Emily had to run to catch the bus, as it was about to leave the bus stand. She got on and gave the driver a big cheer and he tipped his cap in return. He had been driving this route for a long time and recognised Emily. He liked the cheery young lady. The bus was not crowded, so Emily found a seat near the front. 

The familiar surroundings started moving as Emily looked blankly at her dark blue sneakers. 

Nathan asking her out again had been a surprise. Nothing during the dinner had suggested he was interested in following up after that. Especially when he didn’t even send her a message at all. Wait. He didn’t even ask for her phone number before, did he? He did seem distracted at dinner that night. So when Nathan came in and asked if they could talk for a short while, she didn’t really register what was going on. There was just too much going on in her mind.

They went to a nearby café at his request just right across the street. He ordered an iced Americano while she had a lemon tea. 

They brought their drinks to a table by the window. They could see the diner and Emily could see the seat she was in just a few minutes ago. They could see Sally clearing off the plates and cups from the table. Nathan sat in the chair looking in that direction for a while. Then he started talking. 

What he was saying is that he needed a favour from Emily. 

He was asking her for a date. Yet, that wasn’t the biggest surprise for Emily. 

Emily snapped out of her thoughts when a large lady sat down in the empty seat beside her. She shifted to make some space and noticed the scenery outside. She had missed her stop. Emily groaned internally.

Emily started talking to the lady beside her to pass the time. Her hair had been fashioned into beautiful soft brown curls. Emily asked where she got her hair done and the lady recommended her to Milan the stylist. 

“I’m sure Milan would love to do your hair. My hair was like yours too before. Dark and straight.”

Chapter 8

Sally felt a bit forced to spend her day at the cinema with Emily, but since Emily was asking, she was fine with it. Emily had told her to dress up properly too. The wardrobe was not full of any fancy clothes, so she went with a cotton blouse and a skirt to match. She bought the skirt last year, but never really got to wear it often. She stood by the concession stand, watching people getting their popcorn.

Sally didn’t really like going to the cinemas. First, she thought the air-conditioning was always too cold. It would be great if they had blankets, but the thought of sharing blankets in the cinema didn’t seem too right. Second, it was always full of couples. 

Thoughts about her last romantic fling came to her mind and she decided it was probably a good idea to end her sabbatical sooner rather than later. It had made her sad when Leslie broke up with her and left to work in Korea. Reality ensued when she found out Leslie had only moved to the Koreatown in the neighbouring city with Mindy. That hurt a lot. 

The time showed a quarter to two. There was still some time but there was still no sign of Emily anywhere. It surprised her when the doctor from that blind date tapped her on the shoulder. 

“Where’s Emily?” thoughts started racing across her mind. 

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At that moment Emily felt quite guilty of setting up Sally with Nathan that way. 

Lying on her bed and staring at the ceiling, Emily tried concentrating on the lyrics in the background instead. 

She didn’t really know if Sally was open to dating at the moment but Emily thought it might be a good chance for Sally since she wasn’t actually interested in dating Nathan at any point. It had been a sort of curveball when Nathan said he was actually interested in Sally. 

Emily then worked on purposely getting Sally to go to the cinema and “coincidentally” meet Nathan there. She had sent a message saying she felt sick at the last moment as planned. There wasn’t a reply so Emily hoped for the best. So when her phone notification rang, she half-expected Sally to have sent a message berating her for creating such a situation.

It was Nathan actually.  

His text wrote, “She decided to go home.”

Chapter 9

Emily didn’t really know how to face Sally, so she didn’t visit the diner for a few days. 

One day Harold came back with a paper bag. He left it in front of Emily’s door and she nearly tripped over it coming out the room. Inside the bag were a wrapped sandwich and a note. Emily took it to her desk. She opened the note first, read it, then opened the sandwich and took a bite.

The next day at the diner, Emily walked in. Before Sally could say anything, Emily blurted, “I’m sorry I set up you that way. I shouldn’t have. I know. He told me that he actually had fallen in love with you, and I thought you might like him back too. I don’t know. I wasn’t even sure if you liked anyone.”

Sally looked straight at Emily. “I do. And she’s an idiot.”

“You like someone? Who? Wait. She?”

“Yes. . . You. You silly girl.”

                                                                                                                                                                

Chapter 10 - Epilogue

Emily walked into the diner. Sally brought over the menu. Emily ordered an off the menu potato and egg sandwich.

“So, coffee, tea?” Sally stood before her pushing her auburn locks behind her ear. “Maybe . . . a date with me?”

Emily laughed and caught the sunlight in her hair.