The Masquerade Mask

An entire week had passed since the party. Aside from the constant thoughts about that night, life had returned to normal.

For Violet it was a questioning of every customer or male she passed during the day. For half a second she would catch herself thinking “Is that him?” Then she would somehow know that it wasn’t and move on.

It was the same for Matt with every woman he passed. The only difference was he still had the mask she had lost. If he thought he’d found her then he planned to show it to her, and if it was hers then he had succeeded.

Violet had already got home from working that night when she discovered the missing mask. It didn’t feel like it was significant at all. While it would have made a nice souvenir from that night, it didn’t feel like that big of a loss to her.

“Alright well if you aren’t going to come with us tonight, where are you going?” Zacky asked as he talked to Matt on the phone.

“I’m going to go have dinner,” Matt said, searching for his keys.

Zacky chuckled to himself, suddenly catching on. “Why do I get the feeling this is somehow related to the girl from the party?”

“Well I’m not sure if it is yet. It was like I knew her from somewhere, I just don’t know where. The only thing I know is I’m going to find her one way or another.”

Less than an hour later, Matt was walking into the restaurant. As he walked through the door he began scanning the area in search of the waitress. He was about to loose hope when he finally spotted her.

If Violet hadn’t been so busy she might have noticed that he had returned. Unfortunately, she didn’t notice until she walked up to his table. When he looked up, for a split second, their eyes met and she lost her voice. Breaking the eye contact, she said, “What can I get you to drink?”

“I’ll take a glass of red wine if you have any,” He said.

“I’ll have that right out for you.” Walking away from the table she suddenly felt confused. For a moment she thought this was the guy from the masquerade party.

If only the music hadn't been so loud and she could have heard his voice better. Or maybe if the lighting had been brighter and she could have saw his eyes and face better. Then maybe she might have known for sure.

Matt had almost the same feeling that Violet did. The difference was he had a way to find out for sure. If the mask was hers then she was the one he was looking for. Violet, on the other hand, could only come out and ask.

Even though Matt had wanted to at least say something besides his order to her, he didn't get the chance. She would always move on before he could ask anything. After ordering dessert, he decided to wait outside for a while.

Because of the restaurant's location, the view of the beach was incredible. The sun was beginning to set, casting its reflection across the ocean. The breeze was gentle but strong enough to add a ripple effect to the picturesque reflection.

The sun had almost completely disappeared over the horizon when the door opened. Upon hearing the soft ding of the bell, Matt turned to look. He was hoping that it would be the waitress getting off work or coming outside for a break. But when he saw that it wasn't the waitress, he looked back at the ocean.

Inside, Violet was mentally kicking herself. Even though she had told herself how out of her league he was it didn't change anything. She got the same feeling that she had the first time he'd come in. She already refused to admit that she felt as if he was the one from the party.

Truthfully she would have preferred to have him as a customer for longer, or at least more like them. She had learned long ago that there were two main classes of customers: the good and the bad. He was one of the good ones, the ones that realized she was only human and could only move so fast. Unfortunately, most of her other customers tonight were the ones who didn't understand.

Thankfully she only had an hour and a half left of work, and better than that she had a break as soon as the last customer left. Normally she didn't mind work but today wasn't a normal day. Today she felt the need to get out of the restaurant.

Just like every other time, when the door opened Matt looked. This time he saw the waitress and felt a sudden surge of excitement. Until he saw there was a cell phone against her ear. He figured that she was just going to leave for the night, but she didn't. Instead, she walked over to railing and looked toward the ocean.

"So he came back?" Chrissie asked.

"Yeah. And before you ask nothing happened," Violet said into her phone.

"Then maybe tomorrow. When do you get off tonight? I'll pick up some pizza and meet you are your place when you do okay?"

"Well I only have an hour and a half left and then I'm done with my shift."

Matt wasn't eavesdroping on her conversation. But she was walking towards him and was speaking loud enough that he heard without trying to. Of course, once he heard it there was no un-hearing it. That was all it took for him to know how long he'd be here.

Violet hadn't seen him standing outside. She had been concentrating on the feeling that she needed to get out of here too much to realize. Every second that she spent here was making the feeling worse.

When she finally walked out of the restaurant, Matt was waiting. "Excuse me?"

"Yeah?" She turned around and was completely shocked. She hadn't expected to find him outside the restaurant.

"I'm Matt," He said, extending his hand.

"Violet," She replied, shaking his hand. She felt skeptical about where this could be headed. Why was someone like him taking an interest in her?

"I hope this doesn't sound creepy, because I don't mean for it to. Does this belong to you?" He held up the mask so that she could see.

"Y-yeah. How did you find it? I mean a-are you?" Violet had never felt so stunned. As much as she wanted to believe this was the man from the party, she wasn't going to allow herself to do so.

"Let’s start with the first question. I saw when you dropped it. You know, when you were rushing out the door? And the second question, yes. If you are asking if I'm the guy you danced with at the party and kissed, yes I am." Matt extended the mask, hoping she would take it.

"Well thank you for returning this to me."

"Aren't you going to at least give me a chance before you give up on me?" Matt asked, noticing that she was already backing away.

"I know who you are Matt. I know what you do. If you knew anything about who I am or the life I live you'd run away. You are a rock star and I'm just a struggling waitress. I think it’s better for both of us if I just leave now, before I get hurt."

"Ouch, that hurts. I don't care what you do for a living. This may sound crazy but I felt something that I've never felt before when we kissed. If you didn't like me then fine, I won't push it, but I want at least one chance."

"Fine, one chance. How about ice cream and a walk on the beach?"

"I do believe you are asking me out," Matt chuckled, "so when?"

"How about now?"

Matt didn't answer with words; instead he just extended his arm. Now all he could do was hope. Hope that this worked out and that she didn't run away.

Two hours later and they were seated side by side on the beach. The gentle waves were washing over her feet before disappearing, and then returning. "So you thought that I wouldn't want anything to do with you because you are a waitress? Last time I check I wasn't that big of an asshole," Matt said, a thick joking tone in his voice.

"No. I thought you wouldn't because I'm nothing special. And besides, look at you and then look at me. You are way out of my league."

"You don't have a mirror in your apartment do you?"

After they both laughed for a few minutes, a silence came upon them. They had finally reached the time when no one knew what to say. So instead of forcing anything, they just looked out at the ocean.

"I think I should go," Violet said, finally breaking the silence.

"I need to ask you something first. Do you believe in love at first sight?”

Without answering Matt's question, Violet leaned in and pressed her lips to his. The same feeling from the night of the party took over. Now she was pretty sure that she knew the answer to all her questions.

"I do now," She said, her voice a soft whisper.