Until Tomorrow

A yawn produced itself out of my mouth as I tied my hair into a messy bun.

“Hey, AM, table four just walked in. Only one guy, shouldn’t be too hard,” My boss, Maya told me. I was at work, a small diner that was family owned and had been around forever, dating back to Maya’s great-great grandmother. Maya, her husband, and sister run it now.

“Okay, I promise not to work too hard.” I stuck my tongue out at her and pushed my way out the door of the kitchen before she could reply. Table four was a small booth in the back of the diner that looked out to the road, and had a lake on the other side of the street. On the very few times I come to eat here, I love to sit in that very booth.

As I got closer to the booth I started to see the unwanted familiar tumult of black hair. As I got closer to him a small smile showed across his face. I sighed and swallowed down the want to run right out of the building.

“You have to be kidding me.” I muttered and saw every thing I had to endure the previous night.

I smiled and set down the menu. “I’m Anna Maria, and I will be your waitress tonight. What can I get you to drink?”

“I would like you to take a seat so we can talk.” He smirked.

I scowled. “I am working, I don’t have time to talk to you nor do I want to.”

“Anna Maria, please sit.”

“No, Abel, I can’t and I won’t because I do not want to. Just let me take your order so you can be on your way out.”

“Ouch, ever so blunt, hun.” He smiled yet again, his blue eyes like crystal.

“Abel, I don’t know why you are here or why you seem to be showing up everywhere I go but really I don’t like it. Just let me do my job and we can pretend that we haven’t seen each other in over a year. Okay?”

He shrugged, his smile still not falling, “Coke, I’ll take a coke.”

I nodded, “Thank you.”

As I walked away, I took a long, deep breath, trying to steady my breathing. I would have never thought I would have been this nervous around Abel. Regardless of how our relationship ended, I shouldn’t be freaking out like this. He’s just a boy, who messed things up, even if he blamed me for it.

Part me wished I had sat down. I wanted to get things straight. I hated that for the past year I have been constantly trying to figure out what it was I had done that led to our breakup. There were only a few reasons he told me that night, other then that, I’ve been left to decide on my own.

“Anna Maria? What’s wrong dear?” Maya asked as I walked into the kitchen to get Abel’s drink.

“Oh, I am just dandy. Everything is a-okay.” I sighed and realized it came out harsher then I had planned.

She looked at me with concern as she asked “Honey, what is it?”

“Just teenage stuff Maya. Nothing to worry about.” I tried to smile as I carried out his soda.
I quickly set it down on the table and took his order.

Today, the diner was pretty much dead and Abel was the only one in except for two friends of Maya’s who she was happily taking their order and chatting with.

“You alright AM?” Greg, our cook asked as I slumped into a seat in the back of the kitchen.

“Oh, I am perfectly happy.” I muttered and watched as he cooked. He turned around, very fast, and gave me a stern look. Ever since I started here, Greg has had that older brother kindness to him, and it was to just about anyone.

“You better not be lying to me.”

“I am not, Greg.”

“Good,” He said and put Abel’s plate of food in front of my face. With a flick of his wrist he shooed me out of the room; saying something about me being too distracting.

I made my way over to the ever so uninviting looking table where the one person, whom I had no desire what’s-so-ever to ever speak or talk to again, was awaiting on his lunch. While I carried it, I deliberated on ‘accidentally’ tripping over an inanimate object and having an ‘oops, I am so sorry’ moment while I watched the plate of just made food fall over every pretty, little hair on his head. I could already see the look of dread that would fall over his face and the hidden smile on mine.

But sadly, I was already placing the food on the table. As I went to walk away I felt a hand clap on my shoulder. Almost immediately I turned around, ready to make sure Abel got a piece of my mind. As I did though, I realized it was my innocent boss.

“We’re pretty dead here. How about you go home? You look like you need the rest. If in any unlikely way we get pretty busy, I’ll call. Other than that, enjoy your night.” She smiled and walked into the kitchen. I contained the happy dance that I wanted to let out as I walked into the back room, where we all kept our stuff.

I felt my phone start vibrating in my back pocket before I could make a move to leaving.

“Hel-”

“Oh my God! Way to not call me this morning!” Aubrey yelled in my ear, cutting me off.

“Aubs, chill out. I am fine.”

“I swear, I thought he drove you off a cliff. You didn’t call me this morning like you said you would! Bennett hasn’t called me or Noah either. But that’s not very surprising, the kid’s a sketchy one.”

“I didn’t seem like it in the car.”

“Oh he can be.” She mused. I nodded and let out an audible noise to let her know I was still listening. “So, you’re okay? Nothing happened in the car?”

“Aubrey!”

“What, I am just making sure you’re okay, hun.”

“I am perfectly fine.”
“Sure doesn’t sound like it.” Was it really that obvious?

“You remember Abel?”

“`Course. He was the reason you completely ditched me last year.”

I sighed. “Just come over tonight. I’ll explain on the dock.”

“Anna Maria, what happened?”

“Just come over. I’ve got to go.”

click

I quickly shrugged off my apron and stuck my phone in my back pocket.

As I made my way to the door I heard Greg’s voice. “See you Tuesday AM!”

I turned around and called “Bye Greg!” while I watched Abel’s face. He put up his hand and did a little wave but I walked out, not knowing what his facial expression to my lack of response would ever be.